The Enlunds

a family weekend

2012-02-12T18:55:00.000-06:00

When there are five kids to entertain, cook for, clean up after and just generally take care of the camera doesn't come out a lot but I did manage to get some while we were bowling!

We were all really proud and impressed that Bailey wanted to bowl like the adults were doing it but as you can see from her face she was not too excited about her score...poor kid.

Okay, so not the best photos ever. But I do love some of the facial expressions on these kids!

Bailey and Avery really bonded on this trip! Avery has a new best buddy!!

We had a great weekend! To see the hike that we did and the fun snow play in the backyard head to Greening Sam and Avery

peepee in the potty

2012-02-01T20:15:00.000-06:00

We were getting jammies on. I had just taken the diaper off and like she frequently does she squirmed out of my grasp to go run around naked for a bit! Then she looked at me and said "I go potty". She took off running toward the bathroom. Chris and I were too lazy to follow her. We both assumed that just like other attempts she would sit there, want to sing a song or read a story and then accomplish nothing. She came back into the room a few minutes later and we put her jammies on. Then Sam came running in and yelled "Avery went peepee in the potty!". I jumped up to go check.
Sure enough, she went peepee in the potty! All by herself! And we were too lazy to get up and praise her!! HA!

So we then proceeded to throw a mini dance party in the bathroom. We danced around singing "peepee in the potty". Then Avery got to flush her peepee.

It was a very exciting evening at our house! And I am hoping this means that potty training is right around the corner!!

Yes, I just wrote a whole post on going to the bathroom. In a house with two little ones this is a big deal! Moms out there, you get it, right?

biggest tower ever!

2012-01-14T08:03:00.002-06:00

Our accomplishment from yesterday!

Valentine Mini Sessions | St. Louis Children's Photography

2012-01-13T06:51:00.000-06:00

Would love to see some of my St. Louis friend's kid's getting their photos done at this great event! And you can get some awesome ideas for Valentine's cards and crafts!

Check it out!

Valentine Mini Sessions St. Louis Children's Photography

sick days

2012-01-10T06:51:00.000-06:00

What do you do with your kids when you can't leave the house for three days?

Lots of playdough.

My old Peanuts playset gets all set up.

Using every piece of train track that we have!

Oh and I decided that since Avery is now two I better get her baby book in order. This will all stay out in the basement until the book is done!

And when they were feeling up to it we headed to the park. Sam was feeling fine at this point but Avery was still a bit under the weather so we didn't stay long.

So that is pretty much the last three days of our lives. Sam is headed back to school today. Avery and I will have a lazy morning, again.
Happy Tuesday!

some random catch up stuff

2012-01-09T07:11:00.000-06:00

Oh this poor blog. I so rarely post over here because so much of my life with the girls is documented on the greening blog that I never feel like I have anything to say over here. So, this new year I am going to try and take more random photos of just us being a family so that I have some things to share here that are different from what I share over there.

~ Sam was talking with Chris the other day and said we need to feed her more so that she can grow up quicker. Chris asked what she wanted to be when she grew up. She said she wanted to be a mommy so that she could do laundry, dishes and drive the car just like her mommy.

~Both girls have been sick the past three days. Lots of snot and puke going on in this house. So far Chris and I haven't gotten the throwing up part of it, although we both have sore throats and are blowing our noses. So not fun.

~I have been itching to go back to work lately. I thought I had a great job to apply for but then when I sat down to write my cover letter I noticed one line in the job description that I must have skimmed over the first time. "Out of state travel at least once a month". That is a deal breaker. Why is it that in my field I have to either be willing to take a loss by paying more for child care than I would make, work nights and weekends all the time or travel? No one told me just how hard the field of non-formal environmental education would be to do as a mom. This stinks.

~ Chris has to start studying again. This means he doesn't get to work out over lunch anymore, he studies, and he will probably be an hour later everyday getting home, so he can study more after work is over. Not excited for how grouchy he will be from no exercise and how little time he will get to spend with the girls during the week.

~ It is suppose to be 47 degrees today. While I am excited for the brief warm up in January to give us a quick break from the cold, I am starting to get pissed that we don't have any snow.

~ When your kids are sick and have the potential to throw up at any moment DO NOT make a cake with pink frosting, no matter how cute it looks!

~ Sam had her 4K (which is the state paid for 4 year old kindergarden that we have in Waunakee) screening last week and she "passed" with flying colors. A score of 80/80! Woohoo my kid is normal and just as annoying as all the other 3 year olds.

*the pictures are from yesterday. Super sick girls have a cute moment together in the tub!

Happy Monday morning everyone!

Best of 2011

2012-01-01T07:30:00.012-06:00

Our Christmas Tree

2011-12-10T18:13:00.000-06:00

It is HUGE!

The second Chris got the tree into the tree stand I knew it was too big! We had gone too big once again (we had the same problem last year!) even though the whole time we were out at the tree farm I kept telling everyone we needed to think skinny.

We cut the twine off the tree and as the branches burst out the tree almost filled the whole room!

Here is Sam's expression when she saw it put up with the lights on!

Then we got busy decorating and getting ornaments to the top meant a ladder or Sam using Chris as a ladder.

Yes, Sam is sitting on his head!

Because of the size of our rooms and where the tree is placed I can't even find a spot to stand where I can get the whole tree in one picture from top to bottom! You will just have to stop by for a visit if you want to see the whole tree in all its glory.

hunting for the perfect tree

2011-12-09T15:19:00.002-06:00

When Chris and I were first engaged and living in a small apartment together I discovered the joy of cutting down our own Christmas tree. We went on Thanksgiving weekend with his whole extended family to the tree lot and each household found, cut down, hauled out and straped to their car the perfect tree. I LOVED it! The landscape was beautiful, it was great family fun and it seemed like each tree just got better than the next until you finally decided you were far enough away from the car and you better pick one!

Chris and I don't go to the same tree lot anymore and have not been able to cut down a tree with his extended family for a few years. But we have continued to cut down our own Christmas tree every year. Having the girls has only made this tradition more fun!

Inspecting the a potential tree.

Then watching Chris cut it down.

And having Chris turn into the TREE MONSTER!

The girls got pretty tired this year because we seemed to walk every inch of the tree farm before we found one we could all agree on but overall it was a great time!

And transforming that tree into OUR Christmas tree was even more fun! Stay tuned...

christmas is coming

2011-12-08T13:45:00.002-06:00

While we were on our vacation in Cabo Christmas got started with the beginning of advent! I actually took our advent calendar in our suitcase so that we wouldn't be behind when we got home. We are doing an activity advent calendar this year that has us doing something different each day to get us in the Christmas spirit.

Day 1 - we read the story "In the Stable Where Jesus Was Born" (yes, I packed that in my suitcase too!)

Day 2 - Sam wrote her letter to Santa.

Day 3 - the girls recieved their felt christmas trees! I am super proud of this project and wanted to share this one with you in more detail!

Here are the finished bags. One for each girls with the initial on it!

Inside each bag is a big green felt Christmas tree and then a whole bunch of different colored ornaments to use to decorate the tree.

The girls are loving these felt Christmas trees. I gave them to them on the third day of advent so that they could practice decorating a Christmas tree before we got home and put up our real Christmas tree.

The only supplies I needed to make these were felt, a big red button, scissors and cookie cutters. I used the cookie cutters to trace the shapes for the ornaments. I drew the trees free hand (which is why there isn't an up close picture of that because they are not exactly perfect! ha). Then I made the simple felt bags for each girl to put the tree and ornaments in. I hand sewed the bags, cut a slit for the button and then used yarn to make the initial.

The whole project took me a couple of hours to make both of them and it was very inexpensive! Love this project!!

Happy Advent!

catching up!

2011-12-07T16:00:00.009-06:00

We are in full holiday spirit swing at this house! And I am loving how "into" all the holiday happenings my girls are getting. Which means I have LOTS to share!

I am going to try do a lot of posts the next couple of days to get us caught up.

First off I wanted to share some pics from our recent Thanksgiving trip to Cabo with the Enlund family. We were all horrible at taking pictures while we were there and didn't do any real family photos. Which is such a shame because we are not all in the same place very often. But I have some fun candid shots!

We had a great trip! The girls were actually pretty easy as long as they could be in the pool with lots of toys. I had a ton of time to read and get a good tan and Chris got to play four rounds of golf with his family. And it was SO great to get to spend so much time with our newest cousin. I loved the chances that I got to kidnap him from his parents early in the morning and let him play with his cousins and give his mom and dad a break!

For more stories about the boat rides that we went on and other parts of the trip head over to Greening Sam and Avery. Sorry for the lack of stories here but blogging the same thing twice just seems silly!

we went spooking

2011-10-23T19:23:00.004-05:00

Have you heard of spooking?

This letter was in a bag of fun goodies we got on our doorstep late last night. Someone rang our door and ran, leaving the bag behind (thank you next door neighbors!). The girls got some fun Halloween toys, candy and fruit snacks.

So, today Sam and I visited the dollar section at Target and grabbed some stuff to fill our own spooking bags. We waited till the sun went down...

grabbed our spooking bags and headed out.

And then the actual spooking!

We had so much fun tonight! Hope the people we spooked enjoy their bags of goodies!

the lessons I have learned

2011-10-18T12:57:00.002-05:00

I have been robbed twice in the last three weeks. Being robbed ever can open your eyes and teach you something, but being robbed TWICE in THREE WEEKS really affects you.

For those that may not know my car was broken into on September 24th while I was in Milwaukee at a board meeting. My window was smashed, car door and roof dented and purse stolen.
Then just last week I walked down the street and left the garage door open. I was being lazy, I guess, by not grabbing a key or garage door opener to take with me but I was only going to be gone for two hours and Chris was home. No big deal. WRONG! Someone came into our garage, went through our cars (including my trunk) and stole all my cash. Luckily this time they didn't do damage to the cars or take anything else from our garage. OR come into our house!!!

So, after these two events I have learned some serious lessons and made some serious changes to my behavior. Here they are....

My purse goes with me everywhere now. Even with the car locked it is NOT okay to leave your purse in the car.

If you have to leave anything of value in your car, HIDE IT.

Don't carry cash, it is only going to be stolen anyway.

Things of personal value that cannot be replaced should not be carried in your wallet for you to look at everyday.

Your garage is public domain. Do not leave your purse in your car, even in the garage.

Lock your car in your garage.

The door that leads into your garage from the house should always be locked. Since the garage is open to the public you just never know what kind of rif-raf might walk in.

People SUCK!

I have lost some of my innocence, some of my sense that people are genuinly good. And the second set of cops that I spoke to said that as more jobs are lost in this state, as more people are in financial crisis the crimes of opportunity like this will only increase. We have to be even more prootective of what we have.

I hate that this is the world my daughters now know. It breaks my heart that Sam has told many people "the mean people broke my mom's car and stole her pink purse". A three year old should not ever have to know things like that happen.

The "mean people" suck!

eating?

