Sure kid. That sounds great.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
how do you explain the concept of celebrity to a 4 year old?
Watching Nora Jones on Sesame Street one day last week Julianna said, "Mom, can we meet her?" I said, "Oh I would like that very much. I think she's an excellent musician." She replied, "Yeah, maybe we can meet her for lunch one day."
Sure kid. That sounds great.
Sure kid. That sounds great.
Friday, July 16, 2010
our "craft" of the day
We're making tic-tac-toe pizzas for lunch today. YUM!
And yes, she is still wearing her pajammas.
And yes, she is still wearing her pajammas.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
My little Edward
Just so I remember, Joshua got his teeth in this order:
#1 - 04.02.2010 (5 months 11 days)
#2 - 04.09.2010 (5 months 18 days)
#3 - 06.28.2010 (8 months 6 days)
#4 - 06.30.2010 (8 months 8 days)
#5 - 07.09.2010 (8 months 17 days)
Teething has affected him a little differently than it did Julianna. Jules used to run a fever with every tooth that came through. She would also get diarrhea, but other than that you couldn't even tell that she was cutting a new tooth.
Josh on the other hand, bites everything (including me!). He will crawl right up to any one of us, bend over putting his mouth down on our leg or arm and clamp down hard. He has left teeth marks on my body on numerous occasions. He bites while nursing and I don't know how to make him stop. Also, he has occasionally run a low temperature even though it's been nothing higher than about 99.2 and he's only had loose bowel movements once or twice so mostly it's just the biting and the sleeping.
Julianna was always a good sleeper. Cutting a tooth never seemed to disrupt her sleep at all. Josh on the other hand has never been a great sleeper. He is almost nine months old and he still wakes up multiple times a night. I don't know how much is attributed to his teeth, but I like to think that's a part of his horrible sleep habits since that's something I really can't control.
The funniest part about Joshua teething in my opinion, is the order in which he has gotten which teeth. He started with the bottom two front teeth. Then he moved on to the top two incisors, not the middle ones like most kids do. Now he has his top two middle front teeth coming in but until they are through he will look like a little vampire since the incisors are really pointed like mine are. I just call him my little Edward.
#1 - 04.02.2010 (5 months 11 days)
#2 - 04.09.2010 (5 months 18 days)
#3 - 06.28.2010 (8 months 6 days)
#4 - 06.30.2010 (8 months 8 days)
#5 - 07.09.2010 (8 months 17 days)
Teething has affected him a little differently than it did Julianna. Jules used to run a fever with every tooth that came through. She would also get diarrhea, but other than that you couldn't even tell that she was cutting a new tooth.
Josh on the other hand, bites everything (including me!). He will crawl right up to any one of us, bend over putting his mouth down on our leg or arm and clamp down hard. He has left teeth marks on my body on numerous occasions. He bites while nursing and I don't know how to make him stop. Also, he has occasionally run a low temperature even though it's been nothing higher than about 99.2 and he's only had loose bowel movements once or twice so mostly it's just the biting and the sleeping.
Julianna was always a good sleeper. Cutting a tooth never seemed to disrupt her sleep at all. Josh on the other hand has never been a great sleeper. He is almost nine months old and he still wakes up multiple times a night. I don't know how much is attributed to his teeth, but I like to think that's a part of his horrible sleep habits since that's something I really can't control.
The funniest part about Joshua teething in my opinion, is the order in which he has gotten which teeth. He started with the bottom two front teeth. Then he moved on to the top two incisors, not the middle ones like most kids do. Now he has his top two middle front teeth coming in but until they are through he will look like a little vampire since the incisors are really pointed like mine are. I just call him my little Edward.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
recipe Wednesday
We stopped by a roadside produce stand the other day and bought some "home grown maters" as the sign read. We also got a bunch of other vegetables including some peppers that look like these:
Google says that this is a picture of a bunch of banana peppers but I don't know if that's what we got or not. The weren't sweet like the banana peppers that I know of so maybe they were a chili pepper...? They weren't too hot either until we got to the end of them where I had failed to get all of the ribs and seeds out. There they were extremely hot. Like I said, I don't know what they were.
Anyway, the cute little old man at the stand told us to slit the pepper open and remove the seeds (I did that but in my haste to get dinner made quickly I didn't did it out all the way to the bottom). Then he told us to fill it with a little cream cheese and bacon pieces and cook it in the oven for a few minutes.
We tried it this week and the verdict is mmmmmmm... delicious. We made one with light cream cheese and bacon pieces and we made the other one with a wedge of Laughing Cow cheese and bacon. So good. You should run out to your local farmer's market or produce stand as soon as you can and make this quick taste of summer.
