Letters For Lucas

Wonders, Mishaps, Blunders and Joy.. commentary on my life as a mom in the form of letters to my son

Sex And The City 2

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While I could have done without the cheese ball karaoke version of Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman” in an Abu Dhabi nightclub, I was there opening day and loved almost every minute of this over the top fun romp. It was great to catch up with my favorite NYC gal pals, not to mention gush over the incredible fashion.

There were a couple (okay, one) of tender moments too, like Miranda and Charlotte bonding over how tough it is to be a mom. Their conversation actually brought a tear to my eye because I could SO identify!

If you are a fan of the series and enjoyed the first movie at all AND can suspend your judgments for two and a half hours and just enjoy it for what it is, go see Sex and the City 2. BUT, before then head over to The Life of a Suburban Princess for an awesome Sex and the City giveaway, a very cool pink tote with famous quotes from the series. Good luck, everyone!

The best is yet to be.

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We Are All In This Together

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In a national survey commissioned by Hallmark, it was revealed that two-thirds of moms say they handle the imperfect moments of motherhood by sharing funny stories with other moms about their experiences, and that 8 in 10 moms turn to each other for candid, empathetic, and unapologetic support and reassurance that “we are all in this together.”

Based on their research, Hallmark has developed an entire line of greeting cards called The Edge of Motherhood: Laughs For Proudly Imperfect Moms and I just spent almost an hour reading every last one and buying several.

All the cards are funny and very relatable, but these two are my favorite:

Inside: Hope you’re feeling perky today.


Inside: There, now… Feel better?

I bet you know someone who could use a little pick-me-up and besides, when was the last time you sent or received a greeting card? Show a fellow mom that you’ve “been there, done that” and know what they’re going through – and the best part, they start at just 99 cents!

The best is yet to be.

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Memorial Day Weekend

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We had a big, furry, delightful house guest for the weekend and no, I’m not talking about Elmo… thank God! Many words come to mind when I think of Elmo and ‘delightful’ isn’t one of them, but that’s another topic for another day.

No, our furry guest was a beautiful Weimaraner named Winston (I Might Secretly Be A Dog Person), my favorite dog on the planet.

Although the two of them have met before, Lucas and Winston are definitely still in the “getting to know you” phase of their relationship, as evidenced by these photos:

Winston wouldn’t hurt a fly and was very tolerant of Lucas’ poking and prodding. It was really fun to watch the two of them together and imagine what our lives might be like with a four-footed friend around permanently.

I spent the weekend calling Winston Lucas and Lucas Winston and it got a little chaotic at times, but Winston is such a joy to dog sit and in almost every way, a hell of a lot easier than a toddler!

Before I sign off, I am very excited to report that my blog has been reviewed on Blog Brew Review, a very cool blog dedicated to reviewing blogs. With so many blogs and so little time, this site is a wonderful time saver! Please check it our when you have the time.

A special thanks to Natalie (Mommy of a Monster (I Mean Toddler) and Infant Twins) for writing such a nice review. 🙂

And last but not least, to all the brave men and women, who serve our country, who have served our country, and those that have given their lives, and to all of their families, God Bless you… and thank you for fighting for our freedom. Happy Memorial Day to everyone!

The best is yet to be.

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The Things We Do For Our Kids

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Warning: For all of you truly “green” living, energy conservationists, please do not read this post! It will only upset you.

I didn’t ask a lot of questions, so I’m not sure how it happened exactly, but somehow before Lucas got in his bath last night, his lovey ended up in it first. Three guesses who was on bath duty…

Luckily, he fell asleep as usual in my arms in the rocking chair while the lovely was in the dryer (on high) for 40 minutes and he even made it to his crib without it, because it wasn’t dry yet.

He stirred and whimpered after a second 40 minute cycle, but didn’t wake up and didn’t seem to miss it, thank goodness!

At almost 9:00, while hubby and I are fading fast, I started to panic and had visions of Lucas waking up in the middle of the night crying because he wouldn’t have his Comfort & Joy. Would you believe that the damn thing had to go through ANOTHER cycle before it was dry enough to place in his arms?! That’s 120 minutes of dry time.

