Happy Birthday Z-Bot!

  Yesterday was my first cousin Zach's birthday. He and I were best buddies growing up and sometimes sibling- like adversaries! Our childhood years were spent playing and fighting nonstop for HOURS at Nannies house. We were most often X-men characters...him = Beast (kinda by force, sorry Z) and me..Psylocke. If he ever got an edge on me in our imaginary world I was QUICK to pull out my good ol "imaginary powers." I have countless fond memories of  growing up together. I hope he feels the same ..minus the elves I told him resided in his underwear drawer at night..aaand I hope he can also look over the fact I convinced him our grandparents were ALIENS for a few months. I love you Beast. Wishing you MANY more Happy Birthdays and a crazy family to enjoy them with! 
                                               THEN

                                                  Now :)

                                 Wild man!

Yes to Carpe Diem!

   Be forewarned this is a very opinionated post. If you were in whole hearted agreement with the "Don't Carpe Diem" parenting article you will probably NOT like this rebuttal. Ok disclaimer over. :) 
   The following article begin popping up all over the internet.. "Don't Carpe Diem". Several facebook mommy friends kept going on about how great and wonderful it was. The first time I pulled it up I didn't read it. It was a little lengthy and I had a toddler making war paint on his face with his Mcdonalds honey mustard nugget sauce. I managed to find the time a little later in the day. Within the first few paragraphs I honestly thought I was going to love the read. It seemed like it was geared towards well meaning individuals who love to give unsolicited advice...which I despise. Older woman always look at me like I have sooo much to learn based on an outward appearance ,very few people pick up on the fact that I'm an "old soul" until they get to know me. I was more than ready to side with the writer. WAS... until I kept reading. I kept waiting on the "ah ha" or "YES! Thats me!" moment but it never happened. NONE of the article resonated with me. It left me feeling pretty empty. I read it again..and then once more. I found myself getting more annoyed every time I read it. I had to sleep on it to find what really agitated me the most. So here goes....

     I have always loved the simple quote Carpe Diem..."seize the day" I have never consciously made more of an effort to seize the day and steal more life out of every breath then I did the day I became a mother. It is quite honestly the very BEST thing in the world. Simple but true. I've NEVER once in my time as a mother ever felt like I needed a break from my children. Not Ever. My children aren't perfect..nor am I ...not by a long shot. But I honestly find myself thanking God even when my child manages to throw himself to the floor in the midst of a tantrum even in public. No I'm not kidding. He shares my passion for life. Maybe its because of my psychology background and the understanding of the different emotional phases he'll go through in his toddler years. Or maybe its the fact that I see parenting my children as not a "tough job" but an honor.  I've literally uttered "Thank you God ...he's so ALIVE, passionate and healthy" in not so pleasant fits at a store. Thats not to say I don't parent him. I'm very big on discipline but I never do it with a "woe is me" frame of mind. I'm GRATEFUL for EVERY SINGLE MOMENT. I'm much more inclined to get aggravated with know- it- all nosy adults that try to recommend appropriate disciplinary actions for someone elses child than I am a person that manages to look over lovingly at me while I parent my children in the midst of a difficult situation and say "oh how I miss those days and you will to" Maybe that's because I know its TRUE and that person also loved being a parent the way I do. I just can't help but feel like mothers should try to be a little more insightful. Not one of us nor our children are promised another day. I'm not trying to sound grim but its a fact of life. Ask a mother who has recently lost a child or the mother of a child with disabilities how much they would love to have a child throw a tantrum or be well. We don't have any choice but to live in the moment..it may be all we have. It's naive and pompous to brush things off like they won't or can't happen to any one of us at any given time.

  I don't understand how the effort at being "real" is so praised in this article. That along with the analogies I find the most unsettling so I'll give a few of my own.  Here is the writers idea of being "real" and helping moms feel less isolated in their parenting.

 
"It's helluva hard, isn't it? You're a good mom, I can tell. And I like your kids, especially that one peeing in the corner. She's my favorite. Carry on, warrior. Six hours till bedtime." And hopefully, every once in a while, I'll add -- "Let me pick up that grocery bill for ya, sister. Go put those kids in the van and pull on up -- I'll have them bring your groceries out."
  

How do I hate this..let me count the ways.....Here's my idea of being real. There have been nights where my little guy has been so out of control that Chris and I have had to look at each other and laugh followed by a "wow he's kicking our asses" lol The writer also goes on to say that her favorite part of the day is at the end of the day when are kids are in the bed and she and her husband tell each other "job well done " or just "job done"....Again, really? Your favorite part of the day is when your children are sleeping?!?

