A New Year's Resolution: Showing Appreciation For Where I Am

Being appreciated is so important.

How do you show your loved ones you appreciate them and what they do? Or do you forget to?

I'm guilty of that.

So is my husband.

Sometimes its easy to have expectations for one another without showing a single bit of appreciation or even internal gratitude once that expectation has been met. I think this is very normal. The problem lies in never reflecting on when and how our expectations were met.

In the new year of 2013 and beyond, I've decided that I will do my best to be more conscious and present of the blessings around me. When I'm more present and conscious, the appreciation -- hopefully daily -- should flow much more easily than it does now.

Daily appreciation ---> warm words of kindness and thanks to GOD, my husband, family and friends and even friendly and helpful strangers. Not drawn out soliloquies, haha.

Each year, as I get older, the desire I have to be the woman that GOD created me to be deepens. As this desire deepens, I realize that having a heart of 'intentions' just doesn't cut it.

Its about doing. Its about action.

So where do I begin? I'm beginning with showing the gratitude and appreciation that I have for what's in front of me to TO those in front of me.

Lately, its been hard to show my appreciation to those in front of me when I don't connect it back to the gratitude I have [to GOD] inside of me. For others it can be an easy thing. It used to be an easy thing for me to do, but times of confusion throughout the years have proved the task of internal gratitude to be something that I've taken for granted.

Being consciously appreciative will also keep my attitudes to a minimum. {fake laugh with a side eye}

Watching the news reminds me to correct my attitude and 'pity parades' but being conscious of the blessings around me will lead me to the blessings that I want and have yet to encounter.

I guess this is my primary  New Year's resolution and sharing it for you to see will help keep me true to it.

Have a great time bringing in the New Year! I'm looking forward to seeing all of your New Year's Eve festivities!

Our Ornament Collecting Tradition

Even though Christmas is over its still holiday season so a post about ornaments is still fitting.
Collecting ornaments is another little Christmas tradition of ours. Hallmark ornaments have consistently had the coolest character ornaments around.
Before we had kids, we just collected 2, one for each of us. This year we collected 3, two for the kids and just one for us---a family photo ornament. Ornaments can get expensive so it'll be interesting to see how we handle this in the future.
One way will include me making some of our family ornaments but that will be once I have full cooperation from my brood. I'm sure you can see how ornaments are seemingly fun 'balls' and 'toys' that have to be touched, tugged and just plain taken off of the tree.
Each ornament holds a 'special' meaning for us, whether it is a place that we visited or favorite hobbies (golf or shopping like Minnie Mouse).
After our first son arrived, on Chrismas nonetheless, we were given a couple ornaments as gifts.
The cookie ornament was given from our realtor that helped us find our first house. She wrote a handwritten note on that back so those 1st home memories will always be remembered on Christmas. Of course the cookie ornament is my youngest's favorite.
(And yes as of last night, he was still holding chewed-up food hostage in his mouth for 30+ minutes.)

I love this tradition and eventually our tree will be filled up with special ornaments and not just colorful bulbs. It makes putting up the tree just a bit more fun.
If you don't already collect ornaments, check out some of Hallmark's, you may find something you like.

Life Isn't Always Easy, But Its Always Precious

Disbelief, shock and disconnected.
That was my initial reaction to the tragedy that happened on December 14th in Newtown, Connecticut. All I could think about is why someone would do something like that. Of course in these situations, that's a never-ending question that never gets an answer.
I'm usually skimming my phone checking emails, Twitter and Facebook, but this past week and a half, the time I spent perusing my phone was to read articles and updates on the tragedy that took place.
Still disconnected, I had to know every update.....that is until the names of the children were released. I read stories of the teachers and Principal's heroic acts and shook my head in disbelief.
I read the names of the victims in an emotionally disconnected state just once.
We traveled to our home state for an extended weekend to have our Christmas visit with family when this tragedy took place, so even though this news was on every television of every house that we visited, I was disconnected to it.
Probably because I was trying to keep my boys from breaking anything and reminding them to cough into their elbows, share and say "Thank you."
By the end of our trip, I had a hard time looking at their names and my natural reaction was to turn away, look away, change the channel or close my browser. Well the pain of what happened finally made its connection to my heart after I dropped off my kids at their childcare/school. I ran some last minute Christmas errands and then found myself rushing to pick them up. While I was speeding to get to their school early, I felt the anxiety that parents around the world are feeling.
I said a prayer for all of the victims as well as for my kids' safety. Since I've allowed the tragedy to 'connect,' I've been crying like a baby when I think about ALL of the victims and all of their families, especially when I see the children's names written on Christmas ornaments.
I'm still in disbelief and shock but now I'm connected, and I hope that you are too.

If you've ever read the book The Shack and envisioned the innocent little girl playing with Jesus after her life had been taken from her, then you have a vivid idea of what the children and teachers are doing in Heaven.
And if you read that book, that amazing book, then I'm sure you bawled through that part of the story like me.

The last of the victims were laid to rest this weekend. Say an extra prayer of thanks for your loved ones tonight. Though life isn't always easy, its certainly more precious than we realize.

There's Christmas In July And There's July At Christmastime

It was 85 degrees on December 1st.
I wore knee-length boots, shorts and a thin long-sleeved shirt. And I was still hot.
It was in the low 70's from then until this past Saturday.
Now its 33 degrees with a high in the mid to high 40's.

Winter has reached Texas with unopened arms. Yes, it IS December but wouldn't you be spoiled too?!? Not to keep wearing shorts, but to keep not wearing coats.

For those of you that live in cold weather and have been visited by snow for several weeks....ignore my whine and give me some cheese.

Budgeting Fitness & Doing Supersets

When I first started staying at home with my oldest son, I didn't want to buy a gym membership or technically keep it because I didn't want to have an 'unnecessary' expense. I'm our family budgeter and I thought I could just work out at home.

I invested in Insanity dvds (purchased off of Craigslist) and a couple other exercise dvds that were only used consistently for about a month.

Well, like plenty other SAHMs (stay-at-home moms), that's sometimes impossible to do.

