The new, the old, the hand-me-down!

We all need new every now and then. And, in some instances, new provides us with excitement, growth, and understanding. Just this weekend, my girls had a lesson in new!

Giulietta apparently has grown. I say apparently, because it's obvious she is taller, obvious she has outgrown clothes, and obvious that her brain is overflowing with knowledge like no other 4 year old. But, it wasn't obvious that her old, faded, princess bike we bought her when she was two was too small for her. And, this fact recently became apparent to me when I brought the girls to a play date with some friends at a nearby park. Giulietta shows up with her old, faded, two sizes too small for her  princess bike with flat tires, while her friend has this shiny brand new BIG princess bike with baby carriage! Giulietta didn't seem to care, she peddled to her hearts content, and didn't even bother with the fact that what she had was any different then her friends, or so wrong for her! She smiled, she played, she acted like a kid should. And, she made me proud for not concerning herself with what she didn't have!

But...with the Bike-A-Thon a few weeks away, we figured it was time for her to have the new! It was time for her to pass the small bike along to her sister (whose legs are probably two years two short at this point)! Excitement overflowed our girls faces, and there was true spirit in the air as we took an evening stroll around our neighborhood this past weekend with Giulietta on her NEW bike, and Presley on her hand-me-down Trike! 

No Words

There are NO WORDS that can express how much LOVE I have for these two girls! 

They are my world, my everything, the true product of what I will leave behind one day! 

They truly are beautiful inside & out, and I'm so proud to call them MINE! 

Who needs a Card?

Valentine's Day is a holiday I truly embrace! I feel like my heart grows 20 times larger on Valentine's Day, and it smiles with every step I take. Maybe it's because we always celebrated Valentine's Day in my home as a child, because it was the day my parents said "I Do!" Or maybe, I'm just a hopeless romantic who reveals in chick flicks and cheesy love novels! Whatever it may be, Valentine's Day is really one of my favorite holidays!

Flowers, dinner reservations, big cards with sweet words, and meaningful gifts were always a necessity and expected! I turned the hubster into the ultimate consumer that marketing companies target on this over priced holiday. And...he has always come through, he has never let me down, or made me feel less special then the next girl. But, this year I changed the rules to the game!

I no longer looked at Valentine's Day as a day to be loved more then any other day, as a day to be impressed by the materialistic items that society says the hubster should gift to me! Instead, it was a day to make my girls feel extra special, a day to show them how to share their love like no other! And...that's exactly what I did, exactly what we did!


I have to tell you that as I tucked my ladies into bed and watched them slowly drift to sleep on Valentine's Day, no card in the world could have given me the unconditional LOVE that I felt at that very moment! The best gift the hubster and I have ever given to each other are our two beautiful daughters and soon to be son!

Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day, just like us Morad Four did!

xoxo




Heart shaped Pancakes for breakfast!



Heart Shaped Valentine Cupcakes for the classroom parties!



Family Lunch with Daddy-O!



Valentine's Day Present from Cupid himself!



The Valentine's Day Loot from School!

Our Valentine's Day Cards

This year we had two groups of Valentine's to make! So, like any sane Momma would do, I made them both the same...well sort of! And, of course, knowing me, they couldn't be the store bought kind where you easily slip the candy or sticker into then, and then write your name on the card! They had to be unique, just like my ladybugs!





To make these lovely Valentine's all you need to do is take a picture of your kidlet with their fist out in front of them, or above their head in Presley's case. Then,  photoshop your own Valentine's message onto them, and get them printed. Once you buy some suckers (we bought ours at the Dollar Tree...20 tasty suckers for $1), simply slit two little lines (one above & below) their hands, push the sucker through and secure with a piece of tape on the back! And, enjoy watching your little one pass them out to all their family & friends! :)

Cupcakes...Hearts...Kidlets

You know me...I'm a HUGE sucker for having parties at my house! I enjoy the craftiness that parties entail! I enjoy being a host! I enjoying gathering people together, and sharing our special place with them! But, most of all, I enjoy sharing with my girls this love and passion for inviting new and old friends into our home, and showing them a good time!

