Some days I struggle to accept our surroundings here in San Antonio. In my defense, we have a home in Pittsburgh that we fell in love with as soon as we saw it....and we're still paying for it. This home welcomed our two little boys into this world and was the place where we became a family of three and now four. I try to focus on the many blessings in our lives but some days are easier than others. Yesterday, however, was not one of those days. It was 80 degrees in San Antonio. It was January 30! We had a beautiful day taking a sunny ride to Boerne, a little town about 40 minutes away. We ate lunch outside and Gio was even able to feed some ducks at the river across the street. Right now, I'm taking the time to remember yesterday and make new memories today.

Here We Go Steelers, Here We Go!

I remember our first winter in Pittsburgh, the Bears went to the Superbowl against the Colts and I made my Blue and Orange cupcakes for work and donned my Orange skirt to the office and no one else really cared. I wasn't quite ready to be a Steelers fan but I knew it would come with time. Come on, our first born was born on a Monday night Steelers game--it was inevitable!!

Today, just a few short years later, my two boys and I wore our Bears apparel, only to be disappointed. NOTE: if we actually HAD Steelers apparel they would wear that, too, but their grandparents do not live in the 'burgh therefore don't buy Steelers jerseys!! Gio did wave his terrible towel before calling it a night! Although I simply respond to Gio's desire to move back to his house in Pittsburgh with an 'I'm sorry, honey'...I would love to be there now to cheer them on!!!!

Gio cannot wait for Max to be old enough to tackle him, but he is pretty tricky and walks up to Max like he will give him a great big bear hug, which undoubtedly turns into a tackle!!

A New Year, A New Day

I cannot believe that we are, for the most part, well into this new year full of so much potential. We began our new year with a trip to the pediatrician for Max who caught his brother's cough but it was a little bit more rough on him. I'm always worried that the RSV he had last year at this time will make him more prone to respiratory infections--and I was right. Poor little guy has Bronchiolitis, the children's form of bronchitis. He was given a nebulizer and we had to give him treatments for four days and the doc. thought he should have improved at that point. Unfortunately, he didn't really improve so we headed back to see the doctor who also prescribed an oral steroid to help his lungs open up. He began to improve but also began to despise the breathing treatments. He would not let me near him with the little mask and it became quite the struggle and stress for us all. As a mom, there is not much worse than seeing your child in pain and it broke my heart to see him struggle to return to better health. We returned to the pediatrician on Friday and the good news is that his lungs sound much better and we can start to do without the treatments but he has a new ear infection. This is his very first ear infection and I'm just so glad we lasted almost 14 months without one of those. Big brother was a little jealous that he wasn't checked by the doctor because cough, cough he didn't feel well either. Well, wouldn't you know, the perfectly healthy boy woke up Saturday with a horrible cough and coughed so much, he made himself sick. Pobrecito Gio. Today as I type, Max is napping and Gio is enjoying his nickjr marathon. He is a good sport and no matter how much I try to put him through a tv detox session, he is quiet, resting, drinking, and recovering from a really crummy night--something we both need. Unfortunately, this crazy month comes for us on the homestead while Bryan's job is equally, if not moreso, crazy. He is putting in long hours, sometimes not seeing the kids at all in a given day, but working hard to support our family and we all appreciate that very, very much. Every day is a new day and we are working very hard to make the most of it, embrace this special time with our beautiful boys. Even if that special time comes as a quiet moment to stop and watch them sleep, every moment is a special one.