2011-10-12T17:49:00.002-05:00

I cook. Not perfectly beautiful meals that have all the food groups every time but they are still meals that require planning and effort. More times than not my children look at the food I have so lovingly put on their plate and they turn up their noses and say "I don't like that" or some other ridiculous statement. Which I know is ridiculous because most of the time they have eaten this same meal and gobbled it down with no problem. Or it is a meal full of ingredients that I know they like and there is no reason for them to not like them now.
But instead getting them to eat just one bite is a fight. We have to feed them, bribe them, scowled them and force them into eating. Dinner time is stressful and ruined.
What is a mom to do? How do moms overcome this? I would love to know how other parents get their kids to eat new foods. What rules do you have for dinner time? How do you deal with mean statements that your kids say about the food you have prepared?
We have a "No thank you bite" rule that I think I got from my sister (sorry if I am mis-remembering and not given credit to the right mom!), which basically means that my kids have to have one bite of everything that is put on their plate. Then once they have tried something if they still don't like it they don't have to finish it. But I NEVER make them something else.
I really like this rule and it seems to work out okay but even just getting them to eat that one bite can be torture sometimes. I often wonder if it is really worth it. And how do I teach them to appreciate the fact that I cook for them at all.
I was horrible to my mom growing up and would often look at the amazing food she had prepared and literally say "yuck do I have to eat that?". I was mean and I know it hurt my mom's feelings. But how do you teach kids early to not have those kinds of thoughts in the first place? I have no idea how my mom heard those statements on a regular basis and continued to turn around and cook more great meals for us.

family visit

2011-10-09T19:29:00.006-05:00

I got an AWESOME surprise this weekend! Chris arranged for my two best college friends to come up for a visit. I have not seen both of them at the same time in SO long (right after Avery was born they both came to stay with me because Chris had to go out of town for a bit). I was blown away when I saw them and we had a great time catching up and just laughing like we use to. But unfortunately my surprise weekend fell on the same weekend that my sister-in-law was coming to the mid-west for a visit with my brand new nephew Chester. I was so bummed that I couldn't go with Chris and the girls to see the the family. All six of the next generation of cousins were together and the stories that I heard from Chris and Sam make it sound like they all just had a really great time. Wanted to share with the family some of the photos that Chris took for me (I forced him to take the camera and was very clear about the requirement for me to see LOTS of pictures!!). I think he did pretty good as the cameraman...maybe I will hand over that job more often!

This is Chester. Gotta love that baby scowl!

Love this shot of Sam holding Chester. She was very excited to tell me how gentle she was with him.

The girls really enjoyed seeing the family and we can't wait to do it again soon!

a little bit of golf

2011-10-04T18:59:00.004-05:00

We had amazing weather today so when Chris got home we headed out to the golf course to let the girls play a few holes.

Golf makes me feel like that sometimes too Avery.

Just a little video of Avery. I have finally figured out how to work the video feature on my camera (woohoo!) and have been going crazy with it but unfortunately my videos are still pretty awful and I have no way to edit them. Oh well. At least you can see my inability to understand my daughter right now!

Hoping we can get out golfing at least once more before the golf courses close. We will see!

the ice cream shop

2011-08-14T20:21:00.007-05:00

I am not above bribery! Especially when it works and results in me getting good ice cream! A while back we started a good listening jar. I put a cute tag on it with a ribbon and placed the jar on the kitchen counter. I told her that each time she was a good listener and did exactly what I asked her to she would get to put a penny in the jar. There are measurement lines on the side of the jar and I told her each time the pennies got to one of the lines she would get to go to a real ice cream store and pick out her own ice cream!
She doesn't remember to ask for a penny (and I don't remember to give her one) everytime she listens to me so it has taken her quite a while to reach the line but she finally did.
Saturday we took her to a real ice cream store for the first time! I have never seen her so excited as when she saw all those flavors of ice cream to choose from.

Gotta love that fake little girl smile!

And of course Avery got to enjoy the treat too.

One determined little girl!!

Bribery may not be the best parenting tool. Hopefully we will not still be using this when she is in highschool since I don't think ice cream will have the same value to her at that point!

where did the time go?

2011-07-14T20:53:00.005-05:00

May 26? The last time I posted on this blog was May 26? How can that really be possible?

Anyway, the girls are doing great. Some quick updates for you...

Sam just had her first dentist check up and I was super pumped that she didn't have any cavities or concerns. BUT they did tell me that her front teeth are predominantly pushed forward, which is due to her constant chewing on her blanket. Bummer.

Avery just had her 18 month check up! Holy cow. Basically, her head is huge, she is tall and weighs a lot. But if you have seen her at all recently you already knew all of that! What pictures can't tell you is that after being told at her one year appointment that she was very delayed with her communication skills she has made up some serious ground and caught back up. She has all kinds of words and communicates with us just fine. Very proud of how far she has come lately.

The girls are having a fun summer with lots of different babysitters. Sounds horrible but I am doing my best to get back to work at least a little bit. Since it is summer I am working with a group of high school and college aged girls to allow me to work random hours throughout the week. I think it is good for the girls to have different people to play with them and discipline them. So far it is working out for us pretty well.

And here are a few pictures that haven't been seen anywhere else!

Post naptime snuggling! So cute.

I have a very fun recipe to share with you all but this one post has really worn me out tonight! hehehe

Summer FUN to do list

2011-05-26T12:50:00.002-05:00

It has been a long time since I have posted on here...sorry about that to the two (or maybe three?) people that read this little blog. And I have lots of updates, photos and stories to share but those will have to wait. Today I want to talk about summer!

I am super excited for summer this year. The girls are a bit older now and a bit easier to have outside together. We are getting out a lot, playing a ton and ready to take on bigger and more exciting adventures. So, to get us motivated for all the summer fun I wanted to create a To Do List for us. Something we will keep posted in a visible spot (thanks sis for that idea!), that we can cross off the things that we have done and add new things as the summer goes on.

I want this summer to be all about making memories, having fun and spending time together as a family. I am hoping this list will help remind me of that goal and stay focused on HAVING FUN!

So, here is our list!

1. Camp over night at Devil's Lake State Park

2. Hike part of the Ice Age Trail

3. Build sand castles on a beach

4. Have a water fun party in our backyard with Sam's preschool friends

5. Bike ride to local restuarant and ice cream parlor

6. Go to a concert on the square

7. Canoe trip with family

8. Water park

9. Camp overnight in a different state!

10. Play-dates at the pool with friends

11. Water skiing or tubing (we have to find someone with a boat first!)

12. Add more loose parts to our backyard play area; stumps for climbing, logs for balancing, big tree cookies for stacking and building, etc.

13. Madison Farmer's Market (frequently!)

Now I challenge each of you to create your own Summer FUN To Do List. Let me know if you do cause I would love to steal some ideas from you!

stress or guilt

2011-05-09T18:36:00.002-05:00

We have all had it happen. You get asked to do "something". You know the kind of "something" that will require your time, talent, money, etc. but is helping out, giving back, volunteering and getting involved.

So there are with two options...

Do you a) say yes you would love to knowing full well that you don't really have the time, money or energy to committ but will figure it out somehow OR b) say sorry but no you just don't think you can?

For those that say option A this means you will inevitably face added stress, long nights, expenses you can't afford, time away from family or time not doing the things that people are suppose to do in their free time (things called hobbies, do people still have those?).

For those that say option B how long does it take for the guilt to set in? The guilt that keeps you up at night laying there worrying about the relationship that you may have hurt because you said no. The guilt that makes you think about how you can rearrange everything else in your life, undoubtably disappointing other people or yourself, to try and go back on your no and tell them yes.

I grew up with a mom that always said yes. There was not a committee she didn't serve on, an event she didn't run or a bake sale she didn't bake for. Somehow she got it all done. But she was stressed, overworked and running around like crazy all the time. My sister has adopted this method. Somehow they are able to deal with the stress, smile and just get it done. I fail at this. I do NOT handle stress. BUT I have also kept myself somewhat disconnected so that I don't get asked to do a lot (which is, I am realizing, a bit sad), until recently.

All of a sudden I am being asked! And I am saying yes. And suddenly I felt the stress. I DID NOT LIKE IT. So, the next thing I got asked to do I said no. I wanted to do it and was excited to be involved but it would have required major schedule shuffling, money, lots of time and stress. But now the guilt has set in. It is all I think about. And it is driving me NUTS!

I just can't decide what is worse the stress that I grew up watching or the guilt I am currently experiencing. Which do you choose and how do you deal with it?

house keeping skills need some work

2011-05-04T19:44:00.002-05:00

Okay, Avery I get the message. I will clean up the dog's bed more often!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-25T06:45:00.007-05:00

Just wanted to share a few pictures from our Easter! We had a great day that included church, lots of outdoor playtime, a bike ride to a park, a visit with friends and some Easter egg hunting. We also video Skyped with family for the first time and were able to see all the cousins and even some of the extended family that was gathered in St. Louis for the holiday. Sam had a blast getting to see all her cousins, grandparents, Aunt Jojo and Uncle Chris. I am excited to do this more often with the kids.
Hope you all had a great Easter!

trying to get a picture

2011-04-21T19:19:00.005-05:00

All I wanted was a little picture of my two girls sitting on a rock. Is that so much to ask?

Apparently... it was.

The last two were the closest I could get and I was singing "If You're Happy and You Know It" while trying to take the picture. Not exactly frameable but still pretty cute.

which would you choose? vote please!

2011-04-14T19:48:00.002-05:00

One side of Sam's swing-set looks like this right now.
She hasn't shown any interest in it until just a few days ago. Now she wants to climb desperately! But the "stones" are too high and too far apart. Plus once you get to the top (which is WAY too high a three year old) you have to climb over the very rough wall and drop onto the platform. Not appropriate for our little ones at all!

So, I want to take down the climbing pieces. But I know that if I just take those away she will notice and get mad. I think if I replace it with something else then she won't care.

Now the hard part...I have TWO ideas for what to do I cannot decide which one is better and age appropriate! I am hoping this is where you all will help. If you were three years old and one year old would you want -

A. A Water Wall

OR

B. A BIG Chalk Board

I don't think we can do both, at least not all on that side, but I just can't decide which one the girls would get more use out of and like more.
I think making the water wall would be easier. The particle board that is on the swing-set wall now would not be good for painting with chalk board paint so I would have to first attach some better board.

PLEASE leave me a comment and vote for one of the ideas! Would love some other mom and educator input.

Thanks!

tears

2011-04-13T17:57:00.002-05:00

It is never fun to go to the ER. But what is worse is going to the ER with your child because you failed. Failed to be there. Failed to watch over them. Failed to protect them. Failed to catch them when they fell. Instead Avery fell. Almost four feet. Hitting a metal platform on the way down. A busted lip and torn frenulum. By the time we drove the 20 minutes to get the ER the intense bleeding had stopped and she was sound asleep in the backseat. But we went in anyway. What do I know about falls or bleeding from the mouth? And maybe falling asleep right away after a fall isn't a good thing. What do I know? So we went. And she is fine. Having trouble eating, very crabby and tired, but otherwise fine. I can't stop shaking and have felt close to tears ALL DAY! Why was I being so selfish? Why I was sitting, eating my lunch and chatting with friends when I should have been by her side? SHE IS ONE! Not three like all the other kids. I should have been there. I failed. And then, today of all days. My husband calls me and tells me to read this. Did you go and read it? Well.....GO! How can someone have that much confidence in me? That much faith in me? And the tears begin to flow. Tears of sadness for Avery's pain, tears of anger over my failure and tears that I can't explain but have to do with how overwhelmingly loved I feel by my sister. I failed today but KNOW that I will do better tomorrow. Knowing that an amazing mother is proud of me makes it that much easier to deal with my regret and feelings of failure.

spring time fun

2011-04-12T07:37:00.005-05:00

Some fun pictures from our warmer weather days!

And in big news my very first paid writing gig has been posted! I was asked to do some freelance work for a companie's blog. It will be a four article series and the first one is up!

You can check it out at PlayOutdoors - Campfire Blog.

Off this morning for a hike with the girls to try and find some blooming wildflowers.

Happy Tuesday!

feeling a bit better

2011-04-04T20:30:00.003-05:00

Avery is still coughing but last night was a bit better. We got the humidifier set up early last night and she took a very hot steamy shower with me today. The coughing has all but stopped during the day and so far she has been down for almost two hours now with no coughing!

Thanks so much for all the advice! So great to have experienced moms to go to for help.

And since she was feeling a bit better today I let her outside for a bit to do her new favorite activity!

Okay, swinging pictures are really hard. These aren't great. I will have to try again!

the cough

2011-04-03T20:30:00.003-05:00

Avery is driving me nuts right now. She is getting over a pretty rough cold, both girls are, but as the noses are finally drying up and attitudes/energy are improving she has developed a cough. She doesn't cough during the day, just at night. And it is a bad enough cough that she can't sleep through it and neither can I.

