Here Fishy Fishy Fishy

June 13, 2013June 12, 20132 Comments

Baylor has been in swim lessons year round since she was about 10 months old. Lately I have been getting the business from a few parents as to why I would do that. I questioned it a little myself until Baylor jumped into the club pool before PW was near her. If you’ve ever watched a kid panic in the water, seconds seem like hours. I saw the flash of panic on her face when she came up for air as the pool was deeper than she thought. As Peter made his way to her, I saw the panic quickly be taken over by muscle memory. Her head went back and her chest came up – she back floated for a second to catch her breath, get oriented and then calmly rolled herself over and kicked to the wall. I realized then and there that the last 156 swim lessons have been worth every penny.

Fast forward a few weeks and we’re in our lovely neighbor Melissa’s pool. Baylor was splashing on the steps and then decided she would swim to me – she swam half way across the pool with “scoops” (arms) and side breaths. I. Was. Amazed. I have been in the baby pool with Auggie during lessons for the last 6 weeks while Bay was in the big pool. I had no idea her strokes had gotten so good. When Peter joined us later, I thought his jaw was going to hit the cool deck as he watched her swim so well.

Want to go where we go? Check out Hubbard’s Family Swim School. Indoors (no sunscreen, no sun, no bugs, no chlorine), year round in a heated pool. What’s not to love?

Happeee Birthday…

June 11, 20131 Comment

to me!

This morning, bright and early at yoga, the instructor asked us to set our intention for the day. The first thing that came to my mind was gratitude. I’m grateful for another year of life, for a body that can keep up with two happy healthy kiddos, an amazing husband, a happy home and a wonderful family. Thank you for all the Facebook posts, texts, calls, emails and cards. I love birthday celebrations so all the of these things make me feel so loved.

So from my first birthday…

To this 31st (eek) birthday and many more!

First and Last: Preschool Year 2

June 6, 2013June 5, 2013Leave a comment

I can’t believe we are another done at preschool! For some reason this year was a sad ending. I don’t really know why, but it made me a little emotional saying goodbye to her teachers and the Panda room. B will be back next year and the year after, but she’ll be on the big playground next year. Yikes she’s growing up fast. Her end of the year packet had three dates where her teachers measured and weighed her. From August to May, she grew 2.5 inches and gained 4lbs. No wonder she can pack the food away.

My mom always said she enjoyed every phase of our lives (with the exception of the snotty teenager). She said she rarely longed for the days gone by because each new phase held great things that were better than the last. I feel the same way about B. Yes it was amazing when she was little and snuggly (she’s still a good snuggler), but I love listening to her make up stories through a bubble beard in her bath. I love when she says “Mommy. You know…” because I know she’s about to try to swindle me – and I usually give in because I love that she’s thinking not just about what she wants but how she can get it. She’s growing up and it’s really adorable. I just wish it wasn’t so fast.

August 2012

May 2013

Birthday Week: Family Style

June 4, 2013Leave a comment

We don’t have just birthdays in our house. We have birthday weeks. Why? Because it takes a whole week to squeeze in all the celebrating!

When I was a kid, my entire family on my mom’s side would come to visit always right around my birthday. And because a birthday is a great reason to throw a party (or multiple parties) I was sure that they really came to visit for my birthday. Thus, birthday week.

We started off Baylor’s birthday week on a Sunday with a big family birthday party. Her cousins, aunts, uncle, grandparents (including Noni who flew in from MT just for the occasion!), godfather and lots of other adopted family members joined us for dinner, cake and presents. We always ask her friends not to bring gifts to her friend party, but stopping the family from bringing gifts would be about as successful as me flying to the moon – it’s just not going to happen.

The Fam

Learning about Flarp from Missa – it’s like less messy play dough that makes fart noises. What’s not to love?!

