they are.

they are where my heart is. their daddy and them.

 it doesn't seem like so long, just a week, but last week was a long week without them! and even if it was only in the mornings, so what. i missed them.

 i missed breakfast time, play time giggles on the floor, and cuddles and kisses when they woke up.

i missed rocking this sweet one, i missed holding him all morning long. i missed his sweet chubby cheeks, his sweaty hair curling at the tips after a nap, i missed those chunky thighs, i missed his smiles and his giggles.

 oh how i missed them.

23 hours away. that is the most i've ever been gone from my littlest. and even though it was nice...getting dressed up and staying clean and fresh (no food or strange smells at the end of my work time). memorizing and learning and doing great on my test ...it felt good and it was easy. easy to get a good grade on a test, easy to get dressed nice, easy to be around other people where we talked work related things. i had complete control and that was nice. it was a nice change of pace, a break from the norm. still...i missed them.  i'm glad once i start working it won't be for more than a few hours and daddy will be home with them. and i'm glad i had that experience because it makes me appreciate the tantrums, it makes me appreciate the daily grind of laundry, dishes, lunches, spills, tears, and all the little things, good and bad and sometimes hard things that make up our day. the hard things....bad naps, fussy boys, short nights and long days...i only have to think back to what i might be doing instead...and i am reminded that i am blessed to be home with them. i like being here for every little thing. even if it means missing out on other things like nice trips and a bigger home or fancier car. even if it means scraping by each month. i'm blessed to be home and i feel blessed that i can work too. i'm with a great company that is flexible and i only have to work a few hours a week. it works for us. it works for our family.

i missed them. today was our first day back. just us. and it felt good. waking up to their smiles. baking muffins for our camping trip. rocking lucas to sleep for his morning nap. going on an outing to the park. coming home and having lunch with daddy. oh how i missed lunch time with hubby last week! tantrums and all...i missed them.

last night i watched caleb sleep (door open, light on again...) he was smilng in his sleep. big ol' dimples and i had a flash back to his baby days. those dimples big on his chunky cheeks. it was yesterday wasn't it? now he's almost three and it is hard to remember those baby days. i forget them most days. but every now and then a memory comes back and i smile. i'm glad for these days home with my boys. i wouldn't change a thing.

here are a few pictures from today after church....the boys were much more interested in digging up dirt and looking at grass...no interest whatsoever in smiling for the camera that's for sure!

 always searching and exploring their world.

 hm...grass...

 hey mom.

 inspecting a flower

 2 seconds of sitting still before trying to escape!

 does not want to sit/stand still for a picture! at all!!

well it was a lazy but okay weekend. we are all feeling a little under the weather :( (well not dave, yet....) so we just hung out at home for most of it. i really hope these colds leave quickly! so that we are all healthy and happy for camping next weekend. we've been looking forward to it for so long and i want the boys feeling their finest! lucas was up a ton last night, and poor dave was up with him, i was so tired and out of it i didn't even realize he was not in our bed until it was too late!! i felt so bad ;( what a guy! i sure do appreciate him! thankfully we all took a glorious nap this afternoon and hopefully the rest of the week will be restful...i hope.

one more day of training! can't wait to be done so i can be back home with my lil guys.

so it has been quite difficult taking pictures of the boys together now...caleb is on the move...lucas wants to be on the move... (and pretty much is...creeping, almost crawling, rolling, and just wiggling everywhere) so...i tried my hardest to take a couple pics of them together this weekend...as you can see...didn't really happen so much!! oh well...once i'm back to playing on the floor silly i'll have ample picture time :)

that's pretty much it. i'm hoping to take a video of lucas going every which way soon! and i have a hilarious but sweet at the same time video of caleb singing himself church hymns to sleep. i wish i could just run the video recorder all day of them and their sweet and silly sounds.

Hope everyone had a nice and relaxing weekend :)

the weekend is here :)

very.corny.family. pictures. below....

for family members who want to drool over some...go on, if you wish ;)

 just look at those 4 lil pearly whites!

 barefeet. love it.

 i swear i do feed them real food!!

the matching tshirts are from gap. thanks angela for the adorable tshirts! my cousin always sends the boys such adorable matching shirts and then i have to pull out the camera to snap pics of them.!! we are enjoying a relaxing weekend after quite a week....i missed them!

Happy Weekend ;)
                                              

catch up

what.a.week! sadly i don't have too many pics. i missed my little guys this week! i was in training for work all week (and thankfully only half days!) so that i could come home and nurse lucas before his nap. he is only nursing 3x a day now so it worked out great that i could train in the morning and come home for the afternoons. but man. such a brutal drive!! my training was in san jose. 2 hour commute total (1 hr there and back). it made me so grateful that dave only works five minutes away! anyway, once i am on a case i'll only be 5-10 minutes away too and only a few hours a week of working. my mom came up to watch the boys. thanks mom! and i know they had a great time together!! so here are the few pics i have from the week ;) i sure did miss my little men!

 farmers market.

rodeo parade.

the marching horses and marching band with drums were caleb's favorite from the parade!

the boys were in awe the entire time watching the parade.

 coming home from farmers market. gosh i love those chunky legs!

 enjoying the parade!! we even ran into some good friends and enjoyed their company while we watched the parade ;) gotta love small town hollister.

bedtime stories. mr. seahorse, by eric carle. caleb's flavor of the month.

can't have quality time with nani without some nani naps.

