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Monthly Archives: May 2012
Taking care of oneself
What exactly does that mean? I mean, I know what it means, but how does one really do that? Especially when one has a family that also requires taking care of. I know it is important. I know what I feel like and what my household feels like when I am taking care of me, at least in part, and I know what I and my household feels like when I am not taking care of me. A lot like these past few days. But really. Taking care of oneself requires three things, sleeping well, eating well, and exercising. Easy, right? Taking care of ones family requires many, many, more complex things. Often things that are not in direct agreement with taking care of oneself. So then you have to start the balancing act.
Exercise is important. I know that. But exercising means ignoring my daughter, which lead to irritating behaviors on her part. If I spend the morning paying attention to her (and perhaps sneaking in some much needed floor sweeping or laundry folding) then I will have good behavior from her all day. That will make me feel good. Or I can exercise, which I know is good for me and is considered taking care of oneself, but then I’ll have to deal with an annoying daughter all day. Where is the balance?
Eating well is a good thing, I know. Eating well, however, takes a lot of prep work. You need to procure fresh fruits and veggies, you need to wash them and prepare them in a timely fashion. You generally need to serve them prepared (with some exceptions, of course). All of which takes time. I don’t cook dinner most nights because when I do it takes a significant chunk of time, which in and of itself wouldn’t be so bad, but when you add it to the other things that have to get done in a day, I find I run out of time. Once again my kids are ignored and sometimes thats ok, but sometimes they fight and I yell, and we all would be happier if I’d just served pb&j for dinner. To everyone. That’s not healthy eating, but is it taking care of oneself?
Sleep. Ahh… elusive sleep. We have friends who just had a new baby, with a 20mo old son as well. They were lamenting their lack of sleep. I couldn’t bring myself to tell them that it gets better, but only a little. At least at 5 and 7. Perhaps when the kids are older, or moved out, or married. We’ll see. Right now there are never enough hours in the day. I get the kids in bed and Alan is ready for me to sit down and be with him. However, I still need to clean up the kitchen and fold laundry. By then it’s already past an “early bedtime” time, and that doesn’t include any relaxing for me. So much for taking care of oneself. However, I know that my morning will be better if the kitchen is cleaned up at night and the laundry is done. So maybe that is taking care of myself?
I think this is the fine line we’re walking on this path of modern-day motherhood. A little for me, a lot for the family, and hold tight to the knowledge that the best way to take care of oneself is to have a happy family and a smooth day. If that makes any sense.
That’s my ramblings for the evening, unproofread and unedited. Hubby is home now so I’m off to clean the kitchen and fold some laundry. :) Tomorrow is another day.
Lex’s 7th Birthday, Day 3
Let’s just say I AM EXHAUSTED. There, I said it. I am tired and I am ready to not celebrate a birthday tomorrow! :)
Today we had Lex’s friend party. He invited nine friends (plus Lex and Eve equals 11!) One girl didn’t make it so we ended up with 10 kids total. I had the party mapped out and it went somewhat according to my plan. The glitch was that not all of them are as in to Legos as Lex is, so my “free play with Legos” time ended up being “run around like wild men” time. They all had fun though, and no one got hurt or cried (much) so I’m going to call this one a success!
Eve fell asleep at 6:30 and Lex went to bed quite easily at 7pm, though he just now told us he can’t sleep so I let him sit in bed and read for awhile. I am going to finish this post, drink some tea, and go to bed!
Setting up the table. My birthday boy is so cute!
Alan and I debated for awhile on the best way to play with Legos outside. I thought the back deck, but I was worried about the kids sitting in the direct sun. We agreed on sheets in the shade on the front lawn. It went fairly well.
I thought the kids could color a Lego man coloring page that I printed while they waited for everyone to arrive. The kids thought otherwise and headed directly for the swingset.
Once everyone had arrived we did a Lego relay.
They had to run to the bucket, scoop out a Lego (the big Lego Quattro blocks), and carry it in a spoon back to their team's bucket. All without using hands, just the spoon.
The kids all had a great time with this game! Lex's team agreed that since he was the birthday boy he should be able to use his hands. :)
She did great! (only cheated a little! :) )
This guy was fast!
After the relay was over they all headed for drinks and snacks, then settled on the lego sheets to build.
It was peaceful for a bit.
Guess who's been eating the blue and green Lego block cookies? :)
Cake time! The cake was a bit anticlimatic because Lex doesn't like candles or singing. I brought it out, asked who wants cake, and got only a mild interest. I don't think they realized it was a cake! A few kids appreciated my hard work before I cut it into pieces. Everyone happily ate it.
