The Sweet Escape

When I was pregnant with Tommy I was due mid October. So I spent the last couple months of pregnancy during the summer. In ARIZONA! Those of you in good old AZ know that summertime is the WORST time to be pregnant. It's HOT!

At the time, we were house sitting for Justin's aunt and uncle. They had a big pool in their backyard and I lived in it. I remember it was the only time I was really comfortable. Being weightless while you're 7, 8, 9 months pregnant is quite priceless.

That was the summer that Gwen Stefani's song The Sweet Escape was all the rage. I would get in the pool and turn on the radio and the song would play about 10 times before I finally got out. (Seriously, I would stay in practically all day!)

This morning that song came on while I was doing my makeup. I had to stop for a minute and just listen. It brought me back to a time before I wasn't quite a mom yet. I remember being a little nervous, but confident that I would be a good mom. But I wasn't quite prepared for the changes motherhood brought. I think being prepared for parenthood is impossible.

The first time you see your baby is just indescribable. To say you love them just doesn't seem enough. You love and adore absolutely everything. Head to toe, your baby is perfection. As time goes on, that love only gets stronger. I think if I had been able to comprehend that before having Tommy I think I would have been scared.

You know they will experience all the joys and sorrows of life. You can't block them from the sorrows. You can only be there for them through it. You know that when life doesn't go their way they will hurt, but the hurt you feel for them will be even greater. What happens when your heart is no longer inside you, but in every one of your kids? Sometimes it can feel very vulnerable. It's scary, loving someone that much. Knowing if anything happened to one of them, your heart would break in a million pieces.

It wasn't until I became a mother, that I could truly appreciate all that my parents did for me. You love your parents, brothers, sisters. You love your husband more than you think you can love anyone else. But nothing compares to how much you love your babies. They will always come first. Knowing my parents love me that much, makes me see them completely differently.

When we decided to have another baby, I wondered how I could possibly have enough love for two kids. I loved Tommy so much, I just didn't think it was possible to love another baby as much. A person can go crazy loving so many people that much! lol But sure enough, seeing Tristan for the first time and having him lay in my arms was just breathtaking. Just as special to me as when I held Tommy for the first time.

Having two brings on a whole new set of joys and challenges. When they wrestle and play together, I don't think I've ever felt so happy. Knowing Justin and I gave them that gift, to have a brother, is just incredible. It's surreal, to think we made them. But then when they fight, or Tommy doesn't want to share his toys, I see they won't always get along. They may never fully appreciate Justin and I or each other until they become parents themselves.

But isn't that what being a parent is all about? Patience, firstly. Knowing they will make mistakes (probably the same mistakes we did as kids and teenagers), and you have to let them. You can't tell them you know best, and expect them to not see for themselves. Ultimately, you have to let your kids make their own choices. Unfortunately, you can't lock them up forever and protect them from everything. (Though sometimes you wonder, why isn't that an option?!?)

Being a parent is the best and hardest thing you'll ever do. You'll make more sacrifices than you thought you could, put your needs aside each and every day. But somehow, just one little smile or "I love you" from your baby, makes it all worth it and more.

I want to say to my mom, I appreciate the sacrifices you made for me. I'm so very thankful for all the brothers and sisters you gave me. For spending a fortune on my braces even though I hated them. (My dad deserves credit for that too. lol) For watching me make mistakes and not locking me up in a box like you probably wanted to. For trusting me to marry who I knew was right for me. For crying when you read my Mother's Day cards. I love you.

And to my two rambunctious boys, I will always love you. I promise to always do the best I can, no matter what. I promise not to lock you up in a box when I'm afraid of the decisions you might make. You mean the world to me. You are my Sweet Escape.

TGIF!

Justin got off work early today, and he brought home strawberries to plant on our balcony! Friday doesn't get any better than that!

It's gotten so sunny over here, Tristan's eyes haven't quite adjusted. lol! Poor baby!

Justin and I always joke that Tommy is a vampire, he's always closing all the window shades and telling me the sun is hurting his skin. So of course, he spent his lunch under the chair umbrella. :)

Tristan was going for those pliers and I said "No, Tristan!" and he turned and gave me this look. I imagined him thinking "Are you REALLY telling ME no?!?"