Just make sure you get all of the insides scooped out and you can't go wrong. It's fantastic.
By the way, Google "peppers" sometime and just take a look at the most beautiful images. Fun stuff!
Google says that this is a picture of a bunch of banana peppers but I don't know if that's what we got or not. The weren't sweet like the banana peppers that I know of so maybe they were a chili pepper...? They weren't too hot either until we got to the end of them where I had failed to get all of the ribs and seeds out. There they were extremely hot. Like I said, I don't know what they were.
Anyway, the cute little old man at the stand told us to slit the pepper open and remove the seeds (I did that but in my haste to get dinner made quickly I didn't did it out all the way to the bottom). Then he told us to fill it with a little cream cheese and bacon pieces and cook it in the oven for a few minutes.
We tried it this week and the verdict is mmmmmmm... delicious. We made one with light cream cheese and bacon pieces and we made the other one with a wedge of Laughing Cow cheese and bacon. So good. You should run out to your local farmer's market or produce stand as soon as you can and make this quick taste of summer.
Just make sure you get all of the insides scooped out and you can't go wrong. It's fantastic.
By the way, Google "peppers" sometime and just take a look at the most beautiful images. Fun stuff!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
motivation
I've been trying to lose weight ever since Josh got to be about 5 months old. As always, it's been a rollercoaster ride full of ups and downs, but ever since the beginning of June I've done pretty well to stay on track. I've lost 11 pounds since June 7th and I think that's pretty good. Slow and steady wins the race. I'd like to lose a lot more but I'm just trying to make small changes, changes that I can make a permanent part of my life.
One of my goals is to exercise some small bit every single day. This really isn't as hard as I thought it would be. I'm such a schedule/routine person that I used to try very hard to schedule in my exercise and do it on a regular basis at the same time each day. I've finally figured out that this just isn't very feasible. With two kids I have to be more flexible and just exercise whenever I get the spare fifteen minutes.
That means that if we have nothing going on one morning then I occupy the kids and try to go run before I take my shower. If we have a busy morning of running around then I try to go right after dinner and ride my bike pulling the kids in the trailer or pushing the kids in the stroller as I walk the neighborhood. Occasionally, we'll have a busy day full of running all morning and then all evening as well and then I'll have to try to squeeze in some exercise after both kids are in bed. This is the hardest. Mostly it's hard because I'm not a night person. I am completely exhausted by the end of the day lately and I want nothing more than to sit on the couch after Jules and Josh are in bed. Sometimes that's what happens. Still. I'm trying.
A few years ago when I turned 29, I set a goal of completing at least one organized race each year until I turn 40. I don't think that's too hard to do and I don't think it is unrealistic. As a matter of fact, I look forward to participating in various races with my kids as they get older. We're trying to convince Julianna to do her first race with us on July 31st as we run the Mission Mile. It's only a one mile race and I know she could do it. Right now all she says she'll do is cheer though. I think she thinks she'll get a cheerleader uniform and pompoms if she insists on standing on the sidelines. Wrong.
This year I finally feel ready to take on a big one. I actually signed up for the Ramblin' Rose triathlon in August and while I may have simply lost my mind, at this point I am still excited about it. I will have to swim 250 yards, bike 9 miles, and then run 2 miles. I'm to the point now where I can run 2 miles pretty easily again. I'm riding my bike regularly (but I don't know about 9 miles!) and honestly, the swimming part scares me to death. I will probably just bob along in the pool, walking when I can and I don't care. I will still be proud of myself, as long as I finish. Please pray for me as I get ready for the race.
A couple of times lately someone very close to me has said some hurtful things about my appearance and oddly enough, once I got over the hurt of it all, the comments have only served to motivate me. I think because it was someone who's opinion I value so much that has made it all that much more important to do what I can to get to my goal weight and at least do what I can to change how I look and how I feel about myself. Usually, things like that do NOT motivate me, they only depress me. Usually, I am motivated by other things like fitting into a pair of favorite jeans, etc.
Also, I saw this picture the other day and I immediately remembered that I HATED my appearance in this photo. I am actually surprised that I was even comfortable enough to wear a bikini. I despised my fat thighs and I remember that when it was taken I was dieting then as well. I wanted to lose about 15 pounds. Sadly, I would LOVE to look that way now. I can't remember the last time I wore a bikini. Apparently, it was before either of my kids were born. This picture was taken during the summer of 2004. I hope to be comfortable in a bathing suit again by the summer of 2011. With only about 28 pounds to go I think I can do that.