Three Lego cake blocks with cake "bumps" and covered in fondant. I had a little trouble keeping it all pretty while stacking, but Lex was happy with it and therefore I was too!
I had lots of Lego games planned, but it was hard to keep them focused. Some of the kids wanted to play with Legos the entire time, but many others just wanted to run and be more physical.
This game was popular. They divided up into teams of two and had to build the tallest free-standing tower within a given period of time. They all quickly figured out the tall pieces, but struggled with balance and stability. Everyone (almost) had a great time with this game.
Working hard. Their tower fell over right before the time ran out.
Guess what Lex got for presents? Legos! Somehow he managed to get through this whole Lego birthday without getting any duplicate sets.
What? Caption this.
The crowd was getting out of control. I scrambled for ideas. I wanted to find another bandana or two and do a three-legged race, but I could only find two, so we did a blind-fold building challenge. This settled about half the kids. The other half grabbed a football and ran around.
Kids were loosing their shirts and shoes everywhere! We agreed that we're doing ok as long as none of the KIDS get lost!
I had a great clean-up crew today (and yesterday!) Eve had a rather unfortunate incident in the bathroom that resulted in me bathing her quickly, so Alan took point on clean up. He proudly announced that he finally found a body for the giant Lego head!
All in all a good day. Turns out bedtime will be a bit later than expected. This post took forever (maybe because I was doing three other things at the same time?) and Lex is having trouble falling asleep so he is downstairs with us again, reading with Alan.
I love my family.
Party time, Lex style!
Day two of celebrating Lex’s 7th birthday, family party! Family trickled in throughout the day and some joined us for an afternoon trip to a local Safety Day event. There we got kid ID kits (finger prints, vintage Polaroid photos, and a high-tech DNA swab kit!) The kids climbed bouncy things and checked out emergency vehicles, did craft projects, made buttons, and we all enjoyed a great K9 Unit demonstration.
A beautiful day at the safety fair.
Eve loved this inflatable obstacle course.
The big slide at the end. That's Eve on the way down and Molly at the top.
My dear kids getting finger printed by the cops.
This was the most well behaved dog I've ever seen. Once he did not obey the officer's command so the officer said "In the car." and the dog ran over, jumped through the open window, and sat still until the officer told him to come out again. Doggie time-out. I love it! I wish my kids ever did time-outs that well.
After that we were all tired and sweaty so we came home. Lex headed straight inside to play with the presents he’d gotten so far, while the girls played outside for awhile. Lex opened presents on an as-arrived basis, so there was always something new and interesting for him to play with. He got tons of Legos, of course, and cool origami books and papers, and an awesome microscope kit, and many other fun things. He is a very, very fortunate boy!
Back home the girls headed straight for the swings and sandbox, while Lex headed straight for the new toys inside. :)
Ouch, you're biting my head! (This little girl was so cuddly with me all afternoon. Lucky me!)
Hugs with Mema.
For dinner we had an oatmeal bar. Like a salad bar, or an ice cream bar, but with Lex’s favorite dinner of all time. The dinner he has every night. Oatmeal! We cooked a big pot of oatmeal and put out tons of fixings. The kids had fun! Several grown-ups grumbled, but Lex was happy and it’s his birthday. As we heard earlier, “You get what you get and you don’t get upset,” right?! :)
Our oatmeal bar. Lex and I love oatmeal and eat it daily, often twice daily for him!
Eve added some of everything to her oatmeal! Including the fruit salad! Not surprisingly, she didn't eat much of it.
Then, because it was getting late, we washed down our creative bowls of oatmeal with a giant, three-layer, bright yellow cake! Lex decided to brave the candle thing as long as there was no singing. Alan started singing something else, not Happy Birthday, and I’m totally blanking on it now, and the crowd joined in. Lex wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. When I put the cake with lit candles on the table the crying won out. He opted to let Eve and Molly blow out the candles while he scooted down to the floor. Silly boy. He happily jumped back up to help us eat the cake. I just now ate a big piece of it (Alan went out for an errand and I’m home alone with a cake… DANGEROUS!) and I can feel the sugar eroding my teeth and hurting my brain. Ahh… I treat myself well.
Cake time! The fondant covering was a last minute idea because I ran out of buttercream frosting and conveniently had lots of extra fondant from tomorrow's Lego cake.
This is the moment he decides he can't handle the situation. His face looks so sweet.
Luckily we had these girls around, always ready to help with candle-blowing-out jobs! (photos of my life are always marred by those darn water bottles!)
