Another Bento

I'm having so much fun with the kids lunches this year. Not only is it instant gratification and fun to create something cute, I'm getting lots of external motivation from kids and teachers alike! Eli's teacher told me today that she can't wait for lunch time to open his box and see what cute lunch I've packed that day. Ryan's picked lunch from home over school lunch all but a couple times this year and Makenna oohs and ahhhs over her lunch every time I pack one for her. Fun, a quick creative outlet for me, helps the kids eat healthier, probably cheaper and definitely less wasteful. It's a win/win for all involved, yay!

By the way, the lunch above has a turkey and cheese butterfly sandwich on whole grain bread, ants on a log, grapes and blueberries, homemade zucchini lemon mini muffin and on the right a flower composed of a pickle stem, green pepper leaves and silicone flower cup filled with cheddar bunnies. I needed something to keep the wet fruit away from dry sandwich and muffin so a piece of parchment paper did the trick.

Bentos

Bento Boxes are one of my newer joys in life. I bought some snack and lunch boxes last spring and we've been working towards waste free lunches and snacks ever since. The lunch boxes I bought, Ryan loves. They're a little big and cumbersome for the other two so I've been trying out different containers for their lunches. One that I like is this Sistema box. Just right for a little snack which is what we needed today.
Both kids got "sushi rolls", a babybel cheese, grapes and carrots. The fruit and veggies are separated from the sushi rolls by a little silicone cup and layered with the babybel cheese. The sushi rolls are just a piece of wheat bread, rolled flat and smeared with blackberry jam, then rolled like sushi. Makenna loved them! I have to admit, I think they're pretty cute too. If your snack looked like that, wouldn't you want to eat it?

Making a House a Home

Our new house is so pretty. Big open rooms, lots of space to play and cook and dance and whatever else our hearts desire. The decor doesn't do it justice. We moved in just over four months ago and basically brought the stuff from our old house to our new house, with a few additions. None of the rooms have a plan or a color scheme yet. I can't wait to start putting together idea boards for each room in the house. Decorating, painting, building, repurposing and making our new house into our HOME is how I plan to spend the next nine months. I have 10 hours a week when all my kids are in school. I'm going to be selfish with that time and use it to do something I love. If I can grow a baby in nine months, certainly I can grow a home!

5 years

Don't know when it started, but at some point over the last few years I fell into the trap of looking at the world through a pessimists eyes. I'd get frustrated because I was just a stay at home mom, when I should have been thinking about how wonderful it was that I got to be home with my kids. I'd beat myself up for quitting school and being no closer to living my dream. Then I'd remember I'm already living my dream. Sure, some freelance design work would be awesome but that would be the icing on the cake not the whole cake. I'm done with that way of thinking. The days of beating myself up, not recognizing my achievements and rewards, never thinking I'm doing enough and always trying to make everyone else happy are over. I'm done listening to the little comments from well intended people asking when I'm going to go back to work and what exactly I'm going to do.

I am so blessed. I have a great husband who I've spent the last 17 years with. We've been sooo sooo blessed with our three beautiful kids. We have great extended family and great friends near and far. My life is so awesome, I'm doing it a disservice by looking at it through pessimism and letting self doubts get me down.

Approximately 8 years ago, the Mister and I sat down and wrote up a 5 year plan. It's one of the best things we've done. It's time for me, and us, to do that again. I want the next 5 years to be incredibly full of things and people that I love. Instead of sitting by and watching as years slip by it's time to grab ahold of time and make it work for me!

Things that are important to me right now:

*nurturing relationships with those I love...husband, kids, family and friends

*creating an environment in my home that makes my family want to be home and fits their personalities

*finding a church we can call home and being more than just Sunday attenders

*finding out who I am, other than mommy and wife

*finding an enjoyment in exercise and incorporating it into all our lives on a daily basis

*food! I'm discovering joy in bento boxing the kids lunches and am starting to cook more. Cooking always takes a dive after having a baby, we're finally getting to a place where it's a bit more feasible.

God, Family (including my friends who are chosen family) and Home...that about sums up what's important to me now and I don't see those priorities changing over the next five years.