In contrast to the picture above, here is it's equivalent today. This picture is horrendous. It makes me cringe every time I look at it. It was taken this past April and I cannot even believe I am posting it. Anyway, the spare tire I have hanging over my maternity jean capris repulses me. I hope that this picture will serve as inspiration for me to love my body again and be proud of what it can do and has done for me.
I shared this quote on Facebook not too long ago, but it still rings true with meaning to me these days so I thought I'd post it here to remember.
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
What motivates you? Can you offer any words of motivation to keep me going? I could use it.
One of my goals is to exercise some small bit every single day. This really isn't as hard as I thought it would be. I'm such a schedule/routine person that I used to try very hard to schedule in my exercise and do it on a regular basis at the same time each day. I've finally figured out that this just isn't very feasible. With two kids I have to be more flexible and just exercise whenever I get the spare fifteen minutes.
That means that if we have nothing going on one morning then I occupy the kids and try to go run before I take my shower. If we have a busy morning of running around then I try to go right after dinner and ride my bike pulling the kids in the trailer or pushing the kids in the stroller as I walk the neighborhood. Occasionally, we'll have a busy day full of running all morning and then all evening as well and then I'll have to try to squeeze in some exercise after both kids are in bed. This is the hardest. Mostly it's hard because I'm not a night person. I am completely exhausted by the end of the day lately and I want nothing more than to sit on the couch after Jules and Josh are in bed. Sometimes that's what happens. Still. I'm trying.
A few years ago when I turned 29, I set a goal of completing at least one organized race each year until I turn 40. I don't think that's too hard to do and I don't think it is unrealistic. As a matter of fact, I look forward to participating in various races with my kids as they get older. We're trying to convince Julianna to do her first race with us on July 31st as we run the Mission Mile. It's only a one mile race and I know she could do it. Right now all she says she'll do is cheer though. I think she thinks she'll get a cheerleader uniform and pompoms if she insists on standing on the sidelines. Wrong.
This year I finally feel ready to take on a big one. I actually signed up for the Ramblin' Rose triathlon in August and while I may have simply lost my mind, at this point I am still excited about it. I will have to swim 250 yards, bike 9 miles, and then run 2 miles. I'm to the point now where I can run 2 miles pretty easily again. I'm riding my bike regularly (but I don't know about 9 miles!) and honestly, the swimming part scares me to death. I will probably just bob along in the pool, walking when I can and I don't care. I will still be proud of myself, as long as I finish. Please pray for me as I get ready for the race.
A couple of times lately someone very close to me has said some hurtful things about my appearance and oddly enough, once I got over the hurt of it all, the comments have only served to motivate me. I think because it was someone who's opinion I value so much that has made it all that much more important to do what I can to get to my goal weight and at least do what I can to change how I look and how I feel about myself. Usually, things like that do NOT motivate me, they only depress me. Usually, I am motivated by other things like fitting into a pair of favorite jeans, etc.
Also, I saw this picture the other day and I immediately remembered that I HATED my appearance in this photo. I am actually surprised that I was even comfortable enough to wear a bikini. I despised my fat thighs and I remember that when it was taken I was dieting then as well. I wanted to lose about 15 pounds. Sadly, I would LOVE to look that way now. I can't remember the last time I wore a bikini. Apparently, it was before either of my kids were born. This picture was taken during the summer of 2004. I hope to be comfortable in a bathing suit again by the summer of 2011. With only about 28 pounds to go I think I can do that.
In contrast to the picture above, here is it's equivalent today. This picture is horrendous. It makes me cringe every time I look at it. It was taken this past April and I cannot even believe I am posting it. Anyway, the spare tire I have hanging over my maternity jean capris repulses me. I hope that this picture will serve as inspiration for me to love my body again and be proud of what it can do and has done for me.
I shared this quote on Facebook not too long ago, but it still rings true with meaning to me these days so I thought I'd post it here to remember.
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
What motivates you? Can you offer any words of motivation to keep me going? I could use it.
Monday, July 12, 2010
the amazing race
Here's a little about our contestants.
First up we have Jumpin' Jules. She's got that ferocious competitive look going on. Ohhhh intimidating!
Our next contestant is Ain't no Joke Joshua who's trying his hardest to walk but for now gets around pretty great by just crawling everywhere.
The race is about to being. Get ready! And they're off!
Untitled from c525600 on Vimeo.
So we were goofing off this morning and I was marveling at how fast Joshua could crawl now. We decided to have a race between him and Jules. Obviously, he's not quite as fast as a four year old, but still he can get around. He will also willingly let go of the couch to get to the coffee table and vice versa.
