First Anual Earth Day Parade

Samm is such a unique kid. I couldn't love her more. She comes up with the best ideas. Today it was an earth day picnic with all the neighborhood kids (most a lot younger than her) and then a parade around the circle. Most of the boys opted out of the parade, but she didn't care at all.  I love our little circle and I am so excited for all the fun these kids are going to have this summer.

A little bit of a pile up.

Smiles all around when the weather is nice enough to be outside!

 

This was all very last minute so Samm wasn't able to put in all the planning that she would have liked. Next year's celebration will be even better I am promised!

Just a picture of my two shopping buddies

 

Now that we are eating differently I can't just head to one grocery store anymore and get everything I need , which usually means grocery shopping day is very long! These two are such troopers and hardly ever complain. In fact, Macy always asks "Can we go to Trader Joe's today?" Two little girls pushing little carts makes for very slow shopping and sometimes reckless driving, but it's worth it.

 

 

Oh, and if my blogging is a little scare for the next couple of weeks it's because I am busy painting and sewing a special surprise room for James. Here is a sneak peak.

Party in the USA

The activity day girls are performing a little dance routine to this song at the ward talent show next month. Samm and I came up with the choreography for the chorus that all the girls will be doing together so this song has been played a lot at our house the last few weeks. We just realized the other day that Laila was dancing along doing the moves and even has the air guitar down. I wish we could have gotten more of it on the video but she got distracted.

I wish you could all see the video of this

The microphone plays a couple My Little Pony songs and she was singing her little heart out.

 

After I smiled at her cuteness and took a few pictures (and shot a little video for future laughs), I sent Josh a text. "should we be worried about this?"

The girl loves music. We just need to chanel it in the right direction!

Trying hard to pretend that it's spring...

"It's really warm outside, mom!"

 



And then the reality of where we live sets in... "Maybe I should get my coat."

First Family Ride

I finally convinced Josh to get a bike this morning so we got adventurous and took a family trip to the park. It's less than five minutes in the car, but took more like 25 on two wheels. We could have made it a lot faster but the one with the shortest legs ran out of steam pretty fast. All we need are a few more practice runs around the neighborhood and I think she will be fine. The temperature was only in the low 50's and it was pretty windy so it wasn't ideal park weather, but it was a great way to spend some time together.

 

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!