random little girl: "don't you have any brothers?"
A: "yes, I have one brother. He is Jesus Christ."
girl: "no I meant real brothers."
A: "...he is my real brother. You're silly."
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
quotes this month. (from E)
"I want to dance and twirl. like a mango."
"...please bess Grammy foot get better. and Grammy walk again. and foot hurt not broken anymore. and can wear shoes again. and bess Grandma head get better. and she gives me hugs...."
"this little piggy...had candy. this little piggy....had candy. this little piggy had...candy. this little piggy....had candy. and this little piggy...had CANDY!"
"look at my chocolate muffin. It so beautiful. Look at the rocks in it. it my favorite part." (aka chocolate chips)
"please bless daddy at boy scout camping. and he not fall down. and not catch on fire."
"Grammy! you left the silly switch on! I have to fix it!"
she whispers quietly, holding her hand up, palm facing me, fingers spread wide, "momma, I shrinking you!" me: "shh. go back to sleep."
me: "are you beautiful? her: "yup."
"momma, I will be your happy."
Me: "hey you need to come clean this up."
Evie: "I can't!"
Me: "why not?"
Evie: "because I don't want to."
"...please bess Grammy foot get better. and Grammy walk again. and foot hurt not broken anymore. and can wear shoes again. and bess Grandma head get better. and she gives me hugs...."
"this little piggy...had candy. this little piggy....had candy. this little piggy had...candy. this little piggy....had candy. and this little piggy...had CANDY!"
"look at my chocolate muffin. It so beautiful. Look at the rocks in it. it my favorite part." (aka chocolate chips)
"please bless daddy at boy scout camping. and he not fall down. and not catch on fire."
"Grammy! you left the silly switch on! I have to fix it!"
she whispers quietly, holding her hand up, palm facing me, fingers spread wide, "momma, I shrinking you!" me: "shh. go back to sleep."
me: "are you beautiful? her: "yup."
"momma, I will be your happy."
Me: "hey you need to come clean this up."
Evie: "I can't!"
Me: "why not?"
Evie: "because I don't want to."
Sunday, July 13, 2014
summer!
In the month on June, the girls took a once a week art class from a girl in the neighborhood. Nothing fancy, more of a playgroup with a daily art project. They loved it and had a great time. Once week, they made and painted clay animals. Another day they painted on canvas, etc. It was a blast. During their class, E and I would run errands, cuddle and play, just the two of us. (She gets ridiculously cuter every day. She is my cuddle bug and I can't get enough of those sweet little kisses and squeeze-you-tight hugs!)
Husband set a new record for travel in one month. But we did manage an occasional delightful date night including a sushi class. The instructor was hilarious, the food was really good and we weren't too bad at it! It was a great date.
My mom had surgery on her foot. This has come after several weeks already of getting around on a scooter since she couldn't put any weight on it. So once the school year ended and her schedule became more flexible, she ended up having surgery to repair some pretty involved damage. Since her doc is actually my doc, she ended up staying with me, rather than commuting the 2 hours distance. That way I could help take care of her and she could keep me company. Aside from the surgery and pain stuff, we had a great time. We spent a lot of time scrap booking, watching chick flicks, playing with the girls and lounging around. I took care of meals and chauffeur services while the girls became pros at refilling our water bottles, fetching snacks and cuddling. I LOVE having my mom around and we have such a blast together. The girls favorite part was when Grammy moved from the initial boot into a plaster cast. She let them draw all over it and then we wrapped it in Mickey Mouse duct tape to make the coolest cast ever.
My other momma, :), is also recovering well. Once she was past the complications and infection from the surgery, her recovery has been amazing. She's doing really well and has even been through a round of radial surgery. The road isn't over yet but things are going as well as can be hoped now. I wasn't much help through her experience, especially with the noise and chaos that comes with three kids, but fortunately her daughter was living at home and able to help her. Now with mom in recovery, she has accepted a position and moved back east to work as a lawyer for USAID in Washington DC. congrats! Husband helped get her packed, loaded and joined a family road trip to get her moved and settled. meanwhile, mom is on the mend and hopefully will have good news soon.