I guess I've never really written about the fact that Joshua has fully learned to crawl. I don't think I've written about it because, well, Joshua learned to crawl and now he's keeping me really busy. But I don't think I've mentioned it also because I never got his 8 month letter finished. I started it multiple times but then got some kind of not-quite-virus-more-like-a-glitch with Microsoft Word (which is where I write my letters to my kids before I post them) and lost what I had begun. Then I got depressed about not getting it done on time and then never returned to it. Anyway, enough about my issues.
Josh can crawl! He finally figured it out about four weeks ago. We were at the beach and he wanted to get in to everything he could. He was about 7 months and 3 weeks old. As usual, I'm going to compare him to Julianna. She was 9 months and 1 week old when she finally crawled and she walked the very next week. She was much more content to just stay still than he is. I have a feeling that is a more common characteristic of girls.
But what all this means to me is that if Josh were to walk at the same time that Julianna did then we should expect him to be walking within the next three weeks. Yikes! I don't think I'm ready for that. No, not ready at all.
First up we have Jumpin' Jules. She's got that ferocious competitive look going on. Ohhhh intimidating!
Our next contestant is Ain't no Joke Joshua who's trying his hardest to walk but for now gets around pretty great by just crawling everywhere.
The race is about to being. Get ready! And they're off!
Untitled from c525600 on Vimeo.
So we were goofing off this morning and I was marveling at how fast Joshua could crawl now. We decided to have a race between him and Jules. Obviously, he's not quite as fast as a four year old, but still he can get around. He will also willingly let go of the couch to get to the coffee table and vice versa.
I guess I've never really written about the fact that Joshua has fully learned to crawl. I don't think I've written about it because, well, Joshua learned to crawl and now he's keeping me really busy. But I don't think I've mentioned it also because I never got his 8 month letter finished. I started it multiple times but then got some kind of not-quite-virus-more-like-a-glitch with Microsoft Word (which is where I write my letters to my kids before I post them) and lost what I had begun. Then I got depressed about not getting it done on time and then never returned to it. Anyway, enough about my issues.
Josh can crawl! He finally figured it out about four weeks ago. We were at the beach and he wanted to get in to everything he could. He was about 7 months and 3 weeks old. As usual, I'm going to compare him to Julianna. She was 9 months and 1 week old when she finally crawled and she walked the very next week. She was much more content to just stay still than he is. I have a feeling that is a more common characteristic of girls.
But what all this means to me is that if Josh were to walk at the same time that Julianna did then we should expect him to be walking within the next three weeks. Yikes! I don't think I'm ready for that. No, not ready at all.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
no, it's NOT Carolina blue
We stripped wallpaper and painted our family room/den last weekend. We had a group of friends willing to help on Friday night so it went pretty quickly. We got all the wallpaper down before bed on Friday night and then we sanded and taped Saturday morning. By Saturday evening, Jonathan had the whole room painted with two coats and we put the room back together after the kids were in bed.
And in case you were wondering before and after pictures are below. I'm pleased with the results and while I won't be doing any other rooms in our house any time soon, I do look forward to seeing the finished product of them. We have so many rooms that have late eighties/early nineties wallpaper on the walls. Even though I know it's sort of coming back in style, I still think wallpaper is just nasty and I won't put any up ever in my life.
Also, please ignore my piles of clean laundry on the sofa and the fact that I forgot to take the before pictures until after we had removed the pictures from the wall and disassembled the couch.
Julianna didn't seem to mind the new location for the sofa. The TV works just as good when you look at it from here.
We had to fence this one in to keep him from eating tiny strips of wallpaper.
They played surprisingly well together in their little fort.
Of course, the lighting is not great in these pictures so you really can't tell the actual color, but nevertheless here's what it looks like now.
The best part of all of it was when Jonathan told me that Julianna had asked him, "Daddy, why are there robot parts on our walls?" The he told me that she was talking about the switch plate covers being off.
And in case you were wondering before and after pictures are below. I'm pleased with the results and while I won't be doing any other rooms in our house any time soon, I do look forward to seeing the finished product of them. We have so many rooms that have late eighties/early nineties wallpaper on the walls. Even though I know it's sort of coming back in style, I still think wallpaper is just nasty and I won't put any up ever in my life.
Also, please ignore my piles of clean laundry on the sofa and the fact that I forgot to take the before pictures until after we had removed the pictures from the wall and disassembled the couch.
Julianna didn't seem to mind the new location for the sofa. The TV works just as good when you look at it from here.
We had to fence this one in to keep him from eating tiny strips of wallpaper.
They played surprisingly well together in their little fort.
Of course, the lighting is not great in these pictures so you really can't tell the actual color, but nevertheless here's what it looks like now.
The best part of all of it was when Jonathan told me that Julianna had asked him, "Daddy, why are there robot parts on our walls?" The he told me that she was talking about the switch plate covers being off.
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