Nothing Tastes Better Than Thin Feels

A cute friend of mine had this sign up in her kitchen.  I read it as I was eating mini quiches.  I would agree, wholeheartedly, except that I think the author of this quote probably never had a Reese's cup or a Cadbury mini egg.  Or a slice of cheesecake.  Or a mini quiche, for that matter.  Because, believe me, when I taste those things, I don't care about Thin-ness.  Until I glance sideways at the reflection in the YMCA pool locker room mirror and think that maybe I would trade those frosted Easter egg-shaped sugar cookies that I already ate for Thin.  Well, first I think that I need a new swimsuit, and then I think that.

That's why we joined the gym a few months ago.  To help ourselves be healthier, and maybe even a little thinner.  I've lost three pounds, give or take, since then.  I like to think that it's "because I'm gaining muscle and that weighs more than fat."  But I sort of think that's an urban myth, because there are still parts of me that jiggle when I am shakin' my thang in Zumba class.

I prefer workouts that include fun music and dancing.  I've sampled Adult Ballet, Pachanga (pretty much a Latin dance party), Zumba and I still have Belly Dancing on my list.  Well, I did try out a punishing hour of "Boot Camp" once.  A bunch of my [apparently hard-core] friends recommended it.  One was even pregnant, and I thought "If a pregnant lady can do this..."  ...So three days later, when I could walk again, I decided not to ever step foot in Boot Camp again. 

One counterintuitive thing that happens when I work out, is that I want to eat more.  While I'm at the gym, man, I am determined.  I will eat only fresh veggies and brown rice.  No more sugar for this mama.  I will drink more water.  I will come back tomorrow.  Then I get home and I think "Man, I am bushed.  Hey, I'll take one of those treats.  By golly, I earned it!"  And I'll eat said treat and feel completely justified because, for cryin' out loud, I just did three sets of 25 on the 'butt machines.' 

Today I took another friend-endorsed class called "Cardio and Strength".  Because of a defiant 3-year old, I walked in barely on time and the class was very full.  So full, in fact, that the only place left was front and center.  So close to the instructor that I could have kissed her.  That, my friend, is some pressure.  Not only do I have the older-than-me-but-could-still-totally-kick-my-tail instructor staring me down, but everyone else's eyes are trained in my direction.  None of this hide in the corner and march it out when I feel faint business.  I will tell you that doing jumping jacks was the 'break' in this class.  You know how in yoga, you go to fetal "child's pose" for rest?  Well, here, you turned to jumping jacks.  I would show you this other 'plank and dip down' move that we had to do if I could.  Unfortunately, I can't move my body anymore.  I'm sure that once I try to stand up from typing this post, my jelly-muscle body will give out on me and I will collapse into a heap, unable to even reach the Cadbury mini eggs.  Maybe that's how the girls in that class got so thin.  They do the class, then don't even have the strength to eat.

There are some people that are naturally thin.  To them I say "Yee haw for you."  Go ahead and sit back and laugh at the rest of us while you eat Nutella from the jar.  For those in my boat...may you get the strength from the mini eggs that you need to go to Cardio and Strength with me next week.

Why Today Was Super Fantastic

The sun was shining today.  DID YOU HEAR ME???  THE SUN, IT WAS SHINING! And for a vitamin D-deprived Midwestern girl, that is a BIG deal.  It made my whole day glow.  I almost forgot what it was like.  Seriously, look at my reflection in the glass, I have to shield my eyes from this big, bright, yellow thing in the sky.

Yesterday, was Easter!  The most hopeful holiday of them all!  He Is Risen!  We are so grateful to Jesus Christ for His sacrifice and atonement.  To enjoy a video about the first Easter, click HERE.  To see that Easter also gives me a reason to dress my kids up in coordinating clothing, see the picture above.

Got all this in the mail today.  Personal letters MAKE my day, as do cute striped straws and Martha Stewart Living.  Oh, also, I got an offfer for 6 free issues of People magazine (my guilty pleasure; Josh always buys one for me to read while I'm in labor.  I save it, so that my babies can know the 'news' when they were born).  That always makes my day, too.

The hyacinths are in bloom and they smell like heaven.  They get so full that they fall over. (That reminds me of the Friends episode where they make fun of Chandler with the line "Oh, no!  Two women love me, my fifties won't fit in my wallet, and my diamond shoes are too tight!")

The daffodils are out too.  And behind them?  My van is clean.

Why is this barren piece of dirt included in today's 'good things'?  Because earlier today it was, instead, a jungle of weeds and moss.  Now it's a plot of dirt ready to be planted.  It even comes with some ready made green onions, Swiss chard, and a plant that I wasn't sure what it was, but in case it is edible instead of a weed, I let it grow.

Leftover centerpiece from an Easter celebration with friends that was beyond storybook charming.

The A team.

My swirly, twirly little girlie that loves new shoes as much as I do.