i am so glad the week is over. one more day of training and i'll be back to pajamas on the floor playing silly barefoot in the backyard, stories and songs, and everything else with my lil guys! it was hard to be away, but harder to be driving so far away! i actually enjoy the training (most of it) and enjoy work (for the most part) since i only work a few hours a week and dave is home with the boys while i go. it actually worked out great when i did it last year after caleb was a year. they are so flexible and it is nice to get away for just a few hours and make some extra for our family so we can afford to take some trips or what not. but i have a new appreciation for commuters who have to commute that far on a daily basis and mamas that have to work full time and even part time!!! wow. i know you get used to it...but....it would be hard.

i'm happy the weekend is here and i can be with all my boys again :) i'll take dirty diapers and temper tantrums over that 1 hour each way commute any day!!

all ready for camping! we'll work on sleeping inside the sleeping bag this week....one week and counting!!!!

a father was born

almost three years ago. happy fathers day dave!

this year is extra special. celebrating fatherhood as a father of two now ;)

watching you with our boys makes me fall in love with you all over again. you are an amazing father. may you always know how much we love and appreciate you!

these boys have the best example to learn from...and i know you learned from the best too. Happy Father's Day to our dads!

 You continue to teach us, support us, encourage us, and love us; as we muddle our way through parenthood and life and love. I hope all the fathers have the day they deserve! Rest and relaxation with those they love!

A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society."

-- Billy Grahm

                                                             Happy Father's Day!!!

the happy friday dance

yes we sing the happy friday song and do the happy friday dance every week! we love us some friday cause that means we have dad to ourselves all weekend long :)

and this weekend we really get to show just how much we love (hubby) and daddy. and boy, we sure do! how blessed are we? i snapped this photo at lunch today. almost everyday sweet hubby comes home for lunch to help out with the boys, spend a lil time eating lunch as a family and then reading nap time stories before he goes off to work again. i don't take one single day for granted with this wonderful and amazing man! i couldn't ask for a better husband and for a better father to our boys. he amazes me daily with his patience, his genuine giving, his love for me and for the boys, and just all the little details of our life together. some days i'm feeling so tired and then i'll see that he's already unloaded the dishwasher early in the morning on his way to work, or taken out the trash, dressed the boys, changed diapers, made us a fabulous dinner, cleaned up the floors while putting the boys down so that i could take a breather and go on a walk. when i think of all the things he does for our family i am overwhelmed with love and gratitude. he teaches me daily to be a better wife and mother in his gentle and giving ways. truly, this sounds silly,  but the moment i laid eyes on him i thought to myself, i want to marry someone like him. over time my crush grew on this sweet boy as i watched his love for the Lord when he played the guitar in mass and listened to his heartfelt prayers during retreats. we were just friends but i hoped for more. when we started dating i thought he was too good to be true! he seemed perfect in every way. i still feel as though he is my better half, but i know that God truly designed us for each other. I know he feels the same way I feel for him and I feel so grateful and blessed to have found that person. People still comment on how young we are and we got our share of comments on how young we were when we met and got married, but I feel blessed that we did find each other so young. We have experienced everything from our first kiss, to our first love, to marriage, pregnancy, babies, trips, and all the in between. I pray God blesses us with many more days together, because each and every day spent with this amazing man and father is a day I feel grateful to have. So, we are ready to lavish our love on our wonderful (hubby) and daddy this weekend!!!

 watching big brother at the playground

 burning off some early morning energy

happy baby boy waking up from his morning nap. i could love on those sweet cheeks all day long. he loves to cuddle and hold his blanket and his little lovey. he rubs it up against his cheek while he drifts off to sleep. so precious.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! Especially the fathers, my father-in law and my dad. They taught us so much and we continue to appreciate and need their support and encouragement. They are amazing fathers and I hope they know how much we love and appreciate them!!

interruptions

71toes you always know what to say to speak to my heart. i was in a little woe is me mood. caleb didn't nap today. he was talking to himself for an hour on his bed and then i walked by and let's just say...another poo disaster. not a bad one, but still-. i peed in peace 1x today. i treasured that moment. lucas put a cranberry in his mouth, a stale cheerio from the carpet, a leaf from the grass, and a gum wrapper. all through out the day i was squeezing his chunky cheeks to get him to spit out whatever treasure he had found. caleb was running around half naked in a button down shirt, free rolling it from there on. i found him half naked on the front porch dissecting a snail. the poor snail didn't make it. exasperated at the end of a long and busy day i told my sweet hubby how much i'd love to have a day...or two...okay maybe three....of peace and quiet. interruption free....and then i read this post. she speaks to me everytime.

INTERRUPTIONS

When you are exasperated by interruptions, try to remember that their very
frequency may indicate the value of your life. Only people who are full
of help and strength are burdened by other persons' needs. The
interruptions which we chafe at are the credentials of our
indispensability. The greatest condemnation that anybody could incur -
and it is a danger to guard against - is to be so independent, so
unhelpful, that nobody ever interrupts us, and we are left comfortably alone.

-Anonymous
from The Anglican Digest

"Each moment of motherhood, whether they be exhausting and mundane... or magically rewarding, all work together to make up the beautiful tapestry of motherhood we are weaving day by day, crazy minute by crazy minute.

In my mind there is nothing quite so good as to be a Mother (except for being a wife, but that's another post for another day). The one who is interrupted the most. And I must cherish those moments of interruptions while they last. Because before I know it these children will grow up and leave off to create their own stories, and I'll be left with just the memories of all those life-enriching interruptions echoing through my house."

-shawnie from 71toes. 

...the days are busy. but they are good. some days i feel like i'm living in a zoo...and i only have two :) but they make me so happy. and i'll treasure the interruptions. because what better than an interruption from a sweet 2 year old who wants more cuddles? and a coo-ing 9 month old who giggles and reaches for my face to pull it close to his? i get to be here, for all it.