WITL 2014 | Thursday Photos

This post is showing up backwards for whatever reason. sigh.

I started the day with oatmeal for breakfast. We met the Reads in Redwood City for a play date. Cora and Frank were hot and cold. Henry and Roy were pretty calm overall.

Then we came home, ate lunch and relaxed in front of the tv. I tried really hard (and failed) to get Cora to take a nap.

We ate dinner early because the older kids had pumpkin carving that night. I ordered pizza. Henry played legos. I gave Grey a bath. The kids played. I got Grey ready for bed, nursed him and put him down.

Bryan took the older kids to preschool for the Pumpkin Carving night. While they were gone I watched t.v., did laundry and wrapped a gift for a party we had this weekend. The top picture is the kids finished product. Henry made a happy pumpkin and Cora made a scary one.

Friday Five – Halloween Edition

We have a fairly busy weekend ahead of us with Trick or Treating tonight (yay!) and a birthday party this weekend. But here are some interesting things before we go:

1/  A couple weeks ago my husband caught me up on this whole GamerGate thing and ever since I feel like my eyes have been opened to the unfair judgements and expectations placed on women. Apparently, even our voices annoy others.

2/ Nobody who knows me would be surprised to learn that Christmas is already on my mind. I love seeing all the creative things parents do with Elf on a Shelf on other blogs and pinterest, but I have been weary of getting involved in it myself. You see, the idea that a little elf is spying on my children and reporting their behavior back to Santa as a means to determine what they receive for Christmas defeats the point of the holiday for me. Gift giving is about showing love, it is not about earning stuff through “being good”.  But I ran across this post on Kindness Elves and LOVE it! We might very well be doing this!!

3/ I am new to Scary Mommy, but I read about her Thanksgiving Project this week and wanted to share it. I will absolutely be donating this year.

4/ This was in my inbox this morning. It got me thinking about our schedules right now. Between the holidays and all our kids’ birthdays, these next few months are always packed and busy for us. I am often trying to think of ways to simplify, but sometimes it feels like all the opportunities this year are just too good to pass up.  And maybe they are.

5/ Ordered our new bed today! We went with west elm’s Morocco headboard in chocolate.It should be here by the end of November.  Next steps: purchasing sheets and other bedding.

I am so excited to see the kids all dressed up and excited for their treats! Hope you have a Happy Halloween.

WITL 2014 | Wednesday Photos

Wednesday: No Boot Camp, though still up around 5:30. Taking care of Cora. Staring down the pile of dishes in the sink. But making coffee (coffee! coffee! coffee!) first.

7:30 am | Ready to get out the door. Drop Henry and Cora off at school.

Henry signing himself in. I came home, put Grey down for a nap and went at the garage for about an hour. Need to get things cleaned up for a little party we are having here in a couple weeks.

Then email, blogs, tv and coffee.

Grey woke up early. I have no idea why. I wanted to leave the house, but didn’t have anything that needed to be done other than sending our rent check. So we did that. And went to starbucks.  Then home to play.

And eat lunch. and finish laundry.

3:05 pm | Picking up the older kids. Cora was so happy.

The home. Grey took another nap. I made pumpkin chocolate chip bread with the kids to take to the Pumpkin Carving event at the school the next night.

The joy of daddy arriving home. Preparing the pumpkins to carve at school the next night.

I honestly can’t even remember what else happened last night even though it was just last night. I had one of those long, exhausting, never ending days today. I do know I finished The Art of Fielding, though, and I am looking for a new book to start.

WITL 2014 | Monday Photos

4:40 am | Woke up to Grey awake in the next room. I was in Cora’s bed, not unusual for me these days. Nursed Grey, put him down and got ready for Boot Camp.

5:30 am | Boot Camp. Lots of planks. I have been going regularly since the end of June. Nothing makes me feel stronger and better.

6:40 am | Return home to Henry and Cora opening the door to greet me. Made coffee. I have recently started putting this coconut creamer in my coffee. I switched from french vanilla to original in order to eliminate some of he sugar in my diet. Eliminating sugar is hard. Packed the kids lunches. Got them dressed. Insisted Cora wear pants, because it was cold outside that morning. She was not pleased.

7:20 am | Got in the shower while Bryan finished getting the kids ready for school. The weather has definitely taken a cooler turn in the last few days. I love it. Cozy sweater weather.

7:45 am | Got the kids in the car.  Said good bye to Bryan. Headed to school.

8:10 am | Drop Off. Cora and Henry put their own lunched and water bottles in there cubbies. Then hang up their own jackets. I sign in both kids, Cora heads to her classroom and Henry signs himself in. Give Henry a hug and kiss and drop him off in his class.

8:30 am | Return home. Play with Grey for a little. Start laundry. Change Grey and put him down for a nap. Go through party supplies for Cora & Grey’s party in a little over 2 weeks. Make a new pumpkin oatmeal recipe. Read blogs via feedly and catch up on email.