During naptime/downtime, chores and adult [reality] shows always win.

 

{'Adult' shows sounds so x-rated, but its funnier than saying grownup shows.

Especially when your kid repeats to your friend or family member that they got to watch an adult movie.

Iron Man is not what comes to their mind. But its always funny.}

 

I finally realized how important going to the gym really is and since this past late August/early September, I've made an effort to go weekly. At worst, I go bi-weekly, but that's only when I'm sick or traveling.

I realized that it IS a necessary expense. Health and fitness should be budgeted INTO the family budget because it is important physically, mentally and even spiritually.

I'm much happier because I'm in better shape than I was 3 months ago.

 

When you feel good, you look good. Not for vanity's sake, but for the sake of positive self-esteem.....which out precious children have a natural tendency to lower, stretch and leave all wrinkly.

 

Weight training is just as important as cardio.

Of course cardio burns the fat, but weight training tones and sculpts.

 

My cardio: intervals on treadmill and stairmaster

My weights: leg press machine and 15lb dumbbells

Squats

Calf raises

 

Supersets on the leg press machine are doing squats and calf raises. You work the whole leg at one time on one machine.

I do 3 sets of supersets on the leg press machine after doing cardio and then some sort of bicep curls.

I actually experiment with other forms of the same muscle-working machines just for the fun of working out.

 

 Of course budgeting fitness means cutting out a certain amount of shopping and dining out......darn those white chocolate mochas that tempt and taunt me on the days that I can fall asleep while singing and coloring.

 

Do you have a fitness routine?

Holiday Hair

Since moving out of my home state, I've decided that each year I'm going to have 'holiday hair.'
Holiday hair is easy to maintain or requires NO maintenance while traveling for extended weekends or week-long visits.

During the holidays, we do a lot of traveling visiting family and friends and this leaves little time for ensuring and perfecting decent-looking, self-maintained hair. Well, its generally because of the drying time needed that my hair usually doesn't get.

When my hair was longer and thicker, I would go home and do a twistout and it would either be a failed attempt or still partially damp. Its pretty impossible to fix a failed attempt when you have little ones to feed, dress and keep entertained before shuffling them off to visit family members.

Now that my hair is short [and still thick, yay!], I'm really not in the mood to worried about a failed hairstyle attempt that is much harder to fix.

Oh and exercising is a breeze with holiday hair!

Enjoying my frames, even though they're just for reading.

Holiday hair: Senegalese twists
Lipstick: Ruby Woo from the MAC store


Do you have 'holiday hair?"

I Ditched NaBloPoMo & Took An Unexpected Break

I am so not good with traveling and blogging.

I don't know how you all do it, expecially when you have little ones to tend to while on vacation. My little ones wanted to stay on the go Go GO.

 

It didn't help that I had caught a pneumonia/sinusitis bug the day before we got on the plane.

We were there for about a week and I enjoyed myself in the midst of my phlegm-hacking and nose-blowing (gross, sorry). 

When we got back I thought I would just take my over-the-counter expectorants and fever reducing meds so that I would be healthier and refreshed for the coming week but, my little illness really showed me.

 

Annnnnddddd, my husband had to go out of town for the WHOLE week for one of his projects.

That was last week.

 

At the end of last week when I realized that the boogeyman living in my nose and chest for 2 weeks wasn't going away, I went to the doctor and was prescribed 2 different forms of medicine for pneumonia and sinusitis.

 

Before finally going to the doctor, I figured I may have had 'walking pneumonia' because my chest and lungs physically hurt for several day with a fever to follow a few days after.

The kids at my boys' little MDO school just cough and cough without covering their mouths and wipe their snotty noses on their hands. Yuck. Last year, when RSV (the absolute worst virus for toddlers!) was shuffling around their MDO school, they were tested for walking pneumonia and strep throat before being diagnosed with RSV.

 

Just writing this is making me think about taking them out of that little MDO school until February, the end of nasty-airborne-virus-amongst-kids season.

And by the way, my oldest coughs into his elbow and wipes his nose with his shirt. He was even complimented by his teacher for it.....not the shirt part, lol.

 

Anywho....

My prescribed anitbiotics had the side effects of drowsiness and dizziness, so since taking them for the past 5 days, I've allowed myself as much sleep rest as possible.

What did my kids do while I rested you ask [this stay at home mommy]?

Sigh. Unfortunately they were snapped on pretty often, then ignored, but also fed all 3 meals.

Hey....at least they were fed.

 

There wasn't much....oh who am I kidding, there wasn't ANY learning, singing or anything going on. There was a lot of quiet time, tv watching and shushing with "Sorry honey Mommy's sick."

My poor kids.

 

They haven't seen any of their favorite shows since, haha. We're back on the go.

 

Oh and I also let them make a complete mess of their toys and my room.

Since my hubby was gone for the whole week, I never cleaned up.

 

But I did disinfect. {smile}

 

 Guess I should start taking all of the immune building supplements I give my boys. Duh.

 

 

 

But....I missed you guys and reading your blogs! I have to catch up on them like homework.

 

I'm going to be bombarding you with posts and bombarding your blogs with comments!

 

Hope you all are well and healthy!!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Source: peace-love-run.tumblr.com via Deia on Pinterest

Source: quote-book.tumblr.com via Deia on Pinterest

Have a wonderful day being thankful for life's blessings and getting full on good food!

Unusual But Special Holiday Traditions

Thanksgiving is next week!
At the end of this week, my family and I will be getting on a plane and heading to the west coast.
San Francisco, here we come!
Our current tradition, since having kids, is to head west for the Thanksgiving holiday and go to our hometown for the Christmas holiday. My mom lives in San Francisco for now and we actually have more fun in California because we're not jumping from house to house visiting family and friends. Those kinds of 'vacations' pretty much suck.

The older I get, the more I like not having the same ol' year in year out traditions.
I appreciate those traditions and know they're always a great backup, but I love being able to travel on the holidays. It would be even better if we could travel with some family members on the holidays but unlike some people who probably wouldn't if their family can't travel with them, we'll probably choose to do so anyway.
It's another chance to make memories with our kids.
A chance to do something with our kids that we weren't able to experience with our parents.

