HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

A big thank you to Jessa from the fabulous blog Holiday Haven for giving this blog an award! It is an honor to be nominated by Jessa, since her own blog is amazing! If you're interested in holiday planning, crafts, decorating, recipes, and love all things beautiful, you HAVE TO check-out Holiday Haven.

Now as part of the blog award, there are some rules to follow:

1) Thank who gave it to you and  post the rules -- Done that!
2) Copy award in your blog -- Done that!
3) List three things you love about yourself:

                          1) I love that I'm a good friend.

                          2) I love that I still feel like I'm a 10 year-old inside.

                          3) I love that I still love to learn, and try new things.

4) Post a picture or quote you love:

I'm actually breaking this rule a bit (and I hope Jessa will not mind)! See today is Mother's Day, and it's a very special one for my family, and I.

For over 16 years my mother, Maura (sounds like Laura), has been battling breast cancer. She is an amazing woman, and I love and admire her so much. Not only do I owe her for giving me life, I owe her for making me the strong, generous, loving person I am today. Everything that I've become, is due to my Mom's strict upbringing, and loving spirit. As I raise my own children, I can see myself becoming more and more like my mother! Of course, that always shocks me because I'm sure I'm not the only one that swore up and down that they will never be like their mother...but nope, I'm proud to say I'm a lot like my mother! My love of animals and all things connected with Mother Earth, comes from my mother. I can't say it enough...she's an amazing woman and mom. So now that she's on stage four cancer, it is so important that we see her and show her how much we love her, and want her to continue to fight for her life!

As a Mother's Day gift, my lovely hubby will be picking-up my Mom in NYC, and bringing her back to Colorado for a visit. We are also renting an RV, and taking "Grandma" on the road trip she's been wanting to make...we are taking her to YELLOW STONE PARK! We are looking forward to hiking, cooking, camping, and staring at stars with my loving Mom!

So back to the award...I've chosen not one, but four, pictures of the last time we were on vacation with my awesome Mom! We all went to the Grand Cayman Island, and we enjoyed every moment we had with her! My kids loved it too...especially the princess, since she got to spend the most one-on-one time with her Grandma roaming the beach! Love you Mom...we can't wait to see you soon!

5) Tag 3-5 people you wish to pass this award to.

Easy!

First up, is MaryLea of Pink and Green Mama! If you are looking for arts-n-crafts to make with your children, MaryLea is the queen! Check her blog out, and be prepared to be amazed!

My second choice is Liz from The Flowering Dogwood! I found her blog while looking for a good chicken recipe. That night I made fresh Teriyaki Chicken...and it was yummy! I love reading her blog, especially when she makes her weekly meal plans to feed her family.

And lastly, but not least, I love reading Kari's blog, The Snail's Trail! As a former teacher, Kari shares with her blog readers ways to teach their preschoolers at home. She also shares lots of technology information on ways to improve your blog. But of course, the best reason I love reading Kari's blog, is that like myself, recognizes the importance of having children out in Nature. She loves to write about her children's Nature explorations. And as a result, I love reading her description of their discovery, and obvious enjoyment.  Kari is an amazing mom, and I hope everyone gets a chance to visit her blog sometime soon!

Well, that's it! I've completed the rules! And again, thanks to Jessa for nominating us!

One more thing: HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL OF YOU PRECIOUS MOMS OUT THERE!

HAVE NO FEAR

I love taking my children outside to play -- that's not a secret. My IMMENSE fear that one of my kids will get injured outside -- is a HUGE secret!

But I think it's time to let go of that fear!

And for clarification purposes, let me outright state that I really only have fear that my little peanut will get injured. My daughter has always been very cautious and careful, and although she's injured herself here and there, she's generally been accident prone-free. Her little brother -- not so much!

Case in point:

I took peanut to a simple outing to one of our local park while his sister was in preschool. It was a cold day in Colorado (since Spring has been a bit shy this year), and snow was still on the ground.

He was also enjoying out door play, with his gal pal (A.K.A princess Mia). He followed her all around the playground having a great time.

Where is my buddy? I can't see him (says Mia).

Oh...there he is she continued. We all turned, and saw little peanut go down the slide! Weeee!

Oh no! Peanut went for another turn down the slide, but this time he decided to slide down on his stomach, and fell flat on his face! I saw when it happened, but I was too slow to stop him coming down. After he fell, he picked himself up and started running towards me. Initially, I thought he was okay, and even took the time to take a picture (the one above). It wasn't until he came closer tha I noticed that he was in total shock and was not able to cry. I took a good look and I started to panic!

OH MY GOD!

He was actually injured! His face was all scraped-up, and I could see that he was bleeding around his nose and close to his right eye.

He finally found his voice and started to cry. And then he started to wail!

After I was able to calm him down. I reached for the first-aid kit in my backpack. And of course, wouldn't you know it -- it wasn't there! Peanut himself took the kit out of my bag a few days before, and I had forgotten to put it back before heading outdoors. So what to do? What to do? I think that for a moment, I actually stopped breathing! 

Determined to cure peanut's wounds, I took a deep breath and proceded to clean him with baby wipes. Once that was done, I realised that some of the scrapes on his nose would not stop bleeding. Left with nothing else on hand to put on his nose, I dabbed diaper rash cream everywhere he was bleeding. I was amazed...IT WORKED! You can clearly see the cream on Peanut's face in the picture above. 

 

Ah. Crisis contained, wounds no longer an issue, let's look at some ducks!

DUCKS!

Beautiful scene! And it calmed both peanut and I.

Duck tracks.

 

Peanut's wounds healed just fine, and as terrible as it looked, he currently does not have any visible scars.

Even though I still suffer small anxiety attacks everytime I take peanut for outdoor fun, I tell myself to have no fear and just make sure to bring the first aid kit!