The girls also spent some time this month at swim lessons. It was E's first time and she loved it. She's a little fish and had a great time. L and A would go first in a group lesson while E and I played. and then E had a private lesson while the big girls did "homework"--pages out of workbooks I've collected. Most impressive for the big girls was mastering the ability to float on their backs. That is something that they struggled with more than swimming strokes or even diving and the waterslide and I was proud of them for working at it.
The big girls also had a week of dance camp. L's was "Jump Start", with a variety of instruction in jazz, ballet, hip hop and tap. A's was "Snow Queen" camp and included dance as well as crafts and storytime. At the end of the week, they had a short assembly to preform the dances they had learned.
Something new and really exciting happened in June for me as well. I got the opportunity to train as a GroupPower instructor. It's the sister program to GroupKick, which I have been teaching for almost two years already. Kick is a cardio class whereas Power is the resistance class, or weight lifting. I LOVE this class and was thrilled when my boss invited me to train and certify. I attended a 3 day training with another instructor from my gym, driving out to CO and joining another gym's training. The training session is very intense, we spent 10 hour days either working out, perfecting our form or in lecture on theory and branding and management. Then we went home with homework each night. Our trainer was fantastic and I had a ton of fun getting to know this co worker better. Now we have a few weeks to practice and begin teaching before we do our final assessments and receive our certification. This program is incredible and my boss and I agree that while I love to teach GroupKick, this program is a better fit for me. It comes more naturally and I want to focus more on it instead. I taught my first class already, getting to join the launch team and it was fantastic! I felt good about my delivery, the class was packed and it went really well.
Grandma's side of the family had a family reunion, everyone gathering at a park for bbq and we had a blast. The kids went nuts playing together and running around the park while the adults mostly lounged around to talk. I love hanging out with my cousins!
We've had some great playdates. In particular, since L is in the dual immersion Spanish program, some of the moms have started taking turns hosting a Spanish movie playdate. We also met some friends for a day at the zoo. E's face lights up over everything (especially the train), L's highlight was a proud peacock and A's favorite was the new splashpad where she immediately laid down on the jets to get completely soaked. We've also discovered and begun attending summer playdates at the Disney store, enjoying the various activities they offer. So far, we've been to a DocMcStuffins trivia game and Winnie the Pooh storytime. The girls love the activity, love the video clips and coloring pages and especially love exploring the store. L usually makes a beeline for the dresses, A flits from various books and toys and clothes, and E races around gathering up as many stuffed animals as she can hold.
I also put another Ragnar medal on my wall. My crazy cousin/running buddy and I jumped onto a team last minute and had a great time. Thursday night before the race, we met the team at the pre-race party for pre-registration. But the storm hit early, soaking everyone and everything and shut the party down. I had my kids with me too so it was a very wet, chaotic mess. We waded through the rain, got some dinner, a large amount of delicious fudge and ran a few errands. I took the girls to my sister's house and spent the night there to settle them in. The next morning, the team picked me up and we were off. Our van included myself and the crazy cousin, 2 friends from ID, one of their husbands as our driver and 2 other runners that had joined the team. We had a great time together, laughing and bonding as all Ragnarians do. One of the girls turned out to be completely crazy and full of drama, but other than that, it was a great race. We quickly fell way behind our anticipated schedule but enjoyed it anyway. My first race leg was around the top of a ski resort and was a crazy fun dash up and down the mountain. My second run was so far behind schedule that I didn't really get a night run, it was almost full daylight again when I did my longest run, mostly uphill. And my last run was a short but very steep run up and down a hill again before I got to bring the team in across the finish line. My overall mileage was only 14 miles but the amount of incline was killer. It was fun to run into friends and past teammates along the route. Since the Wasatch Back route runs right past my house, we got to stop there for breakfast, showers and a nap during one of our breaks. I love being able to do that! My next Ragnar will be Napa Valley in September! I was planning to run another half marathon before then but haven't been able to fit it in yet.