With that in mind it's time to put pen to paper and write my plan. Can't wait to get started!

I'm mobile! Have I mentioned how much I love my iPhone?!

Drowning

Warning, whining and feeling sorry for myself so you might want to skip this one.

Ever feel like there's just too much to do...be...accomplish...etc. I feel that way so much lately. I thought moving and having more space would help. While I appreciate more space and I know the kids to do, it's also a lot of work right now. We still have a couple boxes in the house and the garage is full. The blank walls glare at me, the lack of furniture is frustrating and the flat paint and little handsprints...don't even get me started. I have so many ideas in my head of things I want to do and can't get to any of them, let alone other daily tasks. I have a to do list a mile long and things are constantly falling through the cracks. We worked so hard to have kids, wanted them so much, they are the best things in my life, and hands down, the hardest. I can barely find a moment in the day where no one is fighting, crying, asking me for a snack, a drink, some toy they've seen an ad for, to play with friends, go out for a treat, etc. I find myself losing my patience and yelling because I'm just so tired of the crying and fighting. I want to hole up in my bedroom, lock the door and just let them battle it out. A couple months ago I started the process of trying to work from home on a very small scale. I'm really not sure how I thought I could make that happen, especially now that it's summer and all kids are home every day. I feel like I'm failing them and myself. We've been home for the past few days because we've all been sick. Too many days all together in the house = bored and restless kids and a frustrated mommy. These are the times when I really question my decision not to work. I would give anything right now to be able to drop them all at daycare and go deal with adults. I feel like I'm drowning and becoming a shadow of the person I was meant to be. More invisible as each day passes. I'm sure I'll be better tomorrow, but this mommy thing with three kids at two very different stages is hard. I know 10 years from now I'll look back and miss these days. Right now though, in the heat of crying and fighting, I'm just trying not to cry myself.

Budding Decorator?

My sweet, beautiful, wonderful daughter decided to decorate her brothers room today... With elmers glue and broken goldfish sprinkled over his entire floor and rug. How long should she be in timeout? I'm leaning towards a solid week.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Our little Leprechaun says Happy St. Patrick's Day! One of my favorite holidays of the year, but come on, who really needs a reason to wear green? We started yesterday in green because it was "green day" at Makenna's school. Somehow dressing her in green trickled down to Eli, it's a good thing they have more green to wear today!

On to other topics, it's been a BUSY month! Our house went on the market the first week in March, and we got an offer a couple days ago. After a counteroffer, and another...we have a signed contract and will close on our house mid April! We sold our house in TWELVE days, people! We've felt a space crunch since having Eli and the other two getting bigger and now it looks like we'll be leaving for bigger (not neccessarily greener, since we love this house) pastures. On that note, we put in an offer on a foreclosure yesterday. We're anxiously awaiting news of that, and if accepted we'll anxiously await the inspection. The house hasn't been lived in for a few months, so I just want to be sure everything is in good condition. The house is almost twice as big as our current place with all the rooms we wanted, ie four bedrooms, bonus, office, open living area. It's very vanilla and will need LOTS of color, but I think we're up for the task. We looked at 13 houses and countless others online and this was the only one we really liked, so I'm really hoping the offer is accepted and all goes well. What a ride this has been! It's encouraged me to pursue staging as a career choice, and pulled me out of my comfort zone as I talked with loan managers and interviewed agents. I was determined to have a good experience selling and buying and so far it's been great! Much different than our first house in Castle Rock.

In other news, I'm really considering becoming a consultant for Beauticontrol. It's a skincare/makeup/bath and body company that does in home spa parties. I've been using their skin care products for almost two months and have really seen a difference in my skin. As someone who didn't grow up using skin care products, this is a little out of the box for me, but I think it would be a fun way to get out of the house a bit, make a few bucks and get some sales experience and community connections. My ultimate goal is a staging business and I think this could be a stepping stone to that, along with having a lasting effect on my skin! Sounds like a win/win situation.

