Letters For Lucas

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

Old School Blogging: ABC’s

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Old School Blogging is back and this month’s topic is ABC’s. Elaine of The Miss Elaine-ous Life is hosting with Jennifer and if  you’re looking for some blogging inspiration, link up!

A. Attached or Single? 
Very much attached.

B. Best Friend?
I know I’m expected to say my husband and he is the person I am closest to, but I have amazing girlfriends too and my favorites are the ones that lift me up, make me laugh while supporting me in all that I do.

C. Cake or pie?
Cake. I ate six slices at a wedding once.

D. Day of choice?
Monday. I know I’m in the minority on this one, but I like fresh starts and beginnings.

E. Essential Item?
iPhone.

F. Favorite color?
Navy blue.

G. Gummy bears or worms?
Haribo GoldBears and there is a bag in my purse right now.

H. Hometown?
I grew up overseas and don’t really have a “hometown”, but I currently live in Newport Beach, California.

I. Favorite Indulgence?
Working out followed by a chocolate, almond croissant that I don’t have to share with a soul (or vice versa, probably the smarter way to enjoy the latter).

J. January or July?
January for the same reason I love Mondays (see D.). 

K. Kids?
One awesome little boy.

photo

Taken yesterday on my little buddy’s fourth birthday!

L. Life isn’t complete without?
Books, laughter, wine, my son, travel…

M. Marriage date?
August 4, 2007.

189 14-06-50 2

N. Number of brothers/sisters?
One sister.

O. Oranges or Apples.
Both please, but I eat a Granny Smith almost every day.

P. Phobias?
Can’t think of any off hand. I wouldn’t like to be locked in a room with them, but I really don’t mind spiders or snakes.

Q. Quotes?
For as long as I can remember, I have loved and collected quotes. Choosing a favorite is downright impossible, but I have always liked this one very much:

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Click on image for source.

R. Reasons to smile?
My son, of course, a new episode of Man Men, having dinner made for me, the feeling I get after a great workout and a sleeping puppy at my feet.

S. Season of choice?
Summer.

T. Tag 5 People.
How about 4? Coreen, Katie, Natalie, Poppy.

U. Unknown fact about me?

V. Vegetable?
Any but beans. I’m really into Brussel sprouts right now.

W. Worst habit?
Speeding and occasionally texting in the car (it’s illegal in California).

X. Xray or Ultrasound?
Oooh… ultrasounds!

Y. Your favorite food?
Anything but pie.

Z. Zodiac sign?
Cancer. My birthday is this month!

Come play along! Copy and paste the questions here, write your post and link up with Elaine!

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Name That Kindergartner – Update

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Update: The winner of the $300 Amazon gift card is Amy Pike. Second and third place go to Renee and Julie.

Here’s my then and now.

then and now

To see the answers for everyone else, look below.

I remember 5 things about kindergarten:

1. Riding the bus and one terrifying time I didn’t get off at my stop. A police escort may have been involved.

2. Stapling my finger with my teacher, Miss Mills’ red stapler.

3. Naps (glorious naps!) on army cots and the puddles of drool my classmates and I would leave behind.

4. Drawing a picture of my family of four, when there were only three of us. There was a parent/teacher conference and many discussion about lying and my desire to have a little sister.

5. The time I told the lunch monitors that I was allergic to bananas, they made me eat one anyway and I threw up all of her and myself. It also happened to be Picture Day.

I also remember tasting Elmer’s glue (c’mon, you know you did it too!), the smell of Crayola crayons and the squishy delight of finger paint. I loved kindergarten, but man, did I have a dreadful haircut!

A bunch of blogger friends and I have been reminiscing about kindergarten and put together something fun for our readers!

We present to you:

Name-That-Kindergartner-Answers

We hope you’ll play along! It’s very simple – just match the picture (with the assigned alphabet) to the blogger whose blog is listed below.

What’s in it for you? You could win an awesome $300 Amazon gift card!!* You can also get to know some of the bloggers listed here, if you don’t already. Plus, you get to  have a laugh at our expenses. Don’t worry, we did. Now, go forth and play!

Enter your answers on this form.

