My Achilles Heel...

RyGar has discovered my weakness.  My Achilles heel has been exposed.  And I have no doubt, that in some way, MANY times, it will be exploited.  And I could not care less.

It goes something like this, "Amb, I really want to take Kael fishing with me... Just the two of us."

Be strong my melting heart.

Or like this, "Hey Lady, I think I'll take Dax Man to the soccer game.  Will you buy him a jersey?"

Puddles... Forming.

And finally it is Acey's turn... (You know how men are with the little ones that can't walk or hold their own sippy cups... these things take time.  And time elapsed - without me telling it to do so... little rebel.)  "I'm taking Acey to out to the lake with the dog, OK?"  Um, whats a gal gonna say to that?  

Anyway... I can't deny that I nod my head like a Stepford Wife and smile whenever a proposition is made that involves Daddy/Son time.  It makes me happy.  It is the sweetest.  And the littles seem to come back to my arms a tiny bit more manly and independent.  It is the way it should be.

So this weekend, I sent my three big boys off to wilderness to catch fish with Daddy-o on their favorite mountain.  They ATE.IT.UP.  And then they came home to me and reported it all back in great detail all at once with astounding speed and volume.  :)  It was adorable if you were wondering.

Acey was a snotty little mess so he had to stay with Mama but we had ourselves some park time, he had a little nap, I got in a gorgeous run and we both got a whole lot of snuggling.  Again... no complaints.  And when the boys returned, he got right in on the action, working as Daddy-o's tiny master gutter right there in the thick of things.  He smelled divine afterwards.

So, let the plotting begin.  I have heard whisperings of African Safaris, Harley Road Trips, Restoring a Something Something Super Sport and Visiting Every Baseball Diamond across America...

Bring it BoYz... I'll play along. :)

P.S. Don't you want to live here?

Me too - I'm campaigning.  Don't you worry.

Motherhood...

Today is a day that I think of all the saucy, stylish, silly, simply divine women in my life.
And let me be clear... there are many.  

Of course, I was blessed in the family tree department and I have the loveliest of all Mamas and Grand Mamas... but then my web of supporting female roles stretches on out to Mama-In-Law, whom we shall refer to as, "Bonus Mama", Sisters (Outlaws & In), Birth Mama Extraordinaire, Aunts, Cousins, Friends, Neighbors, CoWorkers, Fellow Target Toy Aisle Mamas & Everyone else of the Female variety who lifts me up (and yes, that includes the gals online that teach me the art of the top knot to literally lift my tresses and make me happy)... you are all part of my proverbial village and I love you.  

Thank you... for helping me raise these little men of mine into (fingers crossed) upstanding citizens and for smiling at me with knowing looks when a belch comes from the corner booth at Taco Time and is pursued with a chorus of giggles.  

See what I mean?  This is a big day, people.  

I love this grainy scanned picture... 
My Mama laughing and my Sis & I just months after becoming mamas again...

And on the flip side... this is the day I think of my boys.  My big boy that made me first his Wife and then a Mama.  And my little boys, who just lob me big old Mama Merengue Pies every single day.  I just don't know how to sum it all up without getting completely dopey with emotion, so I will cut this short by saying, I just HIGHLY recommend motherhood.  It begs of nearly all you have to do it... but the little, spontaneous, out-of-left-field, beyond the Universe rewarding returns are more magnificent than you ever imagined they could be.  Especially for those of us that rarely ever know what we're doing.

So, Mama Mias, Fem Crushes, Lady Loves, Great Gals of the Galaxy...

Happy Mother's Day!

From One of Your Biggest Fans...
And her little club of boys.

XOXO.

3 Ain't the Charm...

So, Three.

It's been proven that three is the worst age for picture taking with the Gardner Boyz.

Despite their advance language skills and my supreme negotiating tactics, all hell breaks loose in the portrait studio and it all seems to hit the fan.

You pickin' up what I'm puttin' down?

Luckily, for both Kael and Dax, the crew pulls out every single moving apparatus they have crammed into their bag o' tricks.  Do note the presence of wheeled props in most of these pics. 

At least they know what they like?

And this little man, Dax... he is a wise, opinionated toddler.  He would smile briefly then duck his head and bat his lashes and ask sweetly for the Firetruck feigning paralyzing shyness like an old pro. 