She is content to stay in bed, not crying or wanting anything, just laying there coughing. Every few minutes. I am a light sleeper and constant worrier. So the second the cough start I lay there listening until she finally falls back to sleep.

Last night was bad. She coughed for so long and so hard that I finally woke Chris up to go check on her (I had already been in several times). He discovered that she had thrown up! Yuck (and what a bad mom that I hadn't heard the difference)! It took her several hours after that to fall back to sleep. So it took me several hours to fall back to sleep. I just laid there, listening to a helpless small child cough. Every few minutes.

Right now I am exhausted but the coughing has already started. I know the night that is ahead of me and I am NOT looking forward to going to bed. I feel bad for her, I swear I do, but I do NOT function well on little sleep. And poor Sam (and a little bit Chris too) has been taking the brunt of my lack of patience.

I just need this night time coughing to STOP!

I think I am going to try and sneak in and put the humidifier in there...aren't those suppose to help with coughs? Any other suggestions?

a moment

2011-03-31T22:40:00.004-05:00

I had a big fabulous post planned for tonight but after intense show watching (loved the singing Grey's!) and posting a great review/giveaway over on the greening blog I am exhausted.

So all you are getting tonight is one adorable photo!

My sneaky, sneaky little lady!

THREE

2011-03-20T20:18:00.013-05:00

Started this post on her birthday, but just now finishing it on Wednesday night!

Feeling nostalgic tonight so let's take a look at my little three year old.

And now my little lady is three years old. Having her first big girl party. That got completely rained out but whose friends (and parents of friends) were tough enough to venture out in a thunderstorm anyway.

Sam at three years old:
Favorite color - yellow
Favorite snack - "Tangled" fruit snacks
Favorite thing to do - go to school
Favorite word - wellllll (with a long extended L)
Favorite thing - her blanket

Favorite outdoor activity - riding bikes
Favorite tv show - Dora
Favorite bedtime activity - stalling

She is growing up way too fast.

my little readers

2011-03-12T16:47:00.007-06:00

i am struggling to balance

2011-03-09T22:05:00.002-06:00

One wants to build. One wants to read.

One wants to sit on my lap. One wants to be picked up and danced.

One needs a diaper change. One needs a snack.

One wants to practice writing letters. One wants to throw a ball.

One wants to read Maisy. One wants to read Fancy Nancy.

I am struggling to figure out how to keep two very different little girls happy at the same time. I feel torn, needing two of me, more times in one day than I ever have before.

And I get frustrated. SO frustrated. I want to do for both of them, play with both of them, be there for both of them. But I can't. Not all the time, at every moment. And they don't understand.

How do I do this? How do I keep them both happy, entertained, learning and growing? How do I do all of that for both of them without one feeling slighted, without one getting less of my time or feeling resentful of the other one? How do I convince them (either one of them!) that for just a little bit it would be okay for all three of us to do something together?!
Has anyone else ever had children that really don't want to sit and do an activity together? I know they are in very different places right now but come on, why when Avery wants to build does Sam suddenly hate her blocks? And when Sam wants to read suddenly Avery thinks throwing books is a good idea.
AHHH!

Wasn't I just saying how things were getting easier. Crap; I spoke too soon.

Hey, It's Okay

2011-03-02T07:48:00.002-06:00

Have been blanking on what to write about over here lately. So what better way to get in the grove of writing again then to steal someone else's idea! Saw "Hey It's Okay Tuesday" over here and thought it was a pretty neat idea. So here goes.

That I am mad Sam is sick and staying home from school.

That Gov. Walker's Budget Repair Bill Address yesterday literally had me in tears. This state is going to fall apart.

That I am DONE with winter. Seeing the snow still on the ground makes me mad everyday.

To be disappointed that our one and only babysitter is busy this weekend. Rats, no date night for us.

To hate Avery's screaming phase. Just wish I knew how to speed up her ability to talk so we could be done with the frustrated screaming.

To spend way too much money on new pillows for our family room just to brighten it up with colors and fun prints.

To be bummed Gov. Walker is ending 4K before it even begins. No Sam wouldn't have started next Fall so maybe by the Fall 2012 the politicians will have come to their senses again.

That I am itching to put myself through the daily torture of running outside again.

That I am terrified of just how hard it is going to be to push both girls in the stroller while I run!

To be nervous about throwing Sam's first big girl birthday party in a few weeks.

Okay, that is all I've got today. Can you tell politics is on my mind? I don't think there is anyone in WI (or at least there shouldn't be!) that doesn't have politics on the brain. What is happening (or going to be happening when this thing passes) to this state in the name of balancing the budget is DEVASTATING! Enough politics.

Happy Wednesday! It's Okay!!

oh Sam

2011-02-15T14:30:00.002-06:00

Life with Sam is getting easier.

Sam is not an easy kid by anyone's definition of the word. But lately I have been seeing some glimpses of light at the end of the tunnel, or at least our current tunnel.

We use to battle over EVERYTHING. Now, she is learning to do more and more things herself, needs me a bit less and is surprising me with the good things that she does.

Our mornings -
On school days it use to be one fight after another to get her to eat breakfast, get dressed quickly, brush hair and teeth and get out the door. NOW she can dress herself! I simply pick out the clothes and lay them out for her. She can get dressed at her pace while I get Avery and myself dressed. This is huge! She is so proud of herself when she comes to find me and is fully clothed and neither one of us is mad at the other one.
Her hair. She HATES tangles, who doesn't. But she fights every tangle, pulling away from me, throwing things and screaming. SO, I instituted the "pause" rule. She is not allowed to scream, hit, throw things or pull away from me BUT she can say "pause" whenever she wants. I will then freeze and we will both count to five. She thinks this is great. Yes brushing her hair may take a few more seconds but we both leave happier and still have our patience with each other. Love the "pause"! And the more we do it the better she is getting about having less and less pauses. She is proud of herself when we only have two or three pauses per brushing. I love that.
I have figured out what she will eat for breakfast and stopped offering so many options. Toast, sausage, cheerios, banana, yogurt. These are the things she likes in the morning so everyday is some combination of these. Why bother with anything else?
Getting out the door use to be one of our biggest battles, she just never wanted to put her shoes or coat on. After a much needed conversation with our pastor I realized that what did it really matter? So she walked to the car (which is in the garage) in her socks and with no coat, big deal! By the time we get to school she is so excited to go to school that she is willing to do whatever it takes to get to class. It is much easier to deal with putting them on then!

I have learned to pick my battles and to not even think of them as battles any more. To get creative with my tactics and solutions. To try distraction more than yelling. To TRY to remember that she is still little but wants so badly right now to be big.

We are both learning, growing and getting better at this!

I can see different battles in our future (sharing, how we talk to friends, sister, ME, cleaning up, etc.) but for now I am thrilled that maybe, just maybe, life might be a little easier for a while.

giveaways

2011-02-10T11:57:00.003-06:00

Hello my name is Abbie and I am addicted to blogging giveaways!

When I think back to all the time I had in my life before giveaways I wonder what I did with it. I mean now I spend HOURS in front of this computer commenting, tweeting, sharing, liking, linking and so on. But people this stuff is FREE! Just waiting for me to scarf it all up. And the random number generators seem to love me right now so I can't stop!!

SO, here are the latest in giveaways that I am trying to win...just to name a few!

Kids books at JDaniel4's Mom.

A Baby Food Recipe Book

Earth Balance stuff - who doesn't need butter?

Yoga tank top - I think it will be great for running

And many others that I do not want to divulge at this time!!! So I am spreading the word to get more entries to increase my chances to win but if all of you head over and enter then my chances decrease...so...maybe this wasn't such a good idea! Rats.

did you notice the changes?

2011-02-09T21:05:00.002-06:00

If not you must be reading this in google reader or something...CLICK OVER AND CHECK IT OUT! HA!

So, what do you think? I am finally starting to get the hang of all this creative blogging stuff and am finally a fan of the way this looks. But I would still love to know other neat features I could add, ways to make it better or things you would change. Can't get better without evaluation from your peers!!

Too tired to write any more tonight. All this creativity has really zapped my energy!

Good night blog world.

Green Giveaway

2011-02-09T09:22:00.002-06:00

A blogging friend of mine is having a great giveaway of a book that I cannot wait to read!

You should all go and check out the book and the giveaway!

Welcome to my Wonderland

playing with my camera

2011-02-03T19:46:00.004-06:00

Okay, clearly I have a lot of work to do on my camera skills but is that not the cutest little pre-bath nudie you have ever seen?!

Loving this little teeth cutting, biting, ball of fussiness right now.

random thoughts with snow photos

2011-02-02T19:15:00.009-06:00

I have a biter. Avery has learned that she can get Sam to drop anything by just biting her!

Uh oh.

What do I do to teach a one year old that it is NOT okay to bite?

Sam got invited by a mom in the neighborhood today (our neighbor from across the street) to come and play with some other girls at house, they were playing barbies. She was super excited so we sent her on over. We knew they were older but when I went just a little while later to get her I realized that these girls were 4th grade, 6th grade and 8th grade. Doesn't that seem a bit old to still be playing with barbies? Hmmm.... maybe they were all just playing with them because of Sam. This mom really wants her girls to learn how to babysit so I think she "borrowed" our daughter for some practice babysitting time.

I think we need a snow mobile! HA! No, not really. But we did see several of these on the roads this morning before any cars or trucks were out and about. Took the plows until late this afternoon before they made it to our neighborhood.

Avery decided today that she knows how to go up and DOWN stairs. She has never shown an interest in the down part until today when she went down the whole thing all on her own without us knowing until she wasn't with us anymore. Good grief.

Sam loves eating snow.

Chris and I are going downhill skiing on Saturday and I could not be more excited. Haven't been downhill in years but know that we will both pick it right back up.

And check out this great series of shots. No the girls were not with us at this point. Chris made sure they weren't watching!

Do you see that his head is barely visible above the snow? The picture doesn't do it justice as to how deep that snow pile was. The last picture is not as clear as I had hoped but that's his "I'm okay! Can I do it again?" smile!

Yes, we clearly had too much time on our hands today while one daughter was napping and one daughter was playing barbies!

Meet Peanut

2011-01-24T20:59:00.005-06:00

Today Sam came home from school with a new friend. Peanut.

This is a class friend or pet or something that the kids get to take turns taking home. They are suppose to take him with them everywhere, take pictures and then write about what they did with Peanut. Peanut has a blanket, a special bag that he gets carried in and a notebook journal.
So today Peanut went shoe shopping and clothes shopping with us. His blanket had to come too.

While I do appreciate this project there are several things that after only the first day (less than 12 hours really) I am already annoyed with.

Peanut has to come with us on adventures. It says so in his journal. And the teacher has told the kids so, or at least that is what Sam has told me. Really? Do I need two more things that I have to carry with me on errands? As if two kids bundled up in coats/hats/gloves/boots and all that comes with kids isn't enough NOW I have to bring a bear and his blanket along. Shoe shopping. Pants shopping. Grocery store. Awesome. I am sure these are not the adventures that the other kids and parents want to hear about but because my daughter is now completely attached to this bear there is no leaving him at home.

I have seen Sam put Peanut in her mouth. Awesome. Just like she does with her other dolls, blankets and stuffed animals. Did the other kids do this? I am thinking yes. Peanut's journal did not come with washing instructions but I am thinking it will be imperative to wash him before he goes back to school. But what happens if I ruin him; an eye falls off, the nose gets lose or he shrinks? I CANNOT be the mom that ruins Peanut! Oh the pressure.

Other moms were funny! This bear has a pretty interesting journal. Other moms did fun things and wrote funny stories about this little bear. Again I say OH THE PRESSURE! I try to be funny on here and on Greening but it never comes across very well and I don't think I actually have a very good sense of humor. Now I have to put it in a book that other parents (that see me IRL) will read and will stick around all year, or longer depending on the teacher's plans for this bear. Think I can hire someone to write my kid's classroom bear stories for me?