The 23 participating bloggers, in alphabetical order:

Angela of Angela Amman

Angie of Angie Kinghorn

Deborah of Ask Doctor G

Robin of Farewell Stranger

Poppy of Funny or Snot

Leigh Ann of Genie in a Blog

Greta of Gfunkified

Jennifer of Jennifer P. Williams

Tonya of Letters for Lucas

Kiran of Masala Chica

Laura of Mommy Miracles

Natalie of Mommy of a Monster (and Twins)

Brittany of Mommy Words

Jessica of My Time as Mom

Kimberly of Reflections of Now

Tracy of Sellabit Mum

Elaine of The Miss Elaine-ous Life

Sarah of The Sunday Spill

Galit of These Little Waves

Kristin of Two Cannoli

Arnebya of What Now and Why

Kristin of What She Said

Alison of Writing, Wishing

KinderHeader

*Terms and conditions apply:
You must be 18 years or older to enter. This contest is only open to residents of USA and Canada. This contest is open from March 11 – 15, 2013 (closes at 9:00 pm Eastern). Visit the link above, where you will be able to enter your guess for each blogger pictured. (All information will be kept private.) The person to correctly match all the faces with their blog will win a $300 Amazon gift card. The two other closest guesses will each win one $80 Amazon gift card. If more than one person correctly matches all the faces with their blogs, we will randomly pick a winner via random.org. If no one guesses all the faces correctly, the winner will be the person who made the most correct guesses. This is not a sponsored post. Prizes are paid for out of the participating bloggers’ own pockets. You CAN enter more than once! Winners will be announced week of March 18.

“Name That Kindergartner” was inspired by My Blessed Life‘s “Name That DIY Blogger” contest.

A huge thank you to Laura for designing our game pieces, Robin for making this post a lot easier to compile and Alison for being the awesomeness behind DBA!

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One Word

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I have big plans for this year.

So far, two weeks in and it hasn’t been that wonderful… another negative pregnancy test, more bad news on my parents house and a cold/flu/sinus yuck that won’t go away. There have have some really great things too, but more on that later.

But still, I am expecting a lot from 2013.

I have personal and professional goals that I hope to achieve as well as many things I want for my family.

When I think about everything I hope to accomplish in the year ahead, the remaining 50 weeks, many words come to mind that I believe will help keep me on task and serve as my driving force:

Hope
Patience
Trust
Focus
Gratitude
Relax

All great words in their own way and very relevant to my life right now, but there is only one word that envelopes what I truly want in 2013:

OneWord2013_Peace

This customized One Word button was designed by Melanie of Only A Breath

I want to keep the peace.

I want to make peace.

I want to hold my peace.

I want to be at peace.

In other words, I want to remain hopeful and as patient as I possibly can while trusting the process and myself, focusing on the end result and what truly matters by expressing my gratitude for all the blessings in my life and learning how to relax a little along the way. See what I did there?

Peace.

It’s the perfect word, all encompassing, a constant and quiet reminder every day of this year. It’s what we should all strive for, globally and within our own hearts and minds.

What’s your one word?

Linking up with Nicole of Sisters From Another Mister, Laura of Mommy Miracles, and Melanie of Only A Breath (who will customize your One Word button for you for free, just e-mail her!).

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My Voice

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Ever since Galit and Nicole posed the question, Who Do You Speak For?, it has been on my mind.

I have an amazing life but it has been touched with tragedy and loss. My heartaches are no deeper than yours.

I share my story here and it helps me more than I ever thought it would.

Or could. 

I speak for those who can’t because they are no longer here, those who don’t and those who won’t. I share my story so that I don’t feel so alone in my trials and growth and so that I may help somebody in a similar situation in the process.

I speak for my son in the hope that he will know me better and understand how much he is loved and adored. I write about his childhood and all the amazing (and sometimes trying) moments that bring joy to my life simply because he is here.

Sometimes I worry about revealing too much, but this is my space and these are my thoughts, feelings and memories and I always speak from the heart.

It is the only way I know.

Photobucket

This post is for Galit and Nicole‘s Mother’s Day linky, Who Do You Speak For?. I urge you to share the reasons why you blog and how you use your voice.