Finally, Eli took his first steps just a couple days ago! Wayne was videoing him riding the little horse that Grandma and Grandpa gave Makenna for her first birthday. Anyway, he slid off the back and just walked across the room! We couldn't believe how steady he was, and that we got it on camera! Just another reason I love the iPhone.

Kids are waking up so it's time for another busy day. Hope you all enjoy your St. Patty's day, I think we'll make some Irish Soda Bread this morning to celebrate. Wonder if we'll get any visitors this year? If you recall a little leprechaun came to visit last year and left green footprints all over my kitchen...

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday Twelve

1. Makenna says "Nice to eat you." when she meets someone.
2. Eli got another tooth this week, that brings him up to seven.
3. Today is the third snowday in a row. Sadly, the white stuff on the ground is mostly ice and not great for playing in. Can we say cabin fever?
4. I cleaned out my closet this weekend and finally got rid of suits I've been holding onto since my working in an office days. It felt good to let those go, knowing that when I go back to working outside the home I'll purchase new stuff. I also got rid of twelve pairs of shoes and three purses. My closet has so much space now!
5. Hours can just disappear when I'm looking at houses online or driving around neighborhoods.
6. Ryan, despite his newly developing tween attitude, is the Best. Big. Brother. Ever.
7. I still haven't settled on a new name for this blog. I'm either lacking creativity or identity.
8. I'm interviewing realtors. If anyone still reads this blog and has worked with a good one, send their name my way.
9. Six more weeks of winter...sigh.
10. I really want to take a photography class. I have so much trouble getting good pictures of my kids despite taking pictures pretty frequently. Maybe I just need to spend more time editing? Maybe a new camera with a shorter delay.
11. I'm not sure when it happened, but somewhere along the way I developed a deep appreciation for coffee.
12. Ryan and I had a date night last week. We visited a new sub shop in town and then hit up the roller skating rink. His school sponsored the night and I was one of maybe 10 parents that skated. It was SO MUCH FUN! We were there for over two hours and Ryan was asking if we could go back the next day. I think we may be frequenting the skating a rink a bit more often.

New Year, New Name.

You may have noticed my blog name changing. I'm just trying a few on for size. Nothing seems to be just right.

Tuesday Twelve

1. Eli transferred out of our room just three nights ago, he'll be 1 in a week. Never thought I'd have a baby in my room that long.
2. One of my fav songs right now is by Miley Cyrus...gasp. Party in the USA just sucks me in.
3. I'm dreading the next few months. I don't want to deal with all the paperwork and boxes of trying to move, just want to do the househunting and decorating when it happens.
4. I'm exhausted by 8 pm every night. All I want to do is sit on the couch and veg. Sometimes that happens but it usually doesn't.
5. I love cake and homemade cookies...way better than chocolate or ice cream.
6. My kids have gotten the smackdown on tv, they'd been watching too much during the holidays and bitter cold temps. Ryan told me he was having fun imagining yesterday, warmed my heart.
7. I secretly worry that Makenna is going to be bigger than both my boys and will struggle with that.
8. I had a dream about people from high school last night...I think fb is to blame.
9. I'm consantly late these days. A trait that I despised, I now exhibit daily.
10. Going from 2-3 kids has been the hardest transition for us. Maybe because we didn't have years to prepare for this one?
11. I'm so happy our Christmas decorations are down. While I miss the ambient light, I don't miss all the clutter.
12. I've become such a procrastinator and really need to work on getting better about that

New Year, New You?

Holy Cow, it's 2010! I have a good feeling about the year ahead and am hoping it's good to all those I love. I haven't made many resolutions this year, but my focus for the year is strength. Strength of faith, strength of body, strength of finances and strength of self worth. 2009 was a hard year. A few close relationships faltered, I found myself consumed by all things kid related, I struggled with body image due to remaining pregnancy pounds and wanted more time for the things that made me (and only me) happy.

