I have been meaning to post these pictures for a while.  I guess I have gotten a little caught up in being a mommy of two and “Living the Dream.”  I can happily say that the kids are doing wonderfully and are a busy blessing. 

My daughter Talia and Godson Ari are wearing our tatoo onesies.  The onesies have been a big hit and look super cute on our little ones.

These pictures were taken a couple of months ago.  I can’t believe these precious babies will be six months within days.  They grow so fast!

-Clarissa

This morning Tristan felt a little warm.  Since he had a febrile seizure I have been a little paranoid taking his temperature and waiting for the worse.  Well I took it this morning twice and he was fine.  When we got to school I told to the teacher to keep an eye on him and to call me if he felt warm or looked like he wasn’t feeling well.

Well she called, about an hour and a half after dropping him off.  She said Tristan was really upset and crying and that he didn’t have a temp but that he definitely seemed off.  I rushed over there to check on him and as I approached the door, I could hear him crying.  My heart fell as I opened the door and saw him there crying.  He rushed to hug me and started to calm down, as did I.

It was lunch time so I helped him and Ilan get settled.  Tristan’s demeanor changed and he began acting like his normal self.  After lunch was nap time and that is when it got a little scary.  I knew that I should not take Tristan home so I told him that I would be back but he didn’t like that very much.  At the same time Ilan began crying because it was nap time ( not his favorite activity) and Talia began crying because it was lunch time for her.   Meanwhile the rest of the class was quietly trying to nap.

What a mess!! I wanted to run out of there.  I waited for the teacher to come there way, meanwhile trying to get the boys to calm down and read a book.  Ilan through his tears told me the names of the different animals in the book, Tristan began looking out the window at a girl looking in, and Talia was in my arms quiet.  The teacher came and distracted the boys and I left not daring to look back.

So Tristan was fine, I think it had just hit him finally that I wasn’t there.  He missed me!  Well at least I think he did.  When I went to pick him up, Ilan held onto his hand not wanting him to go.  Victoria soon walked in and they were both happy.  Happy to leave perhaps.

I am so glad the boys have each other as they begin this new chapter in their young lives.  I imagine it must be scary for them, just as it has been difficult for Victoria and I.  All four of us are lucky to be going through this together.

Today, well yesterday being that it is 2 in the morning right now, was Tristan’s first official day of school.  He handled it like a champ and quite frankly I was a little disappointed.  As Ilan cried for Victoria, my son did not have a problem beginning his school day.  He did want little to do with his backpack and knocked on the door of his classroom wanting to go inside.  It was no big deal!

In all the chaos of getting out the door with Roger’s help mind you, i got caught up in the idea of dropping him off on time and not forgetting anything.  Well we managed to get him there on time with his backpack, lunchbox, napmat, box of diapers and wipes, a change of clothes, some supplies, a family album, cameras, and oh yes his baby sister.  Before you knew it he was in the classroom playing and I was driving to practice.  It all happened so quickly! 

I wanted this day to be perfect, and it was for him.  I would have appreciated a little more “don’t go mommy,” but instead I got a report sheet that said “had a great day…. didn’t cry at all.”  I guess I should be happy, God gives you what you can handle.  I don’t know if I could have walked away had he been crying. 

We will see how the rest of the week goes.  I am grateful Tristan is experiencing this with Ilan, and myslelf with Victoria.

Clarissa

It is 5:41am as I attempt to return to blogging, not that I was ever really started.  My daughter is now 9 weeks and growing fast.  She is asleep, as is my son and husband.  The house is quiet and I thought it would be appropriate that my first blog back should be on Mother’s Day. 

I thought I would take a minute to write about a few moms that I love dearly.  There are three mother’s in my life that I most admire.  They are my teacher’s of motherhood that I learn from daily and will admire always.

First my partner, the professional blogger who has run Baby Besos beautifully while I have been half asleep trying to figure out being a mother of two under two.  Being that are sons are three days apart, Victoria is who I turn to daily to discuss are crazy boys and how challenging, funny, and wonderful they are.  We have shared friendship, pregnancy, a business, and motherhood.  While we may both be crazy mamas she is the calm and patient one.  She runs her home and our business with confidence and creativity.  I am grateful that I have such a wonderful business partner, but more so that I have such a wonderful friend. 

Secondly, I admire my sister who can best be described as a Mexican Martha Stewart.  She is mother to Analyssa, Christian and now Brayden.  She is the strongest person I know, who can pretty much do it all.  She is a wonderful sister, daughter, friend, wife and mother.  Tina has met all of life’s challenges with such grace.  I am blessed to have such a wonderful sister. 

Talia just woke up… that is her name by the way.  She is now sitting in the bouncy chair and hopefully will do so contently while I finish this blog. 

