You get a whole lot of THIS:
I don't think any of those are Christmas card worthy, but were too fun to not share!!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Best laid plans!
So what happens when you combine a 3 year old, a 2 year old, a 15 month old, and a 9 month old and then try to shoot beautiful family photos?
You get a whole lot of THIS:
I don't think any of those are Christmas card worthy, but were too fun to not share!!
You get a whole lot of THIS:
I don't think any of those are Christmas card worthy, but were too fun to not share!!
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Of Cowboy Boots & Underpants
So this week Little Man has been all about wearing his cowboy boots-- or his "Ah-Gon Bruce boots" (Ah-Gon= Grandpa in Taiwanese) as he often refers to them. He rediscovered them on Tuesday night and wore them every day for the rest of the week. I tried offering crocs or sneakers, but nope, he wanted Cowboy boots!
Every day he styled them differently:
Tuesday Night: Diapers & boots
Wednesday: Silly Monkey t-shirt & shorts
Thursday: Race car pajamas (he refused to get dressed this morning)
Friday: Mr. Happy shirt & a backpack. He put his boots on the wrong feet, just to mix it up a bit!
Of course, the cowboy boot fixation was not the BIG news of the week. The BIG news is that Little Man has started potty training in earnest and has been wearing underwear every day since Wednesday and has only had 3 accidents. On Friday, he got to pick out his new big boy underwear. He, of course, picked out the Lightning McQueen underwear.
I am having mixed feelings about all this potty training. One one hand I love the idea of no more diapers, but on the other, it means that my baby is becoming more of a boy and less of a baby! THIS is a struggle for me. It is great to see him hit these milestones and to see the neat little person he is becoming, but part of me wants to just keep him little for a little bit longer. I keep looking at him and seeing his life fast-forward in front of my eyes and feel this ache when I realize that someday he will be a man who no longer lives with me (not that I want him to live with me when he is a grown man!). I just wish the little stage lasted a bit longer.
Every day he styled them differently:
Tuesday Night: Diapers & boots
Wednesday: Silly Monkey t-shirt & shorts
Thursday: Race car pajamas (he refused to get dressed this morning)
Friday: Mr. Happy shirt & a backpack. He put his boots on the wrong feet, just to mix it up a bit!
Of course, the cowboy boot fixation was not the BIG news of the week. The BIG news is that Little Man has started potty training in earnest and has been wearing underwear every day since Wednesday and has only had 3 accidents. On Friday, he got to pick out his new big boy underwear. He, of course, picked out the Lightning McQueen underwear.
I am having mixed feelings about all this potty training. One one hand I love the idea of no more diapers, but on the other, it means that my baby is becoming more of a boy and less of a baby! THIS is a struggle for me. It is great to see him hit these milestones and to see the neat little person he is becoming, but part of me wants to just keep him little for a little bit longer. I keep looking at him and seeing his life fast-forward in front of my eyes and feel this ache when I realize that someday he will be a man who no longer lives with me (not that I want him to live with me when he is a grown man!). I just wish the little stage lasted a bit longer.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Fun Night!
Diesel is in school every night this week, which means Little Man & I are on our own. Tonight we had a really great time. Since it was 4 million degrees out today, I decided that a trip to the pool was in order. Unfortunately, when Diesel has school, I have to pick Little Man up after work and we don't get home until 6:00 or later. Little Man's bedtime is 7:30, so that doesn't leave us a ton of time. Since we had a time crunch, a proper dinner went right out the window & I fixed us some PB&J sandwiches and carrots for dinner. We were done and at the pool by 6:30.
Little Man had a BLAST!!! I am now singing the praises of water wings!! I had been raised to be anti-water wings, but they are an awesome invention and it gives Little Man more independence in the water. He's really trying to swim with them too, so that is good.
Little Man had a BLAST!!! I am now singing the praises of water wings!! I had been raised to be anti-water wings, but they are an awesome invention and it gives Little Man more independence in the water. He's really trying to swim with them too, so that is good.
Tonight he was jumping off the edge to me, but kept saying "back up Mama, back up!" because he actually likes going under the water when he jumps in! I think he must have jumped in the pool close to a hundred times!
