Gratitude: 222

{Post: 222/365}

Today I am grateful for:

GIBSON!

because he makes me laugh :)

he IS the leprechaun's son ;)

Gratitude: 153

{Post: 153/365}

Today I am grateful for:

my angel baby

he's funny, brilliant and sweet

and I'm proud to be his mom!

Gratitude: 36

{Post: 36/365}

Today I am grateful for:

my angel baby

my youngest son

I was a high risk pregnancy 12 years ago

and now I can hardly believe it has been so long!

Gratitude: 10

{Post: 10/365}

Today I am grateful

for a boy who is willing to learn how to cook for his mom

and creates a pot of delicious chili to prove it!

Thank you Gibson!

Angel Baby

{Post: 280/365}

stress and worry

for an entire 

pregnancy

and then

the birth

of an angel baby

my son

my light

my joy

my gift to hubby

my final creation

of blood and heart and soul

the light of my life

I hope the lessons I learned

from Abba and Sissy

help me

be an even better mother

for you

Angel Baby

{Post:44/365}

after 9 months of fear and torture

from health issues

 a beautiful reward...

my angel baby

so cheerful and  bright

a light in my life

a mixed combination of

Abba & Sissy and Mommy and Daddy

but mostly

a unique and wonderful

YOU

helpful, cuddly and sweet

gentle spirit and giant heart

beautiful smile and loving soul

we're proud of you and love you VERY much!

30 Day Blog Challenge-Post #23

{Post: 311/365}
A YOUTUBE VIDEO:

Gib dancing in the bathroom...LMAO!!

30 Day Blog Challenge-Post #7

{Post 295/365}
A PHOTO THAT MAKES YOU HAPPY:

My baby! :)

First Day of School

{Post: 249/365}
He's happy to be back in school and I'm happy too! ;)
I had a visit to Dr. today and some more changes to work on...it's always something!
I've almost finished the flowers I've been working on for my girlfriend's wedding on the 17th and she loves them for which I am GLAD!! :)
So here is hoping this school year is full of good and even better things for Gib and also for mom who is working on managing life at home! :)

Getting Ready for School

{Post: 245/365}
I don't think we are READY! lol
We have got him a new back pack, lunch bag, pencil case, pencils, coloured pencils, paper, binder and glue and he had shoes bought at the beginning of summer that still fit so he's ready that way but, he's been staying up LATE all summer and has NOT got back into early to bed and early mornings yet so I think his first week of school may be a little bit cranky!
However, I HOPE that having the experience will teach him that mom is NOT a mental case when she says he needs to go to bed early and get a good night's sleep before school!!
I am not looking forward to shopping for lunches again! :( We need a new system for that! lol

August 31, 1970

{Post 243/365}
My birthday! I have hit my 41st and I'm feelin great about it!
Had a great afternoon going out for lunch with my mom, going out for dinner tomorrow night with hubby's mom & dad and going to ENJOY!!
Took a pic of my baby sitting in the BIG chair:

Got lots and lots of love on my FB wall and couldn't be more content with my 41st year of life!

Even tho there are bad parts and sorrows I am feeling happier than I have in a long long time!

Thank you ALL for all the LOVE!! xoxoxoxo

Dogs

{Post 239/365}
Hmmm...I think I really want one.
Is it a substitute for a baby? Dogs and kids are so much work!
I say that it will be Gib's dog but, I'm pretty sure we all know that it's gonna be momma's...just like all the cats are too!
I'm NOT sure I AM ready to do all the work but, I am sure it would be a very good experience for Gibby and I'd like him to have a dog. I'd like him to learn responsibility for something other than his xbox which I might add he is not the greatest at cleaning up after! So I sure hope he will love the dog enough to care properly for him!
Anyway, I will think some more about it and it will be conditional upon whether or not he shows his dad and I any improvement in the aforementioned xbox cleaning-up-after-playtime!
Good luck Gibby! Work HARD!!!!