Then began the streak of cousin playdates. I set a personal childcare record in which I had my 3 kids, my sister's 5 kids and another sister's 2 kids for a day. My mom came along to hold down the fort as much as she could from her scooter and despite what she says, it was a huge help. We played at Jungle Jim's, enjoying the rides and arcades before taking them to dinner and then home again for treats and a movie.
Soon after that, we celebrated the 4th of July with family. We joined them for a huge city fireworks show on the 3rd. There was a rather long and disjointed program as part of it, mostly of which was fun though, especially for the kids who ignored the program and just played with cousins. They devoured snacks and loved the little coloring kits I brought to keep them busy. But their favorite was the beach balls that bounced around the crowd, visiting us often.
On the 4th, we stayed my my mom's house, joined by cousins and we had a perfect traditional 4th with a water toys, swimming, a backyard bbq and driveway fireworks. The girls and I made our 4th of July flag treat with strawberries, blueberries and donut holes among the other tasty food and treats we had. Then after all the kids were in bed, I got to have my nerdy moment and share a favorite video about the Declaration of Independence video. My dad in particular, shares my love for history and I love getting to talk with him and share thoughts.
We babysat cousins and helped Grammy with some projects at her house. Then we returned to our house, bringing a different set of cousins to stay for a few days. with 7 kids under age 7, it was chaos but overall fun. We played dress ups, did crafts, played in the water, took a picnic to the park, and more. I think the kids' favorite was getting sno-cones.
After those cousins went home, we got to play with cousins from husband's side of the family! (my kids were so thrilled! they are in heaven with so much cousin time!) They had come to visit so we met them for some playtime and spent a few days together. They play really well together and were happy to just dive into toys or race around around the park together.
We finished off that very busy week with an awesome finale. Two cousins (different families) celebrated birthdays in the same day. So we met at a park to play and have lunch before devouring a very delicious cake and then headed over to an amazing pool complex to go swimming at the other birthday girl's request. The pool was incredible but outnumbered by my kids in such a large and fascinating new venue proved to be rough and we struggled a little by the end. A's favorite was the outdoor waterslide (which was actually a bounce house), E's favorite was the very tall twisty waterslide (which she had to do on my lap) and L simply delighted in chasing and following cousins around.
That night we raced home as husband had surprised me by planning another date night, trying to sneak in a little much needed alone time in the crazy travel streak he's had. We dropped the kids off to a friend and then had a leisurely dinner at a new Italian restaurant in town. But my favorite part was getting a large gelato to share and wandering down main street. I love this incredible, wonderful man. He even surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of pink flowers after a rough day last week and then two days later, surprised me with a vase full of wildflowers he collected at the scout camp where he had been working. He's been mostly gone lately but checks in nearly every night to listen to the girls' "happy and sads" during our bedtime routine.
This week will be busy too but hopefully productive. I get to teach some extra classes at the gym this week, since it's a launch week plus subbing for some on vacation. We're planning some playdates with friends, including a trip to the aquarium and will hopefully get caught up on some projects around the house. Today's accomplishment: conquering the mountain of laundry!
Husband set a new record for travel in one month. But we did manage an occasional delightful date night including a sushi class. The instructor was hilarious, the food was really good and we weren't too bad at it! It was a great date.
My mom had surgery on her foot. This has come after several weeks already of getting around on a scooter since she couldn't put any weight on it. So once the school year ended and her schedule became more flexible, she ended up having surgery to repair some pretty involved damage. Since her doc is actually my doc, she ended up staying with me, rather than commuting the 2 hours distance. That way I could help take care of her and she could keep me company. Aside from the surgery and pain stuff, we had a great time. We spent a lot of time scrap booking, watching chick flicks, playing with the girls and lounging around. I took care of meals and chauffeur services while the girls became pros at refilling our water bottles, fetching snacks and cuddling. I LOVE having my mom around and we have such a blast together. The girls favorite part was when Grammy moved from the initial boot into a plaster cast. She let them draw all over it and then we wrapped it in Mickey Mouse duct tape to make the coolest cast ever.
