Aren't the weekends supposed to be relaxing?!

How do you spend your Saturdays?

Around here it is soccer Saturdays. I love fall soccer so much more than spring soccer. The weather is so much nicer, warm and dry usually.

Parker is really coming alive this season. He is a running banshee and he is really putting forth a good effort. Maybe it is the blue socks?

These two don't mind going with us... as long as there are snacks and drinks and blankets to lay on...

Thumbs up! Tanner wanted to wear a soccer shirt too, so we dug in Parker's closet for an old one. He thought he was so awesome.

"No, I am going to kick it!!!"

Saturdays also include: gymastics for Zoe, mowing the lawn, grocery shopping usually, and cleaning, but those pictures aren't as cute as these. ;)

Have a great weekend.

still keepin' it real

This might be one of the worst pictures of me, ever, except for my 6th grade school picture when I was rocking the Valley Girl hair cut and glasses and braces...
First, let me say, thanks to all of you who commented yesterday. I appreciate all your sweet sentiments about how I looked. I needed it, really. This is a picture from a couple weeks ago, outside at Parker's soccer game. I hated it. I was so bummed. I tried to edit out my pouchy belly and just looking at my flabby arms makes me sad. And my face, ick, is it really that chubby looking? (Do not answer that!) Don't even get me started on the size of my "girls" those things need their own zip codes. Anyway, I was feeling really low. I saw more pics from Asher's baptism and I was looking so round and out of shape. I was really feeling low.

Then I came home and was sorting through the mounds of magazines I have been getting lately. I started reading a Baby Talk and it said new moms should not even try to lose weight the first 8 weeks and it should take about 9-10 months to lose all the baby weight. Ugh, really? Then I checked the Us Weekly blog (I should not do this, but I do everyday, I am hooked, it's like crack) and so many of the Hollywood stars that have had babies are boom! Right back in their bikinis and skinny jeans, makes me sick!

I am so tired of wearing sweat pants. I am trying to be creative with my yoga pants and the one pair of semi-dressy pants that fit. But really, they're still elastic waist pants!!! I am dying to get back into my jeans and khakis. Right now, my jeans won't go up over my thighs. Not kidding. I know, I have been here before, three other times to be exact, but this is just that phase where you are no longer pregnant, your baby is getting bigger, you want to be normal. Exercise seems like just another thing to do when all you want to do is sleep, a lot. I am trying super hard to not be impatient or too hard on myself but it is really difficult.

So again, thanks for the boosts yesterday. Blog buddies sure know how to make you feel better. (Please do not feel obligated to boost me today. I am just ranting and feeling sorry for myself, just one of those days! You all know how that is.)

let's be real here people

Even organized mommies have messy houses sometimes....

parachute guys on the floor

books, toys, bags, everywhere (my therapy for later- a People magazine, hey, don't judge, it's better than what I really wanted, a Snickers bar!!!)

piles of laundry, every-freakin'-where

coupons to sort, yes they are on my stove, I was running out of counter space

see, I told you I was running out of counter space!

recycling to take out

Blech! Can you see how I get all mommie-dearest crazy? Instead of "no wire hangers!" I am usually screaming "no more piles!" I know we all have days like this but sometimes don't you just feel like that hamster running on his wheel? All that effort for not much reward. **sigh**

blessed

my sweet baby

We went to see big tall hubby's family this past weekend and we were so glad to have little Asher baptized by his Popop. We ran up to his church (where he ministered for 20something years) and they had the small chapel ready for us. It certainly pays to have connections ;) . Big tall hubby's sister and brother-in-law and nephew from Utah were there too so it was lovely to be surrounded by all the big tall family. The baptism was quick since we did not do it during the regular church service but meaningful. Asher wore the same outfit that Parker did so that was bittersweet as well. It is so weird to see that your older children once wore these tiny outfits, isn't it? (Tanner could not wear the same outfit when he was baptized, he was rather huge, shall we say?) The kids loved spending time with their big tall Nana and Popop, cousin, aunts and uncles. I am pooped, and still recovering, I am clearly getting older. I don't quite bounce back as fast as I used to!