Camping Day #2

{Post 225/365}
Well we're getting spit on a bit but we're saying NO rain!!
The boys have been playing in the river and having a good morning.
We had our taco salads for lunch and they were a hit!! The
Boys all ate 2 each...I only had one and that was good enough for me!
Now they are enjoying snacks and deciding if they wanna swim anymore...
They worry about rain!! Lol
I'm trying to read duma key but they ask me questions every five minutes
Which makes it VERY hard to read!! Lol

First Day of camping trip with 2 boys...

{Post 224/365}
☺Having a great time already with Gib & Josh!
They've put up their tent, been swimming in the river,
Gone for a short walk to explore along the river, ridden
Their bikes, played badminton, had sandwiches and fritos for supper,
And are now getting ready to make smores in the fire...but,
We're waiting for it to get going good! ;)
Ill post pics after I get back home because I'm not sure
How to do it from here yet!

30 Day Facebook Challenge-Post #27

{Post 161/365: Original Post: (27/30) FatCatMomma}

Me & A Family Member...

My BABY!! :)

A pic of ME and my angel baby boy Gib :D
This was taken the day we took a hike down the Wilson's Falls Trail...it was a great day but man I was tuckered out at the end of it!! :op

30 Day Facebook Challenge-Post #7

{Post 141/365: Original Post: (7/30) FatCatMomma}

My children are the people who have always had the biggest impact on me 

since the day they were each born:
Marcel Gerry Donovan- July 15, 1989 

(Marcel for his grandfather, Gerry for his father, Donovan for me...

lol well a masculine version of me)

Amberle Sarah-Anne- June 26, 1990 

(Amberle named for a character in my fave Terry Brooks book -The Elfstones of Shannara, Sarah-Anne because I always thought it pretty)
Gibson James Peter- Feb. 6, 2001 

(Gibson for a character in the movie The Sure Thing named Walter Gibson

 because his friends always called him Gib for short-which I thought was cool, 

James for my father, Peter for his father ;) lol)
Life with them has been a mixture of joy and sorrow, fun and drama, 

stress and worry, pride and love.
Children can test the limits of your endurance and also in a single moment 

give you all the meaning and purpose in life that you need!
I love each of them more than they ever will imagine and I am happy, 

honoured and proud to be their mother. :)

I Love them Equally but not the Same

{Post 73/365: Original Post: What I Want MY Children to Know}
http://blogs.babble.com/being-pregnant/2011/03/15/mom-confession-i-think-i-love-my-son-a-little-bit-more/

I have been reading this blog post this afternoon and many of the various responses to it both positive and supportive and negative and judgmental.

I am unsure yet what my judgement is. This post has caused me to think about each of my children and my feelings about them.

I think I understand that this mother is trying to bring to light an issue and feelings that many mothers have had but maybe not expressed verbally or written for centuries. I applaud her honesty. I'm sure it was not an easy thing to admit.

I ache for all the responses to her post coming from children whose parents knowingly and willingly favored their siblings at their expense. It cannot be easy to grow up knowing or even just believing that your mother didn't love you as much as the others.

For the ones who see and recognize that this post is just one woman's voice of lament for the flaws that she recognizes and hopes to improve on. Kudos!

And now, I must weigh in on the tribulations of raising DIFFERENT children and the issues this can and often does create.

I have three children.  Beautiful, independent, capable, brilliant, vibrant, INDIVIDUALS.  Each of them is different and unique in his or her way and yet, EACH of them has similarities and traits bred into them from my blood and genes.

While I love them ALL equally, I DO NOT love them the same. Nor would they want me to! YES, when they were babies I cuddled them, bathed them, fed them, clothed them and did all the things that a mother does but, even then there were differences that became apparent almost from day one.   

My firstborn was sensitive and often very needy.  He got sick when he was a baby with croup and as he was my first I doted on him. So when he got better I was STILL rocking him to sleep every night and cuddling him incessantly.  He could not go to sleep by himself! I had to learn to put him in the bed and let him cry till he learned bedtime was separation from mom.  It didn't hurt him to learn to sleep by himself without rocking and cuddles! Nor did it hurt me.  In fact, I needed that time apart as well! These were things I learned from MY mother.
He was (and still is) momma's boy.  That's ok you know.  You want to raise a boy who respects and loves his momma. 
As he got older he grew stronger and more independent though he still loves it if his mom takes care of him! 

