Back to School!

Well it has been an eventful couple of weeks! I started my last week before work going on a fishing trip with my dad. I had never really been fishing, especially out in the bay. We went on a 3 hour trip on a charter boat. Had fun, despite threatening weather and even caught two fish.







My first fish I caught!










The next day I took the kids to the Plumpton park zoo. Such a great
place for the kids to get up close to the animals.





On Thursday, I went on an adventure by myself to Lancaster to the Kettle Kitchen Village. It was such a relaxing day. Enjoyed the scenic ride on the back roads and walking around leisurely shopping. I brought back some delicious home-made goodies from the amish like variety of cheese, chocolate covered oreo, and different kinds of jellys and jams. Even got to taste Shoo fly pie for the first time!

Thursday, we took the kids to our annual trip to Dutch Wonderland. We had a blast. It was great to see the kids have fun and we enjoyed spending the day with them!








The giant slide was a favorite for both of them!











Tyler was very serious about trying to figure out how this ride worked...











Here is his smile before the ride started...needless to say the smile didn't last long...didn't like the way the frogs jumped at all!

Last Saturday, Gabby and I participated in the Middletown Peach Festival with our jazzercise group. We did the parade and two performance demonstrations. We had a blast!

I went back to work last week. Even though I miss my freedom and hate the stress, it was nice to get back on my routine and our schedules.

Half way through the week, we ended up having a small earth quake! Very scary. I felt it, but was glad that it didn't effect Julio up high at work and the kids didn't really feel it.

Couple days later, we are now dealing with Hurricane Irene. Haven't had a hurricane since 1999 and this one was scary with the tornado warnings. At the moment, we are now dealing with the after effects and a lot of wind. We made out well with no flooding or power outage, but I know a lot of the state was not so lucky.

As a result of being stuck in the house for couple of days, we got to spend some quality time with the kids. We had bought a new lego set, which both kids had a blast with.




Gabby showing off her car she built!






Tyler looking checking out the hurricane.

This week has been very eventful and a lot of firsts for us. I am thankful for the downtime, and chance to get ready for the school year ahead for us.

August!

I really can't believe the summer is almost over! It has been nice to have time to myself this summer and also have some days for just the kids and I. We have been able to do some special things this past month or so.

One of our favorite things to do every summer is to go to the Delaware State Fair. The kids love to look at and interact with the animals. It's interesting each year to see how the kids respond differently as they grow. One of our favorites is to see the baby chicks. Tyler loves to pet them, but still does not want them touching his hands!




This was the first year that Gabby was brave enough to hold one all by herself! I was very proud and knew pop-pop would be too and Grand-dad was smiling down from Heaven!






They also enjoyed going on the rides of course.



Throughout the summer we have been able to go to some of the playgrounds around the area. They kids love to go out on the dock and look at the fish and water.









One of our favorites was a new playground called the Can-Do playground. It was nice to spend one of the cooler days of summer there as well as have a picnic lunch!











I can always catch one of them being them silly selves.










This past Friday Gabby and I had a mother/daughter day. I took her to the White Water Mountain in Rehobeth. We had a blast and it was a very relaxing day!

This was my favorite picture of the day!





I have one more week left before I go back to work. We have planned a trip to the zoo, our traditional trip to Dutch Wonderland and a trip to the beach for just Julio and I. It will be nice to end summer with a bang!

July!

The beginning of July was a mixture of smiles and tears. This past Thursday we remembered my mom who would have been 71. Can't believe it's been 14 years since her passing. Seems like it was just yesterday. It's been interesting that as I continue to go through seasons in my life as an adult now, it effects me differently. I still miss her so much, but am happy that she isn't dealing with pain and obstacles.

We were also sadden to hear that my grandmother passed away Thursday as well. Although we will miss her spark, she lived such a happy life. She was 98 and still living in her own apartment. We were lucky enough to visit her last week which was such a great visit. I was able to support my dad and help him take care of things yesterday. It was so nice to spend that time with him, knowing I could help him and that he was allowing me to do just that. It was wonderful to just be able to talk to him like we haven't done in so long which is what I'm sure Grand-mom would have wanted. It kind of gave me peace that she is with my mom in heaven now and I hope she is telling her all about Gabby and Tyler.