By 7:00 Little Man was shivering so we headed in an he took a nice warm bath. Of course, he wanted his color drops in the tub and he chose two yellow tablets, so he took a bath in what looked like pee water! It was pretty funny!
Me, pee in the water? NEVER?
The rest of our evening was nice & quiet. We read books on the couch-- Little Man picked How I Became a Pirate and I chose In the Night Kitchen and then it was off to bed!
I love evenings like this!
Addition by Subtraction
So I've decided that my focus on downshifting of late has begun to overshadow my stuff about motherhood, therefore I'm separating them into two different blogs. This blog will be for all things Mom/general life related, and my NEW blog will be more about my "FruGoals" and "Mini-Goals" and everything that goes with that! You're more than welcome to follow me in both places!
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Sunday randomness
I love this age! Little Man is so fun to hang out with (most of the time). I love that his imagination is really starting to show up. Lately he's been imagining a tiger chasing him. He'll suddenly start yelling "aaaaah a TIGER!!!" and running as fast as he can. He has also started really playing with figurines-- making them talk to each other and other interactions, as well as pretending to be other animals. It is pretty neat to watch him growing up.
It is also fun to listen to his vocabulary grow. He's becoming more interested in trying to hold conversations with us and sometimes the words he comes up with are pretty fantastic! Recently he proclaimed ice cream to be "delicious in my belly." My new favorite "thing" he has started saying is "HOLY COW!" which is cute!
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Being somewhat forgetful, I sometimes throw a load of laundry in the wash & forget that it is there, so it doesn't make it into the drier. Then the worst thing in the world happens-- funky, mildewed clothes/towels/sheets, etc. I hate that smell more than any thing! Yesterday I discovered that I had done this with a load of kitchen washcloths & towels. Gross. Then I had a brilliant brain bubble and I have solved my mildew funk problem forever!!
TEA TREE OIL!
I added several drops to the pre-wash tray of our washer (along with detergent in the regular wash area) and when the wash was done, everything smelled fresh & lovely! I'm so excited about my discovery that I had to share!
************
Mini-goals for the weekend:
Yesterday I tackled the kitchen drawers and got rid of some odds & ends that I'm not currently using.
Today my goal is to come up with my "Grateful List"-- a list of everything I'm grateful for in my life.
I managed to get through some of our shredding today and to rearrange a few items for better organization & storage. I've decided to part with rolling scrapbooking box and tote bag. I haven't used them since Diesel built me my scrap-cabinet and I started doing a better job of planning what I need for crops. Now I'm able to use my "free-with-purchase" diaper bag to take everything I need when I go out scrapbooking. I have a collapsible rolling cart that I used for teaching that I can use if ever need to take more with me than fits in my bag.
************
Reaffirmation that cutting out the dining out is a good idea: Today we were headed to Trader Joe's. Across the street was a Target. Little Man saw it and said "Pretzel combo!" Yeeeaaaaah. Not happening kiddo! (Though when I ran into Target to pick up one necessary item, I did get a coupon for the cafe, so I reckon we'll visit some day-- but for cheaper!)
It is also fun to listen to his vocabulary grow. He's becoming more interested in trying to hold conversations with us and sometimes the words he comes up with are pretty fantastic! Recently he proclaimed ice cream to be "delicious in my belly." My new favorite "thing" he has started saying is "HOLY COW!" which is cute!
************
Being somewhat forgetful, I sometimes throw a load of laundry in the wash & forget that it is there, so it doesn't make it into the drier. Then the worst thing in the world happens-- funky, mildewed clothes/towels/sheets, etc. I hate that smell more than any thing! Yesterday I discovered that I had done this with a load of kitchen washcloths & towels. Gross. Then I had a brilliant brain bubble and I have solved my mildew funk problem forever!!
TEA TREE OIL!
I added several drops to the pre-wash tray of our washer (along with detergent in the regular wash area) and when the wash was done, everything smelled fresh & lovely! I'm so excited about my discovery that I had to share!
************
Mini-goals for the weekend:
Yesterday I tackled the kitchen drawers and got rid of some odds & ends that I'm not currently using.
Today my goal is to come up with my "Grateful List"-- a list of everything I'm grateful for in my life.
