Memories

Last night I posted about this local Mom's group I recently joined and have already found a number of cheap things to add to our plethora of "things".  It's addictive!

But tonight, I turned around and successful SOLD a few things too!  I'm raking in the dough!  (Heh.  Not really. But it's neat to see your things moving onto other homes.)

While I have given away a lot of our old baby toys, clothes, etc. to friends and family, for some reason I had hung onto our Ergo carrier for awhile.  I'm not really sure why, but it sat in the boys' closet, back in its box, for the last ~2 years.

Last week, a mom posted "ISO" (in search of) an Ergo carrier and I thought well, here's my chance to pass it along to a new mom in need!  So, I sent her a few pics and arranged to meet her tonight to show it (and finally, sell it).

Why am I blogging about this?

Well, the transaction ended up being, surprisingly, bittersweet for me.  As I pulled out the Ergo and showed this (majorly pregnant) new mama how to put it on and use it, a flood of old memories unexpectedly WASHED over me.

And, once my happy customer left, I got a little choked up.

That little carrier performed beautifully, doing its job, literally AROUND the world for us, saving both Jon and my back several times, when cuddling our sweet boys against our chests.  Ohhh, when the kiddos were so small and innocent that we could just lug them around anywhere without a peep!  ;-)

I have this pic framed on my desk at work. :)

And now, Callum's turn!

Farewell little Ergo - I hope you keep your new family as happy as you kept us.

Floor Puzzles Galore!

I've recently joined a mom's group on Facebook where local moms post
stuff for cheap that they don't need anymore.

The deals are fantastic and because it's a private small group of
local moms only, it's much more reliable and trustworthy than other
places out there, like Craigslist or something.

Today I picked up a number of HUGE and regular sized puzzles for the
boys to work on. It was a perfect activity while waiting for dinner
tonight! :)

Birthday Fun!

Callum and I headed to a birthday party today for one of his friends -
it was pretty warm out but didn't stop the kids from running nonstop -
they had a blast! :)

Another big milestone

Last night we discovered one of Logan's teeth that's been wiggly for
awhile suddenly was VERY loose. I took him into school today and
warned the teachers it could fall out and to keep an eye on it so we
could save the tooth for the tooth fairy.

(Logan was also INSTANTLY popular as all the kids surrounded him
peering into his mouth to see just how wiggly this tooth was - very
cute!).

A couple of hours later I got a text from Logan's teacher, with the
following note (and pics). :)


MOMMY MY TOOTH FINALLY FELL OUT BUT…

I SWALLOWED IT.

What a day!

Had a great Mother's Day with Jon and the boys - we went out to a
yummy brunch before spending a couple of hours this afternoon checking
out open houses in the more expensive parts of the area (and
amazingly, the boys were great the entire time!).

We have no intention of moving anytime soon, but I thought it would
still be neat to see what's on the market, what some of the nicer
neighborhoods look like, and to see the crazy fancy remodels, or
interior decorating and landscaping ideas.

We spent the late afternoon lounging around watching movies and
resting from all the house "hunting".

Now that's what I call a fun day! ;-)

Today's gift

Logan decided to find me a gift (out of his toy box) to wrap and give
to me. He disappeared into his room for a bit and then came out very
happy and proud of himself, hiding the finished product behind his
back.

I was actually pretty impressed with his wrapping skills - hard to see
here but he made a little "bow" by cutting a strip of paper and taping
it together. :)

After I unwrapped the gift (one of his Viking Lego men), he exclaimed,
"Merry Valentine's Day Mom! ... I mean, Mother's Day!"

:)

An impromptu golf club

My morning conversation with two boys

L (having just woken up and still half asleep): It's Mother's Day.

M: Yes it is.

L: So what am I supposed to do?

M: What do you want to do?

L: I want to make chocolate strawberries. (Something he did at school
for the Mother's Day picnic they had for us)

Actually Mom, what I really want to do is give you a present. What do
you think we should get for your present?

Callum chimes in: How about cake?

L: Not cake, you can only have that for your birthday silly!

....

Happy Mother's Day to all! :)

Vitamix to the max

Jon got a Vitamix (a super charged professional blender) this last
week so we've been experimenting with all sorts of stuff. Jon's been
perfecting a number of fruit and veggie smoothies and milk or malt
shakes which we all have loved.

I finally decided to try my hand at it today and made almond milk, for
my granola in the morning, and a kale basil pesto for one of our meals
later this week. Yum!

