Wild Montana Skies

July 8, 2013Leave a comment

The summer vacations continue! We landed safely (and on time thankyouverymuch Allegiant)last night and as I loaded up the pictures today, I realized how bummed I am to be back in the desert. MT has a little piece of our hearts and it gets harder and harder to leave.

This marked Auggie’s first real trip and plane ride. It went….ok. Not amazing but not horrible either. There was a fair amount of crying before and after takeoff but I think the temperature was to blame. Temperature you ask? Yes, it was 117 degrees while walking across and standing in line on the tarmac and then at least 102 on the plane. Peter bought a little battery operated fan and I totally made fun of him…until we were sitting on the plane. Yes PW, you were right. The fan was a fantastic idea. Pun intended.

Someone did really like taking off.

Eventually we got to this. I got to eat my Mike and Ikes AND read my book. The return flight? Not picture worthy…

This girl? Is amazing.

The worst part about traveling to the ranch is that once you land after the 2 hour flight, you have a two hour drive. It’s rough when you’re an adult. It’s murder when you’re a baby and just. want. to. crawl. We finally pulled in and turned the banshees loose in the grass. After a little unpacking when the sun was finally setting around 11pm, we sat on the deck in rocking chairs. I was holding Auggie and my brain was buzzing. And much like a loud noise stops you in your tracks, the dead silence hit me like a train. I suddenly was able to take a breath and realize that we had made it. We were in one piece and not in too bad of shape. So there we sat, breathing in the cool air listening to the soft squeak of the rocking chairs and letting vacation begin.

Yoga Oh No

June 12, 20132 Comments

I’ve been back into yoga for a few weeks after several years absence. And it’s been awesome. It was easy to jump back into plank position and the added stretching of the tight muscles created carrying around my 25 pound squishy baby (totally worth it, but the hunch back is sooo not in) is fantastic.

So yesterday I was atempting bakasana or crow and I was doing quite well. Feet off the floor and holding steady. And then Mo, the instructor, had me try to it up a notch. Crow transitions to a head stand – eek. So as I tried to sloooowly go from this:

to this:

When I did this:

That’s right. I was the girl who very ungracefully fell over at yoga. And made a nice loud thud as my knee slammed into the wood floor. Thankfully it didn’t hurt all that bad and the class was either into their own pose or chatting to notice so it wasn’t too embarrassing. And I guess better my knee than my head. But until my crow starts looking a little better, I’ll leave the handstands to the professionals.

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!

Sisterly Love

June 10, 2013Leave a comment

The problem with sisters is that they tend to express their love in sticker form. And when you’re a boy, this may not be desirable…

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.

Happy Birthday Baylor!

June 2, 2013Leave a comment

Today, Ms. B turns 4 years old. It’s not officially official until 11:46pm tonight, but we’ll say it’s close enough. After a week of parties, special outings and presents, we are spending today quietly. We’re going to play with all the new presents and put a candle in everything she eats and sing and cover her with kisses.

Happy birthday big girl! Stop eating those green beans that make you grow so fast!

Birthday rewind: last year

Second birthday

First birthday

The real birthday

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….