 I just think my generation is so spoiled and selfish with their "me me me " time. A child never needs a break from it's parent ...why do you need a break from your child?? I'm really not trying to make this sound like an elitist, judgmental post but it's a very emotionally charged subject for me. I'm just disgusted with articles that are geared towards helping women survive motherhood and their OWN children. To me the love between a mother and child is the closest thing we have on this earth to understanding God's unconditional love. I can't imagine God complaining about "oh these humans ..phew their A LOT of work" Thats because his love is so great. I'm so humbled and grateful that I was given the opportunity to be a mother that I can't bear the thought of complaining about how "hard" it is. I won't even go into the Mt Everest and job analogies the writer references. Umm raising a human being is a little different than climbing a mountain and IF you feel that the role even remotely resembles a treacherous climb up a steep set of never ending hard rocks then thats a shame. Furthermore even comparing this amazing journey to a career 9-5 is a joke. 

  The ONE thing that I will NOT miss about my children being young is the times when they are sick or not well. I can deal with a tantrum, a ruined dinner, and other toddler challenges but I can't make a sick child well again. AND those moments are when they have the LEAST amount of life. Thats the hard part for me. I truly believe that these are the BEST years of a woman's life..seriously even the hard parts are blissful..you don't have to agree. And if you happen not to share this belief system that's perfectly fine to. I'm aware that the article received rave reviews by many and I'm probably in the minority.  I'm still sharing my heart and because this blog is for my kids I want them to understand my take on parenting them.  So to the elderly woman in the line at the grocery store who days of parenting little people is long gone I don't mind you looking at me or my children with yearning, re mincing eyes...and I don't mind you telling me to seize the day...but what you may not know is that I've probably already done it today...at least ten times before lunch :) I'm not perfect but I hope my children will always see me as cut out for this job honor. 

 I love you Thomas Kal-el Borquez & Christopher Logan Borquez....it is my pleasure to be your Mommy. 
 

Wordless Wednesday- Hats! :)

Logan is 7 Months Old!

  Our sweetheart Logan turned 7 months old today. Unreal. He is now closer to being a toddler and leaving his newborn and infant stage behind. His personality is still non stop sweetness and he still looks like a baby doll. He and his big brother have been sick little boys this month. Logan had to endure the dreaded RSV, along with a double ear infection, teething, followed by another secondary upper respiratory infection a few days later. He literally smiled through ALL of it. I told a family member that's its almost scary ...I'm VERY in tuned to my children especially when they aren't well but Logan is very hard to read when something is wrong. Had it not been for a slight runny nose and cough I probably would of never thought anything of it. He was nothing short of happy through it all. I always comment on what a precious easy going personality he has but I'm also seeing how tough this baby boy is!
 We are working on sitting up this month. He has had the strength for quite awhile now but I decided to work on balance a little more with him. He sits up but he feels like he has to be leaning all the over(think tummy touching his feet) to maintain balance. When he gets tired of sitting that way he whimpers and cuts his eyes back at me as if to say "Would you please get me Mommy, I'm about to spill!" :) When he's put in the pack and play he's pretty much on all fours so I feel like crawling is definitely around the corner for him! My favorite thing that he does right now is without a doubt the way he stares at one of us ...mostly his big brother...he literally locks eyes until one of us looks back at him. He then laughs hysterically, chuckles  to himself and starts "talking" and cooing non stop. He LOVES to interact with us now. He is a very special member of our little family and very much loved. Happy 7 months baby Logan. We <3 you!

Logan's First Tooth!

 It's all the way through now..a sweet, little, white sparkling baby tooth. Cuteness factor = 12 out of 10 :)  Honestly, I hardly even knew Logan was teething. Which is unusual in itself but add recovering from RSV AND an upper respiratory infection to that list and you'll see why he is BEYOND precious! He's been all smiles this entire week. He's tough and sweet...stay away little girls ;) Annnnd introducing what appears to be a central incisor...welcome to Logan's mouth! :D

                        He seems as a excited as I was :) Happy teething!

Kal-el & Logan at 6 Months

  I've been trying to get pictures organized this week. I have so many that it's unreal. I don't print most of them because they go in my blog blog books and I have almost every picture we have ever taken and stories to go along with them. The only pictures that I have prints of are the ones we've had done professionally because I keep a portfolio for both Kal-el and Logan but even those are starting to add up. I ran across Kal-el's 6 month shoot today and I thought I'd share it. I've been meaning to do comparison pictures by age anyway. I just think its so much fun to look at the differences and similarities between siblings. I rejoice about the traits that make each of my sweet little guys' unique and different. We didn't do pro pics for Logan's 6 months because honestly I prefer 9 months and the one year shoots. I'm also really looking forward to an upcoming Valentine's Day shoot with HMP studios with both my little heart breakers! <3 Here are both boys at 6 months!

                             Kal-el at 6 months <3

                             Logan currently at 6 months <3

Wordless Wednesday- Cuddle Babies..Super declines photo Op ;)