I Do Not Love This...

...but oh, how I am thankful to God for it every single day.

That he lives.

That he grows.

That he learns and laughs and loves and turns into this amazing and hilarious little character right.in.front.of.my.very.eyes.

It's my daily prayer—that he turns into an outstanding young man of God who lives a long, long, long time.

Far longer than his Mama or Daddy because I don't think our hearts could take something happening to him also.

Tomorrow is his last day of 'school'.

In reality, it's a Parents Morning Out program he goes to two mornings a week and has since September.  I didn't want him to go, initially, and I was ready to yank him out the second he gave any indication he didn't absolutely love it.

Well, that indication never came.  He loves it.  Loves his teachers, loves playing and doing art projects and just being part of a group of kids.

Sigh.

I'm so glad he loves it.  Has loved it.  I am grateful he's had care that far exceeded any expectations I had for basically what I considered glorified babysitting.  It has been so, so much more and he's enjoyed it so much.  He will miss it this summer, that is for sure.

And I miss these days.  I miss the days I know that are already gone before they are here.

I want him to grow.
I want him to learn.
I want him to be independent and take initiative and be proud of himself when he goes potty like a big boy.

But he's not a big boy.
He's my baby.
The only one I get to hold and hug and carry in my arms.

And I can barely type without crying thinking of how bittersweet it is that I have to take him to his very last first 'pre-school' class tomorrow.

How when I was pregnant with him, I begged, begged, begged God for these days...days that would let me see what he was like past several hours born on earth.

Now, I can't even get his diapers together to sell (which, btw, are going for FABULOUS prices—yahoo, cloth diapers!) because I am not ready to admit that my baby doesn't really need diapers anymore.

No, I do not love this turning into a little boy and leaving babyhood behind one.single.bit...but man, oh, man...I am so grateful.

And I guess I'm not being truly honest when I say not one.single.bit because he is turning into such a hilarious little boy!  He is such a character.  He has these favorite Hulk sunglasses with green lenses.  The kid wears them everywhere.  All the time.  Inside and out.  People look at him and laugh and he just swaggers on like he's got this own internal drummer giving a beat only he can hear. Love.

He is saying "No!" quite a bit more, and while it gets a little frustrating, it still is SO not 'terrible' as the twos can be.  He is mellow and easy and (mostly) compliant but at the same time, fun and silly and pushing his little envelopes with me.  He knows he is doing it, too, because as he does, he looks at me with this little look on his face that you can just tell is about to break out in huge giggles if I just even break in the slightest.

And I do.  Often.  Because he.cracks.me.up.

I adore him.

Just adore him.

Grateful doesn't even come close to expressing it, but I am.

Luke Loves It! A Review and Giveaway!!!!!

I am in love with Kiwi Magazine.

Love it.  I am part of their Green Moms Ambassadors group (#momsmeet) and am able to learn about and try some pretty awesome stuff.  One of the things to review and giveaway caught my eye--smoothies and juices from Sambazon.

Organic, immunity boosting, and most of all for Luke, delicious (so they said!)...I desperately wanted to try them.

I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED!

As I am constantly, constantly trying to get my sweet little resistant eater (though therapy is making SUCH a big difference!) to have balanced nutritional intake, I was super psyched to see that these fruit juices and smoothies promise to bring next generation nutrition to the world.  Bringing it to Luke and to me was a great start!

I love that there are a million (well, several!) different varieties of the fresh juices (especially the Blended Breakfast!) and even more, I love, love, love the frozen smoothie packs.  Since buying the Vitamix and Luke falling in love with smoothies (money well spent!), I love having lots of recipes that are delicious and nutritious.  Most of Luke's smoothies I make with yogurt, which sort of takes me out of the game with them because I do not like yogurt.

(I know, I know.  My kid LOVES yogurt, and I'm grateful.  I, however, do not at all.)

I love that the frozen smoothie packs can make delicious smoothies that are loaded with fabulous immunity builders (Acai berries, antioxidants and Omega 3-6-9s) and I can add in probiotic powder and then share the smoothie with Luke!!!  They really do taste great and he asks for "moothies" all the time now.

Win.Win.Win.Win.Win!

Sambazon uses only Non-GMO, organic, gluten-free ingredients and are committed to the environment from which they get their ingredients and that makes me happy.

What makes me happiest is that Luke likes them.  Loves them, really.

Which of course makes me love them too.

The only negative for me was not having a great access to some of the flavors unless I drove to Wilmington to Whole Foods.  Their website is great for product locating and I've not checked out all the places Sambazon said I could find their products, so I am hoping that I'll be able to find and try ALL the product line soon!  In the meantime, we are enjoying the Acai Berry Immunity booster smoothie packs (which he ALSO loves just as an ice pop on these hot days we've been having!) and several of the juices.

Awesome!

Even more awesome is that Sambazon is doing a great giveaway for my blog friends!  The winner will get vouchers to try three different products and the.cutest.little.wooden.bowl.and.spoon.set EVER!  Luke loves 'helping' me get his smoothies ready (I add other organic frozen fruits and he likes stirring them around in the bowl!) and it's adorable.  He's going to make a great little chef one day.

Just like Daddy!

Here's the rafflecopter for the giveaway.  I'll pick a winner on Thursday, June 6.

Enjoy! a Rafflecopter giveaway  





The Fine Print....
I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms MeetSM  program, May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from

the manufacturer. As a Moms Meet  blogger, I agreed to use this product and post my opinion on my blog. My opinions do not necessarily

reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of the product.