What I am Thankful for .....

Need I say more?!?!?

(I love you, my Elmer's! ;) )

Dear Elmer Kai,

I can't believe you have only been in my life for two years now and already you have made me change in ways that would have otherwise taken a life time. Before I had you I couldn't even comprehend just how much my heart could love and now that you are here I can't believe how much that love grows everyday, it seems as if my heart would burst but somehow it just keeps growing. It is so strange to me how someone soo small and soo helpless has changed my life so much. Sleepless nights and almost killing myself tripping over toys isn't what I am talking about either. From the moment they put you in my arms you fell right into my heart and there you have stayed pulling on those heart strings with every laugh, smile, and cry. Mommy LOVES you Elmer Kai, even when I say "No, no" and you cry, I still love you. You are such a special boy with so much to offer this world, I know that God loves me because he gave me you!!! Happy 2nd Birthday my 'tinky poo!!!

ps. His birthday was two days ago, pics to come! The above pic is from visiting Gma house in UT! ;)

The real Elmer Sandwich

I remember the first time I met Elmer I made him show me his ID. I honestly thought he was yanking my chain telling me his real name was Elmer. I had never met an Elmer before and all I could think is who would name their kid ELMER!?!?! :) Little did I know that this handsome guy with a silly name would not only steal my heart but make me fall in love with his name. I am blessed to have three Elmer's in my life and I can honestly say that when I found out Elmer Kai was a boy there was no competition for the name of my baby. I think it suits all three of them perfectly.

The Picture is of my father in law Elmer, my Elmer and of course Elmer Kai at Elmer's brother's wedding. Things tend to get a little confusing when we go to Grandpa's house!

The grass is always greener on the other side...

Lately I have been walking around like this, pants falling to my ankles every time I take a step! Wearing a belt is no solution either, putting one on creates a HUGE MANLY BULGE, and I know you know what I mean...not pretty! My whole life I have struggled with weight, if I would have known that all I needed was a toddler I would have done this whole "mom" thing along time ago. Last night after Kai went to bed I decided to dig THEM out, my skinny jeans.... you know the pair of jeans that you keep, they don't fit you but you keep them because they are where you want to be size wise... you know, those skinny jeans! Well as I was saying, last night I dug them out just to see. I can't tell you how long I have had these things and how many times I would try them on only to have them stop at the knee. Much to my surprise they slipped on easily, I was even able to button them all the way up! What I found to be an even bigger surprise was the pure UNsatisfaction that I felt. There I was standing in my SkInNy JeAnS and all I wanted was a BIG, fat belly with a baby inside....and I still do. Who knows, maybe if I wear my skinny jeans more I just might get that baby...Elmer did say I LOokeD GoOd!

Can you GuEsS what song we have been singing around here lately... nOn StOp? I'll give you one cLuE....

Small talk...

Elmer and I aren't big talkers. When Kai was first born, Elmer was in Hawaii and I was still in Washington ; it was like pulling teeth to get him to talk to me for more than 15 minutes. It isn't a bad thing, we just don't find the need to fill every minute together with words. Sometimes it is nice to just be tOgThEr, but who wants to sit silently on the phone for hours? Not me and certainly not Elmer! Long distance relationships are hard like that and if I had to do it again I don't think I could. I nEed ThIs mAn! That is why I love our sMalL tAlk, when we are jUst BeInG tOgTheR, doing nothing at all:

Me: "I love you baby!"

Elmer: "I love you more!"

Me: "No, I love you more!!!"

Elmer: "NO, I LOVE YOU MORE!!!"

Me: "Okay, you can love me more but I loved you first..."

... And you know what?!?! Every day when I wake up I love him mOrE!!!!

What Storm???

So that big storm we were supposed to have only produced a small puddle outside my house. I went to go take a picture of it and it had already dried up because of the hEaT we are now enduring! Yeah it is hOt alright and that is why Kai now hangs out like this......

Today we are busy as bees getting ready for the storm.

Felicia is headed our way!

Wish us luck!!!

A lovely shade of blue...

This is the smirk he gives me everytime he is naughty!

And this is the face he gives us when we say "NO"!

This face is to let us know he doesn't like being told no.

And this is the face he makes to let us know he is sorry... sorry he got caught!!! Little stinker! Not even Daddy wanted a kiss from this mouth!

My Thoughtful Husband...

This last year during Christmas time money was tight, so Elmer and I decided that we would only be doing presents for Kai. Sometimes to poke fun at our own situation I would ask what Elmer wanted Santa to bring him, and he would ask the same to me. " A dishwasher!!!" I would always say with googly eyes. I went to bed on Christmas Eve with my cupboards empty. Every dish in my house was dirty, but I was too tired to care, way too tired! I guess I was naughty this year because Santa didn't deliver my dishwasher , instead I woke up to something much better. All the dishes that had once crowed the kitchen sink were sparkling clean and put away neatly back into the cupboards. My dear husband had given me my dishwasher, and even though it wasn't the real big metal machine it is a gift that I will remember always . Now I can't help but get googly eyes when I see my "dishwasher" at work ;) ! Thanks for being so thoughtful I love you baby!!!

An Amazing Woman

The world lost an amazing woman today. I will miss you Aunt Linda but I will remember you ALWAYS! I hope that I can be even just half the woman you were. Until we meet again love you lots Linda Lou!

