Things to Remember

These notes below are from over the past 4 months or so. I don't really know how it happened, but life is busier than when the kids were smaller. Work is busier with more responsibility. Overall, I'm really happy with life in this moment. I am sad to see Max pass 2, which will happen soon, but the flip side are so many benefits. Max has entered the terrible 2 stage I believe. I don't quite remember this hitting with Maggie until she was 3 (and with girls it seems it's about being more emotional), but we are getting a lot of stubborn-ness, No's!, and generally not wanting to do something when asked. We had to pass on the dentist appointment this fall, haircuts are a little bit of a struggle right now, and when he says he wants something to eat it's usually the opposite (after serving him). But however it is, I love my kids so much and am enjoying it all. I spent a two week winter break with them from the beach to the redwoods to the Sierra snow and it was magical. My goal for that time was to get outside every day and just be active and we accomplished it.

I feel very lucky for my family and my friends. I have good wishes for 2015 and last week was one of lots of bad/sad news so I'm hoping that's it for a good while. I've said goodbye to my word of 2014...expand...and am coming up with this year's word as I write this. Happy New Year!

Seen and Heard (Fall 2014-present)

Shopping at Target with Max in the ergo, which he is probably too big for now but I use it in those rare circumstances like this where I ended up at Target with him sleeping and I needed to do some shopping. I transferred him from car seat to the ergo on my back and he slept for awhile but then woke up in the middle of my shopping and I quickly realized that he got a bloody nose while sleeping and it was all over his face and my back. I tried to calm him and also hide him a little because the blood looked a little scary but we quickly made it to the family bathroom to clean up. Shopping and doing errands is always an adventure with little ones.

It took about one month exactly for Maggie to not cling to me upon entering her classroom and to do it with a smile! Club M (before and after school care) is taking a little longer, especially in the mornings, but overall, it's going well. I've definitely had a few mornings where I walk away doubting all the decisions I've made to get to this point. It happened last week but I knew driving away that within an hour or two that the feelings would dissipate, Maggie would end up having a good day, and that all was well.

Max, as he is learning numbers, he often says this combination: 2-1-5. It's really cute. He is also starting to sing the alphabet. Maggie is a proud sister watching him learn these things. I love that I can look at her when he is doing something cute and she has that same recognition in her face.

Over the course of 24 hours, Max told me he wanted to be a firefighter, go fishing, take his bike camping, and talk to Daddy on the phone. It's becoming easier to have these conversations with him and hear what he wants and it's funny when he doesn't get what he wants. He has a serious pout-y face, often wants to throw something in that moment to express himself, and crosses his arms and makes a show of it. Then, within a minute, he's back to himself, either having been distracted, or just over it, laughing and my cute little 2-year old boy. He also comes back to say "I'm sorry Mommy" and he always means it. This is an improvement from 6 months ago. He will say it to Maggie too and they kiss and hug often after a spat.

Max still smells like diapers and I am going to hate when that smell is gone. I know the end is near so it's a little bit sad!

Maggie is not without pen and paper, or scissors, or stapler...little mounds of paper are being created all throughout the house. She is reading a lot, sounding out words, picking up books and reading on her own, and she gets pretty upset if there isn't much time left at night for stories. I look at my 5-year old thinking how far she has come from baby to kindergartner, on her own during the day, and how grown up she is compared to little Maxie but then I see how young she is in other ways and that she is only 5 and I'm so thankful for that.

Long story short, Maggie was sitting next to her good friend Jameson at his brother's birthday party during an outdoor movie and lucky us!, we witnessed her lean over and kiss him fondly on the cheek. I admit it freaked me out just a little bit but it was so cute in the end and not something we made a big deal of.

Maggie saying about her cup and straw from the backseat of the car: "Come on straw, work with me!"

A note sent to me by Maggie's kindergarten teacher: "Maggie said the cutest thing today. The presenter from the Maidu Center was showing the kids an abalone shell. He said "Does anyone know what this is?" Maggie put her hand up and said "It's bologna." Too cute.""