9:45 am | Grey is up. We have a snack and head out to run errands. First, check the SBMC’s P.O. Box. Then the dollar store and Target for party supplies.

12:00 pm | Home for lunch.  I have left over tacos. Grey has left over grilled cheese, berries and water. Goes down for a second nap around 12:45/1pm.

1 pm | Put together gift bags for Cora & Grey’s party, including watercolor paints. Watch How to get away with Murder on Hulu.

2:35 pm | Grab Grey from his crib and head out to pick Henry and Cora up from school. Sign the kids out, Gather their things and pick up the contents of their art cubbies. Henry has been really into his projects lately, especially enjoying Halloween themed activities and what he calls decorations.

3:20 pm | Return home. The older kids eat the left over contents of their school lunches. We work on more projects at home with paper, markers, and water colors. I am trying to get the kids to come home and play before dinner and the tv goes on. My goal is that the tv isn’t on until dinner is eaten and the kids are mostly read for bed.

The kids continue to play int he house. They shoot small foam rockets at each other with toys they received at Zander’s birthday party. They chase each other from room to room. Grey follows and tries to get in on the action.

I start getting dinner ready around 4:30. Tonight is stir fry with chicken, broccoli, carrots and cashews. I am also trying to get the kids to eat more variety (isn’t everybody?) and to only make one meal for dinner (not a different meal for each kid).

5 pm | I sit down with the kids to eat. Grey loves the carrots. Cora eats most of her rice but nothing else. Henry eats about 1.5 bites of rice and says he isn’t hungry. They decided to work on the Goldibloks toy instead of eat dinner.

5:30 pm | I put Grey in the bath. Cora and Henry join him for 5-10 minutes before getting out.  Cora gets into her new footie pajamas (a very new obsession) and Henry insists on wearing the same clothes. Grey is done, so I get him out and put a diaper and pajamas on him. The kids keep playing.

6 pm | Start getting Grey ready for bed and have him down by 6:15. He doesn’t even want to nurse. He has been sleeping so irregularly lately. I am not sure what is up with that.

6:20 pm | Bryan gets home. Henry and Cora rejoice! Bryan heats up his dinner. We watch the Toy STory Halloween special. I leave around 7 to go walk with a friend. We get hot chocolate after.

9 pm | Get home. Change for bed. Watch an episode with Bryan while we sort Legos.

10 pm | Bed time! In my bed 🙂

My Little Ghouls & Goblins

Last weekend we attended the San Bruno Mother’s Club Halloween Party.  We had it at the Beckner Shelter in San Bruno City Park and the day turned out pretty perfect. It was sunny and warm. The kids loved climbing the trees and running around the open space. We had For Goodness Snakes put on a program for the kids and they got to spend a lot of time playing with several different reptiles. Brian, the owner, was amazing with the age group of the kids and did a fantastic job. We wrapped up the party with a pinata (can you call it a party without one?). Thankfully, Bryan was able to use his made know typing skills to hang that thing up in a tree.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a member of this club and be involved in providing these types of experiences for members and their kids. It is a fun way to kick off the halloween, costume wearing season!

Where the Pumpkins Grow (or Maybe Just Sold)

I took the kids to Half Moon Bay last week so we could play in the pumpkin patch and pick out some pumpkins for the year. Henry loved the hay ride. Cora loved the pony ride. Both kids seemed to really enjoy picking out their own pumpkins, too.

I love being able to have these experiences with these kids.

It has been entirely too long

So I took a very long, and unexpected, blogging hiatus. I focused on family and children and the husband and sleep and all that other important stuff. But I keeping getting pulled back to writing something down, to journal about where I am at and keep a record of this thing called life. Thus, here I am.

I decided that the best way to jump back into it was to provide a list (you know how much I LOVE lists) of where I am at right now, right this moment. Here goes:

EATING clean. Lots of soups. I’ve been making food for the week on Mondays while the kids are at school and it is working out very well.

RECORDING all my calories.  I am using an app on my phone. SInce we returned from Cleveland, I have lost 9 pounds. So it’s working, at least.

WATCHING The Wire with Bryan after the kids go to bed. We are so close to being done with the entire series. The fourth season was my favorite so far. ANd watching lots of Halloween shows with the kids. Right now they are really into Hotel Transylvania.

ANTICIPATING the holiday season. I am so excited to celebrate this time of year. We have birthdays and parties and Halloween and Christmas. I love it all. And the older the kids get, the more fun we all seem to have with it.

LISTENING to spotify. It is the best music subscription service in my opinion.

TRYING to get to sleep earlier. But I have a hard time getting to bed before 10:45.

WORKING on figuring out Grey’s nap schedule. It is so hard with all these kids and their schedules to make sure Grey is getting good solid naps. I know that is the plight of the third child, but I still want to make the effort.

LOVING this weather. It was in the high 80s until this week. I love this cooler weather and sweaters and drinking coffee in the afternoon. I also love how crisp and clean it feels in the mornings.

ATTENDING the Mother’s Club Halloween party is this Sunday. It is our first costume party of the season. It is going to be fun.