My other momma, :), is also recovering well. Once she was past the complications and infection from the surgery, her recovery has been amazing. She's doing really well and has even been through a round of radial surgery. The road isn't over yet but things are going as well as can be hoped now. I wasn't much help through her experience, especially with the noise and chaos that comes with three kids, but fortunately her daughter was living at home and able to help her. Now with mom in recovery, she has accepted a position and moved back east to work as a lawyer for USAID in Washington DC. congrats! Husband helped get her packed, loaded and joined a family road trip to get her moved and settled. meanwhile, mom is on the mend and hopefully will have good news soon.
The girls also spent some time this month at swim lessons. It was E's first time and she loved it. She's a little fish and had a great time. L and A would go first in a group lesson while E and I played. and then E had a private lesson while the big girls did "homework"--pages out of workbooks I've collected. Most impressive for the big girls was mastering the ability to float on their backs. That is something that they struggled with more than swimming strokes or even diving and the waterslide and I was proud of them for working at it.
The big girls also had a week of dance camp. L's was "Jump Start", with a variety of instruction in jazz, ballet, hip hop and tap. A's was "Snow Queen" camp and included dance as well as crafts and storytime. At the end of the week, they had a short assembly to preform the dances they had learned.
Something new and really exciting happened in June for me as well. I got the opportunity to train as a GroupPower instructor. It's the sister program to GroupKick, which I have been teaching for almost two years already. Kick is a cardio class whereas Power is the resistance class, or weight lifting. I LOVE this class and was thrilled when my boss invited me to train and certify. I attended a 3 day training with another instructor from my gym, driving out to CO and joining another gym's training. The training session is very intense, we spent 10 hour days either working out, perfecting our form or in lecture on theory and branding and management. Then we went home with homework each night. Our trainer was fantastic and I had a ton of fun getting to know this co worker better. Now we have a few weeks to practice and begin teaching before we do our final assessments and receive our certification. This program is incredible and my boss and I agree that while I love to teach GroupKick, this program is a better fit for me. It comes more naturally and I want to focus more on it instead. I taught my first class already, getting to join the launch team and it was fantastic! I felt good about my delivery, the class was packed and it went really well.
Grandma's side of the family had a family reunion, everyone gathering at a park for bbq and we had a blast. The kids went nuts playing together and running around the park while the adults mostly lounged around to talk. I love hanging out with my cousins!
We've had some great playdates. In particular, since L is in the dual immersion Spanish program, some of the moms have started taking turns hosting a Spanish movie playdate. We also met some friends for a day at the zoo. E's face lights up over everything (especially the train), L's highlight was a proud peacock and A's favorite was the new splashpad where she immediately laid down on the jets to get completely soaked. We've also discovered and begun attending summer playdates at the Disney store, enjoying the various activities they offer. So far, we've been to a DocMcStuffins trivia game and Winnie the Pooh storytime. The girls love the activity, love the video clips and coloring pages and especially love exploring the store. L usually makes a beeline for the dresses, A flits from various books and toys and clothes, and E races around gathering up as many stuffed animals as she can hold.