So...when one of Giulietta's friends Moms asked me if I wanted to host a Cupcake at my house, of course I yelled YES! before I thought about how I'd have to clean, have to decorate, have to make our space perfect for our little kidlets! But, none of that hard work mattered when I sat back last night and looked at the smiles on all the kids & parents faces, when I heard the pitter patter of little feet running on my hardwood floors, and when I saw true friends bonding in our home!

Our Valentine's Cupcake Party included Heart Shaped Pizzas, juice boxes, veggies, fruit, & of course Cupcake Decorating with all the fun frosting colors and sprinkle trimmings! Each little kidlet went home with a full belly, box full of decorated cupcakes, and a fun Valentine's Day/Cupcake place-mat made by Giulietta & I! As fun and creative as our little Cupcake Party was, I think we might have to make this a yearly tradition in our home!

Race Cars, Skinned Knees, & Blue Jeans

I'll never forget walking out of the ultrasound office, 13 weeks pregnant for the first time in utter disbelief, because the tech had told the hubster and I we were having a girl! I'm sure my smile was spread foolishly across my face as I beamed up at the hubster and heard him say, "So that means pink, princesses, castles, and barbies huh?" As I was dreaming about frilly dresses, cute hair, and shoes (lots & lots of shoes), I'm sure he was wondering exactly what he would do with the little lady inside of me.

I'm not talking about how he would hold her all snuggled up on his chest, feed her every middle of the night feeding while I pumped her milk,  or snuggle with her in bed every morning when I left for work. Those things all came natural to him, to both of us really! I'm referring to how he would color with her, how he would teach her about his favorite things (cars to be exact), how he would learn the name of every Disney Princess and words to their songs, how he would dance because she wants to dance and he knows she won't forever, and he tucks her into bed at night and gets her light just right! But, you know, he figured it out! Call it father's intuition, mad daddy skills, or whatever you please, my hubster has this girl thing down. He's a professional Princess pamperer and it makes my heart smile on a daily basis to see the twinkle in his eyes when our girls call him Daddy and ask him to be their Knight in Shining Armor!

And, now with the new addition to our family of four, I feel very much the way the hubster must have felt leaving that ultrasound office that day. Truth be told, I've dreamed of having a son. What pregnant woman hasn't? I've wondered what it would be like to change his diapers, to watch him run and be truly wild, to step on those small tiny legos in the middle of the night and hold in a curse or two, to spike his hair and dress him in little Van's tennies just like his Daddy, to watch him peek his head out from under his car with grease smeared on his face,  to sit on the sidelines of sports games yelling with encouragement while holding in my worst fears, and to dance with him one last time on his wedding day. Most of all, I've dreamed of watching the hubster with his boy, the one who will pass the family name on, the one who will get his hands covered in grease, the one that will bring a different type of twinkle to our eyes!

As different and new having a boy seems to this lady, who thought she had this being a Momma thing figured out, my heart and arms are opened wide with love for my little Prince!  I truly can't wait to the moment I  meet him for the first time, while I watch the tears of sweet joy stream down my hubsters face!

Baby Morad #3 is...

Love,

 The Morad Four (soon to be Five)

Three Before Thirty

I have goals! I know that sounds weird to say, because most people have goals right? But..I'm talking about real life goals. Ones that I have scrutinized, planned, set up expectations for. Ones that are non negotiable, no matter where life takes me. And, "three before thirty" has been one of my most predominant life goals. The goal that I've talked about, stressed, and planned for (well sorta, haha)!

Without further ado...

The Morad Four are thrilled to announce the addition of our Third Baby coming Summer 2013!



And...I'm in LOVE with the fact that all 3 of these kidlets are mine!