Aloha Friday

Welcome to this week’s edition of Aloha Friday.In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day that they take it easy and look forward to the weekend. Therefore, I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response.

This is my new FAVORITE piece of jewelry!!!! I entered a Mother's Day contest to design your own necklace and I was one of the winners!!!! I based it on the Starfish Story and of course added my little ones' names. I just received it yesterday and LOVE the noise it makes with my charms clicking together when I walk down my stairs. Click on Kristen's shop button on my sidebar to check out ALL of her super cool jewelry. She is a super sweetheart to work with and does amazing work!!!

Do you have a favorite piece of jewelry?

Check out more great questions at An Island Life.

Thousand Words Thursday

Seriously, one of my favorite pics....

Check out more pics at Cheaper Than Therapy.

Wordless Wednesday

For more wordless wednesday photos head over to MomDot and 5 Minutes for Mom

Tuesday Tribute: Peer Pressure

I never thought I would say that I LOVE peer pressure, but I do!!!

Jaise is 3 and she has a friend, Avery who is one month younger than Jaise. Avery is as smart as a whip, seriously the little tyke could start college right now and be just fine!!! So, they both started a month or so ago to seriously potty train. Everyone has told me that "girls are SOOOO much easier than boys". Whateva.....

We started with a prize box and Jaise was on task. The cooler the prize, the more she wanted to pee AND if she poo-pood she got to pick TWO prizes!!!! We were sailing through and no accidents for an entire week. No more diapers....wahoo!!!!! Then......she stopped, recessed, pedaled backwards.......stopped peeing, etc. in the toilet. What?!!! I don't understand. Then I got tired of cleaning up accidents and put the pull-ups back on and cried....

THEN, Avery started coming to play with us yesterday and Avery doesn't wear pull-ups EVER!!! She asked Jaise why she was wearing them. Good question Avery! Then Avery went POOP on the potty and Jaise was a witness and all of a sudden had to go on the potty. BAM!!! The switch had been clicked again with only one accident yesterday.

Then last night.....you guessed it....."Mom, I have to go BIG poopy on the potty like Avery!!" and she DID!!!! I will spare you the details but we celebrated BIG time!!!! So I figure if we had this much success in one day, that within a month Jaise will be ready for college as well.

Head over to Angie's Seven Clown Circus for more Tuesday Tributes!

Mother's Day Memories

I hope all of you mom's out there had a great Mother's Day. Ours was filled with food, family and fun!! We had brunch at my sister's house and then played games and drank coffee on the deck. I really just wanted a nice, updated family pic and this is what I got....Jaise is not so thrilled to be there.Homemade gifts are the best kind in my book and here is what my little munchkins made for me.....birdhouses!!! They painted them and signed their names on the bottom. They were very proud and I was thrilled to get them!!!

And then there is Jaise and "her" Brock. They are cousins and she absolutely ADORES him!!!! He will do just about anything she asks if she gives him food!!! There will be more pics of these two later in the week for WW and ATWT.

Before I Was a Mom....

BEFORE I WAS A MOM
Before I was a Mom;
I made and ate hot meals,
I had unstained clothing,
I brushed my hair every day,
I had quiet conversations on the phone,
I slept as late as I wanted and I slept all night long.
Before I was a Mom;
I cleaned my house each day,
I never tripped over toys or forgot lullabies,
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous,
I had never been puked on, pooped on, spit on, chewed on, or peed on.
Before I was a Mom;
I never thought about immunizations,
I never held a screaming child so the doctors could give shots,
I never looked into teary eyes and cried,
I never felt my heart break into pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt,
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
Before I was a Mom;
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down,
I never sat up late hours of the night watching a baby sleep,
I never got up in the middle of the night to make sure everything was okay,
Before I was a Mom;
I had complete control of my mind, my thoughts and my body,
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside of my body,
I didn't know that having something so small could make me feel so important,
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache,the wonderment, or the satisfaction of being a mom.
Before I was a Mom;
I never knew that something so small could effect my life so much,
I never knew that I could love someone so much,
I never knew I would love being a Mom,
I didn't know the bond between a Mother and her child,
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much.

Happy Mother's Day!!