Or he would cling to me as if his life depended on it until the photographer offered him a Smartie at which point he dropped it like it was hot and nonchalantly went to collect his goodies.

Little turd.

Good thing I am crazy about him.

And that sweet little tongue and his adorable chipped tooth.

My conniving little three-year-old, showin' his mad skillz... and makin' his mama nuts-o.  

And lookin' adorable despite his teenage-like determination to NOT cooperate.

I told RyGar this is a foreshadowing of things to come this year.  And he said, "Duh."

Well, if those aren't the words of a consummate optimist?  :)

But really... three, right?  It is the best of times... and the worst of times...

And we're gonna love the ride with you Daximus!

XOXO, Handsome Little Devil!

Let There Be Bubbles...

Last week looked a little bit like spring.

And I say, let them have spring, and blow bubbles too.

Presenting, one of Dax Man's birthday gifts, the ultimate bubble container, Fubbles.

Do note the "No Spills" claim was totally proved inaccurate thanks to my thorough testing group.

But despite the spills, two outta three of 'em considered it a total hit...

Take a look at this concentration!

Pays off too - Big Man can totally blow bubbles all on his own after several years of trying and not succeeding.  It's a big moment around here... our first independent bubble blower.

Applaud will you?  Thanks.

As you can see, Dax Man is still in training.

I swear to you, he ingested far more bubble juice than the number of bubbles that were actually created.

Why does he think his little lips must make contact with the bubble wand?

I shall never know.

Sometimes, when you can't quite figure out how to make the bubble magic happen, you just swipe the goods and say, "ALOHA" to the whole scene.

And you peel out on the neighbor's Harley...

At least, that's what Acey does.

He's bad to the bone like that.

And so is spring.

 'Bout time, my friend...  :)

Girl Talk...

It's high time I talked about a few things on my mind that are not, ok, are barely, kid related.  You know, like this is mostly a post for us gals, because sometimes, you just need to remember that you are a pretty rad person all on your own... without toting around tiny people who are screaming at you because you didn't give them the pink candy (aka Childrens Pepto Bismol) from the depths of your purse... something they discovered as they threw out EVERYTHING from your bag including, tampons and lip gloss as they pilfered through your belongings like robbers trying to ransack through your house.  All this as I debated whether or not to purchase the cutest damn maxi dress you've ever seen -- or not to, because it was from the maternity section of Target?  Before we go further (and do remember that this is a post that is going to be light on kid content... I am NOT pregnant (you did take note of the tampon comment, right?)... but may I present to you my latest discovery in the world of fashion... MORE MATERIAL utilized in prego maxi dresses - hence more length.  For us tall gals - this is Christopher Columbus stuff.)  And in closure to this utterly & delightfully random paragraph... How many parentheses are allowed in the mother of all run-on thoughts?  Pretty sure I just broke that rule all to smithereens.

Any whootie...

It should be noted that I wore white pants to the movie theatre on Friday night to the opening night of Iron Man 3 and not one little foot print left it's mark on my upper thighs.  White pants are the official pant of date night.  And, Iron Man 3?  You must see it and I'm not even a Superhero movie kinda gal.  Perhaps it was "SOOO Good" because I was sitting next to RyGar (whose cologne is edible these days) and we were sharing a tub of popcorn the size of a five-gallon bucket, but really, I just think it was good.  And Robert Downy?  Swoon.  no lie - I laughed out loud several times.  And, speaking of LOL - with the sheer volume of those I am receiving lately via text messages, you would presume I lived in a constant state of hilarity, no?

Also on the docket for evening gal talk... I purchased two girlie little things at my local Walgreens that are worth sharing...

1.  Essie nail polish in Peach Daiquiri which now resides happily on my toes - smiling up at me through all my sandals every day with its neon, pink, peachiness...

