Mommy Party

There is hardly anything that a husband can do for his wife, that shows as much love, than him nurturing and teaching what love is....... to her daughter.

And there is hardly anything that would express as much love to a Mother, as her daughter choosing to do something kind for her Mom, when she could have chosen to do any wild adventure.

It was Daddy's turn to take Brooke on the Sat. morning sneak out. This would normally mean a wild adventure with the two of these goof balls put together....( the last sneak out they had before this they bought a pinata for a party with friends, and they filled it with candy as usual....but they also filled it with un packaged cheese balls! The candy was covered in orange dust! )

So this Sat. I awoke to a very sweet surprise....

                 My bed was covered in balloons and paintings. that Brooke had made for me, and that isn't all....I was served breakfast in bed. A plate with two of my favorite breakfast foods....egg whites, and cupcakes! The cupcakes even had candles lit! Brooke was chanting to me, " It's Mommy's party day, it's Mommy's party day!

                I must have done something good that I don't know about to deserve a little girl like Brooke. Kevin had asked Brooke what she wanted to do the next day on Friday night and she had this whole idea in her head about surprising me in the morning.

                 I felt so appreciated and loved, and as tired as I am tonight, I wanted to capture my feelings about this before they grew foggy...

                  My little Brooke knows me all too well, and she is smart enough to know if I am eating a cupcake for breakfast, I will be offering her one as well ;)

Two Little Monkeys

Our children are ruined when it comes to being able to go to a regular zoo....

                When Brooke was too little to walk, she had a ride on top of a Tortoise the same size as laundry basket.

                 Riding elephants every year is just an expectation when the circus comes in town....

                 Feeding bears Vanilla Waffers just seems like the best thing for a bear as an afternoon snack.

                 Rocking baby alligators in your arms...that's nothing to be scared of...

                 Having a staring contest with an ostrich only a few inches away from your face, is normal for the Turano's in Texas....

When we choose what zoo we are going to go too, we mean business. Why go look at an animal...when you can interact????

                  OUR LATEST ADVENTURE WOULD BE WATCHING OUR LITTLE MONKEY FEED A LITTLE BABY MONKEY ONE OF HIS OWN FAVORITE SNACKS.....CHEERIOS....

                

What's Will been up to with Brooke gone all day?

Here is what Will has been busy doing since Brooke went back to school.......

He is thinking......

Hmmmm... I think I can play with this house now that Brooke isn't here to kick me out of her room????

           You know I think Spider Man would love to invade this girly pink house and destroy it?????
                                             

                            He will need a side kick crocodile though....and of course he will have to make his entrance with speed for a quick get away....

                                                  Okay...I think they are ready to go.....

                                                  
                                           Mom, why are you capturing my plans on camera?

                                                 
                            Come on, lets move forward Spiderman ignore the Mom and camera....
                                             

                                                
                                                           Here we go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
                                                

                                                          
                                     I am innocent, I promise I didn't mean to mess up the house.....

first few weeks of First Grade

Well are into the first few weeks of First Grade with Brooke and she is loving it! There were no tears this year coming home on the first day, because she thought she would learn something new. I prepped her very well to understand she wasn't  going to be learning anything except her new teacher's rules for the first week of First Grade.

I shouldn't have been surprised but I was, and it was such a compliment to receive a phone call on the second week that Brooke was in First Grade from her teacher. She said, " Mrs. Turano, I just wanted to call you and let you know that you  are a great mother, and it shows by the way that Brooke behaves, and interacts with her class mates during school." She said, " It is such a pleasure to have a child like her in my class that loves to learn and listens intently, you and your husband are doing a great job! Would you please also let Brooke know that her efforts are noticed and appreciated by me as well."

 I am thrilled Brooke has a teacher this wonderful that would take her time to give us a call after school, to my phone. I thought about how many parents she was calling and how much work that was for her and thought she was amazing.

Then I felt very impressed by Brooke's impression that she is leaving on her teacher when I asked asked two other mother's of children in Brooke's class if they got such a sweet call as well. They said no, they didn't.

Brooke is in heaven being in Brooke Thames class again this year. Of course this was arranged by Brooke Thames Mom since she depends on us a lot to help with Brooke Thame's transportation and after school homework.

Brooke is already talking about when she is going to be chosen as a Soaring Eagle this year. I keep telling her that all she can do is try her best, and that she doesn't have to get an award to be proud that she behaves in school...We talk about how she can feel good everyday for making the choice to behave well in school and if she gets the reward again, that is great, but the most important thing is her knowing she is happy about the way she is acting during class...

Juma our Bengal

If it wasn't for the fact that I had children, It is sad but true....I might have been one of those cat ladies who had lots of cats laying on every pillow in their house and walks around in ruffly flower pajamas....wait....that part isn't true...my pajamas wouldn't be ruffly and flowered...they would have been silk and leopard print...

I found out about this exotic breed of cats when I was twenty-one years old. " Bengals "..... I was feeling a nurturing side of me just creeping in, so I decided I would also tap into another interest of mine and start a new business venture where I could take care of cats to fulfill my nurturing instinct, plus make some money at the same time. These cats go for $700 a pop at least!

Why would anyone pay this much for a cat? Well this breed of cats is an Asian Leopard mixed with your regular house cat. The first line is called an F1 and they are wild...you wouldn't want them as a pet, but if you get a few lines down to an F3 or F4 they look as pretty as a leopard, but have mannerisms like a cat...well actually more like a dog. They like water, the love to play and they need a lot of attention. AND YOU MIGHT NOT BELIEVE IT UNTIL YOU SEE IT, BUT MINE FETCHES LIKE A DOG! SHE ALSO COMES ON COMMAND LIKE A DOG WOULD.....

So I bought Juma and she was supposed to be pregnant. My plan was to sell the kittens, and if it worked out well, I planned to make a mini cattery website and take her back to the breeder and get her pregnant again for a fee.

Well she never grew a belly, and I took her back to the breeder a few times, until we realized she probably couldn't have babies. The breeder did pay me some money back that I had paid, expecting her to be pregnant.

It was good at this point that Juma couldn't have babies, because at that point, Juma had become like my baby.....

You see Juma is an unusually awesome cat. Well....I didn't always think she was awesome. I actually begged Kevin to let me get rid of her when she was in heat and I had a brand new baby Brooke who wasn't making a peep, yet I had a cat screaming all day long...Kevin said I wasn't allowed to sell her, she was part of the family now. You see Kevin made a sacrifice for her.... I didn't know that Kevin was allergic to cats until about a year after we were married and he started telling someone, " Normally I am allergic to cats, but since this cat has rabbit like fur, I am not bothered by it." Kevin must have either really liked me, or just thought the cat was really unique to have tested living with a cat when you are allergic to them.

So....I lost my cat crush as soon as Brooke was born.

My little girl is my princess and this cat is Brooke's princess. Juma deserves to wear the crown that Brooke puts on her head daily because she really is a princess of a cat.

Juma sleeps in bed with my princess every night, all night long. When she hears us all gather to Brooke's room for family prayer she comes in, and lays in her special spot on Brooke's bed. It is very sweet.

 Brooke actually thinks that Juma can understand what we say. Juma responds with a meow when you talk to her. I heard Brooke telling a friend, " I think I can speak cat language because my cat knows what I am saying. She always meows back."

Brooke makes necklace's for Juma and Juma actually lets her put them on her! She keeps the crown on for a few min. and then she starts playing with it. She still plays like a kitten although she is getting very old....