Most importantly, I admire my mother who growing up I never truly appreciated.  Now that I am a mother of two I don’t know how she raised four.  She is an amazing mother and grandmother.  She is the Mexican Martha Stewart’s Mother for gosh sakes.  My sister had to have learn from someone…. I am still trying to figure out where I went wrong.  My mom has helped me keep my sanity as a novice mother.  She not only helps take care of my children, she still takes care of me.  She amazes me, how she can come over and watch my babies, pick up the house, cook a meal, and do some laundry all while I take a shower.  She does in thirty minutes what takes me all week.  I don’t know what I would do without her.  I appreciate her more than she will ever know.           

Happy Mother’s Day!

Proudly, I can say that I have coached the Antonian High School Cheerleaders for eight years.  Every year the dynamics of our program have grown and changed, I started with around 15 girls and now have a team of 33.  As the number of girls grew so have the challenges.  But the most challenging year has been this past one, not because of any “drama” of attempting to make 33 high school girls work together for a whole year, but because of my own family drama.   Before my son was born I was able to put my cheerleaders first and devote so much to them.  Now my son comes first and soon my baby girl will also. 

Two weekends ago I was unable to go to a competition with my girls because my family for the first time had to come first.  My son and I were both sick and unable to leave the house for a week.  I missed  a week of practice and the competition.  Of course my son was priority, but knowing that I was sending my 33 girls off to compete without me didn’t sit well with me.  Not so much because I was worried, I knew they were in good hands, but because I felt like I wasn’t doing my job.  I wasn’t able to be a devoted coach and mother.    

As it is, my mother watches my son when I have practice and other cheer events.  I could not do this without her, believe me I’ve tried.  Picture my seventeen month old running on to the floor as the girls are trying to tumble or stunt and me very pregnant trying to run after him.  It is not a pretty picture, perhaps more comical than anything.  Well when my son got sick my mother was out of town, leaving no one to help me, no one to make it easier.  I questioned whether or not I should continue to coach.  I only have one child now, what happens after next month when my daughter will join the equation? 

I find myself feeling selfish for continuing to coach, I can’t say I do it for the money, I lose out on a lot of time with my family and friends, and it is a stressful job.  So why stay?  I can say that it would be terribly difficult to walk away from these girls, and I do enjoy coaching (most days at least), but secretly it is my break.  It is time to focus on something else besides being a mother and wife and even a co-owner of a wonderful online baby boutique.  I get to go to practice for a couple of hours a day and work on something other than changing diapers, picking up toys and so many more motherly chores. 

Somedays I wish I did not have the added stress of being a cheerleading coach, but then I think about what if I didn’t have that outlet.  I realize that it won’t last forever, me coaching that is.  Eventually I will walk away, but until then I will try to make this work.  I want to be good at all my roles and not give up one to be better at the others.  I realize that family comes first, I just hope that I can juggle all of these roles and do MY best at them.  I am grateful for every role that I have in life, I pray that I will be blessed with the energy and HELP to continue.  Selfishly, I am not ready to give up.

Clarissa

Two months to go, and I find myself asking if I am ready to welcome our baby girl into our family of three.  We slowly but surely are nesting in preparation for our baby, but what I am most concerned about is naming her.

We have made the mistake of sharing some ideas with family and friends in the past and learned quickly to stop.  After recieving responses like “you can’t name her that” or “I guess I will get used to it,”  we find it quite difficult to share our name ideas.

We now tell everyone that we don’t have any names picked just yet to avoid the dreaded looks and responses.  But between my husband and I we discuss names almost daily, we just stopped telling anyone else what we were thinking.  We know we want it to be beautiful, unique, and to to have some latin influence.  My grandmother who lives in Mexico should be able to pronounce it, although she is still bitter because I did not give my son my husband’s name.

I know you can’t please everyone, and what matters is that my husband and I love her name.  But what if she hates her name?  This is so much pressure.  We named our son the day he was born as I was wheeled to recovery, and to be honest the nurse helped us decide.

Advice is definitely welcomed!

Clarissa

Well Victoria and I were truly blessed to spend this Holiday season with our closest friends and family. We are grateful for all we have and continue to work at making Baby Besos a success. We are learning a lot as we go along, and with each lesson we appreciate the experience and knowledge that we gain.

December marked a big month for Baby Besos. Thank you to all who shopped with us this Holiday Season. A BIG thank you to all of our open house customers who shopped and visited with us! It was wonderful to see our customers face to face and watch their reactions to our products and be able to answer any questions they had.

Starting this business is definitely a challenge, but one that we are determined to face head on. We encourage anyone that is thinking of doing the same to contact us to ask questions or just share ideas.

Finally, we would like to take a minute to thank you our customers, friends, and family for your continued support. Victoria and I are doing our best to run a successful business, raise our seventeen month old sons, care for our 30 year old husbands, and take care of ourselves as we are both now expecting. With all this, our motivation to make this business a success has grown stronger and we thank you for your support.

We hope you enjoyed your Holidays!

-Clarissa and Victoria