Monday was Fourth of July. It was nice to spend it as a family! We spent the day relaxing and then went down to Dover for the parade, a picnic supper, and the fireworks. Always turns out to be one of my favorite days!










Gabby and Tyler in their Red White and Blue!










Gabby at the parade




















On Thursday, we decided since it was such a rough week, we all needed to get away for a family trip. So we packed up and headed to the beach. It was a wonderful day. The kids loved the water, great pizza and ice cream and the traditional rides.

Gabby favorite was the bumper cars with daddy!






I love Tyler's face in this picture!










It was so nice to get away for the day. I'm looking forward to many more trips down to the beach!

Summer!

I haven't been able to post the past couple of months. We have had some celebrations, times of remembering and has also been a time to look forward. May started out with Mothers Day. We decided to again, spend the day as a family at the beach. It was a beautiful day which made it that much better. Gabby and Tyler loved playing in the sand and even getting wet!

During mother's day weekend we took the kids to both their grandma and mom-mom's grave. It's been important to have them a part of honoring them on mother's day. I'm sure both mother's were smiling down at both of them.

It seemed to get hotter this year which allowed us to break out the pool

earlier. The kids enjoyed playing in it during the long memorial weekend!

Relay for Life was the beginning of this month. I always walk on our church team in memory of mom who died of lunch cancer. This year Gabby jr jazzercise group performed during the event which allowed us to include her in the walking and during the candle ceremony. Although she didn't fully understand what was going on, she did know it was a day set aside to honor my mom and that we were raising money to find a cure.

I take Gabby from time to time to have mother-daughter days. We went to get pedicures and manicures. She loves being pampered and knew exactly what she wanted!

For Julio's Birthday, we had a BBQ with family and friends. Julio helped my dad cook his favorite BBQ chicken. I think Julio enjoyed the food and the the company. I'm sure it won't be the last BBQ of the summer!

Tomorrow Julio is taking off and we are going to the beach for the day. It will be nice to relax and have some much needed time just the two of us.

Things have been a little rough getting into a different routine for summer. I'm trying to get into a flexible schedule where I can have time with the kids, relax with time to myself and do the things I know I have to do to stay healthy mentally and physically. Some days are easier than others, but I continue to get up and press forward.

Special Updates and Occasions!

Wow! Where do I start? So much to update! First, we celebrate Tyler's 2nd birthday on April 8th. Although I'm a little sad, he is growing so fast, I'm sure he has lots of special memories in store for us in the coming year!










We were excited to be able to spend time one-on-one with him for his birthday by taking him to the Wilmington Children's museum. Boy! Did he have a blast, and we enjoyed watching him have so much fun!





He loved having people sing to him this year. You can tell he loves being the center of attention already! He knows already he has to share the spotlight with a big sister!











One of his favorite presents this year was a hand-built airplane from pop-pop. He was too cute with it!

Another favorite was a BIG buzz light year with lots of sounds and noises!

We also gave him a new hot wheels bike complete with lights and sounds. Now we just have to wait for him to be able to reach the pedals!

Easter was a lot of fun this year. We started off by dying eggs. Both kids got very creative with the colors, stamps and stickers!

We were also able to visit both grandmothers and go to an Easter Egg hunt and see the Easter Bunny. Both kids of course, had a blast!

We spent Easter at home this year just the four of us. It was very nice and very relaxing. We just spent the day doing things as a family.

One of Tyler's favorite Easter presents was bubbles from pop-pop! He got really good at blowing them!

Gabby's favorite was a set of squinkies which she chooses to share all the time with her brother!

I must saw Gabby looked absolutely beautiful Easter Morning! I loved the color Green on her!

Julio surprised me and came home the day before our Anniversay with Flowers! He is amazing and the flowers were beautiful!

The best part was the hand written note that said he would marry me all over again, and that the past 9 years was the best years of his life!