So far this year I have had to create several scrap book type projects for Sam to take to school and now I have a bear with a journal that I have to tackle. Love how personal and creative Sam's teacher makes their class but I am so ready for Sam's homework to actually be Sam's responsibility!

Models!

2011-01-20T14:11:00.002-06:00

My girls are MODELS! You gotta check out there amazing ability to sell some really cute hair accessories at the Southern Baby Boutique!

So exciting. And such cute products...be sure to go and check it out.

Little ones having a BLAST!

2011-01-18T13:34:00.015-06:00

Okay, Avery didn't like the bowling so much. But she always loves a little cuddle time with Grandma!

Tired but having a blast!

2011-01-14T19:43:00.007-06:00

SO fun when family and friends come to visit. But for Sam and Avery there is just nothing better than having instant playmates fill the house! Three willing and able to play cousins are the best thing in the world.

Today was great!

Outdoor Baby Network

2011-01-07T21:21:00.002-06:00

Have you seen the new badge I have on the sidebar? Outdoor Baby Network! This is a new networking site that I found that is amazing. Filled with parents that have the same passion for the outdoors that I do (most of which are WAY better at it than I am!). I am learning about tons of great gear, activities and places to go. Loving this new site.
Plus they are having some great giveaways right now!
Join and check out the giveaways!

A great reaction caught on camera

2011-01-06T20:47:00.004-06:00

We don't always get the best photos. Chris and I are not usually good 1) remembering to pull the camera out, 2) being in the right place to catch the moment, and 3) knowing how to work the camera to have the picture turn out okay!

The new camera that we got for Christmas (from ourselves!) is really helping. We are loving taking pictures again and the pictures are turning out (at least to our untrained eyes!) much better than they did before. No, the lighting is not always perfect but at least things seem to be in focus. And because we are enjoying it again we are remembering to get the camera out!

Chris caught these photos for me on Avery's first birthday celebration.

Clearly the puppets were a hit! She even let go of the pacifier for a minute!! Lots of other cute photos of her opening the gift, but these three at the end were my favorite.

Great moment to capture.

Happy Birthday Avery!

2011-01-05T07:15:00.006-06:00

Dear Avery,

How is it possible that you are already ONE? Like I am sure every mom says, this year went by way too fast. But for us all the craziness that happened with the move in the first months of your life certainly helped to make that time speed by even faster.

You are already becoming such an amazing little girl. You want nothing more than to be able to keep up with your big sister and do everything that she does. You want so badly to communicate with me but are still working on mama. You love playing peek-a-boo and will initiate it with anyone! You melt anyone that sees you the second you show off your one little dimple. And those big blue eyes make it hard for people to look at you and not smile.

Your family loves you. You may not always feel it but your sister loves you SO much. She wants to play with you and share things with you (sometimes!) and help you do things. You two already have the ability to crack each other up and have so much fun.

I know you are going to become an amazing big girl very soon. You are going to be strong willed, stubborn and determined, much like your mom and big sister. You will hate when you don't get your way and get frustrated when you can't do something on the first try. You will get better at walking and soon be out running all of us I am sure.

In 15 hours you won't be a baby anymore. You will be a one year old. I am so excited to watch you grow and change, to become an amazing woman later in life. But for now I am just going to miss that baby year and hold on to every little last glimpse of it that I can.

I love you!

~Mom

Sam's Christmas Program

2010-12-20T20:28:00.002-06:00

I told Sam's preschool teacher last week that we would be out of town for the Christmas program and that Sam would have to miss it. The look of disappointment that suddenly erupted on her face made me feel really guilty. She then looked at me and said, "then we will move the Christmas program to Monday instead of Wednesday. We don't have a program if Sam is not in it. She kind of carries the show." She is my daughter and us Kuhn girls (just ask my mom and sister!) really do know how to sing but what I witnessed today was AWESOME!

This isn't the whole program just my favorite video that I got.

She is my daughter after all!

Santa rocks!

2010-12-16T21:18:00.002-06:00

My daughter gets it. I didn't think she would. I didn't think Santa would be a big deal this year but he is and she gets it. They made paper stockings at school and unprovoked my daughter covered her stocking in pictures of doll houses! NOT something that I had bought her for this year.
Oh well, no big deal. She will love what I got her and won't remember about that stocking.

Then we went to see Santa today and when he asked her what she wanted for Christmas she said, "A big house for my dolls." Are you kidding me? I can't seriously not bring her what she asks Santa for the first year she gets it! I can't fail her on the first year that she gets it.

So Santa will be changing his plans. All the gifts that are bought and ALREADY WRAPPED will be unwrapped and stored away for her birthday (only one is actually returnable; downside to buying so much handmade items!). We have ordered her the dollhouse. Santa won't have coordinating paper because the doll house is being shipped directly to Grandma's house (where we will be to get Santa's gifts) and I am not re-wrapping all of Avery's gifts just so they match the dollhouse. Hopefully she doesn't "get it" that much that she questions Santa's wrapping paper!

Anyone else having Santa drama this year?

GOOD GRIEF!

Avery Walking Video Overload!

2010-12-13T20:27:00.003-06:00

Ok, so we haven't really gotten good video of it yet, but we thought we would post some of the attempted videos where she is taking some steps. These were taken yesterday, and we had to coax her to walk from one of us to the other. Already today she is attempting to walk away from something she is holding on to and just walking on her own. Enjoy the videos, and a word of warning...Avery has a pretty loud screech on the last one so watch your ears.

we may never leave

2010-12-08T15:24:00.002-06:00

My children don't like their coats. It takes us almost a half hour to get out the door when it is in the teens outside. The shoes/boots, coats, hats, gloves and sometimes even snow pants! They are all too much. Neither kid really fits in their car seats comfortably, forget about the stroller or backpack and there is no way I can hold Avery with all that on and get anything else done. Just a dropped baby waiting to happen! So for the most part when it drops below 20 we stay home. Like today. Besides preschool drop off and pick up we are staying home! And I am okay with that. We have been busy crafting, learning, working on Christmas projects and baking cookies. Today we took a stab at homemade meatballs with no recipe! We will see what Chris and the girls think tonight. I figured since I don't eat them what do I care what is in them...little bit of this, little bit of that! HA! Chris might think differently.
And just a few updates for all of you...
Sam is finally getting the hang of preschool (I know its only been three months right!). She knows how/when to help clean up, knows to keep her mittens on when she is outside and knows where she can and cannot go (took her a bit to realize she can go to the potty when she needs to!). She is enjoying herself and starting to really learn some things.
Avery is still my little sneaky baby. She let's me know whenever I have forgotten to put up the gate by getting up the stairs as fast as she can! She is walking behind toys now very smoothly and can crawl almost as fast as Sam can walk. She is waving, high fiving and clapping. Both girls are enjoying the Christmas tree and the Christmas cookies! Chris and I are trying to be good and not pack on too many pounds, but its the Holiday season and I think it is an unwritten rule that you must gain weight!

The girls watching the birds (or lack thereof right now! but they will find the feeders soon I am sure!)

And if you need some long underwear for your kiddos check out my giveaway on Greening!

Avery's birth story

2010-12-07T09:51:00.003-06:00

Most of you have heard Avery's birth story before but if not I would LOVE for you to head over to Unexpectant and take a look. They asked me to share her story and it is up today!

just watching

2010-12-05T18:35:00.003-06:00

The snow has come and Sam got to be the lucky one to head out and help with the shoveling. Not Avery. She sat inside with me. But she did find a spot where she could watch them working on the deck. It was adorable how long she sat there captivated by what they were doing and then by the snow that continued to fall.
Happy Sunday.

one down...

2010-12-03T14:46:00.002-06:00

only seven more kinds to go! I think...

December

2010-12-01T19:46:00.004-06:00

In an effort to take the stress off I have decided to let this blog be more about just celebrating the simple moments of this Holiday season and not stress about posting long in-depth writing. So I hope you will stick with me and share in our moments of December, but if not I hope you will come back in January when I hope to be back here more consistently!

Our moments from today! Happy December 1st. The Christmas music is playing constantly in our house and if you follow me on Twitter (or are friends with my mom, because I am asking her a specific one each day too!) you can try your best to answer my Christmas music trivia question!

I'm standing on a ladder by the way!

GIVEAWAY!

2010-11-23T18:48:00.001-06:00

Hosting a giveaway for a great Etsy toy maker over on the Greening blog. I would love to have some entries from family and friends that I know read this blog. So even if you don't have toddler hop on over and leave a comment, there must be SOMEONE that you could give it to for Christmas!! HA!

Go HERE NOW!

Avery is growing up

2010-11-21T19:36:00.004-06:00

Over ten months now. And things are changing quickly.

She has (almost) six teeth now. Two are still working their way out right now which is causing a lot of stress in this house but I am hoping they will break through before Thanksgiving.

We have clapping.

But even cuter than that we have dancing! No video of this yet, she is apparently a bit camera shy when it comes to showing off her moves! But anytime that one of the girls toys plays a song she starts to move the top half of her body and shake her little arms. ADORABLE!

And the biggest change is that we have standing and her first step! She isn't really standing for very long yet and we are still a ways from walking but while we were practicing her standing yesterday she picked up one foot, moved it forward and planted it back down all without falling! Chris and I both looked at each other and immediately said "That counts!". Her first step.

She is still my little cuddler , giving me hugs whenever I get her out of bed, and loves to be held. She is becoming very attached to a little white sheep and one of those bunnies with the small blanket attached. And she would keep that pacifier in her mouth all day if I would let her. But I can tell that she is becoming a little kid and less of a baby. She wants to do whatever Sam is doing and is already such a little instigator when it comes to picking on her sister. I just know I am going to have years of breaking up wars between the two of them. They will be the siblings that my sister and I were and that I am NOT looking forward to.

lose our evening or lose my day?

2010-11-17T22:06:00.002-06:00

Sam has given up nap. For months now I have fought with her everyday to even get her to stay in her room and take a rest. Most of the time there are several scoldings and escorting back to her bed to even get an hour of peace (not that you can really call that peace). But she goes to bed by 6:30pm and with maybe one repeat visit to the bathroom immediately after being put to bed we don't hear anything from her for most of the night. We get to have good quality adult time, watch our TV or play games. We get a good chance to reconnect every evening.

Then we stayed out last night late. The girls were not in bed till after 8:00pm. And yes, Avery was a disaster and very tired. But Sam did great and she was fine today. I could tell she was tired though and I tried harder than usual to get her to stay in her bed and sleep. AND SHE FELL A SLEEP! For the first time in months Sam took a nap. For over an hour I did not hear a peep! (what did I do with all that glorious peace and quiet? made her a princess wand for Christmas, you can find it here.)

When I told Chris my fortune his immediate response was; so does this mean we have lost our peaceful nights? And I had no idea how to answer that. What matters more to me, my time with him at night or the chance that I get a good break in the middle of the day? Ahhh!

What would you do?

**Lots of stuff to tell you about Avery so be on the look out for an Avery update post! I just have to get some good pictures!**

Five Days with No Daddy

2010-11-09T19:32:00.004-06:00

How did I do it? Here are the things that have saved me.

1. Let the house go. Normally I do one piece of "deep" cleaning every day. I vacuum, dust, clean a bathroom, mop or some other kind of real cleaning every day so that I never have to take a whole day to get it all done. I haven't done any of this since he left!

2. Wine and ice cream. So I may have put on a few pounds but I get my two favorite things to help me relax and settle down in the evening.

3. Movies. I actually haven't relied too heavily on TV for Sam, which is awesome in my mind. But I have given up fighting the big fight each day over nap time and instead am letting Sam hang out on the couch and watch a movie. I don't get a kid-free break but I can sit and work on the computer uninterrupted or be running around the house doing things without worrying about the kids. Avery still takes a good afternoon nap so we do movie time while she is sleeping.

