This photo is a peace offering!
3
Jan 2011
I am hoping that you will look at this picture and forgive me for not posting for so long! I mean how can you be mad when you are looking at a picture of Rocky in his Christmas jammies? Impossible.
Let me just say that 2010 was a rough year for me. Not a bad year, but a rough year. I struggled trying to find balance in my life, adjusting to being a working Mom, having two kids, not going to school. It has been tough. I am starting 2011 with a list of resolutions and a fresh perspective. For the first time in a long time I feel like I can breath again. I feel my creativity starting to flow back. I am sad to say that I did not paint at all in 2010. I hardly wrote. Heymae took a brief sabbatical in 2010 but she is back with a vengeance in 2011.
I just finished my list on 101in365.com with a whole slew of things to accomplish in 2011. Only now I keep thinking of more things I want to do this year and I am tempted to start a second list! So far I have crossed off two things and I have quite a few in progress!
So far I have done a headstand (it took a few tries!) and got a facial from my future aesthetician sister Rachel. I also started on my journey to listen to 365 new songs in 2011. So far I have listened to two:
“It looks like love” by Josh Rouse (*** 1/2)
“Hoppipolla” by Sigur Ros (** 1/2)
The *’s are my ratings for each song (out of 5 *s). You can listen to these songs and some other great songs here: 25 top Indie Songs of 2010
Here is to fresh starts!
Posted in The Kitchen Sink
Spoiler Alert: Hands, Foot and Mouth Disease.
11
Nov 2010
We are not having the best week. Poor Mr. Rocky spent his whole birthday party crying. He was absolutely miserable and we could not figure out why. He continued to be miserable for the next couple days, which was really out of character for our happy, silly baby. Well, on Tuesday I got a call from Rachel after she picked him up from Daycare. His hands and feet had all of these little blister like bumps. A quick doctors appointment confirmed that he has Hands, Foot and Mouth disease. No fun. Luckily it is not too bad, he is just a grumpy, bumpy guy. I have been home with him the last couple days and let me tell you, it is exhausting! Work is going to see like a vacation after this. He is so mad and apparently thinks that he turned 2 on his birthday because he has started throwing little tantrums like you would not believe! Arching his back and rolling around on the ground! I thought we still had a while before this would start! I guess Rocky is just advanced! Lucky us!
So, I apologize for the lack of updates. Hopefully we will be back to our regularly scheduled lives soon!
PS-Only 12 days until our Disneyland trip!! YAY!!
Posted in The Kitchen Sink
Rocky is One!!!
4
Nov 2010
I cannot believe it. Somehow through all the craziness of the past year Rocky decided to become a little toddler. He is a walking, talking (well, trying..), little crazy man who has added so much craziness and joy to our lives. There is no doubt in my mind that he was meant to be a part of our family. When I would lay awake at night and think about having another child, Rocky is exactly what I pictured. He is everything I wanted for Zane, and he adds so much to our little family. He is also, however, a party pooper and fell asleep at 5:30pm on his own birthday. Luckily, we are really celebrating on Saturday with a little party at a local park. I will save some sappiness for that post, but I will leave you with 10 things I love about Rocky!
1. He has the sweetest little grin that shows all 8 of his teeth!
2. He gives kisses now (although they are open mouth kisses…).
3. He mimics us and says “uh oh!”
4. When he has something that he is not supposed to and we catch him he tries to run away as fast as he can! (I am sure this one wont be funny much longer)
5. His sweet, wispy baby hair.
6. If you lay his blanket on the floor he will curl up into a ball on top of it and just lay there, just for a moment…
7. When he wants us to hold him he will walk with arms straight out like a little baby zombie.
8. He is our little explorer! He is always traveling around touching and playing with everything!
9. He is scared of the vacuum, and we fight over who gets to snuggle with him while the other person vacuums.
10. He is such a little talker! Sometimes you swear he is responding perfectly to the questions you ask him!
We love you Rocky and cannot imagine how we ever survived without you!