I'm sure there'll be a time when it no longer fits our budget for awhile, but right now, we're enjoying our new tradition. And I'm enjoying taking a break from cooking Thanksgiving dinner for our house.

What are your plans for the holiday?
And what are your special family holiday traditions (including travelling or that special dish that everyone waits for the holidays to eat)?

Quick Trip to Austin

Last weekend we accompanied my husband to Austin, TX. He and a few of his co-workers went to represent his company at an minority engineering conference career fair.
During the day the boys and I hung out with one of his co-worker's wife. We've hung out before so we had a good time, shopping, feeding the boys ice cream and getting lost.
Austin is a nice and smaller city. The people were much friendlier and inviting than in Fort Worth and the whole city seemed to have an artsy vibe to it. How cool is that?!
It reminded me of my college town but bigger.
After visiting, I wish we would've moved there instead of DFW......but I'll try not to be too much of a sour grape.
Austin is also known for their food trucks and they had a lot more trucks in one centralized location than the Fort Worth food park.....so we indulged. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of my food nor all of the trucks.
One inebriated woman in her mid-30's was actually dancing with my oldest while we waited in line to try the late night popular pizza spot.
Too bad he didn't realize she was dancing with him!

There were 12-15 trucks lined up in a checkered manner. These were the two trucks I ate at. My hubs and our co-worker friends had food from several different trucks but the lines were long and there was not time for pictures. The "Coat & Thai" truck was pretty tasty which it should've been for a 20-minute wait. I'm assuming their name had to do with their expensive tasting thai cuisine fit for 'coat & tie' dining. These food trucks had a decent portion size for their prices compared to my food truck experience in Fort Worth.
The cupcakes were so suprisingly delicious! We all got cupcakes and our boys shared a few bites of mine and my husband's. They were moist, yet dense and not too sweet. Gosh they were good!
My mouth is watering for more as I type this. Fort Worth is definitely missing a dessert truck.

My boys had a good time dancing to the music coming from the sub sandwiches bus. They didn't have a line the whole time we were there. I think their prices may have been too high for their food.
The 2 pictures on the far right are of my oldest LAYING in the dirty gravel rocks. Could it have been the cupcakes or the music? I don't know. Boys just love dirt. At this point, we beat the long line to the cupcake truck so they weren't in anyone's way.





What did you do this past weekend?

Top 5 Reasons Boys Are (More) Awesome (NaBloPoMo)

5) When they fall, you can tell them to 'get right back up' without rushing over to pick them up and you won't 'look bad.'
Of course this does not include the infant/early toddler stage, but around 18 months, you're free to not run and superman-slide to prevent any bruises. This may bother you at first, but we have to encourage our boys to be 'tough' (not rough & tough).
Parents of little girls, have the option of encouraging their daughters to be tough our "girly" in the cutest of ways. <----that takes more superman-slides and resulting rapid heartbeats though

4) Boys are nasty...so you don't have to worry about preventing them from getting dirty.
They actually prefer to be one with dirt sometimes.
This realization and acceptance keeps your blood pressure and frustration levels down.
Plus, your trusty bag of wipes take care of the necessary quick fixes.

~My youngest loves to touch our tires as we are loading and unloading him and his brother into the car. Imagine how it is seeing his little palm covered in black just after you get him in his car seat when his palm was clean as a whistle before exiting the house.

~My oldest likes to stomp, I said STOMP, in the freshly rained on mud as well as lay in gravel rocks. Good thing it doesn't rain too often.

3) Boys aren't bossy.
Boys just like to play, share and not share, and fight over silly things. Girls like to do those things too, but come on, we all know girls are bossy.....and it starts at the toddler stage. It could be due to the fact that girls mature 'faster' than boys in most stages or that girls are better communicators at all stages. Either way, girls are bossy and their bossier than boys.
My husband had a dream a long time ago that we had a girl as our 3rd child.
I asked him, "What was she like?"
He answered, "Bossy as sh*t."
We both sort of laughed and he tried to remember just how she bossed her older brothers around in his dream.
I actually was thinking, "Good, somebody needs to keep those boys in line." Hahahahaaaaa
Bossy isn't necessarily bad, just annoying as all hell.

2) You don't have to do their hair.
Duh. This gives you more time to yourself in the evenings and more time to your bed/sheets in the mornings. Just moisturize, brush and go. Oh and haircuts don't take that long either. Luckily, my husband cuts their hair (for now).

1) Shopping is a breeze.
There's no need for 3-piece items. All you have to do is find a nice looking shirt: button-up to be church fancy, polo to be casual and graphic [tees] shirts to learn shapes, colors, objects and animals from as well as to get dirty in.
Depending on the sizes and selections available, you can be done in as little as 30 minutes. This goes for shoes as well.
I figured this out when I shopped for a baby girl baby shower and bought a jumpsuit-like dress and turtleneck but not the tights or shoes to complete the outfit. It was too much work so I bought a couple of books instead.


What's your list about your boy(s) or girl(s)? Write your own list and let me know about it or link it back to this post!

This post is inspired by and dedicated to my non-blogging besties that have girly-tough girls that make my womb itch.

*NaBloPoMo.....I want to throw up the 'west side' symbol everytime I try and mumble that.

Christmas Shopping...What's Your Routine?