Also, a dear friend of mine had a baby today.  What a fantastic day to have a baby, yes?   I can't wait to meet the little fella.  Enjoying a newborn without the 'labor' and 'delivery' and 'sleepless nights'?  Holla. 

(I know, I can't pull off a 'holla'.  Just thought I'd try it out.  It's the sunshine talking.)

Also, the fact that my kids think the F-word is 'fat' and the S-word is 'stupid'.

That makes my day too.

Happy Super Fantastic Spring Day to YOU!!

The A's

Let me introduce you to the cutest (This picnic they planned?  Hello.), and possibly most destructive force on earth--the A's.  So named for the first letter of their names, we have come to realize they are a force to be reckoned with.  When we find a mess, take this tiny example for instance:

...the conversation usually goes like this

Me:  Who made this mess?

(substitute underlined portion with 'unrolled the whole toilet paper roll', 'dumped out the basket of folded laundry', 'unpacked the pantry again', 'drew on the walls', 'covered the floor with maxi pads', 'put bandaids all over the walls', 'flooded the bathroom', etc)

IN UNISON:

Big A: Not me.

Little A: Not me.

Girlie and Sam:  The A's.

Here's Little A. 

 I cannot get enough of this girl.  She runs from the camera and refuses to smile, but she is like my personal sunshine.  She is full of life and joy and I am ecstatic every time I see her.  J calls her my kryptonite, and reminds me that I need to say 'no' to her every once in a while.  I have the hugest crush on her.  She's sweet and girlie, says 'Cuse me' when she passes gas, and 'Ucky 'tuff' when she sees something gross or dirty, loves accessories and talking on the phone.  Sigh.  Someday, when it's just the two of us at home, there is going to be a lot of shoe shopping.

And here is Big A, with an 'It wasn't me...' look on his face.  He is like a little Calvin (from Calvin and Hobbes), and I am serious.  He loves mischief, is clever and hilarious.  He sees shapes and pictures in everything--clouds, pasta, swirly lines.  He has a funny imagination.  He's got a bit of a speech delay, which makes it all the funnier when he says stuff.  Once when I told him that he cracks me up he said, "What?  Yike a egg?  You are yike a yittle chicken an I put you in a yittle egg and cwack you up?"

One time he walked in to see J yawning over some work.  He said "Daddy, if you aw tired, go to seep.  If not, wake up!!"  He adores vehicles and when we cross the street he looks both ways and says "No caws. No motocycles, no dump chucks, no diggos." (That's cars, motorcycles, dump trucks and diggers, for those who don't speak A).

And he loves his little sister.

And she loves him.

And they've formed this funny little alliance.  J and I think they are really going to be fun little ones to finish off our family.  Or, as I like to tease J, fun ones to tote through Europe.

Seriously.

Did I Mention Crazy Hair Day?

It was Crazy Hair Day at school.  We had a little fun with it.  We put a cup on Girlie's head and brushed her hair up and around it.  We left a couple pieces down on the side, braided them and pinned them up on the side.  Then I hairsprayed the heck out of it.

I think maybe I'll do this to my hair, too.  What do you think?

An Easter mini project

Craving an easy decor idea for Easter?  I was too.  That's why I jumped at 'Easter egg craft night'.  We cut out egg shapes out of double sided cardstock, then stacked four at a time and sewed (with a sewing machine) down the center.  Then I tried to fan and fold the layers open.

I made some small and some large.  I used some Cream City cotton ribbon to create springy curls and taped them to my drapery rod.

It was an easy creative fix.  They look so fun and whimsical, yes?

My kids are such caricatures.

We had the kids' caricatures done at the Microsoft Christmas party.  I LOVE them!  It was so fun to see my sweet ones in cartoon form, and the guy got them spot on!

My sweet Girlie

Wild Man Sam

Buddy (we think he looks a little Curious George-ish)

Sweetie

And, just for fun, here's J and I from the year before...

Realistic?

My Favorite Way to Fold a Napkin

One of my favorite little niceties in life is beautifully folded napkins.  It's the little things, right?  This is one of my favorite ways to do it.

 Lay the napkin out, right side down.  If you wanted to get all fancy, you could even iron the napkin.

Fold the bottom half up.



Then fold the top layers down on either side (one on top, one behind).

Start folding it accordion style from one side.

Fold it all the way across and pinch the pleats together.

Stick the whole thing in a glass or a napkin ring.

Pull the front layer down.

So the next time you serve something a little too, er, creative, just dazzle and distract your dinner guests with fancy-schmancy napkins in their glasses.  Bon Appetit!

A Good Day

At first it was a bad day.  The kids were finally in bed, and I felt overwhelmed by all that had not gotten done today.  Or rather, things that I had 1) not gotten done or 2) done, and then were undone very quickly.  There was the loft full of clean laundry (earlier it had been folded and put away, then more stuff got dirty), there was the 100th sinkful of dishes (I had already done them a dozen times today, then I cooked more food), there were the million, billion, zillion things that had not gotten picked up, or had been dragged out by my conspiring 3 year old and 1 year old and were now strewn about my house. In short, it looked like we'd gotten robbed, even though I had busted my tail all day trying to 'take back the house' as I like to call it. I felt so frustrated, so inadequate.  I'd given it my best, and my best just wasn't good enough.  A little bit of "Why do I even try???"  And maybe a smidge "Crazy, here I come."  The day was a complete failure.