Posted in The Kitchen Sink
Wii Family Game Night
3
Nov 2010
Our lives have been crazy busy lately. Between Gymnastics, Cross Fit, Homework, Errands…There alway seems to be more to do then time in the day. Tuesday was a rare day for us, we were all home, house was straightened and we were all looking forward to a little quality family time. A couple weeks ago I realized that we are not going to be able to go bowling as a family for at least the next 3 years. That is a conservative estimate. Have you ever taken a one or two year old to the bowling alley? Of course not, that is because you would not be here to tell about it if you had.
Since bowling alleys are off limits for us for a while we decided to have a little Wii Bowling Family Competition. First up was Ian. Ian pretends to hate it when I take his picture.
I take my bowling very seriously. Fun fact – everytime I posed for a picture I got a strike. Until I realized that, then it stopped happening.
Rachel had an unfair advantage. Evidenced here.
Nobody has ever lost a Wii Bowling Family Competition while wearing a 4-H sweatshirt. It is unheard of.
Zane loves Wii Bowling, however, he does not like it when other people get strikes.
In fact he really does not like it. So much that he tries to go when its other peoples turns to make them lose. Then he gets in trouble and cries.
It does not last long though and soon he was back in high spirits and bowling like a PRO.
He has excellent form.
Family game night is really important for us. We try and make it a weekly thing, and even though it does not always happen, we all really look forward to it. It is really good for Zane as well. I don’t know if you could tell, but he is not the best loser. I wonder where he gets it?
Tags: bowling, ian, rachel, wii, zane
Posted in The Kitchen Sink
My November Mantra
2
Nov 2010
I am all about positive thinking and a fresh perspective this month! It may help that November is full of some exciting things! Of course there is Rocky’s birthday this week, and in three weeks we are heading to Disneyland for the entire week of Thanksgiving! I could not be more excited! It is our first solo family vacation, just the four of us! I am very much looking forward to some good ole family bonding! I even booked us Thanksgiving dinner at the Disneyland Hotel with all of the characters! Yay!
Also, let’s keep my new found mantra in mind when talking about politics people! I am overhearing and seeing a lot of negativity this year and it really gets me down! The most important thing we need right now is hope and a united country. Let’s focus on the positive of each candidate without putting the opposing candidate down. Vote for the candidate that you think will have the most positive impact on the country. Tearing people down because they are voting differently than you is getting us nowhere. I know negativity has been a big part of politics forever, but it does not have to be that way! If we, the people, choose to ignore negativity in campaigns perhaps they will become obsolete. I always tell Zane that it is okay to talk about how good you are at something as long as you do not put someone else down in the process. That is exactly what I would love to see from our candidates!
Posted in The Kitchen Sink
Paleo, Cross Fit and Competition!
1
Nov 2010
About a month ago Ian and I signed up to be a part of a Cross Fit competition at our work. Cross Fit is a group personal training class that uses weight lifting, strength conditioning and sprinting. Three days every week we go to an abandoned warehouse just outside of town and grunt, sweat and swear a lot. It is like being in a fight club, only less blood. We leave exhausted, drenched and smiling. I love it.
On the first day we did three sets of this very tough workout while they timed us. They also took our weight, measurements and pictures. This Thursday they are going to time us doing the same workout again to see how much we have improved. The trainers are going to use that and our new weights and measurements to determine who has had the most success. The winner gets three months of free classes, which equals out to quite a bit of money. Honestly, the competition is not that important to me. I really enjoy the classes and plan to continue whether I win or not. The hardest part is finding the time to go. I suffer from extreme mommy guilt and I feel horrible about anything that requires me to be away from the kids in the evenings. I keep having to remind myself that making time for my health is important. The extra energy I have gained definitely helps me feel better.