The winter holidays are here! Okay, they're not here just yet.
But they are right around the corner.
My mind is still in the early part of the fall season. The weather here in the DFW area still feels like early fall and I'm pretty darn grateful about it.....although the warmer days are a bit more sporadic. One week, the temperatures are in the upper 70's and then the next week the temperatures are in the low 60's, like they will be next week.
With the year passing by so quickly, Christmas (and my boy's birthdays) will be here in a few blinks.
Have you done ANY Christmas shopping yet? I know I haven't and I'm starting to feel overwhelmed about all of the gifts I need to accumulate in 6 weeks.
I prefer to have all of my shopping done before the 1st of December.
My husband, on the other hand, loves being in the shopping rush in the few weeks that lead up to Christmas.
Sometimes shopping in the rush is fun and other times I get so impatient that I am taken home....by myself. Hahahaaaaa. {my twisted little plan}

He gets more engulfed in the Christmas spirit brushing shoulders with fellow shoppers, hearing the booming speakers playing Mariah Carey's version of "Jingle Bells" and seeing the Christmas decor. He even likes the snow......something I can do without. I think his love for the Christmas season and holiday is why our first son was born on Christmas as opposed to his actual due date. When he was born, there was 13" of snow on the ground by late Christmas morning.
So yeah, I can do without winter snow for a long time.

We'll be travelling so much this month, that I guess I'll have to get creative.

Do you have a routine for Christmas shopping? When do you start and finish your Christmas shopping?

*NaBloPoMo

Welcome to 30! (NaBloPoMo)

I've had 20/20 vision since......well birth I guess.
It could be due to 30 welcoming me with open arms in February or due to me looking at tiny engineering words, numbers, lines and maps.
Most of the men I worked with would take off their glasses and read the maps and drawings from about 4" away from their face. I always thought they were crazy to not use a magnifying glass but hey.
To their defense, drawings are done in black, gray, light gray and even lighter gray colors. This is to distinguish between the existing landscape (light gray and lighter gray colors) and proposed construction (dark lines) changes. The problem is that proposed construction has to be tied into existing thus causing MAJOR eye strain. The office magnifying glasses were always occupied!

Anyway, I had been straining my eyes when reading my phone and when using the computer. I got my eyes checked and the optometrist I went to said that I seem to have developed farsighted traits and recommended a lens prescription.

At least I got an extremely cute yet expensive new accessory......some cute Michael Stars frames.

What physical (yet not disappointing) changes has age brought you?

NaBloPoMo - The Modified Happy Plate

I know that most toddlers are picky eaters, but it took me awhile to actually realize it because my oldest was and still is the best eater in the world [to us].
My youngest, on the other hand, is the typical 'picky eating toddler' statistic. He drives me and my husband absolutely insane.
If he could live solely off of oatmeal, applesauce, bananas, yogurt, pb&j's and his beloved graham crackers, he would. (Now that I think about it......he may. Just kidding.)
Every night, there is some kind of "issue' with him hoarding chewed-up food in his mouth for 30 minutes and the night's particular dinner juices seeping out of his barely closed lips.
Yuck.
My oldest usually eats all of his dinner, but with so much attention constantly going to his brother at dinnertime, we started rewarding with fruit snacks.
Sidenote: We usually only reserve fruit snacks as potty-training rewards.

Dinner a couple of nights ago was no different. My youngest refused to eat his food and instead pushed the food around (and onto the table) with his Elmo fork.
With a little coaxing encouragement, my oldest ate all of his food and said, "I made a happy plate. I want fruit snacks peeease."
While he ate his fruit snacks at the table, my youngest whined, "Fruit snaaaaaaaacks." We explained to him that if he makes a happy plate like his big brother, he could then have fruit snacks too.
He pointed to the small empty spot on his plate and said, "A happy plate!"

The arrows shows my youngest's 'happy plate.' My oldest's plate is on the right.

My husband pointed to the food and asked, "What about this?"
I chuckled.
With my head down of course.

My husband tried to feed him again and my youngest once again leaned over his booster seat's arm rest while saying, in distress, "Noooooooowww."

We ignored him and he proceeded to 'outsmart' the situation by putting his spinach on his daddy's plate!
We acted like we didn't see what he was doing, just so we could watch his mind at work.
Once he got all of his spinach onto his daddy's plate and said, "Eat the food."

Yes, he had the audacity to pose for the camera. I guess he was proud.

We got up, shook our head and held our laughs.
No fruit snacks were given for that 'happy plate.'


On another note, I was a picky eater as a toddler and child so I'm sure this is just nature's payback. Please remember, what you did as a kid will re-materialize in your children.


This post is apart of BlogHer and YeahWrite's November NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month).

NaBloPoMo: November Daily Blog Posting [Challenge]

Today on Twitter and BlogHer, I saw NaBloPoMo. What is that you ask? Its National Blog Posting Month being hosted by Yeah Write. The goal is to post EVERY.SINGLE.DAY for the month of November. Whoa.
The first time I saw this on my Twitter timeline, I brushed it off, because........well sometimes I only post once a week!
The second time I saw it in my timeline, I said, "Hmmmm, I think I could 'probably-maybe-possibly' do that."
The third time I saw it, Arnebya mentioned that she will be taking part of it. I really like Arnebya's blog because she's pretty funny when talking about motherhood.
The fourth and last time I saw it, GG also said that she would be joining in on the month-long writefest here. I always enjoy and connect with her heartfelt posts.

Four is my favorite number.

It was my 'sign' to join too.

I will be writing about topics other than motherhood and toddler antics sometimes since I'm more than just a mommy. (smile)

It'll be a good thing for me to make time to get a blog post out every day since I've never done it. I just hope I can keep up a similar posting schedule once the month is over.

Today is the last day to add your blog to the NaBloPoMo blogroll at YeahWrite and/or BlogHer, so if you see this righ now....hurry on over and join the list.


Sooo.....does this post count???

They Can 'Smell' My Desire To Give In

What goes on in the mind of a child when they cry?
Notice, I said child.....not baby. Maybe I should really say toddler.
Anyway, enough of the technicalities.

What does it feel like to cry at the top of your lungs to get something you want? The age of not being able to communicate is over but not the habit of crying to get the response you want.....not need.

I would have an extreme headache if I cried at the top of my lungs when I didn't get what I wanted the WAY I wanted it. I get slight headaches when I cry for a few minutes when watching a sad movie or hearing of deaths, etc.
I wonder if 'they' get headaches........?
I'm not going to give in, even though that's the only logical thing to do to get the crying to stooooooppppp.
Just like dogs, babies/toddlers/kids have a sixth sense. They can 'smell' fear.
I think my kids can smell my desire to give in.



