beautiful day by the pool

A Discovery of Witches

I was excited to receive a copy of A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness from BlogHer and Penguin Books to read and review. Click the graphic above if you're interested in hearing about Bella and Edward Diana and Matthew.

we made it

As it turns out, I realized I'm finally at the point where I can chill out a little as a parent and not freak the heck out if my son doesn't get a good nap one day or if both of my kids don't get to bed right on time.

Yesterday, I finished up at school and took Josh to see a pediatric ophthalmologist at Baptist Hospital.  The visit went well enough although it was pitiful to have a child Joshua's age with dilated eyes the rest of the afternoon on a sunshiny day.  We made it though and he'll probably have minor surgery next month to open up his tear duct.  More than likely no big deal.

After we got done with that, my mom and the kids and I loaded up the car and headed to the beach.  Josh was beyond tired from the events of the day but he would not go to sleep on the way down.  He finally caved and slept for about 30 minutes until we pulled into the parking lot at the condo.  Not his usual 2 hr 20 min nap but it'll do.

Anyway, we got everything unloaded and then all headed out for some quick play time on the beach as the sun went down and the moon came up.  Josh ran at the waves until they made him dizzy swirling around his knees.  He threw handfuls of sand at the ocean with the biggest grin on his face.  When we came inside we already had a ton of sand to wash off of our bodies and we'd only been here less than an hour.  My kids got in bed around ten o'clock. 

It was a gorgeous evening and I can tell it's going to be an even better week.

Questions of the Day:
-What are you up to?
-Do you flip if your kids miss a nap or get to bed late?  What about in the summer?
-Do your kids usually sleep well in the car?

last day and other things

It's finally the last Teacher Work Day for me.  Yippppeeee!!!!  It couldn't come quickly enough!

We've not been up to much at our house and man is it NICE!  We've mostly just been playing.  Yesterday we made these dinosaur shoes out of old Kleenex boxes.  I saw the idea in an old Family Fun magazine and the kids needed no encouraging to do it.

(Don't ask what he's wearing.  This was like the third outfit change of the day so I just pulled dirty clothes out of the laundry room.)


We've also spent some time playing the in water and enjoying the sunshine and shade in the backyard.  Yes, and also sitting in time out.

We've paid a visit (or two) to Yoforia.  We are addicted, no?  Sooooo good!

And ridden on a zebra or two:

We've gone on a couple of bike rides and watched/played a quick softball game.

Now we're getting ready to head to the beach for a while.  I'm so excited I can hardly stand it.  I feel like one of those kids from the Disney commercials.  You know the ones where the parents wake the kids up in the middle of the night and tell them to get in the car because they're going to Disney?  My dad is actually taking two days off (which is the miracle of miracles) and coming with us.

I've told Jules that we have to go on a six mile walk every day before we can even consider going to the arcade at the pier.  Hopefully that tactic will work and keep me exercising.  At least I'll have some help with the kids this year and won't need to run out looking for a double stroller for sale.


Questions of the Day:

-What are your plans this summer?
-Are schools out where you live?
-What toppings do you like bes ton your froyo?

pyramid, schmyramid

By now you've probably heard about the new dietary guidelines suggested by the USDA, but have you seen the new logo?  It's the updated food pyramid, y'all, and I think it's awesome!

I don't know if it's just that I'm a nerdy pie chart kinda girl or what, but I really think this visual helps a lot more than the old layers-of-a-pyramid version.  I mean, really?  Who eats a layer of grains, a layer of veggies, or a teeny tiny triangle of fats and oils? 

In my opinion, this one is a lot easier to understand and picture in your mind how much of each category of food you should be eating, especially when you don't have a picture of the USDA's logo recommendation right in front of you.  And it's on a plate!  A plate!  And the milk is in a cup-like shape!

Notice that the plate at first glance appears to be divided into quarters when really the vegetables and grains portions are larger than the fruits and protein portions.  The fat section has disappeared entirely which makes total sense to me since we usually get our fats automatically from the other food groups that we eat.  You can read more about it here but basically the additional suggestions are as follows.



Balancing Calories

• Enjoy your food, but eat less.
• Avoid oversized portions.

Foods to Increase

• Make half your plate fruits and vegetables.
• Make at least half your grains whole grains.
• Switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk.

Foods to Reduce

• Compare sodium in foods like soup, bread, and frozen meals ― and choose the foods with lower numbers.
• Drink water instead of sugary drinks.

I might just print out a color copy of this and hang it near my desk at work.  Two thumbs up from me.