I have some pics of the big tall family but I don't want to post them, not sure how they would all feel to be floating out in cyber-space for the world to see. I do want to leave you with a mental picture, me (my 5'2" self) in the middle of all those six feet (or more) tall people in the chapel. Very funny indeed.

smile

Someone is learning how to smile....


Which of course, makes me smile!

I don't know what the heck happened to me last week, I was in a funk, fo' sho'! I literally did not accomplish anything on my things to do list. I was really super tired and grumpy. I think the newborn adrenaline is wearing off. Now I am just exhausted.

Anyway, my list for this week is pretty much a repeat from last week except I have to clean up and recover from a long drive to see our family. (4 hour drive, 4 kids, blah!) My menu for this week is super easy, and kid friendly. I have to detox them from their family visit. They have to be retrained to sleep and eat, (and not sass me!) things they don't do when we are away from home.

my things to do this week:

• clean house and van from our trip
• try to find some new shelves for my basement pantry
• consign fall/winter maternity clothes
• sort coupons (oops, forgot to do this last week so it is a priority now)
• cut and sort boys' pictures to mail to family and friends

my menus for this week:

• spaghetti and salad with roasted veggies
• potato soup and deli subs
• pasta toss with spinach and tomatoes
• homemade pizzas and fruit smoothies
• grilled fish and roasted potatoes (kids will eat nuggets probably)
• oven baked chicken and broccoli with rice

love him

I love this guy. Just felt like telling the world, in case you didn't know it. ;)

He told me today was a "good day" while we were playing in his room. Just simple playing, not anything crazy, listening to a vintage Fisher Price music box. He's right, it is a good day. Thanks for the reminder buddy!

say it ain't so

Seriously!? Today is the last day of summer? Excuse me while I go cry a boat-load of tears. I can't believe it is over already. **sniff sniff**

kids' eating habits

My kids' eating habits leave a lot to be desired. It isn't that I don't try to get them to eat healthy, I do, they just don't always want to cooperate. Here are some ways I try to make meals fun and enjoyable (i.e trick them into thinking their food is yummy and delicious, not healthy, so they'll gobble it down!).

Use lunch trays or divided plates. The lunch trays are their favorites for summer, we just carry them outside for al fresco dining on the patio (or better yet, a blanket on the grass- instant picnic!),my friend Kristin gave these to me and we use them ALL THE TIME! (Thanks Kristin!) Really, who knew being a lunch lady could be so fun?

I skewer* anything I can, it makes even salami and string cheese look like a party appetizer!

Want to make your skewers even more appealing? Add chocolate! (Well, not to salami and cheese, that is kind of icky, unless you like that kind of thing.)

I have not had good luck with my chocolate melting nice and smooth lately. Any ideas why ladies? It has been kind of gloppy and thick, hmm, Google search on my to do list for later...

Along the same lines as the divided plate, use tiny bowls for serving fruit, salad, rice, etc. My kids love it. I don't know why. Their weirdos, they say it tastes better. Whatever, nutjobs, my rice tastes the same from a bowl, my plate or right out of the pan, not that I do that of course. :) I have a nice collection of tiny bowls and they are currently on my list of things to find at the antique/garage sales I attend.

Even better, tiny bowls on a lazy susan! HA! I am such a genius. After school snacks never looked so good. My kids actually said, "cool" when they saw this one. (Please don't judge our choices of after school snacks, in an effort to make my pantry offerings look more yummy I put them on the lazy susan and the next day I drug everyone to the store for some fruits and veggies-being a mommy to a newborn drastically cuts down on those "just run to the store for a few things" trips!)

Allow your children to "dress" for dinner. Or use a candle or cloth napkins, something out of the ordinary can make spaghetti night much more exotic and exciting.