Do your kids have the same sixth sense? Do YOU give in? Ignore? Or cry-whine with them?
I alternate doing all three.

Trunk of Treating

Note: Snap picture before you get to 3.

For some reason this year, I can't wait until Halloween is over. It seems like its lasting forever, even though its been the same for the past two years (costume 'parade' and trick or treating at  preschool then trick or treating later in the evening).
Maybe the abrupt weather change has me not really in the mood for Halloween festivities over the span of 4 days. Yep, its the weather.

Anyway, this past Saturday we took our boys to Trunk of Treating at their 'preschool.' I had never heard of this until we moved to Texas a couple of years ago but its a safe and fun alternative to trick or treating. Instead of going door to door, we went from car trunk to car trunk playing simple games and getting 2 pieces of candy.

We need to teach them how to pick better candy before Tuesday.....like Snickers, Twix, Whoppers and M&M's. They kept picking Sweet Tarts, and foil wrapped chocolate.
Don't worry, this time I stepped in and pointed their little hands in the right direction. (bleh)
When we got home, we let them eat 2 pieces. My youngest scarfed it down (of course) and my oldest surprisingly did too.
Darn it. I at least wanted to keep him brainwashed desiring fruit and fruit snacks forever.

My oldest decided to drop his weight while I was trying to balance on a pumpkin.



My youngest just couldn't put the candy down.

You know how hard it is to get toddlers to look at the camera if you're not holding it.

What did you do this past weekend? Are you ready for Halloween to be over like me or are you excited to go trick or treating and guide your kids to pick out the good candy?

10 Things I Say To My Kids That You Probably Don't Say To Yours

1)"Hey no more vegetables for you, me and daddy want some."

Not sure how common that one is.
My oldest (2.5 year old) is a pretty good eater most days and sometimes he asks to eat the veggies off
of our plates too. Meanwhile, we're forcing my youngest (1.5 year old) to eat his veggies.

2)"Have you lost your mind?!?"

I say this maybe every other day when I'm in pure shock of what I see happening. Usually when my boys are standing on their kiddie table throwing toys clear across the room while I'm trying to eat lunch or empty the dishwasher.

I also say this when my youngest gets ahold of lotion bottles....that his brother gave to him <----interestingly enough, his face is always spotless.

3)"We don't eat our boogers! We wipe them on our shirt!"

After my 2.5 year old's second week of school, he would say to us, "Look, a booger." Then he would pop it in his mouth and cheese. He was reminded that mommy and daddy don't walk around eating boogers.
Hey, its not like he's going to run and find a kleenex and it was all I could think of at the time so now I roll with it to be consistent.

4)"He's not allowed to have cake or cookies."

Anytime we go to picnics or parties, I tell whoever is offering cake that my youngest "can't have any because he doesn't eat meat or vegetables."
I usually get a weird look and a response like, "not even a little bit?"
Me: "No."
I've given in once and my youngest devoured said dessert, yet still won't [willingly] eat meat or vegetables. Just last night he 'ate' the tiny amount of salmon, rice and asparagus put in front of him and hoarded the food in his mouth. Full-jawed with food juice seeping out of his lips. (Yuck.)
He didn't swallow his food until we put a spoonful of sherbert in his mouth.
And before you think "of course he wouldn't eat salmon," he won't eat hot dogs, grilled/baked/fried chicken, Chic Fil-A chicken, tacos, chili, burgers, quesadillas.....NOTHING! I can't burn him out on pb&j's and grilled cheeses because that's what he eats for lunch!
If he had his way, he'd live on peanut butter, bananas, yogurt and graham crackers.

5)"If you boo boo in your underwear again, you're cleaning it up, not me."

I tried this [old school] tactic on my oldest in efforts to strongly encourage him to boo boo on the potty. I think I used this method maybe 3-4 times before I abandoned it. My mom said after 1 time of having to clean his own boo boo, my brother was potty-trained.
Well, screw that, I've paid my fare for the "he'll do it when he's ready" train.
This seat is comfortable too.

6) "Eat the cookie." "Eat the candy."

Actually I don't say this, my husband does and it always makes me chuckle. My oldest doesn't have a big sweet tooth. He'll ask for desserts and after 2 or 3 bites, he's "all done."
I like to say he prefers the "sugars of the earth." If I ate like him, I'd have my 6-pack by now.
(His non-fresh fruit desserts are fruit snacks, dried cranberries, yogurt and vanilla ice cream.)

7)"Get your hand out of your butt."

I'm saying this allllll the time. Apparently I need to let them go 'cowboy' more often so their privates can see freedom every now and then.
I just hate accidents on the carpet. I don't mind their beds, but when they leave the bed, underwear and diapers it is.

8) "You're going to be my height by the age of 8!"

I'm 4'11" tall. My husband is 6'1" and his family members are 6'1" or taller. Right now, my 2.5 year old comes to the bottom of my ribs. I'm pretty sure that most moms aren't saying that!
{secretly jealous of you tall chicas}
Not to mention, he says weekly, "Mommy yittle and daddy big." I laugh and say you're right, thanks.
Naturally, I have a big personality and tall friends. In heels most of them are 6' + some.
So glad our party picture days are over so I no longer look like I'm breastfeeding.....hahaha.

9) "Stop poking your finger in my deodorant!"

Seriously, why must I say this at all?!? My youngest is curious in the worst way.

10) "I think you need anger management for toddlers."

My youngest's first response is to hit. Its not a hard hit but that's not the point. When he gets sad or upset with his brother, he will penguin-walk or penguin-run around the house and hit him.
No, not take the toy back or tell mommy or daddy....just straight up hit him. Then the back and forth hitting takes place. Sometimes its funny because they'll hug and say sorry to each other before "I come over there." I always turn my head to laugh.
Luckily, he doesn't do that to other kids, but we're still working on it.





Today I'm linking up with Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop.