There he is! Ready to help eat the cake! As requested, a three layer cake with french vanilla, chocolate fudge, and raspberry layers. Covered in bright yellow fondant. It says HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEX around the side and a big 7 on top.
What's a family party without stories with Aunt Katie?
I got the kids in bed easily enough and Lex fell asleep dreaming of how much fun he’s going to have playing with Legos tomorrow. He is getting really quick at following directions and building the sets. For tomorrows’s Lego party (with his friends) we are going to stick to the big buckets of colored Legos and let the kids get creative. I’m getting a bit excited for that party too, but first I need to fold laundry and have a good long (ha!) night’s sleep.
Thanks to those who came today and big eHugs to those who couldn’t make it. We have a pretty amazing family!
Happy 7th to Lex
My baby turned seven today! Seven! You’ve come a long way baby! Recently I was telling him how lucky I was that he came along and made me a mom. I was a daughter, a sister, a wife, and a friend, but the day he was born I became a mother. A very fortunate mother, at that!
Now, seven years later, he is a strong, confident little boy. Succeeding in school, making friends, standing his ground, learning and teaching every single day. I am so proud of the person he is becoming. The son, the brother, the friend that he is.
We started our morning with a few presents and some pancakes. A good way to start any morning really.
A little something for the birthday boy. I like them to have a little something first thing in the morning. :)
This is an awesome bouncy ball that has glittery stuff in it and lights up when it bounces. Everyone was entranced with it!
He opened his presents very slowly and carefully. Eve wanted him to tear it off, but no.
Lex: I’m trying not to rip the paper.
Eve: Why?
Lex: Because you never know when you’re going to need a piece of wrapping paper.
Ha!
I got him this Lego man shirt! :) I also got him the ball and two books. One called Science Rocks that he seems to love. :)
Pancakes!
Then Lex was off to school with his cookies in hand (well, in box, then in hand). He was so excited! He told everyone on the way in that it was his birthday. Yesterday two of his classmates had birthdays so it has been a birthday week for his classroom. They all coordinated on the treats. Yesterday one kid brought cupcakes and the other brought ice cream, and today Lex brought cookies. When we walked in the whole class was bouncing and eager for a peek! :)
When I picked Lex up from school we had a conversation that cracked me up. It went something like this:
Me: Did everyone like the cookies?
Lex: Yes! Calvin wanted one with a mustache. (Calvin was very excited in the morning to see the mustached cookies.)
Me: Did he get one?
Lex: No.
Me: Why not? Is there a mustached one in the box? (we didn’t pack all of the cookies)
Lex: Yes, there are two. They are both still in the box.
Me: Why didn’t Calvin take one of them?
Lex: I handed them out. “You get what you get and you don’t get upset.” That’s what I told the kids.
Me: HAHAHA (Seriously. Right out loud in the school parking lot.)
Lex: What’s so funny?
Me: You knew he wanted a mustache one and you didn’t give it to him?
Lex: Well, it’s my birthday and I was handing them out and I said, “You get what you get and you don’t get upset.”
The kid is hysterical. He doesn’t at all understand why I think this is funny. I’m sure he just went around the room and handed each kid a cookie. I’m sure the process was much faster than having the kids all dig through the box to find the one they want. I’m sure it was his birthday and he was probably doing exactly what he was supposed to be doing. I still find it hysterical!
When we picked up Eve all of her classmates said Happy Birthday to Lex and we brought her teachers (his old pre-k teachers) some cookies too. I think the teacher likes him. They had talked about it being his birthday today so all the kids knew. :)
Then home to pick up Don and then off to visit Grandma. The visit was nice, but brief because the kids were wild and I was quickly overwhelmed.
Hugs with grandma. I couldn't get everyone looking in the same direction. Like I said, it was wild over there!
Our plan from there was to go to Panera Bread for dinner, but Lex decided he’d rather go home. I think maybe it had something to do with the fact that Eve had told him FedEx brought him a birthday present today. She really thought it was from FedEx. “How do they know that today is Lex’s birthday?!” she asked me. Kids are awesome.
So instead Alan and his dad went to pick up Panera Bread take-out and I took the kids home to open FedEx presents, which turned out to be an awesome Batman Lego set from Uncle B. Lex took the fastest shower ever and was right back in the living room ready and eager to build the Batmobile!
The Batmobile!
At dinner silly me thought it would be fun to put candles on his bagel, no singing, of course. The idea was a bust and left him in tears on the floor. Bad mommy! You’d think after all these years I’d learn! So we removed the candles and enjoyed our take out dinner. Then more Lego building, stories with Eve, cake decorating, and off to bed. It was a wild day. The first of several.