When all else fails, go out. I encourage parents are have a cocktail if taking your children out to eat is as much fun as it is for us!

*these are drink stir-ers from Target, they are perfect for kid-sized treats and then I can wash and reuse them. I also buy colored toothpicks, the umbrellas and any other kind of skewer-ish tool. I rely on these a lot to make meals fun. I tend to stick with what works.

Monday stuff

Mmm, blueberry muffins! "I yub dees mommy!" (translation- I love these mommy.) I got the recipe from Clover Lane, you all know and love Sarah over there. I have tried a bunch of her recipes and they do not disappoint. I figure if her crew of 7 like it, mine will too!

I have oodles to do so just some lists to share today...

my things to do this week:

• deep clean my powder room and upstairs hallway
• buy/wrap my nephew's birthday gift
• straighten up my desk
• try to find some new shelves for my basement pantry
• consign fall/winter maternity clothes
• cut and sort coupons (oops, forgot to do this last week so it is a priority now)
• iron the massive pile of clothes, I keep procrastinating (washing, folding, and putting away don't bother me, but I really loathe ironing)
• take little boys to get pictures taken (Wed.)

my menus for this week:

• still some stuff from last week to use up, last minute meetings and events for Big Tall Hubby mean I don't make planned meals, thank goodness for the freezer!
• leftovers from Saturday birthday party
• onion chicken tenders with rice and broccoli
• potato soup and sandwiches
• creamy pasta with veggies
• I am also baking: peanut butter and jelly bars and cherry chocolate chunk dough balls

someday

"I-a wanna go ni ni mommy." (translation: I don't want to go night night, mommy.)I'm trying to cut this kid a break. He is recovering from a really awful cold. He wakes up at every teeny tiny sound (the garbage truck, the door opening to let the dog out, me walking on the stairs...). All that sleep deprivation is getting to him, I definitely know a thing or two about the effects of no sleep on a human. Vocabulary is increasing daily for him, not always the best choice of words (i.e. butt, booty, 'tupid, no!) but nonetheless, he works hard (and loud) to get his point across in our loud house. His best buddies are gone almost all day at school. And just a few weeks ago, his status as "the baby" was permanently altered. Therefore, I am trying to be patient with his tirades and fits. I am really trying. The other night I snapped this picture of him on the way upstairs to brush (and floss- see yesterday's post!) his teeth for bedtime. I realized someday, he won't want to wear Elmo jammies. Someday, he won't want to sleep with 367 stuffed animals. Someday, he won't have dimples in his elbows. Someday, his cheeks won't be quite as round and utterly irresistible to kissing. Someday, he won't want me to read him stories before bedtime. Someday, he won't be lingering around at night before bedtime because he wants to hang out with me. Someday, is probably going to come really fast, before I know it. So I am going to love him, kiss him, hug him, and enjoy him, tantrums and all.

smile-worthy

If yesterday's post made me cringe, this one makes me smile. I just love when something works the way I want. This is the new basket for my kids' toothbrushing supplies. Their old buckets were really yucky all the time and a pain to clean, not dishwasher safe equals not smart for my house. I found this basket for $1 in the college supply clearance section of my grocery.

A new basket is not a big deal for others but for me, it just makes my day. Yes, there are three different toothpastes: Zoe won't share with the boys, Parker has to use the special sensitive kind, Tanner still uses the toddler kind. There is even room for one more toothbrush for when Asher gets some teeth. :) The little glasses are just to keep the brushes upright and not touching (heaven forbid!). And I don't know if your kids use those flossers, but mine love them. They don't do a perfect job but I feel like some flossing is better than no flossing!

cringe-worthy

This is the kind of thing that make me cringe. And scream. And cry. And sigh, loudly. And mutter swear words under my breath. And threaten to take away all worldly possessions on a daily basis.