4. Ready to go proteins! I had Chris grill five chicken breasts for me before he left. I have been adding chicken to almost every meal. This is a great way to cut down on dinner cooking time and make sure the kids get protein in every meal. We have had two different kinds of pasta, quesdillas, a rice meal and pizza all with pre-grilled chicken! I may have Chris do this more often!

5. My mom and sister. If I didn't have their frequent phone calls I would have very little adult conversation most days. They have kept me sane and confident that I could handle this.

6. Good weather! If we had been having typical November weather in Wisconsin we may not have been able to spend hours each day outside. Being stuck in the house would have made the days feel much longer. Outside time is a must for us and very valuable for me keeping my sanity!

So, Chris is coming home to a dirty house, a tired-no-napping Sam, a fat and hung over wife and a refrigerator empty of all the chicken that he cooked. But the kids are happy and I am still alive. He should be thrilled!

Daddy's Birthday!

2010-11-09T19:13:00.003-06:00

its not about her

2010-11-08T20:36:00.002-06:00

It's about me.

Whether we make it through the day with one time out or twenty, is about me. No spankings or ten, is about me. Whether we get through the day with smiles or tears, is about me. Sam's bad days are pretty much the same as her good days.

I have a stubborn child. I have a smart child that knows how to test me, knows how to push my limits and absolutely knows when she is doing something wrong. But she feeds off of my energy.

I recently read a post from a very smart momma about having a month of yes and I thought that it seemed like an impossible task. How would I survive even one hour of saying nothing but yes and doing everything she asked me to do? This thought made me realize just how negative I have been with her lately. I am always yelling, always correcting and always criticizing her. No wonder she rebels against me, I must be awful to live with. I also realized that because of all the negativity and frustration that I have I rarely ever hug my daughter, we don't laugh that much, we never have tickle fights anymore or cuddle.

This is not good.

But again, it has more to do with me, than it does with her. I need to remember that she is only two. I need to separate her actions from who she is. I need to remember that I love her unconditionally. I need to be her example of patience, compassion and understanding.

I always thought I needed her to fear me in order to get her to do what I wanted her to do. But it isn't working. She doesn't fear me no matter how much I try. All I am accomplishing is getting really frustrated and driving a wedge between her and me. So, I am trying a different tactic with my daughter. I am just going to try and love her. Try and get her to want to do the right thing. I am picking my battles. I am biting my tongue when before I would have been correcting. I am being patient when we have the time. I am letting her be the unique and independent two year old that she is. I am not just letting her do whatever she wants but the way that I talk to her, correct her and handle discipline needed to change and that is what I am trying to change.

I still tell her not to stand up on the couch 16 times a day but I try to say it each time in a calm and controlled manner, rather than losing my cool and screaming at her for simply not remembering that it is not okay to stand up on the couch. Or getting so excited about a book or TV show that she can't help but stand up.

I am trying to smile, laugh and have fun with my daughter more. It has been one day and it was a good day. We will see how tomorrow goes.

random thoughts on a Thursday

2010-11-04T21:26:00.003-05:00

I am purging. The girl's playroom is overloaded with toys that never get taken off the shelves and I am tired of it. I know that some of them are not being played with because Sam has out grown them and Avery is too young but I just can't look at them anymore. The amount of colorful plastic, things that make noise and light up are for some reason irritating me. I bought a ton of those kind of toys when Sam was little because I thought it was what she was suppose to have, what she needed. And they would work for a while but they never held her attention for long. I know that will be the same for Avery. It will probably be worse. She already doesn't care AT ALL about those toys, all she wants is to play with whatever Sam is playing with. Why would I think this would change? SO, I am packing them away. Not getting rid of them just yet, but packing them away.

But all of this is making me struggle with what to do about Christmas. What do I get them? What toys do I want them to have? I know Sam plays with all of about four things right now on a daily basis; her simplified marble works set, her kitchen, her musical instruments and her doctor kit. She loves books and puzzles. But how much more of those things does she need? Do I just keep getting her more books, more puzzles and a better marble works set? And what about Avery? What do I get for the second kid that could just play with all the things her older sister does? What new thing is there for her? We want to have pretty simple, small Christmases but I still want them to feel like normal kids and have Santa come through big!

Chris is leaving for FIVE DAYS for a business trip to D.C. He gets to stay in an amazing hotel, eat great food, be around people in his field (he's an actuary so I don't exactly know if that's a good thing, but I guess they are all similar so...) and get a break from his family. It all sounds fabulous to me! But I will be here. Here with the girls. With only one break to go "teach" a birthday party on day two. No adults to talk to, no help when I have reached my toddler limit. I am not trying to make him feel guilty or make my mom feel like she needs to drop everything and come up here. But I am really worried about doing this on my own. LOTS of moms do this everyday with no help. Why does it seem SO daunting for me? I have even done this before, for four months, everyday by myself during the week. But there was only one. And she took naps.

I need to take down the Halloween decorations and put up the Thanksgiving decorations. But really what I want to do is put up a Christmas tree! Even with my dread of what to buy the girls I am so excited for all the decorations, the cookies, the songs, the movies and the feeling that the holiday season gives me.

I totally thought this was going to be one of those posts filled with short, one sentence, random thoughts. Clearly that is not the case. My thoughts were longer than I had expected so I think I will end with just four!

Hope you have a great night!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T20:22:00.004-05:00

Okay, blogger is being really annoying tonight and messing up my post over and over again. SO this is going to be totally out of order but I am just too tired to keep fighting with it.

We had a great time tonight with Halloween.

This is the girls after they had done their trick or treating. Sam was obsessed with handing out the candy to the other kids. She may have enjoyed this more than getting candy herself!

But they both did great with the trick or treating. Avery rode in the wagon, threw her adorable pumpkin hat out of the wagon at some point so we lost it. This is quite a bummer cause that costume was so cute. Oh well. But Sam did a great job of saying "trick or treat" and "thank you" at every door. We practiced and reminded her between houses but she rung the bell and did everything else all on her own. Such a big girl.

We started the evening with the neighborhood Halloween parade. We saw a sign for it a few days ago and thought, why not. Now this is not a parade with floats that you watch. This is parade that the kids (and their parents) walk in so that other people (I think there were six!) can sit and watch us walk by! So funny. But they had a cop car and a fire truck that lead the parade! First picture is just to show how many people were in the parade!

Here we are in the parade. Avery did not like the scary masks that we had so I bought Chris a Homer Simpson mask that I thought would work but nope. She cried when he put that one on too. Don't think Chris was too upset that he didn't have to wear a costume.

It was a great halloween. We went through eight bags of candy in under an hour! Our neighborhood clearly has a LOT of kids. We had to blow out our candles and turn out the lights early because we ran out. Too funny.

Hope you had a great Halloween!

picture updates

2010-10-28T20:33:00.005-05:00

I know I haven't been around lately. I am struggling with time management right now in juggling the two blogs but I am also struggling with stuff to write about over here. Okay, thats not entirely true. There is a lot I would like to complain about, vent about and get advice about but finding the time to focus on this blog is hard right now because I am trying so hard to grow Greening right now.

So anyway, today was not the day to squeeze in a major post over here because I am trying to get ready for the statewide environmental education conference at which I am presenting about Greening Sam and Avery! Super excited to share with my peers what I have been up to and what I hope it will become but I am also very nervous about how it will be received.

Pictures will have to do for now!

Be back soon I promise.

She has personality.

2010-10-11T20:25:00.002-05:00

She screams when Sam takes a toy away from her.

She wants to eat only the food that we are eating and has almost entirely given up baby food even though she has only four teeth.

She has no fear of climbing up the stairs and tries daily (yes we know we need to get a gate).

She has a big head and knows how to avoid hitting it when reaching for a toy under any table.

She eats cheerios and other small food items by curling her pointer finger around them, not picking them up with her finger and thumb.

She screams when she wants to go down the one stair in our family room but is too scared to try it herself.

She loves crawling in the grass.

She crawls from one bedroom to the other as fast as she can trying to entice Sam to chase her. But even if no one chases her she will continue to just crawl as fast as she can all over the upstairs, with no apparent destination or end in mind.

She loves being tickled.

She will play peek-a-boo with anyone that is willing.

She screams when I am trying to feed her something that she doesn't want to eat.

She hates getting dressed and will wiggle, flop, flail and do anything else to make it impossible to get her limbs into her clothes.

She loves the bath.

She screams when she sees a bottle but no one is handing it to her.

She loves the flop.
Please ignore the ridiculous faces that I am making.

And did I mention that she screams.

She is nine months old, not gaining weight right now according to her most recent doctor's visit, developmentally delayed in her fine motor skills and speech (also according to our most recent doc's visit), full of life and energy and the funniest person in this house most days. The weight thing worries me a little but I know it will pass. The delayed piece did have me very freaked out but I have decided to give her some time to see if she will catch up on her own before I call the specialist that the doc recommended. I believe children develop at their own pace and the fact that she can walk assisted by furniture or us already (which is way earlier than Sam did) makes me think that maybe she is just choosing what she wants to work on right now and speech and picking up cheerios the way the rest of the world does just aren't things she cares about.

She has a personality that is all her own.

pumpkin patch

2010-10-07T21:02:00.006-05:00

Get ready for picture overload!! We had a fabulous time. But I took way too many pictures!

Someone was ready to go home!

Do what we say not what we do

2010-10-04T08:52:00.002-05:00

SAMANTHA!!

Do NOT pull toys out of your sisters hands. That is not nice.
But when you have my cell phone, camera or anything else that you aren't suppose to have of course I will rip it out of your hands to make sure you don't break it.

Do NOT spit. That is yucky.
But Avery doesn't know any better so she will spit constantly and there is nothing we can do about it.

Do NOT stand on the kitchen stools. You could fall and hurt yourself.
But when I can't reach something in the cabinets don't look at me as I do it.

Do NOT throw things. You could hit someone and hurt them.
But when daddy is across the room and asks for the remote it is okay for me to throw it to him.

Do NOT yell, screech or scream inside the house.
But I can yell from upstairs to get daddy's attention and Avery just yells all the time.

You HAVE to share everything with your sister.
But you cannot play with her pacifier, it is not a toy it is a matter of life or death.

You can only watch a couple of shows a day. Too much TV is not good for you.
But mommy and daddy can watch football all afternoon and then hours of TV at night too.

You must be so confused!! No wonder you whine and complain all the time. Sorry life is not too fair for you right now. Mommy and daddy will try harder to live by the rules that you have to live by.

But that won't always happen. It is tough being two.

I'm a Guest blogger!

2010-10-03T14:40:00.003-05:00

I was asked to do my very first ever guest blog post! Head on over to here and leave me some comment love!!!! And be sure to check the sidebar for all the amazing giveaways they have going on.

Thanks!!

Thank you Aunt Jojo.

2010-09-27T13:26:00.003-05:00

At any given moment in my life there are a dozen reasons that I could (and should!) be sincerely thanking my sister. The list of favors, kindnesses, advice and other things that she does for me is endless.

However, today the above thank you is laced in sarcasm!!

I am so tired of my daughter asking for "a spoon full of peanut butter. like aunt jojo does." at EVERY MEAL! We use to have good sandwiches, salads, quesadillas or other tasty things for lunch and we would eat the SAME THING at lunch. Now, ever since Sam had a spoon full of peanut butter at Aunt Jojo's house it is all she wants (even asks for it at breakfast!). No I am not kidding, it is literally a spoon full of peanut butter with crackers on the side for dipping. But most of the time she skips the dipping of the crackers and just licks the peanut butter right off the spoon.

Of course I don't always give her the thing that I know she will eat quickly, the thing that she will eat without fight or reminders. Nope, sometimes I am a "good" mom and make her eat real protein or veggies or fruit. But then I have to deal with the fight and tears that she doesn't get to eat "like Aunt jojo".

So now my lunch routine has to include "cooking" three meals. Baby food for Avery. A spoon full of peanut butter and some sides to go with it for Sam. And then figure out something for my lunch (I just can't bring myself to eat a spoon full of peanut butter even though my daughter has asked me to try it several times).

