Easter 2013

Even though we have late church I didn't get the chance to take pictures of the kids in their Easter outfits before church because I was busy doing my last minute look over of my talk. Yikes! Talking on Easter is a little stressful.

 

We had to settle for after church dirty messy hair and faces pictures which is always a more realistic showing of how my kids really look anyway. The kids have been candy deprived lately so I didn't have it in me to take the sucker away from Laila.

 

Samm's dress is the only one that I made and it ended up being a little too long even for a maxi dress, but she loved it anyway.

He's looking so grown up these days.

More sucker!

What a goofy cute girl!

I LOVE this picture!

This stuff just happens. Especially when you have a brother.

We're Cruisin the neighborhood

Once the weather warms up we like to go on family walks in the evenings as much as possible. The kids ride their bikes while Josh and I push the stroller behind them. It's good exercises and there is just something about being outside together that is invigorating. And, every year we talk about buying bikes for Josh and I but it's just one more thing on our list of if we ever have any extra money we should... This year I decided was the year to make it happen. I had a really busy hair month which meant I was able to save up some extra money and although it was really tempting just to take myself on a shopping spree I decided that if I didn't buy a bike now it was never going to happen. So, late one night last week while we were out on a date I asked Josh to swing by Target. Yesterday we finally had a little bit of sunshine so I took Macy and Laila on a test ride.

 

It was a little chilly still and my ears got pretty cold, but holy smokes we had so much fun! We went on another ride today after lunch and I am more determined than ever to get a bike for Josh.

 

 

 

 

 

A new blog

Are you thinking to yourself "is she kidding?"

I know I hardly ever post on the ten I already have, but this one is different. It's basically my online recipe book. With all the new healthy recipes I've been trying lately I was collecting a large stack of papers shoved in between my recipe books. Organizing them onto a blog seemed like the easiest way for me to keep track of them. I won't be posting tons of pretty pictures or trying to grow any sort of audience, in fact I wasn't planning on even telling anyone about it, but some of the recipes I've found and adapted to my own style have turned out pretty darn good and pretty good for you as well so I thought I should share it with anyone who is interested in making some changes to the way you and your family eats. I will warn you though that it is not easy at first. Your kids will resist and quite possibly your husband also and demand gold fish crackers. Don't worry though, after they get hungry enough they will gladly start eating the healthier versions of their beloved snacks. Most of the recipes will be snack type foods since that is where we have struggled with eating healthy in the past, but if I happen to come across a dinner recipe that just knocks one out of the park I may post that as well.

So, just say NO to refined white sugar and carbs and come join me in theThe Spinach Project!

Is it really possible?

There are two things that immediately enter my mind as soon as I look at a positive pregnancy test. the first one being "Yay! Oh wait, this thing eventually has to come out some how..." and the second one is "Oh crap! Now I have to potty train again!"

Samm wasn't so bad, she just absolutely refused until she was 3. Then she was pretty much a breeze except for occasional night time accidents.  James I started at 2 1/2. He was completely willing to pee in the toilet as along as I set the timer and took him every 30 minutes, which after a few months I was not so willing to do all day every day any more. And the pooping situation? One time he pooped in his underwear while jumping on a trampoline (doing canon balls) and when I asked him why he replied "it makes me happy." It ended up being a YEAR long process. After James I planned on waiting until Macy was 3, but it was Josh's first year of residency and we just couldn't afford diapers any more so I took a chance at 2 1/2. She wasn't quite as easy as Samm but caught on fairly quickly. Her big hang up being the poop. She was terrified of it. Like, started screaming if she saw it. She still has issues with it to this day and will not be in the same room as me if I am changing a poopy diaper.

So, last month Laila started asking to sit on the toilet. At first I just thought it was cute and would let her sit on it for a second with her clothes on. After a while though it was pretty obvious that she was ready and willing for more than that. I however was not! She was only 18 months old. Potty training was no where on my radar yet and I had not properly prepared myself mentally for the challenge.

A few weeks ago however I reluctantly gave in and started just testing the waters with our toes a bit. Letting her run around naked for long periods of time and sitting her on the toilet periodically. The first day we didn't have any success and several accidents, but every time it happened she would get really upset and come and show me where it was. The second day we finally timed it right and she had the biggest smile of pride on her face I have ever seen.

Less than a week and a lot of running around naked later we are all but finished with diapers. She still needs them for naps and bedtime.

Today we finally went to the store to pick out her big girl undies. She chose Hello Kitty, and of course wanted to try them on as soon as we got home. And not just one. we had to put on all 8!

So proud of her big girl self!

