Day 8 - A place you've traveled to

Day 8 - A place you've traveled to

My mom and dad are 100% Polish. They were both born and raised in Poland (although they met in Chicago), so growing up, we always took family vacations to Poland to visit family. To this day, I have been to Poland over 5 times. It is my ultimate goal and wish to one day take my family to Poland and show them what a beautiful country it is. Adam is really interested in going and I know it will be a place he will love to go to. The last time I went there was in 2003. Each time I go back to visit, it changes more and more.

Aside from visiting family and spending time with them, my favorite thing about this country is how much history there is in their buildings and architecture. Living in a place like Las Vegas, I feel like I miss out on true history. Sure Las Vegas is historic, but to keep up with the times, casinos and buildings are constantly being imploded and replaced by newer, bigger high rise towers and casinos. It's more of a modern day city.... which isn't always a bad thing, but it's not until I go to Poland that I realize how beautiful things are and can be if you just let them age (within reason, of course).

Day 7 - Favorite Movies

Day 7 - Favorite Movies

None of these blog entries have been very hard for me....except for this one. I'm not much of a movie person. I think the last movie I actually sat down and watched was Toy Story 3.... back in June! I don't ever have the time to sit down and watch a movie, and if I do have the time to watch one, I always fall asleep. There is something relaxing and calm about being in a big, dark, loud theater. Weird, huh? But because I signed up to do this blog challenge, I must fulfill each entry! So here are the movies I stayed awake long enough to watch in the past:

A Walk to Remember (LOVE this one)

Home Alone (Only 1 and 2... I never watched 3 because it had new actors! HATE that!)

The Notebook (Okay, okay... I fell asleep during a 15 minute part of this one, but I still liked it and watched *most* of it, so it counts.)

Big Daddy

I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (pretty much anything with Adam Sandler)

I really need to watch more movies. There are a bunch on my list that I want to see! I just need some energy drinks and I'll be set! :-)

Day 6 - A picture of something that makes you happy.

Day 6-A picture of something that makes you happy

AB3 and AB4 are my entire life. There is not a single thing in this world I wouldn't do for these two boys. They have taught me patience, honesty, laughter, and endless love like I've never known before. Even though photo sessions with them don't always turn out the way I would like them to, one look at a photo of both of my boys instantly brightens any kind of mood I'm in. It was hard to pick just one!

This photo depicts a snapshot of my life. I might be outnumbered with major testosterone in my life, but I honestly wouldn't have it any other way. I love my boys, and I love my life.

Day Five - Your Siblings

Day Five - Your Siblings

Like my previous post, this post can't come close to expressing how thankful I am for my siblings. God has blessed my life with a wonderful older brother, Paul, and a younger sister, Vicky.

As I've mentioned before, I wasn't always the easiest child growing up. I beat up my brother and my sister (haha), and they never fail to remind me of this. The way I look at it, someone had to give them tough discipline and tough love. I was apparently the only one for the job. (at least this is what I keep telling myself.)

Paul lives in Colorado, so we only see him a couple of times (if we're lucky) throughout the year. As I grow older, this really bothers me because I want my boys to grow up knowing their uncle and aunt and having a close relationship with him. I make sure to explain and mention Uncle Paul and Ciocia Megan to AJ and Aiden at least once a day to keep them fresh in their minds.

Vicky is not only my sister, she is my best friend. It hasn't always been this way, and occasionally we get into arguments, but at the end of the day, she knows me best and is always there to help, listen, vent, cry to, or beat up. (haha). I'm lucky to have a sister who is so involved in my life. I don't know where I would be without her and I don't think I tell her enough how much I appreciate her and value our friendship. The boys absolutely adore their "Kiki" too!

By marriage, I also have an awesome sister in law, Megan. I wish she was closer so we could really develop a strong friendship, but I'm confident that one day it will happen and we will share many more memories to come.

I love you Paul and Vicky!

Day Four - Your Parents

Day Four - Your Parents

I sit down to write this post after working a very long 12 hour first day at school. Because of my low energy, this post won't be as long as I am intending in my heart for it to be.

I don't even know where to begin describing my parents. They mean the entire world to me. As a child growing up, I wasn't always the easiest to deal with. As a parent myself now, I am able to appreciate the discipline my parents used when raising us. Now that they're grandparents, I see joy in their eyes that I've never seen before and I appreciate them so much more than I ever have.

They're the first to offer any kind of help whenever we need it. Adam's car breaks down? My dad's there within minutes. I need to run to the school district to fingerprint? My mom is over in a flash to stay with the boys. What do we find when we go out of town to Adam's family reunion? An entirely cleaned house, courtesy of my mama. We are so beyond blessed for the love and generosity displayed by my parents. They are my rock, my support system, and truly my heroes. No task is ever too big or small for them.... and this is why I admire them so much.

Although they've had their bumps and bruises, they have stuck together and raised three wonderful children to be the adults they always hoped we would be. They might not have always been happy with some of the choices we've made, but they've never left our side. And I know that won't change anytime soon.

Mama and Tata.... I love you so much and thank you. Thank you for showing me the gift of unconditional love. Not everybody is as lucky as I am to have such wonderful and awesome parents. xoxo

Day Three - First True Love

Day 3-Your first love

This is a picture that was taken on one of the happiest days of my entire life. The day I became Mrs. Brown. My husband, Adam, is my very first true love. We met when we were both 15 years old and his family used to live in the house right behind my mom's house. I used to jump on an old milk crate and jump over the wall to see him. (That's love!) We dated for about 2 years and then Adam went to college, so we took a break. When he came back, we both realized how in love we were with each other, and we've been inseparable ever since.

Adam proposed to me atop the ferris wheel in Santa Monica, California on March 12, 2006. We got married a little over a year later on April 14, 2007. He is my true love because he has seen me through both good times and bad, and is still right by my side. At some points in our relationship, we might not have it all together. But together, we have it all. He is my rock, my best friend, my partner, and my soulmate.

The second love of my life is my son, AJ (AB3). Although it's a little bit gory, I posted the top photo because that was truly a moment of "love at first sight" for me. I spent 38 weeks growing that little boy and awaiting his arrival and he was (and still is) everything I hoped he would be.

The third love of my life is my son, Aiden (AB4). If you look at some of my old posts from when I was pregnant with Aiden, you'll see that towards the end of my pregnancy, I was worried about whether or not my heart would be able to love another little baby as much as I loved AJ. And I sit here before you, blog readers, with a love so deep for my two little boys. I can't put into words how it happened... but it did. Both of my boys are so different, but yet so alike and I love them equally with all my heart and soul.

My love for all of my boys is endless. Adam is my first "true love" as far as romance goes. But a mother's love for her children is so different because it is so undescribable and personal. I might not be wealthy with monetary possessions, but my heart is rich with true love. And that's just fine with me.

Day Two - A Batch of Brownies

Day 2-Meaning behind your blog name

For those of you who know me, you know my last name is Brown. When I was pregnant with AB3, I always joked and said I was "Baking a Brownie". (You know how people always say there is a bun in the oven when you're pregnant?.... same thing, just a Brown-ie for me... our last name just kinda worked with it all!)

Obviously, our family has grown and instead of just one Brown-ie, we now have two! So I consider our family "A Batch of Brown-ies".

I created this blog to record all the things I wanted to remember in years to come about the boys and what we're up to. Sometimes I post multiple times a week, and sometimes I go days and weeks without posting. Trust me when I tell you it's not because I don't want to - it's just that I don't always have very much spare time to sit down and write. I've been working on making more time to do it though, and this challenge is helping drive my motivation!