Isn’t it ridiculous what we put ourselves and our poor household appliances through for the sake of our children (and a good night’s sleep)?

The best is yet to be.

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Keeping Busy

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I find the busier I keep Lucas during the day, the better both our dispositions, not to mention, tiring him out usually means more naps!

Climbing the stairs is a good place to start, but doesn’t quite cut it most days, so each week we attend a music class, go for walks along the beach or throughout the small town where we live, visit each of the three different parks in our neighborhood and have Mommy & Me play dates.

I am forever trying to find fun new things for us to do in order to pass the time… especially the bewitching hours of 2:00 – 5:00.

Today we went to the Sea Life Aquarium and Legoland with our friends Jenn and her one year old, Tristan. It was a very fun day.

If you think that there isn’t anything to do for one year olds at Legoland, you are sorely mistaken. Duplo Playtown was made for toddlers with it’s little tot-sized buildings, slides and all the Duplo they can play with.

After a sufficient amount of play, we walked the boys through Miniland U.S.A., which includes reproductions of seven areas of the United States, all constructed with 20 million Legos in 1:20 scale. It truly is amazing and a definite must-see. The Las Vegas strip was my favorite.

The boys had a great time and we will be returning soon.

The best is yet to be.

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Guest Post

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It has been a while since we have had a guest post from your aunt Leah or a nice long visit. Luckily, while your dad was out of town this week on a business trip, she came down for a couple of days and with her, she brought this month’s special message to you:

Lucas!

I haven’t seen you in 39 days and it’s killing me…literally! Okay, maybe not literally, but I’m really not happy with it. Sure absence makes the heart grow fonder, but I already adore you, so the time away from you isn‘t changing anything. I understand though, you and your family have been busy little bees the past month and a half. I mean, geez, you all went to Australia! I hope that you remember me when I see you. I’m not too sure what your memory bank is like at (almost) 12 months old, but it would be sweet if you totally recognized me and got all excited to see me. We’ll see…

Fortunately, your mom invited me to come spend two days with you guys in San Diego this week. I am super thrilled to see you and spend some time with your mom. I don’t mean to sound like the doting aunt but you are getting bigger everyday and learning new things about this world so fast, and like your Grandma Adams would say, you are growing older but I’m staying the same age. Right?! 🙂 I cannot believe that you are going to be 1 year old in ten days! This year has flown by! Never before have those words been truer than about this past year.

This week your mom sent me a picture of you sitting in one of my old wicker baby chairs from Pakistan. I brought it for you several months ago when you were much too small to sit in it. I certainly thought it would be a lot longer before you were able to sit comfortably in it. But look at you now; it’s the perfect size for you! It makes me happy to see you in that, that chair is sort of symbol of your family traveling background. Your mom has a lot of neat things around the house from all over the world and I love that this chair is one of them. It’s also fun that I used to sit in it just like you! My parents would have loved to have seen you in it. They would have gotten the biggest kick out of it!



So while I know that living in LA is far closer to you then when I was living in Phoenix, it just isn‘t close enough. I have seriously been considering the possibility of moving to San Diego in a year or so to be nearer to you guys. I want to be able to drop by for dinner once in awhile or take you for the day while your mom and dad hang out. I just can’t do those things now living an hour and a half away. We’ll see about it, but it’s a definite possibility.



Well, precious nephew, that’s all for this guest post. I love you more everyday.



Love always,

Aunt Leah



Thanks, Leah. I have included the photo I texted to you. I love that you kept that chair and passed it on to Lucas. We have a find a photo of you when you were his age sitting in it.



See you next weekend for the big boy’s birthday celebration. 🙂



The best is yet to be.

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Second Chances

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I am finally doing something that my friend Natalie over at Mommy of a Monster (I Mean Toddler) and Infant Twinshas been encouraging me to do for a while now; enter Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop.