And this picture I took of her a few days ago. She was a little hesitant about pooping at first as I am figuring out is pretty normal with most kids. She had been holding it since the afternoon before, but went as soon as I let her sit with a book.

And, now that I've typed this whole post I'm sitting here thinking that it might be slightly strange to post about potty training and I've probably used the word poop way too many times. I'm sure I could have used it a lot more though, so be grateful for that!

And yes, it is totally possible to have a 19 month old that tells you when she needs to use the bathroom. They just have to be completely brilliant, as I am convinced of course that she is!

Rollins style

Just a little video Josh captured the other night of the kids dancing to Gangam Style. Laila LOVES this song and actually asks for it by doing the little hand move. Sadly she wouldn't do it for the camera but the dancing is still pretty cute. Please excuse my sons inappropriate moves. He's a boy!

Records Day

It seems like we have had a lot of no school days around here lately. First it was mid winter break then a snow day and now this week we had records day. I'm not really sure what records day is all about, I just know the kids don't have school.

 

I tried to prepare myself for the day of craziness by locking myself in my room for a while to read but it was quickly interrupted by James who came in asking for that black marker you draw on your face with. After a minute or two of back and forth confusion I figured out he was talking about my eye liner. I wasn't sure I wanted to let him use it, but decided it would buy me a few more minutes of quiet so I handed it over. Five minutes later I was summoned downstairs for a front row seat to the Samm and The Lightning Thieves concert. Best. Concert. Ever! I was really sad when I took out my video camera and the battery was dead.

 

Most days Samm can only handle one group activity with the younger kids before she has had enough but that day the stars were aligned and after the concert she led them in a game of recycle ville. Basically they raided the recycle bin for cardboard and then made a little town for cars to drive around in. This was the just the beginning of recycle ville. I wish I would have taken a picture when it was all done because it really was quite impressive. What is even more impressive though is that they sat and played cars for FOUR hours! AND with only one little squabble at the very end.

 

And this is totally unrelated but I'm tacking it on anyway. Samm and Macy used to play dress up together all the time, but since Samm has outgrown it Macy doesn't play with the dress up clothes anymore unless a friend is over. One day last week though I went down stairs and found these two playing together.

 

Macy is laying on the couch because she was sleeping beauty and Laila apparently was channeling Michael Jackson. 

 

 

I'm hoping for a lot more dress up days still to come!

Where I've been, Josh turns 35, and take your wife to work day.

OK, I'm going to try and explain a little about why my blogging has been so scarce, but that's a little difficult right now. Keep reading and you will find out why.

So, the short (ish) version of why I haven't done much blogging is because I am just plain exhausted. After a six month break from exercise I joined the rest of the country this January in hitting the gym again. This time though I decided that I really wanted to get in shape. Something I have never done before. I was spending a couple hours in the gym 5-6 times a week and doing some workouts at home. Plus, I decided to take a serious look at what we were eating as a family and was honestly pretty disgusted and disappointed in myself as a mom. I had never really read any of the labels on the stuff my kids were eating and I discovered that I was stuffing my kids with sugar and mystery chemicals. Getting rid of processed foods though means more time in the kitchen making snacks I'm happy to serve my kids.

After so much hard work, here is what I was not prepared for. 1) like I mentioned before, straight up exhaustion. My body just could not keep up and I was literally falling asleep in church, which if you know me well you know I have trouble sleeping and that would never happen normally. 2) My kids rejected 90% of what I was making. It was so frustrating to spend hours planing and making food that no one would eat. 3) The amount of crap they were being given outside of our house. I don't expect them to never have candy again, but it seems like they are getting it every day from somewhere.

While I am super excited to report that for the first time in my life I have muscle definition (maybe someday I will be brave enough to post a picture), it's just not worth the sacrifices I've had to make for myself and my family (my house has not been really clean in weeks). So I'm cutting back on the crazy workouts (not giving them up completely) and buying some foods that come in packages (only short lists of ingredients with names I recognize) and hoping to find some balance.

And, speaking of balance Josh and I decided that even though we are eating healthy at home we still want to splurge for special occasions like birthdays and holidays. Last week Josh turned 35 and what he really wanted to eat more than anything was a Bloomin Onion. So, to Outback we went.

 

I caught her licking ranch off her plate with a huge smile on her face.

Free birthday desert that dad was nice enough to share.

I always forget a bib when we go out to eat. Fortunately this time most of it ended up on her face and not her shirt. 

And finally, today was a snow day from school. The kids were thrilled of course. Me, not so much, but I was going to make the best of it by doing some fun things in the kitchen with the kids. I was hoping that if they helped make the food, they might be more willing to eat it. Then I changed my mind though and decided I would rather spend my afternoon at the hospital with Josh. I'm not going to tell you what happened because I was told I need to come up with a better story. I will tell you though that I did NOT slice my finger because I used a very sharp knife to try and make the hole in the top of a very tiny essential oil bottle bigger. That would just be silly. 