I also put another Ragnar medal on my wall. My crazy cousin/running buddy and I jumped onto a team last minute and had a great time. Thursday night before the race, we met the team at the pre-race party for pre-registration. But the storm hit early, soaking everyone and everything and shut the party down. I had my kids with me too so it was a very wet, chaotic mess. We waded through the rain, got some dinner, a large amount of delicious fudge and ran a few errands. I took the girls to my sister's house and spent the night there to settle them in. The next morning, the team picked me up and we were off. Our van included myself and the crazy cousin, 2 friends from ID, one of their husbands as our driver and 2 other runners that had joined the team. We had a great time together, laughing and bonding as all Ragnarians do. One of the girls turned out to be completely crazy and full of drama, but other than that, it was a great race. We quickly fell way behind our anticipated schedule but enjoyed it anyway. My first race leg was around the top of a ski resort and was a crazy fun dash up and down the mountain. My second run was so far behind schedule that I didn't really get a night run, it was almost full daylight again when I did my longest run, mostly uphill. And my last run was a short but very steep run up and down a hill again before I got to bring the team in across the finish line. My overall mileage was only 14 miles but the amount of incline was killer. It was fun to run into friends and past teammates along the route. Since the Wasatch Back route runs right past my house, we got to stop there for breakfast, showers and a nap during one of our breaks. I love being able to do that! My next Ragnar will be Napa Valley in September! I was planning to run another half marathon before then but haven't been able to fit it in yet.
Then began the streak of cousin playdates. I set a personal childcare record in which I had my 3 kids, my sister's 5 kids and another sister's 2 kids for a day. My mom came along to hold down the fort as much as she could from her scooter and despite what she says, it was a huge help. We played at Jungle Jim's, enjoying the rides and arcades before taking them to dinner and then home again for treats and a movie.
Soon after that, we celebrated the 4th of July with family. We joined them for a huge city fireworks show on the 3rd. There was a rather long and disjointed program as part of it, mostly of which was fun though, especially for the kids who ignored the program and just played with cousins. They devoured snacks and loved the little coloring kits I brought to keep them busy. But their favorite was the beach balls that bounced around the crowd, visiting us often.
On the 4th, we stayed my my mom's house, joined by cousins and we had a perfect traditional 4th with a water toys, swimming, a backyard bbq and driveway fireworks. The girls and I made our 4th of July flag treat with strawberries, blueberries and donut holes among the other tasty food and treats we had. Then after all the kids were in bed, I got to have my nerdy moment and share a favorite video about the Declaration of Independence video. My dad in particular, shares my love for history and I love getting to talk with him and share thoughts.
We babysat cousins and helped Grammy with some projects at her house. Then we returned to our house, bringing a different set of cousins to stay for a few days. with 7 kids under age 7, it was chaos but overall fun. We played dress ups, did crafts, played in the water, took a picnic to the park, and more. I think the kids' favorite was getting sno-cones.
After those cousins went home, we got to play with cousins from husband's side of the family! (my kids were so thrilled! they are in heaven with so much cousin time!) They had come to visit so we met them for some playtime and spent a few days together. They play really well together and were happy to just dive into toys or race around around the park together.
We finished off that very busy week with an awesome finale. Two cousins (different families) celebrated birthdays in the same day. So we met at a park to play and have lunch before devouring a very delicious cake and then headed over to an amazing pool complex to go swimming at the other birthday girl's request. The pool was incredible but outnumbered by my kids in such a large and fascinating new venue proved to be rough and we struggled a little by the end. A's favorite was the outdoor waterslide (which was actually a bounce house), E's favorite was the very tall twisty waterslide (which she had to do on my lap) and L simply delighted in chasing and following cousins around.
That night we raced home as husband had surprised me by planning another date night, trying to sneak in a little much needed alone time in the crazy travel streak he's had. We dropped the kids off to a friend and then had a leisurely dinner at a new Italian restaurant in town. But my favorite part was getting a large gelato to share and wandering down main street. I love this incredible, wonderful man. He even surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of pink flowers after a rough day last week and then two days later, surprised me with a vase full of wildflowers he collected at the scout camp where he had been working. He's been mostly gone lately but checks in nearly every night to listen to the girls' "happy and sads" during our bedtime routine.
This week will be busy too but hopefully productive. I get to teach some extra classes at the gym this week, since it's a launch week plus subbing for some on vacation. We're planning some playdates with friends, including a trip to the aquarium and will hopefully get caught up on some projects around the house. Today's accomplishment: conquering the mountain of laundry!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)