We got to go away over-night on our Anniversary on April 27th to a couples resort in the Poconos. This is the third time we have been to one and as always, it doesn't disappoint! It is so romantic, so relaxing and so much fun!

We had fun competing against each other in ping-pong, pool, racing game, and mini-golf. We had a romantic dinner seated by ourselves. The food is absolutely amazing!

Our room was divided into two levels with a living room on the first and the round bed, double heart whirlpool and heated indoor pool on the second!

This was a picture taken at dinner.

We had a blast. Although we missed the kids so much, it was hard to come back to reality. It was so nice thought to be able to get away just the two of us. It felt so good to talk, laugh and have fun!







The day after was bitter-sweet for me. It marked the anniversary of the death of my mom. Although it has been 13 years, there are so many reasons I miss her more each year. There are so many questions and things I haven't been able to get closure on. I can only hope that she is looking down on me and smiles when she sees what an amazing husband I have and how special Gabrielle and Tyler are. I hope I have made her proud some and I hope she sees how hard I am working to become the best mother, wife and Christian woman I can be. I LOVE YOU MOM.

Relaxing Weekend...Exciting April!

This past week hasn't been one of our regular weeks. Gabby was on Spring Break from school while I wasen't. Although I wish I could have spent some individual time with just her, I'm planning on this weekend to spend some individual time with both kids. They both still adore each over, but it's kind of funny how their interaction is changing. Gabby has times where she gets frustrated because he will not do what she wants him to do because he has his own mind now and his is starting to voice his wants much more clearer these days! Some days are harder than others to stay consistent, but things run smoothly as long as we do not let things slide for both of them. We make sure our expectations are clear for respect and kindness and our job is to keep our patience and consistently provide consequences. Of course, in between timeouts and consequences, we make sure there are lots of hugs and kisses! I'm looking forward to my spring break the end of this month when the weather will be much warmer and not only I get some days to myself without kids but Julio and I will get to go away over night for our anniversary! Very Excited! Gabby did get to do some special things while she was off. She had a daddy-daughter day on Wednesday. They got to go to Friendly's for lunch and then he took her to build-a-bear! Friday they came in and had lunch with me. She has been much happier being off from school...kind of not looking forward to her having to go back to school and dealing with all the stress. This really has not been an easy year for her. We are looking forward to Friday and celebrating Tyler's Birthday. Hard to believe he is turning 2! We have planned some very special presents and activities to celebrate the occasion!

Mixed emotions...

The title of this post says it all. I never know what I"m going to be feeling from day to day or even hour to hour and I never know what each day will be like. Many days I go to bed thinking that I hope I do better the next day with whatever is thrown at me. I know I am doing a lot right now and accomplishing a lot, but there are still many days I feel like I've been defeated.

I am really focusing a lot on the depression and healing right now. I go to counseling every week as well as Gabby every other week. I have switched general doctors for various reasons and will have my first appt with him tomorrow. I have a lot that I need to discuss with him like what path we want to take right now. Although my counsler thinks that after four months of counseling and my moods still seem to be consistently unstable, would like to see me start medication, I want to try another route and exhaust all my options before I have to go down the road of medication. I want to talk to him about what things I can change in my diet and about nuritional supplements that are suppose to do the same things as perscriptions medications but without the side effects. Right now I feel like I"m being proactive and really working through this illness, but there are times it's still so overwhelming and I'm scared to death. I'm scared, I won't find the right answer to help me feel better and scared of hitting bottom and not being able to get right back up the next day.

This weekend I was able to do some fun things with the kids. We took them to chucky cheese which both kids absolutely loved! We also made cookies! I hoping that these are the times that they remember.

Right now, I am just feeling so discouraged with Gabby. I'm working so hard on myself because really I have to, and I feel like she needs every ounce of strength I have. I feel like I don't have enough to give her right now. I can't meet her needs right now emotionally. I feel frustrated I don't know how to consistently discipline and guide her to be a child that doesn't always think of herself and who is respectful and does what a girl her age should be doing. Guess all I can do is keep on doing my best each day...