I also prepped ingredients to make a lime and mint agua fresca
tomorrow, which I'm looking forward to. :)

Waiting in the drive-thru line is SOOOO boring!

:)

Will they ever learn?

Yesterday, Logan got bit by an ant (which surprised and upset him)
because he was playing near an ant hole and several ants decided to
climb all over him. He's lucky more didn't bite him actually!

Today, the boys (and several other kids) are back at it. Poking the
ants yet again. *sigh*

(Tho notice Logan *is* keeping more of a distance. Heh.)

Mother's Day Picnic

The boys' school hosted a Mother's Day picnic today so I decided to
join and hang out with the kiddos.

It was so nice to see them in the middle of the day and meet all of
their friends (Logan's mostly since we hung out at his picnic; he was
very proud of showing off his mom and brother to all the girls chasing
him around the yard). ;-)

What a nice midday treat to break up my wok day! :)

Would you like a cinnamon roll with that butter?

Yowza!

Lemons!

Logan and I found some lemons on our afternoon walk. Time to make some lemonade!

Callumism of the morning

"Tiny poo-poos aren't spicy. Big poo-poos are spicy!"


While potty training has helped Callum poop more regularly, he's still
getting constipated and having problems every now and then.

Last weekend, we think he had a case of hemorrhoids, poor guy, so
we're being extra vigilant right now about having him sit on the
toilet after breakfast each morning to try and poop (doctor's orders).

The hope is this will create a habit where his body eventually
recognizes it needs to poop after eating. So, he's now understanding
that pooping a little everyday is better than holding it in and having
one huge poop (that generally hurts, or burns, or feels "spicy") ;)
once in a long while.

I hope it works!

Keeping Daddy company

I survived!

I almost forgot to post my last jar of "juice" (tea) to close out my
3-day juice cleanse!

So, I did okay!

I actually cheated a bit both yesterday and today. Not much, but had a
few almonds with my lunch (soup) and half an apple last night over
dinner.

I'm feeling good overall. Interestingly, I haven't taken any pain meds
for my back this last week and was afraid I might need to (I
specifically didn't, given how little calories I was taking in). I
wasn't (and am not) 100% pain free but there were moments where my
back felt ok which made me feel good. I can't really say it's the
juice cleanse that helped, since I've been nursing my back, stretching
and walking more these past few weeks, but it didn't seem to hurt my
back either.

I did notice that when I'd wait too long for my next drink (I couldn't
follow the schedule exactly because, well, life - or work - gets in
the way), I'd get REALLY light-headed and very tired and hungry. So,
I'd then drink the scheduled juice and feel lots better.

I'm also probably more tired than usual. Jon thought the whole idea
was crazy since I have a tendency to drop really low when I don't eat
frequently (low blood sugar), so I'm guessing my sleepiness is
probably due to that. But I haven't been as sluggish or low energy as
I thought I would be...

My friend Jenn asked me today if I thought it was worth it. Hard to
say. It hasn't been easy, that's for sure. I miss eating! :)

But, my goal was to sort of force myself to kick start into a
healthier gear, because I've been in a rut lately. I was surprised
that of all things I'd choose to "cheat" with, I picked an apple to
eat last night. Last week, I would've snacked on crap. So, from that
regard, it's been worth it.

The bigger question is, will I do the same next week, next month, etc?
I hope so. :)

Tag and Wrestlemania

Brothers being brothers. :)

A touch of Paris

I bought these awesome prints, of the streets of Paris, a couple of
months ago. But, it took me awhile to find frames that I liked, and
then find the time to frame them (all by myself - yeesh!) and hang
them up on the wall.

*whew*

It was a pain in the butt, but I love how they've turned out. :)

Afternoon snack

I think this is one of my favorites. But, I'm also a sucker for
grapefruit and mint! ;-)

Bottoms up!

First juice of the morning: Lemon Ginger Juice! (It was tart and spicy
but refreshing)

The rest of my schedule will go like this:

9:00am - Green Juice
10:30am - Nettle Tea
12:30pm - Spring Root Soup
2:30pm - Grapefruit Mint Juice
5:00pm - Green Juice
7:00pm - Almond Milk
8:00pm - Chamomile Ginger Tea

Jon's schedule (and juices) is a little different because I got him
one that has more calories, meant for someone who's working out
regularly.

I think we're going to be peeing nonstop. ;-)