I managed to get through some of our shredding today and to rearrange a few items for better organization & storage. I've decided to part with rolling scrapbooking box and tote bag. I haven't used them since Diesel built me my scrap-cabinet and I started doing a better job of planning what I need for crops. Now I'm able to use my "free-with-purchase" diaper bag to take everything I need when I go out scrapbooking. I have a collapsible rolling cart that I used for teaching that I can use if ever need to take more with me than fits in my bag.
************
Reaffirmation that cutting out the dining out is a good idea: Today we were headed to Trader Joe's. Across the street was a Target. Little Man saw it and said "Pretzel combo!" Yeeeaaaaah. Not happening kiddo! (Though when I ran into Target to pick up one necessary item, I did get a coupon for the cafe, so I reckon we'll visit some day-- but for cheaper!)
Friday, August 13, 2010
Mini-Goal, Day 2
Today's mini-goal was to tackle one kitchen cabinet & its accompanying drawer. However, I was home alone tonight, and I had a fire lit under me! I cleaned out all of the lower cabinets-- except the bay of drawers-- PLUS the drawer under my stove.
I ended up with a HUGE pile of stuff to give-away, sell or donate (and a sparkling counter, sink & stove, because once you get going it is hard to stop).
As productive as I was, this mini-goal was pretty difficult for me. I had to part with some things that I lovingly chose to register for 5+ years ago, and which I truly wanted at that time. You see, when we were getting married, I had visions of being the kind of wife and mother who entertained & had need for tiny ramekins and porcelin Bodum casseroles with pretty wire racks to stand in. In my head, I was finally going to get to be that woman I wanted to be.
Fast-forward 5 years and we live in a 730 sq ft. condo, which was supposed to be our starter house. We were going to trade-up for a larger place after 3 years. Alas, this did not happen. Our condo is too small to do the grand-scale entertaining that I had hoped to do (or even medium-scale), so there has never been a need for the beautiful ceramic "stuff" I registered for all those years ago.
Our family has also grown by a dog & a boy and we're constantly in a crunch for space. By parting with these unnecessary items, as tough as it was, will provide us with some much needed room. After I have finished cleaning out the entire kitchen (the upper cabinets will be even tougher), I will need to embark on rearranging what we have to better fit our needs.
So that was my wild and crazy night!! I think tomorrow's mini-goal will be a more mellow goal, but we shall see! I have some before & after shots that I'll post tomorrow. For now I'm going to sign off and say "hi" to the hubby who arrived home a little bit ago (with our sacked-out boychild who is now in bed).
I ended up with a HUGE pile of stuff to give-away, sell or donate (and a sparkling counter, sink & stove, because once you get going it is hard to stop).
As productive as I was, this mini-goal was pretty difficult for me. I had to part with some things that I lovingly chose to register for 5+ years ago, and which I truly wanted at that time. You see, when we were getting married, I had visions of being the kind of wife and mother who entertained & had need for tiny ramekins and porcelin Bodum casseroles with pretty wire racks to stand in. In my head, I was finally going to get to be that woman I wanted to be.
Fast-forward 5 years and we live in a 730 sq ft. condo, which was supposed to be our starter house. We were going to trade-up for a larger place after 3 years. Alas, this did not happen. Our condo is too small to do the grand-scale entertaining that I had hoped to do (or even medium-scale), so there has never been a need for the beautiful ceramic "stuff" I registered for all those years ago.
Our family has also grown by a dog & a boy and we're constantly in a crunch for space. By parting with these unnecessary items, as tough as it was, will provide us with some much needed room. After I have finished cleaning out the entire kitchen (the upper cabinets will be even tougher), I will need to embark on rearranging what we have to better fit our needs.
So that was my wild and crazy night!! I think tomorrow's mini-goal will be a more mellow goal, but we shall see! I have some before & after shots that I'll post tomorrow. For now I'm going to sign off and say "hi" to the hubby who arrived home a little bit ago (with our sacked-out boychild who is now in bed).
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Daily Mini-Goal(s)
As I am trying to simplify my life & home, I have decided that on top of my large "FruGoals" (the term I came up with, which my friend abhors, so I am now using it just to irritate her), I'm going to have at least one daily mini-goal.