See Kai Learn

Is it just me or does anyone else think that pre-school is waaaay too expensive? I do so I am doing something about it. Coming soon.... a blog for Mom's with preschoolers showing the how to do preschool at home. There will be daily lessons (or weekly, we will see how I do!) with fun activities and songs and great pointers for parents! I plan on calling it See Kai Learn! So what do you think? Good idea or bad idea? I have found many great resources and one of them is a retired Montisorri prschool teacher who is going to share EVERYTHING she knows about being a preschool teacher. We are with our children all day long... wouldn't it be nice if for just a bit you and your child were ingaged in intersting, STIMULATING, educational FUN TOGETHER!?!? I really want to make this useful so if you have any, ANY books or web sites or anything about preshool please let me know! Really, what do you think?!?!?

Garth's lyrics... My Love Note!

(Pic from honeymoon, I don't think either of us had ever been tireder or happier!)

Dear Elmer Baby,

When the rain is blowing in your face, and the whole world is on your case; I would offer you a wArM eMbRaCe to make you feel my lOvE! When the evening shadows and the stars appear, and there is no one to dry your tears I cOuLd hOlD yOu foR a MilLiOn YeArS, to make you feel my lOvE! I know you haven't made your mind up yet, but I would never do you wrong. I've known it from the mOMenT that we met, nO dOubt in my mind where yOu BeLOnG! I'd go hungry, I'd go blind for you ;I'd go crawling down the aisle for you! There ain't nothing that I wouldn't do to make you feel my LoVe! The storms are raging on a rolling sea Down the highway of regret. The winds of change are blowing wild and free But you ain't seen nothing like me yet! There ain't nothing that I wouldn't do: Go to the enDs Of tHe eArTH for you, make you hApPY, make your DrEAmS cOmE tRuE , to make you feel my lOvE! I love you Elmer Baby! Thank you for loving me!

(yes this is a Garth Brooks song, but shh! don't tell Elmer! ;-) )

Details.....

ireally want a Some of you may have been wondering why I have been holding out on my WeDdInG DeTaiLs but that is because I have been so busy getting mArRiEd and BeInG iN LoVe to fill you all in. YES! That is right I said mArrIed!! I can now FINALLY say that I have never been HaPpIeR iN AlL mY LiFe and I owe it all to lOvE oF mY LiFe!! I am still waiting on my professional pictures to come back so I can sHoW you all the details, there really isn't much ( I did it all with less than $450 including the ring! YAY US! ) but until then I will give you a taste: A BeAcH in HawAiI, sUnSeT, WhItE dReSs and wHiTe LeIs; nothing else but a few close friends, some family and oUr lOvE to bRigHteN the grey cloudy sky!!! Yes everyone I was jUst MaUieD and am now MrS. eLMeR M. bArRiEnToS!!!

HeRe'S tO uS!!!

And then.... IT DID!

Sometimes I forget just how goOD mY LiFe iS. Bills and laundry, housework and endless trips to the super-market can make me forget just how bLesSEd I am; BUT then there are those times when kAi and eLmER and i are all tOgEtHeR doing nothing much but just enjoying each other. Last night was one of those days. As I sat HApPiLy watching Kai and Elmer PLaY, I thought to myself "Could life get any better?"; And then.... It did! We're getting mARriED!!!!

Brrr....

I remember the first time I came to HaWaIi. It was winter of last year. The weather was FrEeZinG on the mainland and a week in wArM weather was VERY appeal ling... until I got here and couldn't even breath it was so HoT!! Too hot to breathe meant that cUdDliNg was way out of the question. LuCkIlY for me this winter has been unusually cold; CoLd eNoUgH tO cUdDLe! The only bad part about the cold is at night Elmer's toes are IcEcIcLeS. When I crawled into bed the other night I was greeted by those cHiLlY tOeS sliding underneath my nice wArM leg. The SHIVERS it sent down my spine were quickly replaced by wArM fUzZiEs all over as Elmer's arm pulled me toward him for my most favorite thing in the wHoLe WiDE wOrLd; a GoOd oL' cUdDLe!!!! I lOvE yOu Elmer M Barrientos!!! Be grateful for the cold all you who live in it, the only SnOw mAn that Kai and I made this year was out of sAnD!!!

Kai LOVES bOoKs!!!

I have been putting off hOuSe WoRk for awhile now and last night it finally GoT tO mE, the house HAD to be cLeAnEd !!I was finding all of the usual mIspLAcEd things until I got to mR. eLmEr KaI's room. Tucked away in his favorite corner was a bOoK.... A HALF EATEN BOOK!!! No wonder the kid won't eAt HiS dInNeR!!! (The book is six pages and he ate through the corner of ALL of them!)

CoOkIe mOnStEr!!!

Being the sWeeT tOOth that I am I tried really hard not to give Kai any cookies or candy, only HeaLtHy fOoD, and I did a good job, until...GrAnDmA came to town and all my efforts went right out the window! The vErY fIrSt thing she did when we got home from the airport was give Kai a OrEo cOoKie. Kai was a little weary at first but after the first taste he was iN lOvE!!! Grandma had stolen Kai's heart with an oReO! That wasn't the only thing she stole that day... my hEaLtHy EaTeR has been replaced by a cOoKiE mOnStEr!!! Oh well, isn't that why we all loved our grandma's!?!

I am back in AcTiON and ready to bLOg. Life is a lot more FUN with the wEb. ThANkS everyone for letting me know I was mIsSeD!!! YoU aLl were missed too!!! Now I just need to figure out wHeRe to BeGiN!?!