Justin planting and fertilizing our strawberries! Can you grow strawberries in a planter box? We shall find out!

Lovin' my boys!

The Tour de Cute

Look at that face! I found this outfit for Tristan yesterday and couldn't wait to see him in it! He is so unbelievably cute! He's been quite the active boy the past few weeks. He's so curious about EVERYTHING. He must touch and taste everything he comes in contact with. He also loves babbling and saying "mama" and "dada". His favorite thing is most definitely playing with Tommy. I find them playing in Tommy's room all the time. And to think, soon there will be another boy to help destroy Tommy's room!

Yesterday we had an ultrasound and my doctor (who is awesome and I love!!) said right away "it's a boy!" I've found a few reasons to be happy about this.

1. I would make an excellent queen, because I can make plenty of heirs.

2. I'll always have someone around to help me open stubborn jars in the kitchen.

3. Moving will be a cinch.

4. I'll have plenty of men in the house to protect me. :)

5. The boys will never be lonely or left without anyone to wrestle/rough house with.

6. All I need to entertain my kids is a yard with dirt.

7. I'll never have to buy makeup/hair stuff, etc. for my kids.

8. No one will ever steal my clothes to wear.

9. There's a lot less mood swings at my house.

10. I'll never have to tell my kids to stay away from boys because they're only trouble.

11. Everyone knows boys always love their mommy's best. :) (Sorry Justin. haha)

Plus, look how cute our boys are!

BFF!

(Is this not the cutest thing you've ever seen!)

Tommy and his friend Cameron are inseparable. If they're not together, they're asking about each other. It's so cute. They've recently discovered the joy of wrestling, much to our dismay. They grab the other in a hug and then wrestle each other to the floor. I'll have to get a video of it so you can all see it. Tommy sometimes calls me Cameron by accident, that's how much time these two spend together. lol!

The weather here has been amaaaazing! We froze to death while you Arizonans flaunted your flip flops and shorts. But the tables have turned! You will all be sweating and we'll be enjoying the lovely 75 degree breeze! :P (But, I'll be honest, I still wish we were in AZ!)

Pajama Day!

The kids and I decided to stay in our pajamas today. (Which happens more often than I like to admit.) Tommy thought it was funny when I gave him a bath and then put him in pajamas, he thought he was going back to bed. haha

So we played piano together, read some books, made banana pudding, and snacked in bed. When Justin got home from work, he got in his pajamas to join us. I don't think we've ever felt so lazy... and I love it! Here are some pictures from the day. The boys are just too cute!

Lets hear it for the boys!

Tommy, trying to be serious.

Sweet Tristan, standing by himself!

Bonjour!

Justin and I spent our 5 year anniversary in France! We originally planned for Paris, but decided to go to a city closer to us, to cut down on time and cost. We're waiting to go to Paris for when we have a whole week to spend there and less of a tight budget. Traveling in Europe is really expensive! (But worth it!)

So we went to Strasbourg. It's a city that is right on the border of Germany, but couldn't be more different than Germany. It was funny, right when we crossed the border I suddenly felt different. The buildings look similar, but they have romantic little details that you don't see in Germany much.

(Our first picture of France!)

I always notice tiny details about things, like in France a lot of people put porcelain dolls in their window. In Germany they like to put stick on flowers all over the windows. It's really cute. I think Americans should decorate their windows more.

We crossed into France on Friday. We got to our hotel early enough to settle in and then go out to explore some. I'm sad to say we didn't get many pictures on our first day. I was so excited I forgot all about bringing our camera. But we did get pictures of our first dinner. Justin kept asking me "well, what do you want to eat?" and I would say "Something French! .... What do they eat??" lol

The answer: LOTS of bread, cheese, vegetables and pastries. So our first night we had bread with melty goat cheese, herbs, and honey with a mystery white sauce. I don't know what it was, but it was good! I know that combination definitely doesn't sound good, but it was. I was surprised. Justin ordered fries (they call them chips, like the English do. lol) Poor Justin is lactose intolerant and couldn't eat a lot of the French food because there's always cheese on it.