Cousin Madi

Mason being naughty…

Time for cake! Chocolate with chocolate icing, of course

Her face while opening presents was priceless

Her order is “apple juice in a big girl cup with ice and it’s Baylor with a B”

A dollar for each year from her godfather

Shuttling around Mason
Trouble. Serious trouble.

21,000 Questions

May 22, 2013May 20, 2013Leave a comment

I know that having your kids ask a ton of questions is a great sign that their minds are working and growing. But holy moly does Ms.B come up with a lot of questions. I try to answer them as truthfully as I can, but it can be a challege. If you have any good answers to the below questions, I’m all ears. These are all actual questions Baylor has asked :

Why does red mean stop and green mean go?

Who decided that red means stop and green means go?

Why doesn’t your car have a trunk? (we have an SUV)

Why do trucks have a bed?

What is the National Guard?

What is the army? (follow up question when I tried to tie it into the army…)

Who are these brave men and women? What are their names?

Why doesn’t Curious George have a tail? Monkeys have tails. (that’s actually a good one. I’m curious too.)

Why is that person riding the bus?

Why don’t they have a car?

Where is that person going?

Why don’t you know where that person is going?

Why is running good exercise?

Why do green beans make you grow?

Why is there a sign that says ducks cross here?

Why is that person running?

Why doesn’t Auggie have teeth?

Why do your teeth fall out?

Why did that lady on TV say that we need to make Arizona a nicer place? It’s already a nice place. (That one was pretty cute).

Why did that man on the news say California?

Why did that man on the news say Washington D.C.?

When are we getting a dog?

Why does that sign have a picture of (insert picture of anything here) on it?

Why do bees make flowers into tomatoes?

Why do babies not go poop on the toilet?

Why are you wearing that shirt?

Why do you think that shirt looks cute?

Why do you volunteer to help at school?

Why can’t I wear sunglasses at school?

Why does Henry get to wear sunglasses at school?

What is a medical condition?

Can I have a medical condition?

Usually one or two of these lead to follow up questions and explanations. It is also the reason I generally can’t talk or think by 7pm most nights.

3 Day (ok 1) Cleanse

May 21, 2013May 20, 2013Leave a comment

Jen The Trainer has been trying to get me to try a cleanse for months. That crazy lady will do a 2 week juice cleanse and swears it’s amazing. I finally buckeled when I heard about the Dr. Oz 3 Day Detox. It is three days, 4 smoothies a day. The recipes didn’t look too terrible AND I figured 4 smoothies a day should keep me (relatively) full. Peter signed up to join me so on Monday afternoon, I set out to make the first day and part of the second day’s smoothies.

My sous chef. No one should like a stalk of kale that much.

By the time I got all the smoothies made, Peter was out. He suddenly had lunches and dinners with clients and friends that could not be skipped. Fine. I’ll go it alone. But after the first day, I was hungry. I was hungry for ANYTHING. Stuff I wouldn’t even normally eat I was suddenly craving. Plus no caffeine put me over the edge. I was out after day one. I went to bed that night and promised myself some coffee in the morning – unless I had lost 5 pounds over night. Then I would probably drink the smoothies for the rest of the month.

Sadly, I did not loose 5 pounds over night so as I poured my coffee, I realized that I am the kind of person that would much rather do a Jen ~~beating~~ workout, run a few miles, go to yoga and control my portions rather than totally restrict my food. I did finish off the smoothies I had already made – I drank them for breakfast and for snacks and I liked the way I felt. The detox smoothies will definitely be making a regular appearance in my diet, they just aren’t going to be the solo acts.

So if you see a sweaty lady running the canal with a red double jogger, it’s me.

If you want to check out the cleanse, check out the recipes and shopping lists here. And if you decide to do it, be sure to give yourself a lot of time to make the smoothies. There are a lot of ingredients and it takes awhile to make each one. Also, make a few at a time so you can grab and go. Also, get your spouse to join. There’s nothing worse than the smell of quesadillas while you’re enjoying a mouthful of avocado, blueberries and cayanne pepper. Plus, it’s more fun when you’re both cranky from hunger.