And then a tender mercy.

Into my head flowed a list of things I had gotten done. Like...

I refilled my vitamin prescription.
All the kids got baths.
I made a "heart healthy" gameboard and bean bag for Girlie's Valentine's party tomorrow.
I wrote some love notes to people I love.  And actually got them mailed off.
I made beautiful bouquets of chocolate-dipped-sprinkled marshmallows for teacher valentines.
I called my (step) Grandma, who was having a lovely lucid moment.  Today would have been her anniversary with my dear Grandpa.  We talked and cried and I told her how glad we were that she was in our family and how much we love her.
I had a family meeting on "how to properly load the dishwasher."
I flirted with my husband.
I played the piano for my kids to go to sleep.
I snuggled and kissed the heck out of my baby.
I finished up the adorable valentine's that my kiddos are going to give to their friends.
I braided my daughter's hair so that it would be wavy in the morning.
I made a shrimp-pepper-red-onion-snow-pea-quinoa concoction for dinner.
I made arrangements to watch a friend's children so she and her sweetie could enjoy Valentine's day.
And I'm currently making mini blueberry muffins for my son's breakfast Valentine's Day party.

And all of a sudden I realized that it was actually a very good day.  Despite the fact that the whole first paragraph is completely true, maybe the day wasn't a waste.  Maybe I put some goodness, some love, out into the world.  Maybe someone's day was better because I was busy not getting my laundry done.

I'm so glad I had today.

What I Am Loving

What a blissful start to a new year!  So many good things to enjoy, eat and look forward to!  Here's a few things that I am loving now...

This sugar-that-I-use-as-a-jar-for-homemade-jam bowl.  (Only $4.95 at Crate and Barrel!  No, that's not a typo!) To save room, I made homemade jam and froze it in flat ziplock bags.  When I thaw it, I just pour it into this cute bowl that comes with its own spoon.  Do you know how much I love that?  It reminds me of my grandparents which makes it all the sweeter.

My favorite $5 to spend all year.  My new planner/best friend.

This little antique silver plate that a sweet friend gave me to keep all my pretties together.  How darling is that (the friend and the plate)?

Drooled over this soap pump at Target for the longest time.  Now it's at home with me, thanks to a birthday gift card.

Chunky pearl bracelet I whipped up from a $3.99 strand of beads at Michaels.  Classic.

Pretty plates.  Not just for eating on.

White hydrangeas.  Love how serene they are!

Salted caramel cheesecake.  Possibly my favorite dessert ever. 

Making paper snowflakes with my kids.  Because now they match the back yard.

Snow completely cripples Seattle, so we're enjoying some cozy time at home.  Playing in the snow and them coming inside to warm vanilla steamers.

Why can't January be pretty?  I made a simple bunting by cutting scalloped circles in half and sewing them together on my sewing machine.  It makes it look like a party in here.

May you have the loveliest year yet!

Potty Dance

Okay, friends.  I am now in a little bit of weird place where my son is now 6, which is apparently an age at which people begin to frown on him using the ladies room with me.  But, consider the alternative--him using the men's bathroom by himself.  I'm not a paranoid crazy person, convinced that every bathroom is crawling with pedophiles lurking in every corner just waiting to harm my child while I'm outside.   Okay, maybe just a teensy bit, but, hey, read enough news articles and it will happen to you too.

J came home from work with tales of a co-worker's young daughter being 'bothered' by a strange guy while she was in the bathroom with her daddy while they were at the Cheesecake Factory in Bellevue.  Did you hear me?  At the Cheesecake Factory.  In Bellevue.  With her daddy!!  Because, hello, if that's not safe...

So we were at the store.  Sammy was about to wet his pants, and as I pull the cart with all my kids towards the ladies room, a mom comes out and says "Oh, there's a big line in there."  Sammy looks desperate, so against everything in me, I say "Okay, just use the boys bathroom."  He runs in there, and 3 seconds later a man walks in.  I panic, but think "He's probably a perfectly nice man.  Don't be ridiculous." and then 1 second later I think, "Forget it.  That's my kid in there."  I go to the door and prop it open with my foot. "Hey, Buddy, are you done yet?  No?  Okay, well I'm right here.  Do you need any help?  Are you sure?  I'm right here if you need anything."  I kept the door propped open until he came out.

But, he is getting old enough that it's kind of weird that he's using the girls bathroom. On the other hand, he can use the girls bathroom with me til he's 16 if it means I can keep him safe.  He can't always hold it, I can't put him in a pull up (just in case), so....

What's a mama to do?