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Reflections

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The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows brave by reflection. – Thomas Paine

As I took down our Christmas decorations yesterday, I thought about my year. As always, it was full of ups and downs, sweet memories and milestones, moments I wish could have lasted forever and days that I would never want to relive. All I could think is I hope 2012 has more of the same. Well maybe a few more ups than downs.

One of the many reasons I love having a blog is the chronicling of my life, which in large part revolves around my sweet boy, Lucas. Letters For Lucas is a place where I can share my thoughts and receive an abundance of support, no matter what the subject matter.

My 2011 recap would not be complete without mentioning my weekly series, Letters For You, which I launched in September. I am so proud to host this series and I’m constantly overwhelmed by its warm response.

This year, I attended my first two blog conferences and was finally able to meet many of the women that have meant so much to me in the blogging world and am pleased to now call IRL (in real life) friends.

I enjoyed going back and re-reading my 2011 posts and had a lot of fun choosing these photos and my favorites, all that I feel sum up my year.

Click each photo to find my favorite Letters For Lucas post from that month.

Please enjoy and however you choose to ring in the new year, be blessed.

Linking up with some of my favorite bloggers and their awesome, I-wish-I-had- thought-of-that link ups:

Mommy of a Monster

Happy New Year, everyone!

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A Hundred Hearts

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Lucas is 2 1/2 years old today and they were right. I was warned. Everyone that said it goes by fast. By it, of course, I mean childhood…. mine, yours and especially our children’s.

One minute it was just Todd and I and the next we became a family by bringing home our newborn son. Fast forward in lightening speed time, we began celebrating all of his amazing milestones and he soon turned one and then two and now attends preschool, sleeps in a twin bed, lives on macaroni ‘n cheese and has begun asking us all sorts of inquisitive questions about the world around him.

Right before our eyes Lucas has turned into a little person… a wonderful, thoughtful, strong-willed, energetic little person.

I constantly search for the pause button and desperately try my best to stay present so that I don’t miss a moment of his childhood.

I want to remember these days of sweet innocence and discovery forever.

A hundred hearts would be too few
To carry all my love for you.
– Author Unknown

Linking up with Galit (These Little Waves) and Alison’s (Mama Wants This) Memories Captured.


The photo above was created using picnik.

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Ho Ho Ho!! Time To Link Up Your Santa Photos

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Time to link up your Santa Photos!

Creative Kristi Designs

Click here to enter your link and be sure to visit others.


Natalie of Mommy of a Monster and I are hosting a link up to share your 2011 Santa Photos.

Grab the button from my sidebar and link up a post of you, your child(ren), or your pet sitting on the big guy’s lap.

Click here for prize details!!

Link up begins today and runs through Sunday, December 18. Winners will be selected at random and announced on Monday, December 19.

Yay! We got lucky this year.

We can’t wait to see your photos!

Don’t forget to grab the button from my sidebar and make sure you tweet with the hash tag #santapix.

Good luck, everyone!

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Santa Photos Link Up

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They can go incredibly wrong or incredibly wonderful, but no matter what your experience is, we want to see your child’s photo with Santa!

Creative Kristi Designs
My friend, Natalie of Mommy of a Monster and I are hosting a link up to share your 2011 Santa Photos.

If you don’t celebrate Christmas, any holiday photo will do, as long as it’s festive. Old favorites will be accepted too, as long as they’re funny.

All you have to do is grab the button from my sidebar (coming soon) and link up a post of you, your child(ren), or your pet sitting on the big guy’s lap.

There will be prizes, so stay tuned for more details!!

Link up Monday December 5 – Sunday, December 18. Winners will be selected at random and announced on Monday, December 19. 

We can’t wait to see your photos!

Don’t forget to grab the button from my sidebar and make sure you tweet with the hash tag #santapix.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Here's hoping this year's photo goes A LOT better!

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What I Write About

a mother's guilt annoyances aunt leah birthdays blog books challenges conversations with Lucas DMB exercise family friends grandparents gratitude grief guest post holidays KRA Letters For You list loss love mama kat's writer's workshop memories me time milestones motherhood MSA NaBloPoMo parenthood parenting photos praise pregnancy2 question quotes SAHM school siblings simple joys TBW TDA bio travel update writing

Creative Kristi Designs