Thursday, April 28, 2011

Spring Cleaning at our house



It has begun! Spring cleaning! I love cleaning out drawers, cabinets, closets and freshening up! I actually began my spring cleaning with my e-mail inbox. Every day I get e-mails from Pottery Barn, Gap, Edible Arrangements, and about 6 other random retailers. Today, I unsubscribed to (mostly) all of them! The only ones I left were Groupon and Living Social.

I've also cleaned out my chest of drawers. The closet is next. It is tough though. Usually, my timeline is 1 year. If I have not worn it in a year, it gets donated. But since I was pregnant for most of last year, it's hard to stick to that time frame. So I'm not sure how to tackle my closet. Any suggestions there?

I got the pantry in the kitchen cleaned out and restocked, which is always a great feeling! Now, if I could just convince Chris to get on board with his chest of drawers and closet too!
Image credit

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Day 3 of the no sugar diet



I'm doing great. Chris caved. On day 1 and day 2. So he starts over again today. I don't think he is committed to this. He is just saying he will do it to appease me. Such a nice hubby...now get on board! The funny part about this is that I have never dieted in my life. I'll cut back on portion sizes and get more active. But restricting certain foods I have never done. So far so good. The hardest part of the day is when I am super tired and just want some caffeine or chocolate for a pick me up in the afternoon. Day 3 (almost) down, only 7 to go. I am thinking I'll just hold out and treat myself to a nice dessert on Mother's Day, if I can make it that long!

Image credit

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

New tech finds



I can't take credit for finding these great technology tools and ideas. All the credit goes to the Cool Mom Tech website. I actually discovered them on Twitter and I find myself checking out their posts everyday for updates on "the coolest technology toys for parents and kids."

Some recent posts that I've been excited about:
April 24. The Vimeo iPhone app.
April 23: Guardly
The 2010 Mother's Day Gift Guide at CoolMomPicks.com (which is also written by the Mom's at Coolmomtech.com).

They stay on the pulse of cool technology stuff. I don't have time to be searching the internet for the latest and greatest, these ladies do it for me! It's a great website, you should check it out!

Image credit.

Monday, April 25, 2011

The 10 day sugar-free experiment



Maybe it was all the recent Easter Candy and cookies that have been around. Maybe it is me coming to my senses about how much I LOVE sweets and chocolate and could eat it every day.

We are deciding to take a stand against sugar (for 10 days at least).

Chris and I decided to give up sugar, sodas, caffeine, simple carbohydrates (like white bread and pretzels), and starchy foods for 10 days. I would include alcohol in this list, but we don't drink - so there is no need to include it. Basically we will eat only veggies, fruit, and lean proteins. We agreed that if we cave in then the clock will reset for 10 more days.

We are only 2 meals into this experiment and I'm already pining for some chocolate. I'll keep you updated on how we do! Wish us luck!

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Our favorite children's musician

We were lucky to find Patty Shukla while we were in Florida over the winter. She writes her own children's music and does performances all over Palm Beach County. She also held Mommy & Me classes that I took Michael to almost every week. He loved it and I loved it. We miss her classes now that we are back in California. 

We listen to her CD all the time in the car though. This morning, coming home from Easter church and brunch was no exception. This was the song that started playing in the car:
Patty Shukla - The Elephant Song


It was so awesome because Michael is really starting to know and sing outloud all the words. Chris and I looked at each other, completely stunned, as he was almost able to sing this song to us! It was so cool.

One of Chris's favorite songs from this CD is this one: Little Red.

Check out all the video's and music on You Tube and iTunes. And if you are ever wondering what we are listening to in the car, you know it's "Miss Patty's Guitar."

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Strawberry juice

It's the time of the year when all the strawberry stands pop up on the corners of the farmer's fields out here in the Central Valley, CA. There is so much grown in the valley, the chances are very likely you have something in your kitchen that was grown here. It's good for us when we can buy this beautiful, fresh fruit and nuts just steps from our home! It's not always great for our allergies with everything blooming, but we manage.

Yesterday, we bought a big box of these beauties. Michael loves strawberries. He calls them "strawbabies." They are so juicy the juice was dripping down his mouth onto his chin. His shirt was full of strawberry juice yesterday! They go bad fast though so we'll be eating them at every meal for a couple of days!

There is a farm a little north of where we live that does "U-Pick." We will go there and pick off the trees and bushes what looks good to us and then pay for it. We may head out there soon to see what they have. I have really fond memories of picking strawberries with my mom, sister and brother at a little farm off Donald Ross Road in Jupiter, FL. That land is now a major mecca of shopping, dining, housing and baseball stadiums. Hopefully these little U-Pick farms will continue to survive, its a great way to teach our kids where our food comes from and its a fun family outing for all of us. Do you all have any U-Pick farms near your home?

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

The fun just never ends




The first picture is of Michael and Chris at the Friday gymnastics indoor playtime. I just love his smile here. He LOVES this place. We go every Tuesday and Friday. The last 3 pictures are from our friend's 2nd birthday party. Michael had a blast! It was a Bingo's in Visalia, Ca. The pizza picture cracks me up because he just looks so tired. After an hour at these bounce houses, he is wiped. The cupcake picture was taken pre-meltdown. He wanted to do it the way he wanted to do it. Daddy was apparently touching the cupcake wrong. It was funny to us, not to him. And the blue Croc's. You will be seeing those in every picture this spring. He loves them, would wear them to bed if we let him.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

My lost maternity clothes

When I was pregnant last year, I had this nagging feeling that I had lost some of my maternity clothes. But I searched my closet and put it out of my mind. It turns out they were not lost, but just buried at the bottom of a bin of Michael's old clothes that I saved for Luke. Why I thought that would be a good place for them, who knows. But there were some cute items! A good pair of jeans and some cute tops! I wish I had them last year.