The highlights of the year were:

• giving birth to a sweet, sweet boy!
• forgiving a friend and finding out how much fun we could have together again
• remembering just what made me fall in love with my husband and continually recognizing what an awesome life partner he is
• spending time with lots of family and being reminded, yet again, of what a giving and loving mom I have
• enjoying a blossoming lifelong friendship
• And, of course, watching my kids grow and change and amaze me daily

I'm really looking forward to the year ahead. We have some exciting things on the horizon as a family and there are a few things just for me coming up too. 2010 is going to be a good year!

Halloween

All the kids were fighting illness this Halloween Night, but after being cooped up in the house for days, we decided to get out and trick or treat at a few houses. Much fun was had by Commander Fox, Cinderella and Yoda. Poor Cinderella lost her Tiara before we even left the house, but at least she still had her "glass slippers". Yoda dropped his light saber in favor of a bottle and Commander Fox handed off his laser gun so that he could haul more candy. There was a crispness in the air, but it wasn't too cold and the rain stayed away. A perfect night full of children's laughter and smiles.
Commander Fox, Yoda and Cinderella
So excited!Running from house to house. Where'd they find all that energy?

Have you ever seen a cuter Yoda?

The magic of books

1978

A dad gives his 6 year old daughter her first chapter book with an inscription that reads:

"Dear Chandra,
So you can spend time with one of your friends.
Love Daddy"

A love of books is born.

I don't know when I was first introduced to Laura Ingalls and the Little House on the Prairie series, but because of my dad's inscription I do know that by the age of 6 I already loved her character. I collected the series of books over the years and read them over and over. I loved mischievous Laura and all her pranks, fun times and her good heart. I giggled, laughed out loud, cried and pondered over all the characters in the little town on the prairie and there was a time I knew them like they were my own family.

As I got older, as my tastes changed, I moved on to Nancy Drew, Anne of Green Gables and all things Judy Bloom. But, secretly, when I'd read everything I'd gotten from the library but still wanted to stay up late reading with a flashlight under my covers, I'd pull out one of my old favorites.

I loved those book so much that to this day they sit on my bookshelf.

The stories in those books were so good that they made a TV show. In my early 20's I got hooked on reruns of it, and I think I saw every episode. The actress Melissa Gilbert brought Laura Ingalls to the little screen and played her character so well and for so long that I can't help but picture her face when I hear the words Little House on the Prairie. When I watched the reruns, I saw the story with new eyes. I'd recently gotten married so Laura's relationship with Almonzo or "Manny" was a much more interesting plot line, and I loved that Laura will still herself and didn't submit to a man but became his partner.

Last night, I got to see the musical version of "Little House on the Prairie". I sat, without moving, and enjoyed every minute. True to form, I laughed out loud and cried right along with the characters. This time, what called to me, was the relationship between mother and daughter and the mother's embrace of the "wild child" in her daughter. Laura sang a song about not wanting to be good and wanting to run wild and there were frequent references to Ma being the same when she was a girl. Now that I have a daughter, and one who challenges me daily with her wildness, I fully appreciate how Ma felt. I also see a little of myself in that little girl who's full of sass.

A character, brought to life through books 30 years ago, still relevant and loved after all these years.

Thank you Laura Ingalls Wilder for writing about your life and inspiring young girls to be anything they want to be.

Thank you daddy for starting a life long love of books.

My friend Jacy and I, before the show


Me with Melissa Gilbert (gasp!) She played Ma in the musical.

Ryan the gr8!

Ryan made it through a Labor Day with out a hospital stay this year! The three years prior to this included at least an ER visit, if not an ambulance ride and a stay at the hospital. We don't know if he's growing out of his seasonal allergies and/or asthma, or if it was the cocktail of meds we pumped him with that did the trick, but either way, he made it through Labor Day weekend! Yes!

Ryan's 8, going on 16 lately. We're starting to see some tween behavior along with more desire to play with friends and less desire to hang out with his sister and brother. He's doing well in school...reading well, excels in math, loves recess. His teacher says he's a good boy and student. We've had a few small issues with talking, and unfortunately, we're struggling with a few of his friends. His best friend, who's such a good kid, transferred to a new school last year. Since then, Ryan's been finding new friends in class, but he tends to gravitate toward the class clowns. Friends have such a huge impact on kids, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he's not in class with a couple of the boys next year. One in particular has had a negative influence on Ryan, something even Ryan has recognized. He asked to move chairs in music, because he knew he was talking too much. That was a proud mommy moment...when my kid took responsibility for his actions and made changes. Some times it feels like he doesn't hear a word we say, then he does something like that.