PLANNING to buy new bedroom furniture. We are ready to toss out the Ikea bedroom set we have now and get ourselves a King size since Cora ends up in our bed almost every night. But I cannot seem to make any hard decisions on which one I like the best.

DECIDING if I should enroll Cora in a dance class or not. I think it would be super fun for her, but the scheduling is so hard.  I would have to take the other two kids with us if I did it during the week through the city. But all the weekend classes are much more expensive.

FEELING happy. Content. Good. Things are really wonderful right now with the kids and our life in general.

I Wrote This!

Our family was invited to a birthday party a little while back.  I took the older kids and we had a splendid time. The mother of the little girl whose birthday we were celebrating is an event planner, and, fittingly, threw an amazing party!  And then she asked if I would write about it for her blog. So I did! It is short, but I am proud of it. So here it is!

Five Things Right Now

 

the beach a couple of weeks ago. the weather was perfect and somewhat unreal considering it was the end of January.  It has been cold and rainy for the last week.

I have been the worst at the regular updates. In the past I have been able to use my blog as a way of looking back, marking the progression of time. But my inconsistency here is definitely having an impact on that.  I kind of feel like this is just the way things are right now. I have too many babies and not enough sleep to be capable of writing out thoughtful ramblings where I reminisce on the value of my life, family, relationships, health, etc. Also, using the right words for what I mean. When I am majorly sleep deprived, that is often the first thing to go. oh, well. In place of a real update, here is a list of five things that are happening right now:

1. The kids have been so great lately. Cora is starting to put all the phrases together she has heard/learned in the most amazing ways. She plays pretend, tells us she is going to the beach and says “see ya later. love you. bye” and follows it up by blowing out a kiss. It’s heartbreaking and adorable. She also says “sorry, buddy” whenever she hurts you. That kills me.

2. Henry is sick and his voice is hoarse. I am not sure why, but it is having this huge emotional effect on me. It makes me want to carry him everywhere, hug him constantly and give him carb filled, delicious treats to eat all day.  I want to see him get better fast.

3. I got a clogged duct in my left breast yesterday. This happens from time to time. I think it is my fourth or fifth one. God, they suck. I was in pain the entire day yesterday. All I could think about was sleep. And I cannot remember any of the conversations I had yesterday. Not a one. I was in such pain and so close to just sitting and crying. But, my beloved came home early, ordered pizza and took care of all of us. He is pretty wonderful like that. 

4. Until yesterday I was doing really well on this whole Paleo thing we are trying. Bryan and I are attempting to cut out as much processed foods as we can and following a Paleo diet is one of the easier ways to do. Oh, and when you go Paleo you still get to eat bacon. Anyways, I have been experimenting with a lot of recipes in order to find ones we really enjoy. I am pretty happy with what we have discovered so far. 

5. This year is looking to be a good one for us. We booked a house at the beach for a long weekend in June. Plus I am in the process of putting something together for my 30th birthday. I am thinking Napa with the girls. But we will see. There are also a few other plans for trips and exciting things int he work, which I am sure will be appearing here at some point.

I am so ready for this weekend. I need some extra sleep and some relaxing couch time with the kids watching disney movies. Happy Friday!

On Resolutions for 2014

So its the last day of January and I am just now getting around to writing out my resolutions. Last year, they were numerous. And then I found out I was pregnant and it all kind of got forgotten about. So now that the baby is nearly three months and we are starting to get used to being a family of 5, I have been spending time focusing on what it is I want our life to be about now. What should be important to me, important enough that I reconsider my daily/weekly/regular routine to incorporate it. And so here is what I came up with:

1. Focus on health. For me this means eliminating processed foods and decided not to have too many in our house (we still have some snacks for the kids). It also means being outside more and moving – walking, playing, etc. This is a hard one since lately I almost always have a baby attached to me when we are outside. For me, it also means taking it day by day. Every time I have a choice, that choice is singular and just because i take a bite of something unhealthy in the morning doesn’t mean the day is ruined. We have also decided that we are going to make way more food at home. 

2. Say yes more. I want to say yes to the kids when they ask to do something and not say no because of my plans/expectations/etc. I want to say yes to Bryan more. I want to be up for anything. I want to be ok with play doh and paint and markers in a way I haven’t before. I want to go to the beach and the park and all the other things we backed off of when I was super pregnant and uncomfortable. 

3. I want to refocus on living a like of intention. I want to really think about my actions before I do them. Think about the words coming out of my mouth before I say them. This last part is a real challenge for me. I grew up in a house with a yeller and so it is second nature for me to yell. I want that to change. I want to be more aware of how I am feeling when I want to yell and why. I want to see what it is I could do differently or what I could have done to prevent the situation in the first place. I want to bring intention to other areas of my life, too. How I eat, how I love my husband, how I treat other people in my life. What makes others feel loved and supported. What can I do to that effect?

And that’s it. I want 2014 to be a year surrounding personal intent, health and being open and saying yes. My goal is to integrate all these things into my life daily.