So THANK YOU Aunt Jojo. Your spoon full of peanut butter is like crack for my child!

Editted later to add - It has occurred to me that you all might be thinking that this is a regular meal that Sam gets when she is visiting Aunt Jojo! ha. Couldn't be further from the truth. As far as I know Sam has received this lunch ONE TIME when she refused to eat the PB&J sandwiches that her cousins were eating. To end the fussing Aunt Jojo handed Sam the spoon. Sam was thrilled, there was no more whining and everyone was eating. At the time we thought it was perfect. My thought has changed.

a great weekend

2010-09-26T19:54:00.004-05:00

I am tired. It has been a long time since I have done this much yard work in one weekend. I tore out bushes, cut back plants, trimmed bushes, weeded, planted mums and tackled areas of our backyard that have not been touched since we moved in.

But we are now ready for cooler temperatures. Well, not all the way. I still have to do all the "wintering" of the outside stuff. You know clean off all the toys and bring them in. Scrub down the furniture and get it stored away. Pack up hoses. etc.etc. Not excited for those chores but I think I still have at least a few more weeks before we start freezing at night.

We did get a little bit of time today to head to the Wauktoberfest; the Waunakee Traditional German Festival. We quickly learned that yesterday is when all the neat German activities and events were held (keg races, Euchre tournaments, sauerkraut eating contest, frau carry) and today was all about this...
They had six different giant bouncy things and Sam couldn't have been happier. She ran and played until, well I would like to say that she went until she was tired but really she went until we were so bored we couldn't take it anymore! But we visited with some of the other parents, drank some seasonal beverages (yes we were the parents drinking beer in the kids play area!) and ate a hot pretzel (no sauerkraut for us!).

It was a great weekend and a productive one.

Also, I have realized that not everyone that reads this blog might be heading over to the Greening Sam and Avery blog. I forget sometimes to post pictures here because I am posting stuff over there everyday. So if you ever need a photo fix of the girls (Chris and I are rarely in any of the pictures!) just head over there! But here are a few just in case you are aren't in a clicking over kind of mood!

Okay this next one was NOT posted on the greening site. I just found it in a photo folder and thought it was too funny. That is my moms kitchen sink! Sam loves having sink baths in Grandma's giant sink.

to go or not to go?

2010-09-18T20:26:00.002-05:00

First off I wanted to fill you in on how the reading buddy day went. Cade was adorable and cracked himself up with the books he was reading. It was hilarious to hear him laughing (he has the cutest little laugh) and then look over to see him pointing to something to Sam and explaining what he is laughing at. So cute. He read three books which was about about one book too many. Sam got a little restless with his second grade slow reading pace. But overall it was a huge success.

Now on to my dilemma...should I go to my high school ten year reunion. Yes, I am that old which means yes mom you are that old. So should I go?
I have always thought that of course I would go, who wouldn't want to go. But now that I am old, disconnected from anyone that I went to high school with and don't even live in that town my desire to go has drastically lessened. Not only has it lessened, but the idea of going makes me very anxious. They sent out the schedule for the three days of reunion functions and my first thought was "holy crap that is a lot of new, hip, in style clothes I have to go out and buy". Other thoughts that have crossed my mind include, "I have to really start running again", "gotta get some really cute outfits for the girls to wear to the family-friendly functions", "probably need to get some boots and skinny jeans", etc. Skinny jeans? I hate those. Why would going back to high school suddenly make me think I need to go out and buy something I would never wear again?
I hate that feeling that I am getting of "are they talking about me", "do I look okay", "will they like me", "am I cool enough". The schedule has only been out for two days and I already feel like I am going to have a nervous break down. There is only a tiny little part of me that is excited to see the girls that I spent 12 years of my life with everyday. Not that I don't want to see them, of course it would be fun to catch up but most of them are still single, no kids, big nights out, and lots of traveling kind of lives. My life just seems so boring when I look at what they are doing (thank you facebook for making me feel so inferior!).
So why am I so self-concious? Why do I STILL care what all those people at that school think of me? I am an adult now with two girls of my own. What kind of role model am I being by having these kind of shallow thoughts and feelings?
Did anyone else feel this way about their reunion? Did you go or not?

Oh how I wish I could just GROW THE HELL UP and not care.

reading buddy

2010-09-14T15:53:00.002-05:00

In a few minutes Sam will be having her first "reading buddy" get together. You are probably wondering what in the heck that means!

Last week while I was out of town a neighbor approached Chris and asked him about the potential for her second grade son to spend some time with our daughter Sam once a week reading to her. Apparently when her boys were younger they had an older kid in the neighborhood that would come and read to them. She wants her youngest son to have that same kind of out loud reading practice and mentoring time with a younger child. My husband was very intrigued but said he would have to talk to me about it. He told me the idea and about the family.

Sure I said! Someone else that is willing to take over one of probably a dozen times that Sam wants to sit and have me read to her throughout the day. Why not! So yesterday Cade came over and read one book to Sam on our front step with both his mom and me standing right there. This was their way to meet each other and introduce the idea to both of them. Cade was adorable and trying to teach Sam how to use the little clock on the book!! She didn't get it but sat still long enough for him to get through the book.

Today he is coming over by himself with several books for them to sit on the couch and read together. I am hoping that Sam will sit still for him the way she does for me. I am hoping that she doesn't lose interest and get up to go play. I am just hoping that this works because the mom is SO excited about it.

I will let you know how it goes!

PRESCHOOL!

2010-09-09T21:19:00.004-05:00

"Sam can we take a first day of school photo?"

"Nooo."

Wednesday was the first day of preschool. Sam was beyond excited. The only people she knows that go to school or that she has seen go to school are her cousins, Bailey and Parker, and the few times she has gone to drop them off or pick them up from school she was always wanted to stay.
When she found out that she was going to school all she kept saying was "Just like Bailey does!" or "Just like Parker does!".
She learned her teacher's name, Mrs. Becky, and learned several rules about school. "Listen to Mrs. Becky when it is time to clean up." and "Tell Mrs. Becky when I need to go potty." I figured if she could follow those two things everything else would be okay!
And the drop off on that first day went great. She could have cared less that I was leaving her there by herself. She was just so excited to be around her new friends. I was a bit sad that there wasn't even a moment of separation anxiety. Of course a mom wants to be missed.
When I came back to pick her up there also wasn't that happy reunion that I had expectations of experiencing. I thought she would be talking non-stop about what she did and how the morning went. Instead when I asked her what she did that day two of the first things she said was "Justin pushed over Madison" and "Justin threw rocks. We do not throw rocks." Clearly Justin had made an impression. And I hope poor Madison is okay because Sam was very concerned. But that was it. She had nothing else to tell me. It wasn't until late that night while eating dinner at my parents house in St. Louis that she started singing a new song (or what she could vaguely remember of a new song) over and over again that I finally caught one glimpse of something she had done at school. I was proud of her but at the same time felt so left out that I didn't have a clue what song she was trying to sing and helpless that I could not help her with the words when she stumbled. (is this what it will feel like when she is doing math problems that I don't understand and have no way to help her?)
While she is still finding her words and learning how to recall things I think school is going to be very tough on me. I am going to hate that I will never have a clear picture of what goes on there. That I won't ever really know what she is learning or doing. Maybe this is why parents get so involved and want to volunteer in the classroom. I think we need the break from each other too much for me to do that. Plus the one-on-one time with Avery is greatly needed!
Anyway, I think the day was a success. The teacher didn't say that she was unruly and wouldn't clean up. And she came home wearing the same clothes that I dropped her off in. So at the very least my two rules worked!

"Sam we can't go to school until you smile and take a picture for mommy."

"CHEESE!"

Autism needs your help

2010-09-02T09:31:00.004-05:00

There is an amazing little girl named Ella who has the most caring mother fighting hard for her daughter and lots of other kids with autism.

Ella was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at the age of 2, but, Ella just entered kindergarten, and thanks to early intervention is currently testing at an age appropriate developmental level. Ella's mother, Hope, started a foundation called, Ella's Hope. Ella's Hope's goal is to raise money so that other parents can afford early intervention therapies. She didn't just accept the fact that Ella had autism, she did something about it. Now Ella's brother is also being tested for autism. But even with the challenge of having two kids diagnosed with autism Hope is focused on other people's children. The money raised from Ella's Hope will go to scholarships for other kids to get early intervention and to autism research.

I cannot imagine being faced with that situation for my own children and then still have the strength to think about other children. Amazing.

Read the rest of Ella's story and her mom's fight to help other little kids at www.ellashope.org .

So why I am writing about this. Well, my sister Kelsey emailed me today about this story. Kelsey is my little "sister". She grew up in our house because my mom took care of her and her older brother while her parents worked. She has blond hair and blue eyes and people always thought the three of us were all sisters; so we just went with it! We have always been close (she was in both of our weddings) and when a sister asks for your help there is no saying no.

Hope, Ella's Mom, is Kelsey's sorority advisor (another sister!). And all these sisters are trying to spread the word about voting for Ella's Hope. Have you heard of the Pepsi Refresh Project? Ella's Hope is in the running (#13) to win one of the amazing donations. She just needs a little help from all of you.

So, PLEASE head over to Ella's Hope website and vote. Or you can vote by texting 100288 to 73774. Or going to http://www.refresheverything.com/ellashope. You can vote once a day, every day, for the whole month of september. It's SO easy.

Please help spread the word and VOTE!

so far this morning

2010-09-01T08:31:00.002-05:00

cell phone down. network busy? my way one to communicate with other adults, TAKEN AWAY!

promised pancakes. no pancake mix. tantrum.

slept awful last night and now have serious pains in my neck. bring on the pain meds.

our house smells like pee! can't figure out where it is coming from our who's pee it is (Avery, Sam or the DOG!)

golf men descend on my house in two days and it is a WRECK!

It is going to be a VERY long day.
Happy Wednesday!!

Please leave lots of comments...with no phone I may not speak to another person (adult person) today!

no more baby

2010-08-30T14:13:00.002-05:00

The baby gear is slowly disappearing from this house.

This weekend we cleaned out a lot of baby stuff. We cleared out some shelves in the basement and started carrying down all the things that Avery is no longer using.

2 baby bouncy seats
giant play mat
boppy
bumbo seat and tray
infant carrier car seat
carrier car seat inserts, winter covers
baby sleeping positioners
breast pump and feeding stuff
2 big bins of baby clothes

That is a lot of stuff that she is already done with. And I think the excersaucer and jumperoo are not too far behind!

I am both happy and sad to see this stuff "leave" our house (its not really gone, but since I don't have to look at it everyday I consider it gone). Happy because there is less baby gear sitting around to deal with and new stages of growth are always fun. Sad because my baby is growing up WAY TOO FAST!

She blew Chris and I away the other night when, without warning or any struggles, she grabbed a hold of the coffee table and pulled herself right up to a standing position. She continued to stand there grabbing things on the table, reaching for things and trying to move around the table. We thought she might just take off walking around the table at any second; but she didn't.

Walking cannot be this soon. I am NOT ready for that.

sprinkler time!

2010-08-29T21:02:00.004-05:00

Avery's "did-something-just-hit-me" look as she got sprinkled the first time!

Happy Sunday everyone!

if you have ever had a conversation with me, I am SO sorry

2010-08-26T12:16:00.004-05:00

Looking through the boat photos I found this series of lovely photos taken by my darling husband. Now at first glance I thought they were just REALLY bad photos but then Chris reminded me that this was when he just kept shooting pictures while I was having a conversation! Seriously! I look this ridiculous when I am talking? And I am just talking about the face and hands, let's not talk about the fact that the dress I chose to wear is making me look like I am eight months pregnant!!

What I have to say is NEVER that exciting! What the heck?

I think being an over-animated talker (the title I am now giving myself!) should be one of those things in life that people are required to tell you about. Like having a bugger hanging out or food stuck in your teeth! You just don't let someone walk around acting like this!

