Comments

I get giddy when I notice comments under my blog posts. I enjoy reading them, and sometimes I reply; however, everytime I reply it's with the understanding that the person that I replied to will most likely not read my reply. So why reply? I do read the comments, I love comments! Leave them; please :)

You Capture! - Hands

The Challenge:
Your choice! You can choose between the following three topics, but you can only choose one!

1. Green

2. Hands

3. Chairs


My choice:
Hands
Acilia had in her hands a moth she had caught :*)

Revolving doors....

I titled this post in the literal sense, I am actually going to talk about revolving doors. The ones you walk through when you come inside of a restaurant, airport, mall, etc.
You see them everywhere. You have probably been inside of one. Let me ask you this, have you ever used one with a man by your side? Did he do that thing where he stops it, because he thinks he's funny? Well, guess what, it's happened to me too. I can only roll my eyes, I mean why do men think this is funny? I thought I was the only one this happens to, until I've been seated close to a revolving door and I happened to witness the scene. Man ushers woman into the first section so he can help her along. Man gets in behind her, woman takes a step or two and suddenly the door stops. She's trapped. She gets a quick look of "what happened?" on her face and then she looks back with evil stare at the man behind her. He's laughing. I laughed when I saw it happen the first time, not because it was funny, but because I thought to myself, WOW! I am not the only one!
Tonight, sitting near the revolving door again, guess what, it happened again. Seriously?? Is this an unspoken rule of manhood? Does every man torment his wife/girlfriend/sister/mother/stranger? Or are us women just the few *lucky* ones that get graced with this mischief?

The age of 7

Why didn't anyone warn me that with the "birth" of age 7, comes a new independence stage?? I could have prepared myself instead of being informed AFTER it happened compliments of a Parent's Magazine. I will admit the article written was a great one, had useful perspective and I felt like I got a lot out of it, but I was so distracted by the fact that I was reading about the age that affected my daughter, that I think I may have to read it again!
So, the lowdown is this, kids grow up. They grow up fast. There may be some truth to that "seven year itch". Not only when it comes to a marriage, but here now they say it relates to parenting too! 7 years really, it feels like just yesterday my oldest child was born and now I am reading about how we may be at a point where we are "sick of" each other? Are you kidding? Wait, think about it for a minute, it's great to have your 7 year old nearby, at all times, but do you think you have to still do everything for them? Probably not right, because they are doing it for themselves. Kids this age allegedly enjoy completely tasks on their own and are irritated when nagged by a parent. Wow! Who would have thought at age 7, there would be so much brains behind the operation!
My daughter Acilia turned 7 on Father's Day this past Sunday. I read the article the following day, on a whim. It gave me a chance to really do some thinking and observing, and yup! My daughter is officially 7. We still feel the love from her, infact she is still quite attached to good old mom, but she IS perfectly capable of completing tasks that have been asked of her, and she takes pride in completing the task in a way that is sure to surprise mom with how well it's been done!
Wow! My baby is growing up. I knew it was happening, but things like this just smack me with the reality of it all!
Happy birthday to my new 7 year old! I look forward to seeing your independence blossom!

Acilia and me on her birthday

I'm a mom

I have stretch marks from when you were in my womb
My breasts swelled with your very first food
I rocked you gently in the night
Threatening the monsters that gave you a fright.
I calm each and every one of your tears.
I speak serene words to quiet your fears.
I dress you in your fancy clothes no matter where we go
Teach you to be your best, it's something you must know
I give you your baths, I groom your hair and nails
You have a comfy bed, where sleep always prevails
I give you pajamas and tuck you in at night
Kiss you sweet dreams, we pray and I say "sleep tight"
You come to me if you fall and get hurt
I wipe your tears and wash away the dirt
I carefully choose words that boost your self esteem
I cheer you on as you discover your dreams
I'm proud of you, you are growing so strong
Healthy and happy; sure to be taller than me before long
You eat healthy foods, you sleep well at night,
It's my job, I do it right.
I take it seriously, this motherly duty
It shows in my kids, they are absolute beauties!
I work hard to teach you how to treat others
Friends, cousins, sisters and brothers.
I raise you to respect adults, but how to voice your mind
Always to do it in a way that's dignified and kind.
I'm your mom; the most important job in the world
It's a job that has no price, because it's a job no one could afford!

You Capture! - Get Down Low

Get down low.


For this week's "You Capture!" I knew the exact picture to use!

To the untrained eye, it may look as though this is an extreme close up of grass...well, look closer, to the left of the center....



Butterfly on my daughter's shoe, this butterfly was clearly "down low"
















My son "down low" enjoying the view of the lake from our hotel suite



















This is one of my favorite things that babies do, crouch down low :) (This is my nephew Dillon, isn't he cute??)


















The next few shots, I was actually on the ground shooting up....amazing how big things look from this perspective!

6 months

I can't believe I am saying this. It's been SIX MONTHS since kidney transplant day. Wow! It's unfathomable to me! I feel like it's been MAYBE a month. Today was the day I traveled downtown for my 2nd of 4 post op appts. First was a week post op, then today was 6 months, next is 1 year and the final is 2 years post op.
This appointment has been scheduled since I was released from the hospital. Turns out today was a busy day to be in the city!
Two days ago, Al called me and said we needed to find a sitter. Turns out we had Cubs/White Sox tickets for a 1:20 game. How fun! I've been wanting to watch the Sox play the Cubs for ages!! For the record, we are Sox fans and we sported our Sox fan gear to the Cubs territory Wrigley Field today. Baseball gear felt completely out of place though! Something big happened in Chicago last week. The Blackhawks took home the STANLEY CUP!! Today was the celebratory Blackhawks parade. Read: 1 MILLION extra bodies filling some main roads for the LIVE once in a lifetime experience. Yup! Fun times in Chicago, I would say 90% of the population downtown today was sporting Blackhawks gear. We were out of place. We got to the Cubs stadium and again we were out of place, in our SOX gear. It wasn't bad though, there were way more people sporting Sox clothes than I had imagined. Sox won the game, 10-5. It took 4 hours to get out of the city and to our house. ACK! Way too long!!
Pics are of the craziness in the streets of Chicago during the Blackhawks parade :) and Wrigley Field (Where we were today) and *NEITHER PICTURE WAS TAKEN BY ME! I was just looking for pictures to represent my day!*