I thought I didn't have a lot of pet peeves until I saw this picture. I realized I have tons of them and most of them don't have a thing to do with me, because I am so perfect you know. I detest an unmade bed. I loathe open dresser drawers (even worse with clothes tumbling out). I hate dirty clothes on the floor. And all the tiny toys (i.e. Legos) dumped in massive piles makes my forehead veins bulge out and pulsate. See how easily irritated I am? I need to take some major chill pills.

I know my room probably looked like this at some point in my growing up days but thankfully I don't remember it. I do however remember cleaning my room regularly, my mom cleaning it when I wasn't looking (throwing away my "stuff"), and being given a trash bag and told to "fill it up." I learned not to say "I'm bored" because my mom would tell me to go clean my room, and she meant it. I had to go get busy. I guess those lessons and lectures stayed with me. I have a lot of work to do with my own kids. Their rooms look like this a lot. A whole lot.

"me not too sort"

Don't tell this guy he is too short to dunk the basketball...

or rubber duckie, if that is what he has chosen to launch into the Nerf hoop...

Because he'll make an elaborate scaffolding that he will use to prove you wrong.

He not sort or 'tupid* either!

Ah, two year olds... they wear me out.

*"stupid" is a "bad word" at our house and no one is supposed to say it, but sometimes they do anyway. I might too if my dog pees on the carpet but only real quiet like so no one can hear me, I think that is better than what I really want to say. You can let your mind wander about those words.

terrible twos

How do you make a two year old happy?

Get him new Scooby crocs.

These have made Tanner so happy. Having a big brother means most of his stuff is hand me downs but I am kind of weird about shoes. Shoes kind of form to your own individual feet and it feels funny to wear someone else's shoes, don"t you think? Parker had Scooby crocs too and I think they would fit Tanner now but I thought he deserved something special for himself.

He got sick last week and putting on these shoes and showing everyone (neighbors, mailman, dry cleaners...) really brightened his days. Then this weekend, he became possessed. I am not kidding. My sweet, even-tempered, agreeable boy has turned into a little bull-headed devil. This morning he threw THE WORST FIT EVER! (of all my kids so far) I was sweating and all my forehead veins were pulsating trying to maintain control and composure, it was ugly. I finally got him calmed down but honestly it was scary, is this what they call the terrible twos? If so, I am not going to have any part of it! Nosireebob! Zoe and Parker were good two year olds, it was their threes that about killed me. I am hoping Tanner is trying to recover from his cold and just cranky, if not Lord help me, one of us might not survive this stage.

my things to do this week:

• deep clean my computer room
• plan/execute birthday dinner for my mom
• clean house for birthday party

That's it, I know there are gobs more things I want to do but getting ready for a get-together will be all I have time to do.

my menus for this week:

a couple repeats from last week because we didn't eat them yet- salmon and tuna dinners (have to save those kind of dinners for nights big tall hubby is home1)

• tomato, zucchini and ricotta tartlet with salads
• sausage and white bean stew with roasted carrots
• pasta with smoky paprika and bacon and salads
• potato soup with ? not sure yet
• tacos (must have at least one meal the kids will eat for sure!)

A-la-board

Clearly, I have a problem.

I was getting breakfast ready this morning and I turned around and started cracking up. Who has three clipboards on their counter (and one more hanging nearby)? Only nutjobs like me who are addicted to things being orderly.

The closest one: my little "things to do" one (it is smaller than a regular sized board, this picture doesn't show it), it has my weekly list, future lists, and other random things I clip on there. See the card/envelope? I need to write that person a thank you card. I carry this one in my purse and in the car because I have a mental problem. Seriously, I feel like weights get lifted off me if I write down the things that float in and out of my brain all day.