 Josh was in surgery when I got there so I wasn't expecting him to come down, but I was very happy when he did. It's amazing how much more at ease I was having him making the call on my finger instead of an unknown ER resident.

 

In the end I just got a few stitches to close up the skin, but there was a lot of in-between stuff including an IV, tetanus shot, and having Josh shove needles into my hand to completely numb my finger so he could cut it open more to get a better look and make sure I didn't damage something important. He explained it to me several times and showed me diagrams but I could never explain it to all of you. I will tell you though that having my finger numbed hurt like hell! For women who have given birth, imagine multiple epidurals in your hand. I would not recommend it to anyone. They did give me quite the bandage for all my trouble and a pass from dishes for a whole week!

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If your squeamish like I am, keep scrolling really fast. For anyone who is interested though this is the nice little cut I gave myself. I sent Josh this picture after it happened. Actually I sent him a different picture first and he said "no I need you to open the cut and take a picture so I can see how deep it is." I am very proud of myself for not passing out while doing it, because I promise you I was feeling very light headed.

So here I sit with a very numb bandaged finger attempting to type. It's not so easy.

It's the little things

Winter has settled in to stay for a while, so were doing the best we can to make our days less blah.

 

She's 5!!!

Yes, it has been a very long time since my last post. No, I do not have an explanation other than I just didn't feel like blogging. To be honest, I still don't, but the pictures are piling up. Instead of trying to go all the way back and play catch up though I'm just going to jump right in on where we are right now.

And, where we are right now is that Macy is now FIVE! She told a lady at the store the other day that she turned five and the girl said "five? you look seven!" And it's true, she has always looked and acted so much older than she is that sometimes I forget that she really is just five. So, in honor of my big but still little five year old, here are five fun facts about Macy

1. Her nickname is Macy Face or just Face for short.
2. She LOVES sour cream/cream cheese/ranch/anything that is creamy and can be used for dipping, although scooping is more like what she does.
3. She loves to play board games and always asks me if I want to verse her.
4. She LOVES to win/ HATES to loose.
5. She always wants to sleep in bed with James or Samm, but she hates being touched while she sleeps (just like her mom) so I always find her in her own bed when I check on her.

Since Macy turned the magical five this year she got to have a family party and her very first friend party, and was incredibly spoiled!

Our family party was really just cake and ice cream with presents and Q tips because I always forget to buy candles. The Q tips were Josh's idea.

The one thing that Macy had been asking for forever is pink flarp. As you can see she was pretty happy that her wish finally came true.

She also got a bow and arrow set, because as girly as Macy is when is comes to painting her nails, she just isn't that girly when it comes to toys.

We just had Macy's friend party today and she was pretty happy about the whole thing. She has been planning her Dora party for quite some time.

As the kids were arriving we had them sit at the table and color Dora characters that we cut out and glued to brown paper. It really helped to keep the kids busy while we were waiting for those few last stragglers, and doubled as a table cloth when it was time for cake and ice cream!

The entertainment for the party was a carnival where they played games and earned tickets that they used to buy prizes at the end of the party. Macy invited a lot of kids so I came up with the idea for a carnival to keep all the kids having fun with games but not as one massive chaotic group. I wasn't quite sure if it would go as smoothly as I had planned, but it was a huge hit. Even James who insisted that he was not going to help with a Dora party had a lot of fun. He was in charge of the basketball game and was VERY generous with his tickets.

We had a little coin toss.

And a Boots the monkey banana bean bag toss. Sadly he had to be a hair-less Boots, but none of the kids seemed to notice.

Samm was in charge of a pin the mouth on Dora game. She drew it herself and cut out all of the mouths. Samm also did all of the decorating for me.

The big hit of the carnival was this fishing/ bow and arrow game. They got to shoot the arrow over and then it came back with a ticket attached. Macy invited our neighbor Jenny who is 11 and she was nice enough to sit behind the blanket and help out.

We did orange cupcakes with pink frosting and star sprinkles, since Dora wears orange shorts and a pink shirt. Those two ladies in the mirror were nice enough to hang out and help as well. Having the extra adults around was really nice.

So many kids!

So many presents! Laila thinks they are all for her. She still isn't talking much, but the word mine is pretty easy to understand.

Phew, shooting arrows is hard work!

Parties really are a lot of work, but it's so worth it to see how excited the kids get. Macy has been waiting a long time for this party and she was all smiles the whole time.