AND

2.  Illuminating Primer, which lies gracefully under my BB Cream to hide these crazy adult woman hormone pimples I have popping up on my chin these days.  What is that about?  And when will it end?  And to illuminate those dark circles under my eyes in an attempt to camouflage since just last night I was up in the middle of the night with the biggest little man steaming the croup right out of his system in the bathroom and then again in the wee hours of morning with an ornery teething littlest little.  Cue the ending of kid talk, now.  But note that last night Dax Man was my favorite child.  :)

Also, it is worth mentioning that I am a lukewarm runner at best.  And yet, like a crazy running addict I signed up for three races this summer.  And one of them?  Yep, one of them is the Ragnar in late June.  I almost want to die just thinking about it because my cousin and his wife are RUNNERS.  Hard-core, killer runners that are signing up for every single race in the tri-state area this summer including marathons and I just thought in my blissful 5k state that I would be able to run at par with them?  I'm delusional.  Good thing they are nice and funny and nice... oh, and fast to make up for some sorry legs that will be run by yours truly.  And good thing some folks who occasionally read this little blog are actual runners and can leave me their best tips and tricks.  Thanks in advance... oh, and pray for me?  :)

And finally, let it be known that the eighties will really never die.  I did indeed jump aboard the neon skinny jean fad to the tune of $10.  Which caught me off guard because it really was an even ten dollars, not $9.99 as usual... way to shake things up JCP!  And I used to have pink neon-ish acid-washed wranglers in elementary school in the eighties to go with my boots because I was a cute little cowgirl living the Rodeo Queen dream in hickville... and just typing that sentence makes me smile like a goon down here at the computer all to myself.   

And that is a wrap for Monday evening random thoughts... from one spandex clad mama who is off to hit the pavement to her girlie jam.  This Girl is On Fire.... Anyone?  Come on, you know you love it.

:)

Super Star...

Kaelster was the Super Star last week in Preschool.  He was stoked!  He got to make a big poster board full of pictures of him doing all his favorite things.  He got to choose the story during reading time.  He even got to take a favorite toy to show the class.  And the preparation for his "Super Star Week" led to total understanding of the fact that he was going to be a big deal at Ms. Cindy's... and Big Man is just fine with being a big deal.  :) 

On the big day, Kael chose to wear his Lightning "Da Queen" shirt, his camo deer hunting pants, his Fireman Rain boots and "gel wike Daddy does" in his hair.  Then, after much hmmming and hawing, he decided which toy he would take to show his class.  Brace yourselves... Big K went with his coveted "Tootie Toy" from Grandma Gail.  Yes, she is the one that bought my little three-year-old a tub of "Flarp" which made him bust a gut for days on end as he walked around massaging it and making fart sounds non-stop.  Wow.  A million thanks, Mom. :)

Good thing Ms. Cindy knows just what to do with a toy of that nature... she and the kids laughed and giggled for a good few minutes then they put it up high so it wouldn't get lost.  This isn't Ms. Cindy's first rodeo.  She is the one and only teacher that could treat Mister K like King for a day and crown him with those stellar sunnies to commemorate his special week.

Little Horsepower... you're a Super Star every day around here!
You rock our socks off & we love you so much!

Three Years Ago...

I can't believe it was three years ago, on May Day, that we met this delicious dark headed baby boy.  

He was perfection with rock star hair and pink extremities.  And he had the the most alert senses I have ever seen a little babe demonstrate.  I swear to you - this one came out noticing... contemplating... soaking it all in... and taking notes.  

And now, our thoughtful, blond baller is three years old, still sporting some rad hair and flaunting the most adorable little profile a kid could be blessed with.

Dax is obsessed with yellow cars, tractors, motorcycles and anything with wheels that moves.  As well as water, dirt, mud and techno toys.  Quite eclectic, isn't he?

He's a thoughtful soul with advanced coordination which equates to... trouble -- sweet trouble -- in the form of an adorable three-year-old.  Well, that and the fact that he was born with an accomplice and Partner in Crime, whom he adores and vice versa... little buddies couldn't be more Yin and Yang and perfect for one another.



Where one is more reserved, the other shows him it ain't no thang and when one is losing his cool, the other will soothe him with a little, "It's OK, Buddy."  Melts my entire being into a puddle of sappy goop.

And then there are the times they act like double the trouble twins of their own variety, and that? Not so much melted goop then... more like smoke coming out my ears and eyes rolling back into my head as I plead for patience and mercy.  :)
But back to our Birthday Boy...

Daximus is totally relaxed and easy to get along with, and he has always been incredibly social.  But (and this is a big but) when that boy makes a stance - he does NOT back down.  He gets that stubborn streak from his Dad because his Mama is always amenable.  :)

And, oh, he will negotiate his way through life like a seasoned broker.  

Don't let that innocent face fool you - he is all game, all the time and his well-thought out compromises leave you with little room for argument.

Dax Man - We la-la-love You All the Way...

Always Have - Always Will.

Can't wait to see what THREE brings for you!