The middle one: my recipe/meal planner one. I put clipped (or printed) recipes on here that I want to try really soon and I also put the week's recipes on here so I can grab them quick during meal prep. I also keep a very sophisticated meal planning sheet on here, ha ha! I just write a list on note paper for the week. I used to use a planning calendar but then I would get all mad when I had to cross off a day because we didn't eat what I had planned, it made the calendar look icky, see, mental problems!

The farthest one: my grocery list. I keep a check sheet on here that I can write on as I need it. I also take this one to the store with my coupons, reusable bags, baby seat with baby of course, cart seat cover for two year old, snacks for two year old, big coupon binder, ugh, going to the grocery is an ordeal! I seriously need to figure out a better method.

The one hanging nearby: (sorry not in picture but it is close, trust me!) my chore/cleaning one. I put my chores on here for the house (not the same as things to do) as well as the kids' jobs. Things like: clean fingerprints off stair railings, something I am going to do later today, fun! The kids do not refer to this list, it is just for my sanity, again, have to write it down or I lose sleep. Actually they were saying how I need to make them a new schedule since "we don't use our old one" (their words) HA! I was still using the old system but the dingalings didn't pay the least bit of attention. Maybe a post on that later.

Do you think I should start my own 12 step program for clipboard-a-holics? I'm probably the only one out there so I guess I am on my own.

Have a super great weekend.

summer vs. winter

Up to now, my kids were all winter babies. The pluses: they naturally want to be all snug and warm so wrapping them up does not seem like I am torturing them AND I could hide in sweats and bulky clothes until I lost all the "baby weight."

Now I have a summer baby. And of course he was born in THE hottest summer I can remember. So I feel terrible wrapping him up in blankets and clothes. The pluses for him: I get to see all his yummy skin, wrinkles, dimples, and his loooooong arms! And those bare feet, love 'em! It is definitely a negative that I can't get back into my regular clothes yet, I have been itching to wear my capri jeans and my white summer pants but now it is past Labor Day so I guess that's not a good choice. (Believe me, if I could fit it my old pants, I'd be wearing them no matter what day it was!) So forgive me if this is short, I am going to go try my new Jillian Michaels DVD... skinny jeans you can't hide from me forever!

cute outfit provided by Gigi, don't you love this hat!?

Something to ponder

When you are up all night nursing a baby, in the quiet of the dark, everyone else is snoring (loudly BTW), the mind starts to wander. Mine usually goes towards my "things to do" list or I envision really cool crafts I'll never have time to do and forget about by the time morning rolls around. But lately I've been wondering, why in the heck do the makers of baby socks put gripper stuff on the bottom of newborn socks? Like, is my five week old baby going to get up and run away sometime soon? Hmm, just wondering.

cute baby stuff

Things that are cute when you are a baby but when you grow up, not so much:

topless photos

thunder thighs

back fat

dimples on body parts other than your face

the "ugly" cry

Just thought all my blog mommy friends would appreciate and agree! :)

I cannot believe Labor Day has come and gone, where did summer go? I am trying to get back to a schedule/routine around here so I will share my things to do this week. Ha, looking at this list makes me realize I have lots of time and energy... in my mind only! I will attempt to get all these done, you'll probably see some of these next week as well.

my things to do this week:

• clean the condiment door of my fridge (ewww, it is so icky!)
• deep clean my living room and foyer/stairs (lots of fingerprints on the white railings)
• organize my stockpile pantry (this one might take a few weeks as I am researching the best way to do this)
• pack up my maternity clothes to donate/sell (no, I am not in my regular clothes I just refuse to wear maternity stuff anymore!)
• try to find my mom-who-has-everything a birthday gift

my menus for the week:

• chili and sub sandwiches
• grilled veggie/hamburgers and oven fries (we ate these for Labor Day, yummers!)
• lasagna and garlic bread and salad
• salmon and potatoes (new recipe, can't remember the exact name)
• ahi tuna and roasted carrots (kids will eat chicken nuggets, they would "totally barf" if I made them eat tuna
• broccoli and cheese soup and salads

Have a super week everyone!