Christmas Card Picture...failures

Well we did have a great Turkey "day" but we have another one tomorrow. Its the annual Peralez "After Turkey day...Turkey day" So to make you guys wait in suspense even longer for THOSE pics what I will post are some failures from our xmas card picture session with photos taken by me and my tripod. They are pretty priceless and even contemplating just putting best failure on the actual card but decided against it. Maybe next year ;)

So here goes from not so great, but could potentially pass to...OMG...SERIOUSLY why do people even TRY to take holiday pictures with their kids! Feel free to vote on the BEST failure picture we took. Don't worry we won't be offended!






And my personal fave of the failures, the one that makes me want to just buy cheap run of the mill hallmark cards with NO picture for next year is....

....wait for it...

........wait for it....

okay okay.....

HERE IT IS!!!

...behold the greatest failure of all...

Nobody Said It Would Be Easy...

This weekend was a rough one. I had many tears shed, many word said that may or may not be regretted in the near future, many heart felt moments as well.

It all started Friday. I have been having a rough time. Life has been rough. Adjusting has been rough. Its weird when you think about what you had and what you are currently dealt. Life can be so weird at times.

We as a family have been here since July now and I tell ya it seems to get harder as the months and days go on. We had a little life in AZ. One that at the time, not many people from out here understood. It was still busy, still hectic, still crazy and stressful but we also had a "life". When we left here RC was pretty much the center of it all. People gathered at our house for impromtu bbq's, he went on bike rides with the guys, not to mention we had 2 less kids and the one we did have was gone at least 2 weekends a month with her Nana.

In AZ we had new friends and the couple friends that remained SOLID friends we were grateful for. You know who you are. The friends that were visited for more than just a break, the ones that still called just to talk, even if there wasn't NEW news to share or gossip to be had. I mean the true solid friends. The ones that still call and ask how we are just cause they haven't heard from us in a bit, even if we live in the same town and have no time to catch up.

However, in AZ we made new friends. Friends with families of their own, friends with relationships that consisted of more than what bar to go to this upcoming Friday night and friends that understood us. We knew that our lives were hectic but sometimes a nice night at home with one another was perfect. Sometimes New Years watching TV and playing guitar hero were just what the doctor ordered and even sometimes a lazy sunday was met with a phone call, a quick jump in the car and a lazy weekend spent in jammies, starbucks for breakfast and in n out for lunch, just cause it was yummy. LOL.

Whatever the case may be, we didn't have much out there but we did fit in, pretty well if I do say so myself. THe struggle for RC is he missed the chaos that we had prior. He missed the attention (don't worry, we have already talked about all this). He missed the life he had. I knew, being the almighty "know it all" that life if we ever came back would not be the same. Although we still had a close group of friends here, they also moved on in those 6 years. Made new friends, made bigger circles, had families of their own and somehow we just wouldn't fit in quite the same. Maybe I was being pessimistic but one can only tell once you are here.

We moved, after much arguing in fact the honest to gawd truth of it all was that I was supposed to wait 6 months before moving but I only held 3. The reason. Plain and simple, quick and dirty. Had I lived alone for much longer and become even closer and relied even more on my little AZ family. I never would have left. Never. I had to make the move. For my husband. For my "real" family to survive.

We got here, I hated him, we argued, people told me "it would be fine, things would be fine". We had a busy first month and then slowly it all went away. People again became busy with their lives, the "shine" wore of the new toy that we were and they retreated back to their old lives and their old friends and here we are wondering why we sit at home almost every night, with my parents and have nothing going on. I know that we could try harder. We could invite more people over but to be honest I also think that maybe they hold out cause HELLO. We live with my parents. I know. Weird right. The only person that has really come to hang out with us is RC's cousin and he fits right in. Dinner with the fams, parents and all. He is great and to be honest, if he didn't come over, I might think that our life out here was useless. That we just needed to move back.

In the last month we have had birthday parties (one to be exact) nights/days with friends (a couple more than just one) and dinners out (one to be exact) but its just not the same. Life as we know it has really just come down to RC and I. The kids. I just need to adjust my mentality to get out there more. To try and make new friends. Its just hard for me. I met all my AZ friends through work and we just fit. Just fit.

The long and short of it was this. Two things were said this weekend that hit home. They both came from my hubby.

"The biggest failure in this life wouldn't be me giving up this job and not succeeding if we chose to move back, the biggest failure would be not succeeding at us"

And...

"Just tell me what I can do, what can I do that is not selfish one bit to make this all right again, to make you happy"

Just hearing those words alone made me realize it is just him and I. It is just the two of us that can make this work and its not just me that misses my family in AZ. Its the both of us. We miss what we had. It meant a lot and to be honest I think it helped. We have one another and we have family so the best thing to do is make the best of it. I wouldn't trade my hubby in for anything in the world and knowing that I am not alone in this little depression bubble is reassuring and enlightening all at the same time.