My victim during this conversation...the poor Uncle Carl. Clearly the rest of the family had not warned him! Sorry Carl.

could not have just been a week

2010-08-22T20:59:00.004-05:00

My daughters changed WAY too much for it to have only been a week that we were gone.

Sam has become a teenager! She says "huh?" with the tilt of her head in response to almost everything I say. And she says "really" all the time! "I REALLY need...", "I REALLY want...", I REALLY can't..." and of course including some serious emphasis and inflection on the really. She is singing more songs, quoting more shows and has much more energy than she did before.

Avery now has two teeth (she DOUBLED the amount of teeth! HA!) and another one getting ready to break through. She can sit up on her own and get back to sitting up from any position. She is pulling up on things, she can't stand all the way up yet but she is getting very close. And the biggest of all...SHE IS CRAWLING! Not just a little bit but getting all the way across the room in mere seconds king of crawling. The kind of crawling that leads Chris and I to both say "OH SHIT" multiple times as we realize just how unsafe our house is right now!! We have a ton of baby proofing to do very soon.
I knew she was close to crawling but I thought once she had the motion down it would take her a few weeks to really get good at it and be making my life harder. But no. She was off and exploring a TON today.

I don't know what was happening at Grandma and Pawpaw's house but it made my girls grow up too fast! To see some GREAT new pictures of the girls from while they were at my parent's head over to Aunt Jojo's blog.

And here are just a few pictures from our week in the British Virgin Islands.

Tons more I could share! Hoping to get them up on Facebook soon so you can see more there if you are interested.

Vacation time!

2010-08-12T20:40:00.002-05:00

So I haven't been around here as much as I would like and I know there are updates on the girls that I need to do. But right now I am too excited about getting on a plane tomorrow with JUST my husband! We are headed out of town to Beef Island, a small island in the British Virgin Islands, to spend a week on a boat with his family. Just adults! The kid free time will be amazing. THANK YOU NANA AND GRANDPA!

Anyway, not much time to fill you all in on the details but if you are interested in what we are doing I will be updating Twitter. We won't have much internet access but when we do I will just be doing quick updates over there. I am actually kind of looking forward to some unplugged time.

But I promise when we get back in a week or so I will get new pictures, stories and updates about the girls up here!!

And please keep my parents in your thoughts and prayers this week as they have our two girls for us! I am hoping they still love us when we get back!

THANK YOU GRANDMA AND PAWPAW!

TEETH!

2010-08-05T13:34:00.002-05:00

Avery has officially cut her first tooth!

And it is hilarious how obsessed she is with feeling it with her tongue. So cute.
Try to get picture of this at some point. Just wanted to share the news and document this day so that I will remember when this happened for when (if!) I go back to write it in her baby book!

patience or control?

2010-07-31T20:10:00.002-05:00

At two and a half years old my daughter and I have a lot of issues.

Let me start by saying that I believe I truly have a wonderful daughter. She is overall polite, creative, smart and energetic. She is sweet and loving to her sister and Polly.

BUT she is also headstrong, stubborn and very independent. She moves at her own pace.

Right now I am struggling with how to deal with her independence at two and a half years old. She wants to do everything herself. And for a long time I have allowed her some flexibility to do things for herself. I probably gave her too much freedom too young. This is coming back to bite me in the ass. She takes FOREVER to do certain thing that she insists on doing herself and won't I don't let her do it herself a tantrum is sure to happen.

For example, she wants to climb out of the car herself. No big deal right? She is a big girl and should be able to jump down out of the car herself. However, when I let her do it herself to prevent the crying she inevitably climbs into the middle, down underneath Avery's seat or all the way up to the front. This is followed by several commands, counting, yelling and threats of spankings to get her to come out of the door.

SO in that situation should I have more patience or more control? Should I have the patience to just let her explore and know that eventually she will come out of the car like she is suppose to? What's the big deal anyway, it takes all of about 1 minute for her to do it herself? Or should I have more control and get her out of the car myself and then punish her when she reacts poorly to not getting her way?

We have a similar situation to her wanting to put on her own shoes, putting her underwear/clothes back on after going potty, drinking out of a big girl cup, and many others. I think that some of these are skills that she should be working on and be learning how to do on her own. But how do I know when I need more patience and when I need more control?

Any thoughts?

Project Mom Casting

2010-07-28T14:55:00.002-05:00

Okay blogging world I have a favor to ask!

PLEASE if you have a facebook account go NOW to Project Mom Casting on Facebook and leave a comment about how my sister should be considered for this project. I think her life would make an AWESOME tv show. What could be better then a mom that totally keeps it real, has real life struggles and real kids that other moms can learn from. She would be so refreshingly honest I just know it would be amazing. And it would be SO fun to have a reality show on tv about someone that I know!!!!

Okay, go now and leave some comment LOVE for Jodified and FreshArt Photography!

Thanks!

I didn't think I would miss it

2010-07-28T08:08:00.002-05:00

It wasn't something that I really ever loved doing. I thought I was ready to be done. But now, just a few days after loosing that connection, I am missing it.
Avery is weaned. She is a bottle drinking baby. I needed to make sure she was use to the bottle before our trip in August when she will be staying with my parents for a week. And I thought I would be excited to have my body back, to be done with leaking, soreness and watching what I consume. But there is a small part of it that I am missing.
Avery is not a cuddly baby. She can't be rocked to sleep, she doesn't fall asleep in my arms and she never lays her head on my shoulder. While drinking a bottle she is squirmy and easily distracted. But when we were feeding, skin to skin, just her and me she was calm and she was just mine. That time was more precious than I think I realized.
I forgot how much I hate washing bottles, filling bottles, finding bottles sitting around the house and packing bottles to go places.
A phase has ended and I wasn't prepared for just how sad I would be that it is over.
Avery will be crawling very soon. She is probably my last baby and she is growing up just too darn fast!

recipe requests

2010-07-27T14:10:00.003-05:00

Laundry soap recipe -
There are tons out there and I just started this so I don't know for sure if this is the best one yet but this is the recipe that I am trying first.

1 bar ivory soap (grated up as finely as you can)
1/2 cup borax (found this is my laundry isle)
1/2 cup washing soda (also found this in the laundry isle)

Mix the three ingredients and store in an air tight container. Use just 1-2 Tablespoons per load.

I got this recipe from here and they have other options too if you don't like this one.

Homemade soft pretzel recipe -
I found this in a magazine (don't remember now which one) and thought it looked like so much fun. It was kind of fun to make them and Sam had a great time putting on the toppings but they actually weren't as good to eat as I thought they would be. It all has to do with how good of bread dough you can find (or make if you are really energetic!); we only had one kind of frozen bread dough at our Piggly Wiggly so I had to go with that one.

Ingredients
all purpose flour
1 lb frozen whole-wheat bread dough, thawed
1 egg
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup cinnamon and sugar
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1. Place bread dough on floured counter top or cutting board and ask your child to roll in into a rectangle. You want it to be about 12" by 10" (we did not get anywhere near this shape; our bead dough did not really stretch out or roll out at all!). Slice the dough lengthwise into 12 strips with a pizza cutter (because ours wouldn't roll out we only made 10).
2. Help your child make each dough strip into a loop (same shape as the little ribbon pins, cancer ribbon type shape). Flip back the ends of the loop, crossing them to create the twist (hard to explain but just imagine a pretzel shape and then experiment with how to make it!). Transfer to a lined cookie sheet; cover and allow to rise for 20 minutes.
3. Heat over to 400. Whisk egg and 1 Tbs water. Have your child brush pretzels with egg mixture and top with seeds, sugar or cheese. Bake 15 minutes or until brown. Cool on wire rack.
We did not really like the parmesan one and instead of sesame seeds we tried sea salt and then a really cheesy one (grated mozzerella!) which was our favorite.

We have also been making our own play dough around here so I thought I would share that recipe as well.

Play dough Recipe -
1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 T. cooking oil
1 T. cream of tartar
1 cup water

Mix ingredients into a pot. Stir them up well before you turn on the heat. Heat over medium heat stirring constantly until it forms into a ball. Try to make sure it is pretty evenly "dry" and then turn it out on the counter. Knead until it is consistently smooth.
I added vanilla extract (just about a teaspoon) to mine to make it smell good. You can add other spices or food coloring too. I got this recipe from "My Montessori Journey".

Happy Cleaning/Cooking/Playing!

Our recent days

2010-07-27T07:53:00.003-05:00

Sam's first burrito.

Homemade soft pretzels.

From a distance the steam tractors were cool but when they got close and blew their horns the noise sent Sam and Avery into full blown panic! I was too busy comforting so there are no pictures of the tears!

Picture does not do this tractor justice; it was HUGE!

Changes at the Enlund Household

2010-07-25T14:56:00.001-05:00

My new project has been going great. It is giving me an outlet for my environmental education passion, giving Sam, Avery and I some great things to do during the days and I am learning a ton of new tricks that I am sure I can use someday once I get back into my field full time. I am also connecting with a lot of new moms, educators and other people interested in green living. This last one though has presented me with a whole new challenge.
I consider myself to be a pretty knowledgeable person when it comes to the environment, environmental issues, sustainability and the green movement. I have also worked hard throughout my life to spread that education, help environmental education and participate in the push to educate the next generation. What I haven't been doing so good at is practicing what I preach!
As I have been connecting with all these new bloggers out there writing about their green living adventures, their journeys in striving to get back to nature and their simple lives I have realized just how LARGE my carbon footprint really is. But becoming a responsible environmental citizen is such a daunting task; where do I begin? And it isn't cheap either! It is just not in our budget right now to add solar panels or get more energy efficient appliances or buy a hybrid for our next car. But I knew I needed to start doing something, start being the example for my girls and start making this more of a priority in my life.
Then I found this blog called One Small Change. They present their readers with the challenge of making one small change every month to lower their carbon footprint, to be kinder to the earth and to live more green. Wow! A new thing every month? My goodness. These were my initial reactions. But then I started reading about some of the changes that the people participating in this challenge were making. Things like making their own laundry soap, making their own shampoo, not using paper towels or paper napkins, growing their own food, buying second hand, etc. When I saw some of these ideas I got really excited and thought WE CAN DO THIS!
So, we are going to try. This matters a lot to me. I want to set the right example for my girls. I want to teach them habits now about living in a sustainable way so that when they are older those things will just come naturally to them and they will take them with them to the home that they create later in life.
Our first change is going to be a pretty tough one. We are attempting to make the switch to cloth diapers! Chris is not so thrilled about this one (I mean really who wants to have to wash out poop!). But I want to try. I hate the thought of all those diapers going to a landfill and if we can get on a system of cloth diapers and do it for long enough in the end we will actually save ourselves money too.
I was also so excited about the homemade laundry soap that I went ahead and made that too! It is working out great. It was easy to make, cleans the clothes just fine, has a nice faint smell and is SUPER cheap.
I know in the grand scheme of things these changes don't make that big of a difference to the environment but if each one of you out there ALSO did they changes that would make a HUGE difference. And maybe if I can save enough money by washing out my daughters poop, washing my clothes in soap I have grated up myself and some other ideas THEN we can afford to put solar panels on our roof and really lower our carbon footprint!

Avery push-ups

2010-07-18T19:44:00.001-05:00

My daughter has better form with her push-ups than I do!

I miss my friends!

2010-07-14T19:00:00.002-05:00

I got a wonderful email the other day from my college friend Ellie and tonight came a reply email from my other friend Tracy. These two women and I have been through a lot and even though we don't see each other all that often they are very important to me. I don't know why but as I was reading the email I suddenly started crying. I miss my college friends.

One of my best friends from Stevens Point had a birthday today (it was a BIG one! Happy Birthday Traci, don't worry I won't tell how old you are!) and I wasn't there to celebrate it with her. I texted, I called but it isn't the same. I want to be there to give her a hug and have a drink with her. I miss my Stevens Point friends.