This meme is hosted by Mama’s Losin’ It each week she offers different prompts to chose from and you write about the one you picked, hence tapping into your more creative mommy side. So, here goes nothing!

Prompt #2: If you could do your wedding over again, how would you do it?

I was fortunate enough to have the gift of a wedding re-do and this time with the right groom!

My husband and I have been married for three years this August and like most brides, whenever I think about our wedding day, I feel all warm and happy inside. It was the perfect day.

My second wedding was exactly what I had wanted the first time around: small, intimate and all about the two of us and our love for our closest family and friends.

Since I had been married before and could care less about having another big princess/fairy tale-type shindig with everyone I have ever (or in some cases never) met as guests, we decided to keep it simple, yet elegant.

It was held in our home and we invited 40 guests (27 were in attendance).

You’d think with such a small gathering at home, planning would be a cinch.

Not the case.

All of the typical wedding planning frustrations over menu options, scheduling conflicts, budget constraints and discussions about cake flavors and invitation wording existed, but we had fun planning this amazing party and would both do it again.

We hired our favorite restaurant to cater, help with service, set-up and clean up. We hired a local Spanish guitarist to perform, rented tables, chairs, linens and glassware and asked a friend of a friend to make our cake. Champagne, beer and wine were purchased at Costco and I ordered my dress on Nordstrom.com. I was shocked when it actually fit, which has never happened to me before… EVER! It was the dress I was meant to wear.

One of the sweetest moments was when my sister sang an impromptu solo of “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life” and I love that after the cake was cut, our living room turned into Dance Party U.S.A.!!

Nope, I honestly wouldn’t change a single thing…. Okay, there was the sweaty photographer that we had my mother-in-law ask to leave shortly after dinner was served. To be fair, there just wasn’t enough for him to shoot. We stayed in the same location and he had the same three dozen guests as subjects.

I was pleased with his work and here are three of my favorite moments he captured:



Second changes are pretty rare and I count my lucky stars that I was able to have this one.

The best is yet to be.

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Lovey – Update

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On the day you were born, the first family member you met was your Aunt Leah. When she arrived at the hospital, she brought you Arnold the Snoring Pig.

Arnold makes snoring sounds, talks in his sleep while his ears and body move when you press his hoof.

You can’t quite press his foot yet without help, but you LOVE this pig and think that all of your stuffed animals have a “magic” paw. It’s really cute; you hand us monkeys, giraffes and teddy bears and want us to make them move.
Clearly, no matter how many furry, fuzzy, plush toys you have, your heart still belongs to your lovey.

The best is yet to be.

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Take A Picture, It’ll Last Longer

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They say parents take more photos of their first children than they do of subsequent children. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I have taken roughly 3000 pictures (yes, I counted) of you since you were born. That’s a boat load of photos!

I text one-a-day to your grandparents, dad and two aunts and in order to get a good one (i.e. you looking at the camera and hopefully smiling while doing something super cute), there are at least five others that no one sees but me. Unless they are really awful (i.e. completely out of focus), I can’t bring myself to delete them. Hence the reason there are so many. I’m sure that it also is because you are my first and I’m so completely in awe of you and trying to capture every single adorable moment.

Occasionally, I will print out my favorites and have already filled two photo albums and countless picture frames. You are plastered all over our refrigerator and sent with greeting cards to loved ones who aren’t tech savvy.

What else do I do with them?

I suppose with everything being digital nowadays, they can all live peacefully on my computer and wherever I want to look at them, I can. ***Note To Self: I must remember to do a back up!!***

Even before my little bundle of joy’s arrival, I was a huge photo taker and always the one at events with a camera. I have thousands of them, mostly in zip lock bags, some in albums and a lot in collage frames. I have visions of beautifully organized and labeled photo boxes (yeah, with all my free time, I’ll get right on that!) and a family photo wall, which may be more realistic.

Photos… How do you store, share, display and enjoy yours? Any fun, creative ideas to share (beyond scrap booking, as I just don’t think I have the patience for that)?

Meanwhile, say “Cheese”!

The best is yet to be.

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