Our new gym is all about the Paleo diet. The simplest way I can describe Paleo is that if the cavemen did not eat it, neither do we. It is all about Meat, Nuts, Fruits and Veggies. When I started it I thought it was absolutely ridiculous. It seemed crazy to think I would never eat bread. We started simple, just Paleo breakfasts and snacks. I cannot even begin to describe the difference I immediately felt. I have so much more energy in the mornings! I usually have eggs, sausage and a small amount of fruit. Snacks are mixed nuts or a small salad, sometimes a bowl of veggies. Eventually I started adding in lunches and today was my first day of Full Paleo! Now, I am not saying that I am never going to eat dessert or a piece of bread, but it is hard for me to ignore how amazing I feel without both! Also, it is crazy how much time I used to spend thinking about food! Not to mention all the money eating out!
If you have never tried personal training or a small group class before I highly recommend it. I worked out on my own for months training for a triathlon and I did not see nearly the results I have seen in 4 weeks with a trainer. There is something about the way they hold you accountable and push you to try things that you would have never thought you could do! I promise, I will write all about Zane and Rocky in the next blog, but I just had to share something that I have found so beneficial.
PS-3 days until Rocky turns 1!! Ahhh!!
Tags: Cross Fit, Paleo
Posted in The Kitchen Sink
Boo!
31
Oct 2010
First things first…
Go Giants!!! WooHoo!! (Pardon Rocky’s dirty shirt…he is not the cleanest eater!)
Okay, Happy Halloween! Zane looks forward to Halloween all year, and this year he decided to branch out in his costume choice. He has been a cartoon character or superhero just about every year since he was born, and this year he decided he wanted to go scarier. He surprised us all by deciding to be a vampire! (We later found out his best friend was also going to be a vampire, so it wasn’t the most original idea, but oh well…). The greatest thing about the costume was how easy and cheap it was! I think the whole costume was $12.
Don’t tell Zane but he is probably the cutest little vampire ever! Big brown eyes and sweet little smiles do not instill fear in many people.
Zane and Carys had a fun time trick or treating together downtown. They told me that if anyone asked if they were brother and sister they were just going to say yes. They just wanted me to be aware.
Then there was Rocky.
Rocky was not the biggest fan of Halloween, these are the only 2 pictures I have of him where he is not sitting in his stroller. He prefers to watch from the sidelines. He was the sweetest, most snuggly little elephant ever!
We made our three usual stops. First, Trick or Treat Street downtown. We went right at 2pm when it started and I am so glad! By 3pm it was so crowded we could barely walk and we were out of there! Rocky decided to stick at home for that one, and Rachel was nice enough to let us take Zane and Carys while she hung out with Rocky while he napped. Then it was back home to drop off Carys and grab Rocky and Ray and head to the Mall. It is much less stressful than downtown. You basically just walk in a circle around the mall and there is much more room for strollers. Rocky just hung out while Zane loaded up on the treats. After that we grabbed a quick bite before heading out for the real door to door trick or treating. Zane is a funny trick or treater. He is a pretty cautious kid who is generally afraid of strangers so walking up to people’s houses and talking to them is not his most favorite thing. Plus, he hates dogs and things that jump out at him, so if a house has either of those things he will yell out SKIP! and just keep on walking right past it. We trick or treated for just over an hour and he was content. I think the only thing Zane really likes about Halloween is dressing up. He is even always giving away his candy!
I would just like to interject her and point out that I have not had a single piece of Halloween candy, or even a treat at all for that matter, since October 9th. Ian and I are right in the middle of a Cross Fit competition at work (more on that later) and we have been trying to stick to a mostly Paleo diet. This basically means that if cavemen didn’t eat it, neither do we. We have not been perfect at it, but we are light years away from where we are a month ago and I have never felt better. If you know me at all, you know that me not eating candy is highly out of character. I once ate a snickers bar for breakfast for an entire month in high school and have spent countless hours trying to come up with new combinations of Jelly Belly flavors. To say that Zane’s halloween candy smelled divine is an understatement. But, I held strong.