I think that could be one of the hardest things about the move we have made to Madison; once again having to start all over when in comes to having friends. We know very few people here. And the saddest part is that I have no idea any more how to make friends. I have gotten up the courage to ask one mom at the library programs to have a play date, we went to the park and it was fun but then I lost her number and she has never called me. I stalk those library programs now just trying to run into her again, I haven't. But even if I did how do you go from a play date during the day to a dinner out or a party with the husbands?

I hope every day that an adult will speak to me; a random hello as we go for a walk, the cashier at a store asking me a question, a mom at the library saying something (ANYTHING!) to me. But most days I talk to a two year old, a six month old and Chris in person. Yes I talk on the phone, I email, I facebook and blog but those are NOT the same.
I want girlfriends in town that I can go shopping with, that I can have come over to ask their opinion about an outfit, paint color or room arrangement, that I can meet for lunch/dinner. I want couple friends that we can get together with on a random week night for dinner or have over for a game night on the weekend. I want friends that we can make big plans with like superbowl parties and birthday parties. But how do you find those friends when I just can't give up an evening of help to let Chris go play in league events where he might meet people. Moms don't seem over eager to make new friends at any of the kids things I have gone to and we aren't in town enough to really seem to be noticed at church?
I know in the grand scheme of things this is a little problem but there is a big part of me that needs to be social, needs to talk about things like politics, sports and current events (to someone other than a person that I know so well I could have the conversation going both ways!), and NEEDS to get out of the house every once in a while for a drink with other adults!

I miss having friends.

I miss MY friends!

precious moments

2010-07-11T20:38:00.003-05:00

Went to church this morning and the sermon really struck a cord. The gospel was the story of the good Samaritan and the children's sermon was all about stopping to notice the little things. The priest actually brought in a bug box, magnifying glass and binoculars. She talked about how we should take notice of every moment and find God's work in everything around us. She told a story about a Lutheran priest in the Madison area that had recently died and the work he had been doing throughout his life, simple but powerful work. Nothing fancy or over the top about the story or his life but the way she told it, the picture she painted of him surrounded by his family when he passed and the legacy of giving that he left behind put me in tears.

So as we were going about the rest of our day I tried to keep the story of the good Samaritan and her sermon in the back of my head. It made some of what happened today even more special.

A foggy picture, but she is sitting up and playing on her own!

A great visit from the Great Grandparents.

They actually sat and read Sam her two favorite books right now.

And then our first family movie night tonight. Sam was both captivated by Mary Poppins and at times a bit bored. But when she was loving it her face, her singing and her dancing were adorable. My favorite was when she wrapped herself up in her blanket and cuddled with her daddy!

An Avery Update!

2010-07-07T20:40:00.003-05:00

She is six months old!
Did you realize that cause it has come fast and passed me quickly. We had her six month appointment so number coming at ya...
Height -27 inches
Weight -18lbs 8oz
Head circumference -45.7 cm
This third one is where we had some issues. She is in the 91% for the first two and off the charts for her head size. I give birth to BIG headed babies. Sam is off the charts too and always had been. But in Avery's case she has started out fairly normal and seems to be growing faster in the head than the rest of her body. Apparently she had an abnormal amount of growth from our last visit to this one so they need us to come back in one month (instead of the standard three) to have her head measured again! Seriously. I don't remember the term for what they said she could have if her head continues to show large growth but it wasn't good. They aren't worried though because she doesn't have ANY of the other serious symptoms so they told me there wasn't really cause for concern at this point, they just want to be sure. Actually, they think it was human error on her previous visit that must have measured her head too small so it just made it seem like it had grown a TON this time. Who knows.
I know she is fine and healthy I am more just annoyed that I have to go back to the doctor in a month just so they can measure her head! But better to be safe than sorry I guess.

In other news...I think we are days (maybe a week) away from her being mobile! Check this out.

Up on her knees and hands already. So not ready but I think in the next week or so we are going to have to figure out how to get baby gates up in this house! Avery's world is about the get bigger and Sam's world is about to get a whole lot more complicated!!

Happy Fifth of July!

2010-07-05T19:48:00.003-05:00

So no fireworks last night...cranky kids that wouldn't nap needed to go to bed early and not be pushed until firework time. But we were all dressed up with no place to go so we took photos anyway!

And then we did a few sparklers and those pop things. Sam LOVED the little poppers but was not such a fan of the sparklers.

Hope you all had a great Fourth of July!

a great wedding not captured so great in pictures!

2010-07-04T15:29:00.003-05:00

Last night Chris and I went to the wedding of one of Chris's fellow college golfers. It is always great to see this crowd of Knox friends and even more fun when we get to be kid free! Thank you Nana and Grandpa for a much needed night off. I was too busy drinking and dancing to pay much attention to the camera so that pictures that I got are VERY limited and not very good but I will post them anyway!

Does anyone recognize the dress that I am wearing? Some of you should because it is my bridesmaid dress from Jodie's wedding! That's right, when we said "These are totally dresses we could wear again" we were right, and I did! I cut the black ribbon and bow off, added a belt (thank you Hannah for the suggestions!) and presto an updated little black dress! So fun to get to wear it again.

Clearly I was not the only one drinking! HA!

It was a great night with friends and Chris and I actually slept in this morning which rocked!
Okay, back to Fourth of July fun (or listening to non-napping screaming children!).
Happy Fourth of July.

mini milestone

2010-07-03T06:39:00.003-05:00

I had Avery on the floor this morning and she was just laying on her side playing. Pacifier in her mouth. Then she reach up with her hand and pulled the pacifier out. She has been able to do this for a while now; a frustrating occurrence when she doesn't really want it out.

side note - when Sam got to this point of being able to take the pacifier out she suddenly lost all interest in it and became more interested in the giant bears blanket that is now referred to as "blankie"!

As I sat there watching Avery she started playing with the pacifier. Holding it in her hand she was intensely watching her hand as she moved the pacifier around. Then the most amazing thing happened. Her little hand, with eyes glued to the action, moved that pacifier right back into her mouth! What was the smallest thing but the determination, intensity and concentration that I could see in her face as she did it made that little movement a BIG deal!

I was very proud of my little girl. As we sit here playing she has now done the same thing several times, getting faster and more "oh this is nothing" with each practice. The pacifier may be upside down but she is thrilled to have it back in her mouth.

The pacifier may stick around a little longer for Avery than it did for Sam...we will see.

New Blog is LAUNCHED!

2010-07-01T10:41:00.001-05:00

The first project is up over at Greening Sam and Avery! Go check it out and let me know what you think.

www.greeningsamandavery.typepad.com

stop the crying!

2010-06-30T13:07:00.003-05:00

Reasons my two year old has cried today:

1. Made her go back to bed when she woke up at 5:30am.
2. Made her take off her Dora jammies.
3. A fly was in her playroom.
4. Wanted to play in the jumperoo.
5. Didn't want to sit in her chair for lunch.
6. Polly snapped at her (this made me cry too and Polly is spending the rest of the day locked in our bedroom! Polly hasn't snapped at Sam since right when Sam started crawling and would pull Polly's tail...not sure what happened today but I heard the growl and then the scream. Polly didn't get Sam but it scared her really bad and scares me too. )
7. Nap time.
8. Pooped.
9. Back to nap time.

All this and it is only 1:00. The weirdest part is even with all this crying I would still say that it has been a pretty good day. We played a lot this morning, went for a LONG run, story time at the library, a painting project, outside playing time and a good lunch. I just don't know what is causing this sudden onslaught of constant crying. Everything seems to be the biggest ordeal lately.

my new project

2010-06-28T14:51:00.005-05:00

I am still missing work so badly! I "taught" a pond birthday party on Sunday and the kids/families were great. They really got into (literally! several of the kids actually went swimming in the pond!) the activities, loved looking at the critters that we caught and even listened when I was talking to them about some of the natural history of the insects. This is only the second event I have been able to work this month and the first one ended up being canceled. I want to be working more than this.

I have had this feeling for a while, talked to lots of people about it but it wasn't until I had some serious conversations with my sister that I got some answers and made some decisions. She came up with the idea for me to start a new blog! A blog all about my passion, about environmental education and about my girls. Much brainstorming, researching, planning, designing and writing later she helped me to develop "Greening Sam and Avery". I am making a commitment to do one "green" activity with the girls everyday and then blogging about it. I will document through words and pictures the successes and failures of what we do. I have been doing a ton of research into early environmental education but have realized that there is just not much out there for parents, especially for parents with kids as young as mine.

So I am developing my own resource. I am taking activities, games, crafts, etc. that I find, adapting them to be simpler and age appropriate and then trying them with Sam and Avery. Hopefully I will be able to do all the leg work for other parents and be able to provide a resource for great ways to teach your kids to love nature, to get outside and to not be afraid of all the amazing creatures that are out there.

I am officially starting this project on Thursday but I wanted to give all of my faithful readers a sneak peak at all the stuff I have up on the blog already. It's not much yet but please head over there and take a look. Check out the amazing banner that my sister designed, look at the pages I have created so far and if you happen to find a spelling or grammar error (I am only human!) please let me know. Leave a comment (or two!) over there to let me know what you think!

Okay, GO check it out! Greening Sam and Avery!

recent moments

2010-06-27T20:55:00.006-05:00

jumperoo for all!

2010-06-24T21:32:00.003-05:00

What do you do with a two year old that misbehaves?

Just kidding! The jealous older sister needed to take a turn.
It didn't last long but was very cute.

an awesome GREEN toy!

2010-06-23T21:29:00.005-05:00

Parents start your Christmas shopping EARLY! Check out these amazing toys. Kid powered toys (meaning they have sounds, light up, etc. BUT use NO BATTERIES!) are such an awesome concept. And I am in love with the story builder toys.

Oh and did I mention that they are some of the most GREEN toys I have ever seen!!! SO COOL!

Seriously, go check it out!

Edited 6-24 - the link does not seem to be working so the website is www.sprigtoys.com or just google sprig toys!

I'm Back!

2010-06-21T20:01:00.002-05:00

Four days away and by the end I was ready to come home. I was up north squatting at our friends house (THANK YOU BRANDON AND TRACI!) while I worked at the Midwest Renewable Energy Association Energy Fair. I organize and run the children's workshops at the fair. I bring in all kinds of different presentations ranging from musical performances, arts/crafts projects, building solar cars, and building wind turbines. There are really some amazing kids programs that come and the crowds of kids can get pretty large. The Fair was amazing!! I love working it; being surrounded by like minded people, the networking, the great "green" products and all the awesome food!

But by the end of an exhausting day of set up and three days of fair I was more than excited to get home to my girls and Chris.

And boy did they change in four days!

Sam now knows her whole name and it is adorable to hear her say "Samamfa Jane Ennnlend". She also knows Avery's whole name but she gets confused still on mine and Chris's. I had started to work with her on knowing her name and how to respond to someone when they ask her what her name is. She is also so much farther along on the potty training! She is telling me when she needs to go, making it to the toilet and hasn't had an accident since we got home! We haven't figured out naps and nighttime yet but just not being in diapers and not having accidents during the day I think is great!!

Avery seems to have grown leaps and bounds! She is suddenly reaching for me when she wants to be picked up. Not with both arms yet but several times she has reached out with one arm and whined at me, and once to Chris too. Her eating has changed as well. Now she is opening her mouth when she sees the spoon, making it so much easier and faster to feed her. But the biggest news is that today she SCOOTED! There was a toy that she wanted that was right in front of her but out of her reach and she started lifting up her bottom, pushing down with her legs and eventually did this movement enough times that she was able to get the toy!! I could not believe what I was seeing. I am SO NOT ready for her to mobile yet! I know I still have a long way to go before she is crawling but this mile stone was a big deal for us today. Exciting and terrifying!

It is amazing what four days can do!

In more recent news....our air conditioner broke today. It is going to be a hot night tonight and I am just hoping that the girls don't wake up too much from being sweaty. AND

CHRIS PASSED EXAM NUMBER SEVEN!!!!! More on what this means for him and us later but I just couldn't wait to share the news! Send him some comment LOVE people!