I was really impressed with Justin's French. After a day there a lot of his French came back to him and he was a pro. I might add, it's weird hearing your husband of 5 years speak another language you can't understand. He started speaking and I wanted to ask "who are you?!?" lol He hasn't used his French in so long I forgot how much he knew. It was nice having him be able to communicate with everyone. Europeans really appreciate visitors who speak their language.

We stayed at Le Grande Hotel. It was actually really nice! They had huge pictures of Marilyn Monroe everywhere. lol I didn't get any pictures of our room, but it was tiny. But it had everything we needed and we weren't there very much anyway. They had a breakfast buffet every morning. I had to laugh at their "scrambled eggs". It was more like slightly cooked runny eggs. The French like their eggs "rare". Note to self: French food in France, excellent. American food in France, BAD.

(The breakfast room.)

The second day we got up early. We made our way to the Place de la Cathedrale. Justin got us a bit lost on the tram, and we ended up on the wrong side of Strasbourg. lol But we made it. It's one of the most important monuments dating from the Middle Ages. It's 466 ft. spire was completed in 1439. We actually had to wait around for an hour and a half for the presentation of the Astronomical Clock to start. The clock was inside of the cathedral, and it was breathtaking. It is HUGE. They showed a video of it's history, etc. and then the clock actually moved at noon. It was built by a mathematician and is still a mystery to this day. It shows the position of the planets to keep the time. It's all hand crafted and probably took over a 50 years to build at the time. We didn't get to see everything it could do, because the clock only moves at certain times per day. We saw the 12 apostles move around the clock, each stopping for a split second to be blessed by Jesus as they pass.

(Justin, navigating our way to the cathedral... unsuccessfully.)

(Waiting for the tram.)

(Unbelievably tall! It was the highest point in France for a long time. We felt like tiny ants in comparison.)

(Stained glass windows literally everywhere inside.)

(The organ, it started playing spontaneously and scared us to death. It was creepy sounding, very Phantom of the Opera.)

(The Astronomical Clock.)

(The Angel of Death.)

After the cathedral, we stopped for lunch. We just grabbed street food (which is what most French do, restaurants don't even open until later at night.) We got pizza, and it was so good! I even liked the tomatoes, which anyone who knows me will think that's a miracle. I haven't liked tomatoes EVER. The French know their Italian food!

Justin and I got a caricature of us, but it looks NOTHING like us. So I'm not even going to bother posting it. After lunch, we took a boat tour of the city on the river Ill. It was really cool. We learned the city has a pretty dark past. Lets just say I wouldn't have wanted to live here in the 1800s! One of the houses was known for being the house criminals had their last meal in before being beheaded, and they had another building that was a prison, but is now a butchery. Go figure. lol Then they had a famous bridge known for being the bridge they drowned unfaithful women from. Creepy! But they did have some pleasant things, like a huge tree musicians used to sit in and play their instruments to practice. And they have a huge theater where Mozart gave many concerts.

(My cute Justin.)

(The bridge they would drown unfaithful women from.)

After the boat tour, we were pretty beat. We walked so much. Being pregnant, I can't walk all day like I used to. So we spent the end of our second day in our hotel watching french tvand eating pastries we picked up on our way home. I have to add, I felt very unfashionable here. It's no myth that France has the best fashion. All the women look like models, I'm not even kidding. I ended up wearing Justin's big jacket because I didn't bring one warm enough. (It's spring, dangit! I don't want to dress for winter anymore!) I felt very out of place. And if you're going to buy clothes in France, you better be rich. I don't think I saw anything under 100 euro. (which is about 120 US dollars. Ouch.)

On our 3rd day, we mostly just walked around to look at shops. We stocked up on French soda (which is actually really, really good) and more pastries (we're both going to be fat at this rate. lol) and headed back home. It's only a 3.5 hour drive. Not bad to visit another country. It was so much fun, but we're happy to be home. We had a babysitter for the boys and I missed them SO much. I can't wait until they're older so we can take them on long trips with us.

(A band performing downtown, they sounded really cool!)

Definitely going to visit France again before we leave Germany. If you can visit any country in Europe, I definitely recommend France. It is just breathtakingly beautiful.

(Our boat tour, passing through Petit France.)