He just finished up another season of fall baseball. His team was mediocre but I think Ryan still enjoyed the season. He played outfield for about half the season and the other half he played second base. He liked second base a lot better because "it got more action". Who can blame him? He's really pushing to play football now. The schedule for kids football is insane, daily practice, traveling weekend games. Plus it's a lot more expensive. Ryan watches the game on TV and understands what's happening, He knows some of the teams and players. He cheers at the right time and knows what some of the calls are. He really wants to play and has a huge interest in it. We're really going to have to think about it for next year.

Ryan, at a month shy of 8, finally stopped sucking his finger. He's sucked his first finger since he was a baby and nothing could make him stop. We tried bandaids, gloves, yucky tasting stuff, rewards for not doing it...everything we could think of. Then he broke his arm and it was in a cast that didn't allow him to get his finger in mouth. I thought that would be the end of it, but nope, the minute the cast came off his finger went in his mouth. Then, this past spring, he lost a tooth and another, adult teeth were coming in and he was still sucking that finger which was causing the adult teeth to come in at an angle. We decided it was time to take him to an orthodontist and get a mouth brace. Well, all it took was one visit, the guy telling Ryan he needed to stop and Ryan hasn't put that finger in his mouth since. I guess he was ready and finally had the right motivation. No matter what, it was a huge habit to break and we're so proud of him.

Surgery, Daycare and Tears...oh my!

The last few months have been pretty big for Makenna. Her voice has changed and she's spent some time away from Mommy.

First things first, Makenna started a two day a week Mother's Day Out program. Tuesday and Thursday for 5 hours she spends time with two teachers and a bunch of friends. I wasn't sure either of us would make it through her first day, and both of us shed many many tears. I thought I was being selfish for wanting her to go to "school" and almost pulled her out, but her daddy, smart man that he is, convinced me to give it a few more days. She cried for most of the first and second day, but by day three the drop off tears stopped within half an hour. By the fourth day it was about 10 minutes and since then she's been a superstar. Walks right in, with her baby in tow, and is always happy when I pick her up.

Potty training amped up when MDO started and Makenna was doing so well. We still had a few accidents, but she was in panties most days and was proud of herself. Then, we found out she was going to need surgery. Minor surgery, tonsils and adenoids, but still surgery. Potty training went out the window and she's fighting it with all she's got now. She refuses to go potty at school and when she's in panties, has accidents pretty frequently. On a positive note, since surgery she no longer snores or has sleep apnea, yay! Her voice has gotten a lot higher too. Now that we're through surgery and recovery, it's time to push potty training into high gear again. We're ready to have just one in diapers!

A few other little tidbits about Makenna:
*She sings all the time.
*She's a strong little thing, when she had blood drawn for surgery labs she watched the whole thing and didn't even flinch.
*She's very opinionated and strong willed. She's challenging me in so many ways right now, we're constantly trying to figure out what discipline technique is most effective.
*She stopped calling Ryan Bubba or Bub and now calls him by his name. That was something sweet between the two of them, it's been kind of bittersweet to hear the nickname go.
*At 2 3/4 years of age, she's wearing 3T and 4T clothes. I hope she doesn't tower over her two brothers who are both on the small side.
*She still wants me to put her to bed, anytime I'm home. When anyone else tries she throws a huge fit. I love this and struggle with this all at the same time.
*My girl has some attitude...sigh.
*She loves her brothers, but doesn't always show it. I know this is normal sibling stuff, but it can be so frustrating and sometimes sad. Ryan gets his feelings hurt when Makenna doesn't want to give him a hug goodnight.
*Makenna has beautiful hair. We can't go anywhere without someone mentioning it. It's always curly, but when it's really humid her entire head is full of ringlets.
*She's getting to be more social, but still shy. Takes her a bit to warm up to new people and she's not one to smile at random strangers.
*Her vocabulary is growing in leaps and bounds right now. She's always tossing out new words and understands just about anything we say to her.
*We cuddled on the couch and watched Enchanted a few days ago. It's the little girls version of a chick flick. We also broke out my old barbies a few days ago. Makenna's in love. It's so fun having another girl in the house!