So like I said when I started this, before all the rambling. Nobody said it would be easy. But damnit we can make it work.

I love taking pictures :)

Okay so its been a couple posts since I inundated you with pics so here are some from the last couple weeks. As recent news I will tell you that Carina has been signed up for Softball and that Neya is now signed up for Ballet. They are both excited. Neya's starts in two weeks (the Monday after Thanksgiving) and if she likes it then she will have a recital in June 2011. I am super excited. Carina and I are practicing now for her but she doesnt actually start till March. She is excited. I am excited for her. Both the girls will hopefully get into something they really enjoyed, I am excited. NOT so much excited about the time it will take but hey, small price to pay for their happiness.

Anywho...here are the pics. Enjoy!

Rudys birthday was at the beginning of the month and we took him out to dinner and gave him his presents. This was the first year we actually shopped and got to celebrate with him a long time. We got him a blu-ray player because his DVD player broke and he seemed to like it. Still not hooked up but thats cause his surround sound isn't working with it. Seems we know what to get him for xmas now. LOL.







We went to the park to feed the ducks and although the park was fun the ducks were scary so that did not happen. We got a few good pics and some even funny ones. The kids taking a group pic is damn near impossible. In fact I was thinking if we don't do xmas pics maybe I could just use one of these. Some pics are blurry but some are really good.













We also had movie night with the Snooks. The kids weren't totally into the movie, with the exception of Rian but it was fun either way. We took a pic of Gabe and Tiff with Rian that makes me laugh. He could totally pass for Noah and Aadens older brother. haha. AND Neya and Eli had matching PJ's. So cute.







We had a fun lunch with Melody, Pey and baby Czek! Hehe. I am so excited to find out what she is having. Woohoo. Do note we also managed the right pose to make a 5 month pregnant woman not look pregnant at all. Haha.


We made fleece "no sew" blankets for the girls and bought fleece for Rian as well but we didn't make his yet. We DID make Collin one but I haven't sent it to him yet so I don't want Dusty to see it before it gets there. SUPER cute if you ask me. Pictures to get posted later.




Carina has taken up duck tape creations. She makes EVERYTHING out of duck tape. Purses, wallets and now shoes. Its soo cute and creative. Here are some quick pics of her outfit and her shoes. Super cute. Very proud of her :)




And to end this post a couple of funny pics :)

2 Years...

Just over two years ago, our little man underwent the most amazing surgery ever (at least in our eyes). They cut him open, they changed his hearts "plumbing", they closed him up and then told us that in his future there may be a chance that he would have to go through surgery again, that he would get sick easier than other kids, that sports may NOT be in his future and yet we were to keep him healthy, safe and active. Talk about putting a lot on a moms plate. We already had our two girls and we thought that was rough (I mean hello have you ever RAISED two girls...d-r-a-m-a haha) but nothing could prepare us for what the next few years would bring us. We had months of special meds that we had to pick up at a special pharmacy, special formula that made him sick but we had to use anyways, a couple trips BACK to the hospital because his "colds" would turn deadly overnight...it was a rollercoaster to say the least.

We had arguments about daycare, if he could go. I had panic attacks thinking about him getting sick, even when he was perfectly healthy. Oddly as the years went on I didn't get LESS stressed but the stress became less obvious to those around me unless you really pushed me on how I felt. The worry was deep, my heart ached when I saw normal kids, normal babies. It was weird how much this little man had changed me, how much his surgery had changed us all as a family.

From day one they told us that his 2 year heart appointment would be the telling appointment. They had told us he was healthy but always left us with some doubt...like "he looks really good...but" or "he is growing fine, but..." and the 'but' was always that he still seemed to be a candidate for a second surgery. Ugh. That surgery was not horrible like his first. THey merely cut a hole into his leg, insert a tube with a balloon, stretch out his coronary atereries and he would have an overnight stay in the hospital. Yeah I know, I know, compared to what we first endured it seems like a piece of cake, but as a mom you just assume it can't be that easy. Not if we have to go back in at all!

Yesterday was his appointment. I cried when I made the appointment two weeks ago. I cried when I got in my car to GO to the appointment. I even cried at the appointment. However it was for a good reason, at least the THIRD cry was. Haha. Yesterday we met an amazing doctor, he was great, young, fun and he seemed to speak our language. He was great with Rian, he was the one who did the ultrasound instead of us having a techician do it and then meet with the doc later, he was very hands on and I LOVED IT. I also loved him just a bit more when he finally said "from what I can see, Rian is in the 'low' category for surgery meaning I can't say he won't need it 100% but honestly...he won't need it from what I can see" Haha. Do you have any idea how long I waited to hear those words, to have that weight off my shoulders. He told us Rian would be back in 6 months just so the doc could get to know him and then after that each year but that only during SPORTS...yes he said SPORTS...would Rian have to REALLY get looked at just to make sure it was all still good.