30th Birthday Adventure

Last weekend was my husband's 30th birthday. A few years ago, he wasn't overly excited about being so close to the age of 30. Matter of fact, he's the primary reason we had our first (and second) child before 30 though I really didn't care either way ----> my mom had me at 33 {shrug}. Anyway, he's just never been excited to be drifting so far away from the younger ages in which he didn't have to try hard to be healthy and fit.

Well, as opposed to a surprise party, I opted to do something different for him. Especially since he has an 8-hour professional licensing exam at the end of the month and he studies for several hours each week.
We did dinner and live music and Ziplining!
Ziplining was fun, thrilling and sort of exhilirating. Tackling any fear is a great accomplishment......and heights is certainly a common fear!
We hung from a pulley, about 50-60 feet in the air, and glided down 4 different lines. The first line was the easiest line because of the small drop in height and the so few trees. We glided at 10mph.
Even my hubby didn't just jump off of the platform.
He counted to '3.'

I was given a friendly push. {smile}
The last 3 lines had larger drops in height causing us to glide at 20-25mph.
I yelped for the first 3 lines and was a pro by line 4.

My "gift" of ziplining was to help re-route my hubby's perspective on getting older while starting a new tradition.

• View each birthday as a new time to do something you never thought to do or even considered doing.
• Make new personal (tackling fears), spiritual and career goals.
• I actually just suggest to make one goal in each of those categories and take the whole year to master it.
• Add a new goal in each category around your birthday.

I feel this will help to focus and physically see the internal growth achieved with each new year. One of my favorite sayings is, "If you're not growing, you're dying." Having goals to focus on and achieve will help us to see and enjoy the positive things around us, giving the negative things less power.



This is with Mom's Monday Mingle.

You Too Can Get Addicted to Salad!

This is just a quick post. Last week was such a busy week for me, trying to plan my husband's birthday outing and overnight babysitter while doing our regular routines of being on-the-go.
So I just have a quick post while I finish up last week's laundry today. {oops} I know you all understand. By the way, laundry is my LEAST enjoyable chore.

It is sooooooo good!

Earlier in the summer, I somewhat got addicted to the "Steak & Bleu Cheese" salad from Panera Bread Co. Addictions are bad but when the addiction is salad, I'd say that's an 'good addiction.'

Anyway, the salad is so delicious but it is $8.69. That is just too much to spend on a regular/weekly basis when you can make it at home. So, that's just what I did......and the hubby and I can't get enough of it whenever I make it. Literally we could eat it days straight and not get tired of it, but then what would our boys eat?

Ingredients:
Sirloin - thinly sliced by your grocer's butcher
Romaine lettuce
Pecans - broken/crushed by hand
Bleu cheese crumbles
Feta cheese crumbles
Crispy onions or French fried onions
KEN"S Vidalia Sweet Onion salad dressing - just a drizzle

The Panera salad uses a sweet yet creamy vinaigrette and doesn't have pecans. My Vidalia Sweet Onion dressing is the perfect substitute.
The thinly-sliced or deli-sliced sirloin cooks really quickly, so I would say this salad took me 20 minutes to prepare.

What really makes the salad taste delicious are all the different crunches. The crunch of the romaine is light, the crunch from the pecans are slightly chewy and the crunch from the crispy onions are flavorful. The cheese crumbles add an additional kick of flavor but both aren't needed, just one. And the thinly-sliced steak is the perfect choice of meat.

I think we have both actually 'licked' the plate once finished!

 

Mmmmm! I want to make this right now. I hope you try it and enjoy it as much as I do!

Pants. Too Little, Too Late

Time really flies.

Kids grow so fast.

Matter of fact, the growth of babies, toddlers and kids physically prove just how fast time really passes.

(Pants) Too little, too late.

 

Just 4 to 5 months ago, these pants were too long and too big around the waist. I thought, foolishly I suppose, that now they would fit perfectly.

To my surprise they were a tad tighter and a little higher than I prefer and expected.

Basically, his little brother has a brand new pair of 'old' jeans.

I don't even think these are classified as hand-me-downs, since they were barely worn.

The pants aren't too bad from afar. Cute forced smiles & a lucky snap.

My oldest's pants are too small and short and my youngest's pants are too long.

By now, you probably know that my husband and I had our boys, unintentionally, 1 year (12.5 months) apart.

I made it a point to say unintentionally, because it wasn't something we initially rejoiced about.

It just wasn't in our plan.

And that's when you learn to really believe in the idea that God creates our paths.....

.....though that took me a while as well. That's for another post at another time.

Anyway, after we embraced our new and unexpected plan (basically when he was born because that's when it got real), I thought well at least they were born in the same season. Winter.

But since life likes to make things a little more 'fun,' they don't have the same body type. My oldest has long legs and a shorter torso and my youngest has shorter legs with a longer torso. 

Of course by the time they are ages 4 and 5, their bodies will probably be a little more even but until then my youngest may be in baggy bottoms (shorts and pants). 

The good thing about kids growing so fast is that most of their clothes are in good-to-great condition.

Don't worry, we still buy new clothes for him.....thanks to his different body type. {wink}

Now, I'm not going to lie, I was hoping the weather would stay summer-like a bit longer. That was the whole point of moving to Texas...oh and my husband's job.

If the weather was still hot, I could have kept my boys in shorts and t-shirts for another month.

But the weather changed so quickly that I was unprepared.

Unprepared. That's almost considered foul language.

But sometimes, that's me. I'm sure it doesn't help that I'm not a perpertual shopper.

 

I immediately bought 4 pairs of jeans, 1 pair of cargo pants and 1 pair of jogging pants for my oldest and a nicely fitted pair of jeans for my youngest.

I had already bought shirts that I caught on sale a month ago.

Do you find it hard to buy clothes in the right-estimated size for the upcoming season? Have you ever been unprepared for the new season, especially with up-and-down temperatures?

Potty Training Woes - Yes I Have Boys, How'd You Know?

My 20-month old, second born son will NOT by any means use the potty. He thinks the potty is just a fun thing to say and then sit on. He refuses to actually do any bathroom rituals ON the potty though.