I now have two cakes decorated in the fridge. Lego party goody bags packed and ready to go. Party games prepped. Nothing left to do but clean! Blah! That will be tomorrow morning. I’m a last minute cleaner. No point doing it earlier because it just gets messy again anyway! :) A family party tomorrow. A friend party on Sunday. I think I’d better get some sleep now!
Happy Birthday Lex! You’ve come a long way!
Baby Lex
Big Lex
Seven years and off to school
I sent a seven year old to school today! He said “It’s my birthday today!” to everyone we saw on the way in to school. :)
Another tooth gone!
Lex lost another one today. At school this time. The top right (his right) lateral incisor. It was very wiggly for a few days and he says it fell right out of his mouth while he was walking down the hall. He said it surprised his friend. :) He came home with the tooth in a little blue treasure box, provided by the school nurse.
I just printed off a cute tooth chart from a cute site called Lemon Squeezy. Now I have to go back through the blog (some day, not today!) and write down when he lost the other… six? Seven, maybe? I’m loosing track. Good thing it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of life! :)
Take our picture
“Want to take a picture of us?” says Lex at the mall today. Oh yes, I do!
Lego cookies
I am getting so excited for Lex’s birthday party this year. I hope I manage to get all of my awesome ideas done before the big day… not likely!
Lex decided he wants to bring Lego head cookies to class this year, instead of cupcakes. With inspiration from much fancier bakers than myself, I got brave enough to give it a shot! This project included hand cutting rollout cookies!
I made a template out of a yogurt lid and hand cut the cookies.
Two done... many more to go!
I wish I could take the credit for this idea, but of course, I can not. Check out Sweet Sugar Belle for a great tutorial and much fancier photos.
Handing cutting 40 Lego heads and a tray full of squarish and rectangularish shapes took awhile, but it was worth it! They looked a little odd at first…
All baked, bare and ready for frosting! I could have measured those bricks and made them even and straight edged, but I did not.
These could be robot heads too! I'll have to save this template. :)
but once I started decorating them… so cute!
Decorated!
I was going to be all fancy and find a bunch of Lego faces to copy, but as usual I got lazy and just winged it! Lex helped me think of face ideas. Some came out better than others, but overall I LOVE them!
We used halved mini-marshmallows for the Lego "bumps" on the squares and rectangles. The kids cut them and put them on the cookies for me.
I'd like to say they ate the marshmallows for me too, but of course I ate my fair share as well! :)
These were super messy! In hindsight I should have skipped the marshmallows, flooded the cookies, then pressed on M&Ms in corresponding colors. That would have looked better and been MUCH easier. Oh well. Next time, right?
The icing actually settled well and they came out looking pretty good, if you just ignore all the extra icing hanging down the edges. :) I'm sure they will taste just fine!
Far from perfect, but Lex was thrilled and I think his fellow first graders will be equally happy with these.
I decided to wrap them individually. This made it easier to put them away (get them off my table before we ate them all!) and I think it will be easier for Lex to manage in school. We're sending in a few extras too, so he can deliver them to other teachers or staff if he wants.
All boxed up and ready to go! This makes me happy. :)
I was crafting a post in my head about “good enough” baking, instead of awesome baking like this, and this, and this. I used to have these blogs in my feed reader, but I had to remove them because I really don’t need a daily dose of adorably decorated sugar cookie inspiration. I really need some “get up and go” inspiration, not “break out the confectioner sugar” inspiration! I decided that “good enough” baking is good enough for me! As long as my “clients” are adorable children then I will better serve them with extra attention and “good enough” baking, instead of no attention and perfect baking!
Stay tuned for my awesome “good enough” cakes! One triple layer and one Lego cake. Bake on!
Chicks in class
I took Lex to school today for the first time in a week and a half. He and Alan have been biking to school and work lately. I miss taking him to school. On my way out I stopped to read the newsletter (darn broken technology makes it so I can’t read the e-version at home!) and I discovered that they are incubating baby chicken eggs in their classroom! And posting updates on Twitter! I was shocked! Lex hasn’t mentioned a thing about it to me. Of course I peppered him with questions when I picked him up this afternoon. Apparently the incubator is in the other classroom and the other teacher is doing the Twitter updates. He said they (the kids) have no done anything with Twitter. I thought it was a Farm/Technology unit all rolled up in one! Anyway, if you’re interested and on Twitter you can follow along with @chicksinfirst.
(Ok, I just checked their twitter feed again and apparently the kids ARE posting!)