My daughter, however was born little miss independent.   She has always been strong-willed and I see no change in that now. Not only that but, she has always had a good head on her shoulders. She's made her own share of mistakes and learned valuable life lessons but, I have always known her to do the right things because she has an inner voice and moral code.  She and her brother were born 11 1/2 months apart so they were very close in age and went through many of the same things at the same time.  Because she had an older brother ahead of her she walked faster, talked faster and followed his lead.  Except when they got older he was often timid and she had no fear.  In many ways they were opposites.  Everything became a competition with them and to this day is an issue between them.

NOW, they are grown, out on their own, living life, making mistakes, learning from them, working hard, finding their way and making their mother very proud. I don't expect them to be perfect. I certainly am not. We have had our ups and downs, ebbs and flows through the years but, I think that we survived it and I think we can embrace the future with many more ebbs and flows to come.

Third, I lost a baby when I was 4 1/2 months pregnant which is a whole other story but, is relevant to this post because whether I got to keep him with me or not doesn't matter...I LOVE him as much as the other three even without getting to cuddle him and smell him and mother him every day until adulthood.

Last, is my baby.  He has always been a bright, joyful angel baby. He is not a baby anymore either.  He is now 10. HE lives in a different world than his older siblings partly BECAUSE he is the baby and partly because he has a different father.  Some of which is because he has a father in his life DAILY as well.  That masculine figure brings a lot to the table that was lacking in the previous family unit for much of it.  Anybody who has a blended family also knows how hard it is to be a father to children who are not your own.
My husband loves them as they are his own. He has been a good father to them and I think if you ask them both they will agree this is true.  But, that was not without trial and error and troubles along the way.  Also, the truth is that the baby IS his and while he doesn't want to be lacking in any way that he parents the other two this truly does affect this relationship.  There are ways that the baby is different than the other two simply because of his father's DNA.  The parts of him that come from DAD.  In him has been created a different combination because his father is different. 


But, again there are ways in which the three of them are similar, alike, the SAME.  I think it can be fairly safe to say that these things have come from ME. lol

For example, the older two both have curls and the baby has thick, straight hair.  He often wishes for the curls but, didn't get so lucky. Both the boys are gamers. Now, this could be because they are boys but, how can you really know? She likes games too just not as much as they do. One of the things BOTH the boys love doing is sharing their games with mom. When the oldest was younger he and I played games together a lot because we had a Sega system. The younger one would love for me to play with him like that but, he has an Xbox system and I have never been able to figure out how to play with that joystick as well!!  All three of my children have some of the little quirks that make me...well, ME and therefore make them an extension of me. 

I love all FOUR of them equally.  I would give my life for each of them equally.  I will share my food. I will share just about everything with them.  I will always have an open door policy with ALL of them. I will always try to listen, encourage and support each of them. BUT, when they need different things from me I will try to accommodate these needs for each of them and hope that the others know that IF that was what they needed I would give it to them as well.  I admit, there have been times in life when I have fallen short in this area because, I have had my own issues, because I am NOT perfect either, and because I have NOT had all the answers but, I truly hope they know that I have tried and that I do understand that EACH of them is an individual person with individual needs and desires and hopes and plans.  
All you can do is try your best to meet the needs of EACH of them individually.

I LOVE them equally though sometimes not the same. I deal with them individually because while they are similar they are NOT the SAME! ;)

Gibson

{Post 59/365: Original Post: What I Want My Children to Know}
Gibson
In old english means "son of Gilbert"
Beautiful spirit
Sweet soul
Other versions are Gib, Gibby, Giblet
Name is strong and unique.

James
A hebrew name to honour your grandfather
Means he who supplants
Earn a good place
Share a strong spirit

Peter
Each Pedro in spanish, Petrov and Pyotr in russian, Pierre in french, and Pieter in Dutch
The greek Petros meaning "stone"
Easily strong and solid spirit
Respect and recognition to your father, you are his namesake