He copies EVERYthing his older brother (by 12.5 months) does. I always reiterate their age difference to emphasize just how trying the two of them can be. They are either arguing over toys or teaming up throwing all of the pillow cushions off of the couch. Both which are annoying and funny.

When I say he copies everything, that inludes what my oldest says, how he says it and all of his mannerisms. So can anybody tell me why he won't copy him when using the potty?!? I guess that would be "too much like right." (That saying always makes me chuckle.)

He's a very head-strong child. I used to somewhat wonder what that meant.
Luckily he's not walking around angrily screaming, "No." Instead he smiles his big, cheeky grin and politely sings "nooooww" while simultaneously shaking his head.
On the inside, I chuckle and on the outside I shake my head in frustration, and finish it up with a long sigh.
Annnnnndddd he still craps [pebbles] in the tub, always making us run new bath water. Not cool.

See--that's the smile. And I love my 2.5yo leaning in with that new face pose, lol. 

Speaking of pottying----> my 2.5 year old has successfully #2'ed on the potty for a week straight (yay!!!)......and then regressed (ohhh). But hey, progress is progress, no matter how small.

Finally after 3-6 months of pee training, I had a thought of "Hmmm....he should be doing this standing up." Duh, you say. I know. Seems like such an obvious thing but I was so focused on training him to sit down so that he's ready for #1 and #2.
Of course he learned to pee while standing with my hubs but I'm always off-duty at those times so I never paid attention, ha ha. Now we are much more consistent, but he's definitely more reluctant to #2.

I'm just chasing my tail over here.

Any tips for potty-training boys or just head-strong tots that you can share? I'd love to hear them! Hope you all had a good weekend, it rained cats and dogs here all weekend.




*I'm mingling with mommy Julie over at The Naptime Review.

Naptime Struggles

Source: someecards.com via Deia on Pinterest

This is the current story of my life. I don't know who my 2.5 year old thinks he is not wanting to take naps and instead postponing the start of his 2-hr nap from 2:00pm - 4:00pm. I don't know what this kid thinks he's missing but he refuses to close his eyes and fall into his daily 2-hr slumber.

He'd rather sing, jump on his bed and play with his cars. I need a toddler tantrilizer only for nap time.

The only time he goes to sleep at 2pm is if I have worn him out by being at the park (in hot and humid weather) for at least an hour. But then, I'M worn out!
I gotta find a way to win because right now I am losing.

I know I'm not by myself here......right? Right?!? Oh, okay.

Friday Favorites: Aloe Vera Water

This cost me $1.08 at Kroger.

I found this water in the Asian food section of Kroger. I am kind of addicted to this water. It is sooooooo good! For those that have a sweet tooth, I'd say this is a nice and semi-healthy alternative for that fix.
I was never big on sweets until I had my second son and now my sweet tooth is ridiculous. I've entered my self into 'sweet tooth rehab.'

Ingredients:
Aloe Vera Gel Powder, Aloe Vera Crush, *Corn Syrup, Honey, Citric Acid, Calcium Lactate, Vitamin C, Water

*Since this picture, I've bought several more bottles and they brand changed. I don't remember seeing Corn Syrup on the list of ingredients of the brand in the picture but its on my current bottles. It could've been there but I can't be sure. Some online ingredients replaced the corn syrup ingredient with organic cane sugar.

Buy a bottle and tell me what you think!

I'm linking up with Julie at The Naptime Review.

Tasty Tuesday: Food Truck Park

 

A few weekends ago, my hubby and I tried out some food at the food truck park in Fort Worth. I've realized that my dream job would be to be a food critic buuuuutttttt, that time has passed so instead I will just really enjoy food.

I've never been to a food truck park but I was pretty disappointed with how expensive the food was relative to the portion sizes. For example, we got tacos and flautas. They were the same size but the flautas (with steak) cost $3.25 each and the chicken tacos cost $5.25 each. I was completely confused about that but I got over my confusion as soon as I took a bite. The food was delicious. My husband and I both went back for more flautas!

We arrived at the food park in the late afternoon/early evening timeframe so I think we missed a couple of trucks that we had really wanted to try. We'll just have to go back when there are more trucks. There was a sausage truck, taco truck, grilled cheese truck, pizza truck and wine and beer truck.

We got a grilled cheese sandwich with mozzarella cheese and spinach for our boys to eat but they had too much fun making friends with strangers to eat. It was $3.00-$4.00 so I'm not sure how likely it is that we'll get another one. We'll spend that money on the dessert truck! Yum!

He was doing an 'I can't be still' food dance.

My little vegetarian didn't even take ONE bite of the sandwich.

The blurriness can be attributed to my second glass of wine, I think.

Be prepared to spend some money for small portions at your local food truck park.
*Word to the wise: 'Don't go on a completely empty stomach.'
Our food truck park experience turned us into fans and regular patrons. For some reason, I am slightly addicted to food trucks and there are tons all over DFW so eventually I'll have enough of my share of food truck food.

Have you ever been to a Food Truck park? What did you think about your experience?

Natural Solutions for Medicine (for Toddlers and Adults)

My current immune building solutions:

I add 1/2 a packet into my each boy's cup of gatorade every day.

Colloidal Silver-1 tbsp added to our oatmeal at the first onset of cold symptoms.

I bought this at Vitamin Shoppe for $30+. I went here to find out more about it before I decided to purchase it. Either its been a big help or we've been lucky enough with the additional vitamin C.
Go to your local farmers market or Vitamin Shoppe and see what is recommended for immune building health. And don't forget to share the info. when you do!

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I've never been the kind to research alternative solutions but becoming a stay at home mom has given me time to research a variety of concerns regarding my toddlers' health and development. Recently, I was provided a family chiropractor name in my area. My youngest has had far too many ear infections within the past year. Typically there is a suggested amount (by most pediatricians) and once that amount is reached or surpassed, ear tube surgery is highly recommended. This also means that he had been on and off anitbiotics, like amoxycillin, for the past year. I am not a big anitibiotic(s) fan.