When we got home Zane did what every kid does – organize his candy. This is always a very complicated process that involves creating unique categories for some of the more “special” candy that he received. One house gave him peanuts, in the shell, not wrapped. Zane decided the only group they belonged in was the group of garbage in the trash. Then he had 20 minutes to eat as much candy as he could, and then 4 minutes of teeth brushing before he was off to bed. He has been in there for 5 minutes and is already asleep. Here’s to a very fun, stress free day!
Tags: Cross Fit, halloween, Paleo, rocky, zane
Posted in The Kitchen Sink
I’m baaaaacccckkkkk!
30
Oct 2010
Yay!! My laptop has been out of commission for a while and it just finally started working again!! Fingers crossed it stays that way!! The only other computer I use is my work laptop-and it does not lend itself to blog writing.
This is a very exciting week for us! Rocky is turning 1! I cannot believe it! When I look back at our lives a year ago I do not even recognize them. The past year has been full of so much change, some very good, some very stressful, but it all brought us here and for that I am glad. When I look back at all this change, so much of it was due to little Rocky entering our lives. He has disrupted all of our lives in the best possible way. He has really brought our family together from a little threesome to a family unit. I have much more to say on that subject, but for now I will just say he is the silliest, most wonderful, sweetest little monster ever, and he looks very cute in pajamas!
Posted in The Kitchen Sink
Family Bowling
16
May 2010
We hit the lanes for some Family Bowling time, and while I got not a single usable picture of anyone bowling, I did manage to get one picture of each of us to prove the amount of fun we were having!
Posted in The Kitchen Sink
Zane’s Field Trip
16
May 2010
Zane had a field trip last week to Safeway! His class has been learning about Healthy eating and also about Communities. His teacher, Mrs. Callahan decided to incorporate them both with a walking field trip to the community grocery store. Rachel, Rocky and I decided to make the trek along with the class! Rachel was very excited for this, as you can see by this picture:
On the way to the grocery store the class kept track of all the different things they have in their community such as houses, apartments, duplexes, etc.
Once we made it to Safeway the kids got a tour off all the different departments, and got to taste things along the way. We were there over an hour and Rocky found this exhausting.
Zane’s favorite part was seeing the butcher shop because they gave him a sticker that said “Good for BBQ”.
Okay, it wasn’t really his favorite part, but I wanted an excuse to post that super cute picture. Zane’s real favorite part was at the end when the all got a cookie, raisons and water bottle and got to eat them outside.
Zane and one of his best buds Andy.
One of the neatest things about the field trip for me was talking with all of the other parents. Almost all of them came up to me at some point to tell me how much their child loved Zane and how they always talked about how Awesome he is. I must say, I agree. He is a super Awesome kid and I am so glad I get to be his Mom.
Posted in The Kitchen Sink
Rocky is 6 Months Old Today!!
4
May 2010
Can you believe it?! My little precious baby is getting so big, so fast! Rocky is the sweetest, happiest little baby ever! All you have to do is look at him and he will give you the biggest grin! He loves his brother, his bouncy saucer, sweet potatoes, chewing on stuff and crawling! Today he pulled himself up in his crib for the first time! He is such an independent baby! He loves holding his own bottle and does not like snuggling, no matter how hard we try! He loves crawling over obstacles, and any kind of challenge we give him, he keeps working until he succeeds! When he eats, he likes to try and feed himself!
We are so completely over the moon for him! We are so blessed to have him in our family, and cannot imagine life without him! We love you so much Rocky!
Posted in The Kitchen Sink
In case you were wondering…
4
May 2010
In case you were wondering what has been taking up all of my time and keeping me from updating this blog, here are a couple pictures to give you an idea:
These Guys!
I have had a touch of Mommy guilt lately since I have been having to work a lot, so every second of my free time has been filled with Family time, snuggles, games, and lots of kisses!! There has been so much good stuff going on for us lately! Ian and I both LOVE our jobs, Zane is doing great at school and gymnastics, and Rocky is the happiest little baby you have ever met! Our life is very stress free right now, and after the crazy last year we have had we are really enjoying it!
There have been lots of little events, but I am going to give them each their own post! In short, Life is Good.
Posted in The Kitchen Sink
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