Yesterday I declared the dinner table (both at home and in restaurants) a cell-phone free zone. I am in love with my iPhone and am somewhat addicted to it. Our iPhones tend to be frequent guests at our meals, so that rather than talking to each other and engaging with our son, Diesel and I are busy surfing the web or texting or whatever. Last night I realized (as Diesel was e-mailing during our meal) that this is interrupting our ability to connect with each other, so I declared the cell-phone free dinner table (for the record, I am MUCH worse about being distracted by my phone at the table than he is). Now, the only reason a cell phone may be used at the dinner table are as follows: #1 using the calculator to figure out the tip or how to divide a bill when eating a meal out, #2 to take photos of something adorable that the boychild does, #3 some type of actual emergency.
Today I had two mini goals.
Mini-goal #1: Clean out the cabinet under the kitchen sink.
I've broken my house up into "zones" that need cleaning & organizing. Using a floor plan of our house, I denoted what needs to be done where. Rather than trying to set aside an entire weekend to try to clean and organize my house-- which hasn't happened since the week before Little Man was born-- each day I'm going to try to clean out/reorganize one of these zones.
Today's zone was the cabinet under our kitchen sink. I forgot to take a before shot, but imagine it crammed to the top with plastic grocery bags, spray bottles, drying racks, etc.
NOW it looks like this:
Yesterday I declared the dinner table (both at home and in restaurants) a cell-phone free zone. I am in love with my iPhone and am somewhat addicted to it. Our iPhones tend to be frequent guests at our meals, so that rather than talking to each other and engaging with our son, Diesel and I are busy surfing the web or texting or whatever. Last night I realized (as Diesel was e-mailing during our meal) that this is interrupting our ability to connect with each other, so I declared the cell-phone free dinner table (for the record, I am MUCH worse about being distracted by my phone at the table than he is). Now, the only reason a cell phone may be used at the dinner table are as follows: #1 using the calculator to figure out the tip or how to divide a bill when eating a meal out, #2 to take photos of something adorable that the boychild does, #3 some type of actual emergency.
Today I had two mini goals.
Mini-goal #1: Clean out the cabinet under the kitchen sink.
I've broken my house up into "zones" that need cleaning & organizing. Using a floor plan of our house, I denoted what needs to be done where. Rather than trying to set aside an entire weekend to try to clean and organize my house-- which hasn't happened since the week before Little Man was born-- each day I'm going to try to clean out/reorganize one of these zones.
Today's zone was the cabinet under our kitchen sink. I forgot to take a before shot, but imagine it crammed to the top with plastic grocery bags, spray bottles, drying racks, etc.
NOW it looks like this:
I feel a great sense of accomplishment just by cleaning and organizing ONE cabinet. I look at this photo and I am happy to see things all neat and tidy and in their places! HOORAY!
Mini-goal #2: Reduce "eDrain" (on-going goal)
eDrain is the term I came up with for the way that our electronics can suck us in and eat up huge chunks of our time. You know how one "quick" check of your email can suddenly turn into two hours before you know it? THAT is eDrain.
This goal came to me last night as I was sitting on the couch, using my laptop to Facebook and check on my thread on Babycenter. As I was sitting there I could hear my boys reading and playing on the bed in our bedroom. Suddenly I had an epiphany. I constantly complain that I don't have enough time with my boys, yet here I am frittering away that time because I want to see what is going on in my social network. This appalled me, so I shut off the laptop, got up and engaged with my family.
Since trying to simplify and minimize isn't just about reducing what we own and what we spend, but also about creating more quality interactions with the people & things we love, I'm also going to try to focus on reducing my (and my family's) addiction to all things eDraining and thereby increasing our meaningful engagement with each other.
How are we reducing eDrain right now? On weeknights, no computer/TV until after the baby goes to bed and AFTER all the necessary tasks for that evening have been completed. I haven't come up with a plan for weekends, but I'm working on it-- I'm thinking set "okay" times to watch TV and use the computer, but haven't nailed that down yet. Like with the cell phone rule, there will be some emergency usage allowed, but going forward my family will be the priority before my Facebook status!
So far this has been a fairly peaceful evening. It was such a difference to sit on the couch and chat with my husband while the boychild play; however as soon as he went down Diesel is on the laptop & I'm blogging. But, as soon as this blog is complete I'm going to go crack open the good book I'm reading and enjoy that!
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