The chiropractor and ENT doctor (Ear Nose Throat) gave me the same [flat ear canal] "shpeel" but the chiropractor gave an explanation of why and how to remedy it without surgery having similar successful cases. The ENT only gave ear tube surgery as a successful solution.

The chiropractor explained that there are several joints under his ears that are pulled tightly for whatever reason (possibly because of the twists and turns of birth), causing the ear canal to be flat. Most kids that have repeated ear infections have flat ear canals, along with always having fluid in their ear(s) sitting there waiting to get infected at the first sign of a cold.
No fun.

She then used a light and non-invasive instrument to loosen the joints under his ears. This has had to be done every other day so we spent a lot of time going to the chiropractor for this 5 min treatment last week. The earlier (age-wise) that this is done, the faster the joints will be corrected back into the correct alignment for proper fluid drainage in his ears.

She also recommended visiting her for any future ear infections, instead of going to the pediatrician and getting the subscribed antibiotics.

So far, her track record is that no child has ever needed ear tube surgery once she has worked on the joints under their ears.

If you have a similar problem, check out your local family chiropractor and find out some alternative solutions that satisfy any of your health concerns.

Finding My Dream Career Is My New Project

Source: unspokenwanderingthoughts.tumblr.com via Deia on Pinterest

After "liberating" myself from my my former place of short-lived employment, I've been pondering on what my destined career path is. I believe we all have something that we are meant to do. It could be engineering, modeling, accounting or acting. I'm determined to figure this out.

Source: 1oet.com via Deia on Pinterest

So to figure out what my new [career] path, I've narrowed down a few of my interests. There's no point in really saying what those are yet because like in this post, I don't need to change my mind in print again, haha. Lesson learned.
Hey, everything is a learning experience right?

Source: fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net via Deia on Pinterest

Anyway, with the few interests that I have, I need to figure out a way to get my foot in the door. I will probably start out with asking questions to people I personally know in related fields but I know that may not yield the amount of information I want.

{insert toddler whine} <----too bad that doesn't work for me like it works for toddlers

 

Another idea I had is to do some volunteer work (at a non-profit). As much as I like getting paid, I'm realizing to follow (or at least figure out) my dream career, I may have to start off not making much when I don't have a degree in that field.

I'm still not sure about the forecasting of that plan either! Its very frustrating to not be able to see how your plan is well actually a PLAN. With PLANS, you actually have some kind of foresight.

 

Do you have any suggestions???

****
We all have a hobby or two that we love and could do full-time if we got paid for it, right? So I say we all can spend more time, volunteer time, to those hobbies and after a few years, who knows what those things can turn into one day. (This is encouragement to you and myself.)

Pie Five - Viva la Pizza Revolution!

We luckily stumbled upon this awesome eatery! It is sooooooo good! At first, my husband mentioned that he thought I would like it. A couple weekends ago when we were in Dallas, which really is every bit of 45-50 minutes away from Fort Worth, we made our way over to Pie Five for lunch and I fell in love.

It's the Chipotle for pizzas. They have specialty-themed pizzas but you can add however many toppings to the 'theme' you choose or replace toppings or both. Or....you can just make your own pizza from scratch.
Either way, your 9" pizza will only cost you  $6.50.

I love the BBQ Pulled Pork pizza with the classic pan crust. My hubs gets thin crust. Neither crust is greasy either. I plan to eventually try all of the specialty pizzas that have meat.

The BBQ Pulled Pork uses barbecue sauce as its base. So alfredo sauce is used on the Chicken Carbonara and Spinach Artichoke pizzas, just so you get the idea of how they marry flavors.

BBQ Pulled Pork

As a DFW transplant, I am happy to see new food places that are affordable, tasty and family-friendly. Hopefully you'll be seeing a Pie Five in your area soon!

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Go here to check out the Pie Five menu.

SPECIALTY PIZZA PIES
Pie Five High Five---five different meats (pepperoni, italian sausage, ham, beef and bacon) with marinara sauce
Buffalo Chicken---with ranch dressing and banana peppers
Chicken Carbonara---chicken, bacon and mushrooms
Five Star---pepperoni, pork sausage, beef, black & green olives and red & green peppers with marinara sauce
Spinach Artichoke---fresh spinach, marinated artichokes, roma tomatoes with alfredo sauce
Athenian---chicken, kalamata olives, banana peppers, red onions, feta and basil with garlic sauce and sun-dried tomato puree
BBQ Pulled Pork---slow roasted & shredded pork, roasted peppers & onions, dill pickles with barbecue sauce
Chipotle Chicken---chicken, red onions, and red & green onions with smoky chipotle ranch dressing
Margherita---roma tomatoes and fresh basil with garlic cream sauce
Pie Ferno---pepperoni, banana peppers and jalapeno peppers with spicy marinara sauce
Tree Hugger---red & green peppers, red onions, mushrooms, black & green olives and banana peppers with marinara sauce.

Would You Ever Get Plastic Surgery?

Would you ever get plastic surgery done?

Obviously some of us may have friends who have thought about this or gotten some sort of surgery done. Maybe you've even thought about doing it yourself. I know its crossed my mind several times.

Right now, I can't say that I would necessarily get anything done because I am just not a fan of that sort of pain. Just from watching women undergo and recover from different cosmetic surgeries on t.v., that pain seems worse than the pain from childbirth. Now that I think about it, the pain from cosmetic surgery is probably worse because its not a natural process for your body to go through.

But....the pain, well the excruciating pain probably only lasts the first day of recovery. So....maybe it is a doable thing. I'll tell you what, nursing babies can sure make you consider some things.
----> 'You' being 'me.' {wink}

Well, let me hush and go get to lifting some weights.




Source: mycrazy-beautifulife.tumblr.com via Cici on Pinterest

I wonder how much more time it will take for my to look like @Mankofit (from Instagram). I don't even have Instagram, but I follow the awesome, Hey Fran Hey {Health Genius} and she retweeted a picture of her and was instantly inspired by her physical shape. I'd probably be more inspired if she got into that kind of shape AFTER having kids.