Model Behavior

May 20, 2013Leave a comment

Apparently if you give Baylor a raincoat and rain boots to play dress up with, she turns into a model….

Oh How They Grow

May 15, 2013Leave a comment

I have been looking for a fun and different growth chart that the kiddos could share – the standard kind are A. too small (my kids are giants) and B. just boring. I found what I had been looking for on, duh, Pinterest. It was a large board made to look like a ruler and it was rediculously cute.

I have a deep desire to get some stuff checked off my to do list in an attempt to sleep well at night – (I’ve been having those dreams where you are headed to class, but you can’t find it. You get there and you’re not sure if you’re there on the right day and time)- so Peter bought and stained the board and then we tag teamed the decorations. I followed the instructions on 517 Decorations which were descriptive and simple. She had a cleaver way to get the numbers on the board and gave the font and size which made it a no brainer. It is hanging in their room and looks awesome! Using their check up records, I marked in purple and green their height from birth to now. The only down side is that I now have to measure Bay after every dinner where she eats green beans because we told her they would make her grow. There could be worse side effects….

Thanks Mommas

May 13, 2013Leave a comment

I thought about writing a post that called out some of my friends for the amazing things that they do and that I admire them for. After starting a draft, I found myself worrying that I might accidently insult someone. Like if someone wrote about me “she works hard and keeps her house and family pulled together!” my first thought would be that’s so nice! I love when my friends lie to me and my second would be wait, but I am a good mom to my kids too, right?! People think that part too, right?? So I decided I would write out the things that I’ve learned from my momma friends sans names. Because at the end of the day, the lesson is the important part so here goes:

~Laugh. Make simple things funny. Instead of responding with an honest answer all the time, give a funny answer once in awhile. Your kids have their whole lives to be serious. Make them laugh now while they still think you’re funny.

~Work it. Work hard at your job and then work hard at giving your kids your full attention.

~Be cautious. They’re little and sometimes delicate While it’s good for them to learn cause and effect (jumping off of the couch will hurt), it’s equally important to not let them learn the effect of their cause all the time.

~Give in. It’s ok to lose the battle BUT, lose graciously.

~Listen.

~Shut up. Don’t be quick to give the answer to their question. Let their imagination wander and ask them what they think the answer is and then be gentle when giving the real reason.

~Save the drama. You are not always going to win every day. Some days you’re just going to survive. Don’t dwell on the negative, look at the positive that happened in the day and then get ready to make the next day better.

~Rest. You are not a robot. It would be cooler if you were but since you’re not, let the laundry sit and you do the same.

~Be kind. Teach your kids that not everyone is as lucky as you are and that it is our duty to care for those around us.

~Don’t judge others. Mostly because we’ve all been that mom that is walking the SCREAMING kiddo into preschool while the baby is still in his jammies with a dirty diaper and blueberries on his face.

~Don’t judge yourself. Some days you’re the mom who got a shower AND both kids out the door. Some days you’re not. Both are ok.

~Laugh. A lot. Enjoy the simple things. Smile.

So thank you to all the lovely moms I get to call my friends. You are all an inspiration, whether you know it or not.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Home Grown Tomatoes

May 8, 2013May 7, 20131 Comment

My delicious Black Cherry tomato plant got whacked by the hard freeze in January. I had it covered, but apparently without a heater, a warm quilt was no match for the three day cold snap. I sadly watched the first morning of the freeze as all the leaves on our plants took on a purple tint – a sure sign they were done.

I couldn’t find another Black Cherry, but I did find a Sweet Millions and another cherry variety at my favorite nursery. I wish I had a time lapse camera because these things grew over night. In 8 weeks, they went from seedlings to producing handfuls of fruit! And they are good. Really good. Like I don’t get any inside because I eat them as I water plants good. And our strawberries are going bonkers – it’s a good time to be hungry in the yard.

Cherries

Sweet Millions not quite ready yet