Ummm...hello

Tap Tap Tap...

Is this thing on?

Life has gotten incredibly busy and blogging is one of the things I've let slip. I miss the process of writing and I miss having a record of what's going on in our lives, so, it's time to dust off the keyboard and start again. I know there are a few out there that will rejoice (hi Mom and Mom-In-Law). Let's hope I don't fall off the bandwagon again.

Where to begin...

I haven't kept up with my monthly letters to Eli, so I'll throw out some of the highlights over the last couple months.

6 months - 16 lbs 10 oz
At the beginning of this month Eli started sitting by himself. We drove across the country to visit all the family in Colorado. Eli met his Grandma and Grandpa H for the first time, along with many of his aunts and uncles. He also pulled himself to standing for the first time during this trip. Unfortunately mommy and daddy were off playing, so we missed it, but Nana and Papa got to witness his trick. He tolerated the traveling really well but once we were home didn't want to get within a foot of his carseat. During this trip, Eli exhibited the most seperation anxiety we've seen from him. He wanted mom and dad a lot, but grandparents still got some time with him. A good thing, since all three sets got to spend time with their grandkids!

7 months -17 lbs 12 oz
Things were pretty status quo this month. Eli started enjoying food a lot more and decided he was ready to wean. I tried to force the issue for a couple weeks, but then decided I was ready for that step too. He seemed happy with the switch, and I'll admit, I liked getting my body back.

8 months - 18lbs 11 oz
Right as he turned 8 months old, Eli started crawling and pulling himself to standing on everything. It took him about a week of the tummy crawl before he moved into the triangle crawl, which lasted a couple more days. By the end of the month he was proficient in both crawling and standing. He also got his 3rd tooth and about a week later his 4th and saw the beach for the first time. Eli, and family, spent a week in Charleston, SC with Nana, Papa and all the aunts and uncles. He liked the sand much more than the water, we had a hard time keeping it out of his mouth. He also decided to wake up before Dawn most mornings, which meant dad or mom (but mostly dad) got an early morning walk on the beach.

9 months - 18 lbs - 14th percentile for weight, 26 1/2" - 6% for height, head circumference 46cm - 70%
At 9 months, after discovering new skills and having croup twice in month, Eli's weight dropped a bit. He's a peanut with a big brain. What little separation anxiety that was seen a few months ago is long gone and he's a happy, social baby. He smiles all the time and loves to play with anyone who looks at him. We get tons of compliments about what a cute and smiley baby he is...maybe that's where his big head comes from? He's already discovered an affinity for fruit over veggies, and of all my kids, is probably the least open to new tastes as this age. He loves to be outside, and if Makenna leaves the back door open, he beelines for the back yard. Speaking of Makenna, Eli started fighting with her this month. He's able to go after toys that interest him now and she isn't always willing to share. It's so funny to see a 9 month old yelling at his big sister, I know it won't be funny for long but for now it makes us laugh.

I could write all day about our sweet baby, but these few updates bring us to current time. To the grandparents, I promise to try harder to keep the updates coming in a timely fashion.

Rules to Live By

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
2. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
3. Follow the three Rs:
1. Respect for self
2. Respect for others
3. Responsibility for all your actions.
4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
6. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
7. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
8. Spend some time alone every day.
9. Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
11. Live a good, honourable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.
12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
14. Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality.
15. Be gentle with the earth.
16. Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

~Dalai Lama

The joys of potty training

We've been in full on potty training mode for a number of weeks now and are constantly reminding Makenna not to poop or pee in her panties. She's doing pretty well. Last night, for example, she decided she had to go, pulled off her pajama bottoms and panties all by herself... and proceeded to poop in the middle of her bedroom floor.

At least we know she's listening.