For a fleeting second I thought to myself: Hey, maybe I need to have a 3rd baby just so I can get some more usage out of these cute maternity clothes. I even verbalized this thought to Chris who got a big smile on his face.

I immediately came to my senses. Cute. Maternity. Clothes. Can't believe I actually had that thought. More importantly: I'm bordering on insanity with that thought. It is the sleep deprived part of my mind talking. Funny how sleep deprivation will make me think crazy thoughts!

Saturday, April 16, 2011

The car seat dilemma

Before I had two children, I always naively assumed that any baby would:
1. Take a pacifier
2. Drink from a bottle
3. Love car rides

Neither Michael or Luke will take a pacifier or bottle. Believe me when I say I've tried. Michael loved car rides and still does! Luke hates them! We just recently switched out his car seat from the Graco infant car seat to the Britax Marathon convertible seat. He still hates car rides. I guess we will just have to deal with frayed nerves in the car for a little while longer. He will eventually get used to the car and not cry, right?

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

This kid has the life


Here is a picture of Michael basking in the primary color explosion that is a parachute. At first, he was not sure what to think of this huge thing. Now, he will lay on it and Daddy pulls him all around. He plays hide and seek in it too.

One of the cool things that Hanford, CA has is the United Gymnastics Academy.  On Tuesday's and Friday's they offer indoor playtime. There are a bunch of soft play mats and trampolines for the kids to play on (like what you would find at any Gymboree).

Michael LOVES it! I find, at his age, it is more fun for him, and easier on me, when he has unstructured playtime. He can just run, bounce, jump, and explore without me or an instructor telling him how to do it. Usually after 45 minutes of this he is completely wiped and he will head to the door. It's his way of telling me: Mom, let's go! But the smile on his face when we pull up each week reminds me of how much he loves his playtime here. I think I love it more!

Sunday, April 10, 2011

The three greatest inventions

#1. Penicillin and modern medicine (vaccines, etc).
#2. The Air Conditioning Unit. It revolutionized the south. Without it, the southern U.S. surely would not be as populated as it is now.
#3. The Comfy Baby Nasal Aspirator.  I found this in the One Step Ahead catalog. 

You are thinking: comfy+nasal aspirator=Molly is crazy. Maybe. But the snot running through my house right now could fill a gallon milk jug. I detest the bulb suctions because I feel like I am sticking a pen up my child's nose. This thing is amazing. It just barely enters the nose and you can pull the snot out with even the gentlest of suctioning. I know it looks gross, but it is so much easier than the regular bulb suction. Trust me on this one, I'm off to suction another nose. Oh, and after you read this: please say a prayer that this snot leaves my house soon! I am so tired of being sick and my babies being sick!

Friday, April 8, 2011

Mom guilt


It comes in all shapes and sizes. Mom guilt.  This particular guilt I've been feeling has been related to the lack of pictures I've taken of baby #2. He is just so cute too!  So here is an updated picture.  Luke is 4 months old, Michael 2 years old. The one of the three of us I just love. We were all sitting in my glider watching Daddy put together Luke's crib. Michael loves to smile for the camera now when we ask him to say "cheese!" So this is what Michael was saying as Dad was taking the picture.

One thing I've learned over my parenting years, especially since I've lost my Mom, is that there are never enough pictures of Mom's with their kids. We always seem to be the ones taking the pictures. So one of the things I am trying to get better about is asking other people to take pictures of me with my boys. My makeup may not look perfect and my hair may be going in different directions. But I know that years down the road, my boys will still look at these pictures and think their Mom was beautiful. I know I think that when I look at pictures of my Mom with her babies. So to all my Mom friends out there, take a minute and take a picture with your babies!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

New found appreciation

I have a new found appreciation for people who are website designers. Wow. It really is a different language they speak. I am impressed...

Monday, April 4, 2011

New (to me) food finds!

With both boys in tow at the grocery store last week, I found myself walking slowly through the pasta aisle. Normally, I am having to sprint down every aisle in the event one boy decides to have a meltdown. This was a particular calm moment among a plentiful of carbohydrates and I came across "3 minute pasta."  Your read that right: it cooks in 3 minutes. Who doesn't love that when you have a hungry toddler in the house!  Here it is: Quick Cook 3 minute.

The other exciting (in my life) food find last week: Heintz Tomato Ketchup Dip & Squeeze. We were having dinner at the Chick-Fil-A in Fresno, CA and instead of the typical small ketchup packets, this is what greeted us at the condiment counter! Genius! It is almost 1 oz of ketchup that you can either dip something into or you can tear off the cap and squeeze it out. Heinz.  Sure beats fumbling with the tiny packets, especially when your fingers are greasy from the yummy waffle fries.

Where does the time go?


It was 4 months ago today that our baby was born.  Look at him now!  He's a BIG baby! What a ride it has been.  Last time I posted to my blog we were about to head to Florida. Daddy was deploying to the Middle East via the USS Lincoln. I was 7 months pregnant and chasing around an energetic but lovable toddler.

Fast forward to today. Daddy is home! And we are enjoying every minute of life, the good times and the challenging times, with two young boys.

I've updated the name of my blog, so please take note and add to your bookmarks/RSS feed.

Both boys are napping at the same time - IT'S GLORIOUS!!! And I'm back on the blogging bandwagon!

I'm Back...Stay tuned for an update!

It's been a wild 6 months since I have posted my last blog. I'm back with a new title for my blog and ready to fill everyone in on our adventures! Stay tuned!