Being the person I am, the downside is always present but if the only downside right now is that he has to have a "once over" BEFORE he starts sports then BRING IT ON!!! I am estatic.

The weight of the stress and worry is gone. Not dissappeared, vanished, poof...but gone from my day to day thoughts, gone from my mind and will no longer cause anger and frustration when I see other "normal" kids.

I say this each year he has a birthday or each time he gets sick, but our little man has made us stronger as a coouple, as parents and as a family and more appreciative of every day that we are blessed to have with one another. He is a miracle and a little angel and I would not trade all we went through for anything in the world but I will SURELY take in the news we recieved yesterday.

Our little man is "Perfectly Healthy"...

Potty Training

Hey there Blogger world. I have been off the face of the blogging world but here is why.

Work. Kids. Life. Family. Work. Kids. Life. Family.

AND...

Repeat.

This weekend will be no different, in fact we are going to try and potty train Rian. NOT so much that we expect him to be a pro, but we want to see if he is more ready than he was before when we thought we would try it (yeah we didn't blog about that, it was a mess and lasted about 3 hours).

SO this is the thing. We are going to pull his potty out of storage. Get some treats. Some new undies and encourage, encourage and encourage some more! If it doesn't work, oh well, but hey we can at least put forth a good effort. THE BONUS is that this is the only weekend we have had free in a long time. So there won't be any confusion putting him back in diapers etc.

The tips we have gotten:

- Don't rush him
- Give treats
- Let him run around naked (not sure how grandpa or sisters will feel about this)
- Do a potty chart
- Let him pick out undies
- Praise Praise Praise
- Be patient
- Buy lots of carpet shampoo

Haha. All of these are great tips and to be honest its weird to think I even have to TRY to potty train a kid when the girls were SOO easy. They just said "i go potty in big potty" and BAM they had one accident each and off they went. Of course they have accidents here and there (not Carina...Haha...) but mostly when they can't control the environment and such. Someone in the bathroom to long, on a road trip, those sorts of things.

Either way, off we go to potty train. Wish us luck!

Halloween Fun...

Well we didn't really have any plans on halloween in fact, unlike most years in AZ we didn't even really get invites to go trick or treating on halloween and since we haven't done that here yet it was quite the experience. We had no idea where to go, I really didn't feel like going at all and then Mel called me up and asked us to go with her and the fam. I was thrilled. We have had many friendship ups and downs but when it comes down to it she knows just when I will be bummin' about what I do or don't wanna do and swoops in for the rescue. I guess that is what friends do.

Anywho, we ended up going trick or treating by her house and unfortunately they had left before us (We ate dinner late) so we were all alone but the neighborhood was awesome, just as she had promised. We hit a ton of houses and out of all the kids Neya was the most scared. I guess she is getting to that "this could hurt me" or "whats lurking behind those bushes" age of questioning EVERYTHING. Maybe our kids won't sneak out after all when they get older. Haha.

Either way, Rian said Trick or Treat, the kids all walked around, we took pics in front of neatly decorated houses...like total tourists, RC and I had fun and after we were done getting candy we visited with Mel and the fam. Saw her cute pregnant belly and can't wait for yet another honorary niece or nephew to be born. I guess since Mel and I have been friends for nearly 15 years its more like a real niece or nephew butttttt I don't wanna take that shine away from baby Collin...whom we also have a few halloween pics of...check those out at the end :)

We had a great night and here are the very few pics I was able to snag.









Happy Halloween from Baby Collin as well...Dusty if you are reading this just know your son is now going to become a permanent fixture of this blog as I could not be more proud to be his aunty!



All in all another successful Holiday here in Napa. I will be honest we did talk about past halloweens in AZ, and how we miss it but the life out here ain't bad and having family around makes it more bearable and even enjoyable than I could have thought! Crazy.

On a slightly different note. I made a heart appointment for Rian at a Pediatric Cardiologist and although I could have called a week or two ago, I waited. Ugh. The thought of going to a new doc and hearing new things scares me but I have to go in and remember. HELLO he is healthy by all counts and he will NOT need to have that second surgery that they keep scaring us with. OH and the great part is that the doc is based out of Oakland but has a fairfield office and apparently a NAPA office. AND we got an appointment in the napa office! WOOHOO. The even better part, they said that the appts average about 30 minutes and thats with an echo ultrasound and an EKG. CRAZY! I think our doc in AZ just liked letting us get a day off. Haha. THese docs are all business. Good and bad I suppose ;)

Well we will keep you updated and special birthday wishes going out to Grandpa Rudy today...may you be blessed with many more years of reaking havoc and enjoying your family and grandkids!!!!