Seen and Heard

Seen and Heard: I cleaned house after Christmas and with a need to purge some things, we also went to our children's consignment store nearby to sell and buy. Maggie is really blossoming into such an independent little girl. It just keeps building upon itself and that is a really exciting thing to watch as a parent. She is an amazing helper, pretty well behaved, and she just loves all of us and shows it. When I told her we were going to this store, she asked if she could get a toy and I explained how she didn't need any toys since we just celebrated Christmas but we could make a deal: if she found something unique or that she needed, something from my "mental list" of things I was looking for, then we could talk about it. Right away, she asked if she could go to the back of the store to explore the toys. I started riffling through the shoes in the front with Max. Maggie brought back various purses that she wanted with stuffed animals sticking out of them and I said no (hard to do - they are cute, I agree!). Then she asked for me to come back with her. After scanning the toys, I suggested a backpack since we've had our eye out for one and they had some hanging there. She starts kindergarten this fall so the need for one is coming up and this is a good way to practice. I found a mini-backpack with Rapunzel on the front and it was pink. Maggie is petite and it fit her just right. She was so excited when I found it and for $2.50, we couldn't pass it up. At home that day, she grilled me on what you put in a backpack for school. She is really into learning to read and write and has started accumulating various notebooks and pens/pencils. She stuffed the backpack full with a favorite DocMcStuffins book, notebook, pen from her gymnastics class, comb, hair clips, chapstick, play phone, preschooler camera, and a new Hello Kitty hoodie. I really didn't think it would hold that much and she happily proved me wrong telling people "My mom didn't think it would fit all of this but it does!" beaming afterwards. Maggie and I have our quiet time together when Max naps in the afternoon. It was during this time that she was filling her backpack and she wanted me to come see the contents once she was done filling it. She quietly said to me after showing me everything with satisfaction "You know mom, a backpack is a sign of growing up." These moments kill me! Sigh. Raising my kids has been one of the best gifts I've ever been given. With Max, I know what is ahead for the most part and it's exciting.

Seen: Maggie getting her flu shot so bravely. I waited to tell her we were going until the night before or day of and when I did, she was so calm. The kids before her and after her were crying and nervous. That didn't affect her...she knew it was fine and was a model for all!

Seen and Heard: Max saying the cutest things, repeating all of us. We've made him repeat "Ewwww" a lot. I'm a happy mama watching him beginning to speak!

Exciting August

Surprise! Life can change in an instant. For us, that means one day we are moving along as usual, the next I am in the ER with my hubby waiting for him to get an MRI, ending up in emergency surgery that night. In the course of 24 hours, he went in, got diagnosed, operated on, came out of anesthesia (hilarious!), slept some of it off, and waited for clearance from many doctors and nurses to go home and recoup for about a month. His stay at the hospital was exciting. Hubby is not one to stay still, so it was a nice change to be the one by his side helping if needed. At home...a slightly different story but after a week, he is being pretty good about not doing too much and I think recovering well. The silver lining to when something unexpected and potentially life threatening happens to you and/or your family: friends and family are there for you wanting to help and make life easier. I appreciate the kindness, it's what makes life so special in the end.

 One of the best and most fun gifts we've received since his surgery is the building of a tortoise pen for Maggie. It was something we were in the middle of so two of hubby's best buds came over to make it happen. It resulted in a day full of laughter between three goofy guys that might as well have been kids back in high school. Maggie somehow ended up on the name Wendy, which evolved into Wendell. It has a back story but the tortoise is most likely a male, so either way, he's covered.

 

 

Our trip to Oregon this summer was brief (sigh) but tons of fun. I was a little worried about Max being a handful in the car and also at night but both turned out really good. We managed to pack in fun activites every day we were there. We travelled with our friends and one of the best parts of the trip was talking over the radio between cars while travelling. That's where we reminisced about past trips (most before kids) and laughed a lot at eachother. We were able to spend a day at Crater Lake and show our four kids combined what it was all about. While the two littlest ones slept on us in ergos, we hiked the Discovery Trail along the rim of Crater Lake. Maggie did great walking 2 1/2 miles. Overall, we got some hikes in, visited a fish hatchery, the guys fished one evening, took the kids on a fun and funky train ride, visited a native american art gallery that is always a must, and made most of our meals at our cabins family-style. All in all a great time.

 

{Kiddo catch-up}

Maggie @ 4 1/2 yrs:

LOVES having her nails painted, tea parties, music and recently Mary Poppins songs (over the movie), her stuffed animals which all have names and they often are being fed with bottles and the like, picnics, and helping me cook.

She tried out soccer this summer and had a good time. She's been asking me what words mean when we're reading books - sly, tricked, cocked (as in "the crow cocked his head" from one of our library books :-). She does not look forward to her hair being brushed but loves ponytails and all types of braids. She is very sweet with her brother. This is one of the best things about having two. Maggie will sometimes mimic us when talking to him and sounds like an adult. They give the cutest hugs and kisses to eachother.


Max @ 1 (16 months):

Max needs a lot of haircuts! He loves to dance, all you have to do is turn on some fun music or he copies Maggie. They like to dance to the intro. of the cartoons Maggie likes. The kids love dancing in the car too while strapped in to their carseats. They made us laugh on the Oregon car ride.

Max gets everything we say to him and gives big nods for yes and shakes his head for no. He says a lot of uh-ohs. He started saying mama at 15 months. Then he started saying recognizable words like turtle, blueberry, and duck after that. He's our goofy boy. Not as dramatic as Maggie but they love to fight for attention at the same time.

Ok, ready for fall and Halloween costumes!

Sneak Peak and He's One!

Spring family photo sneak peak :-)

Something that hit me recently and not for the first time...those somewhat insignificant moments that make up the every day (with kids, more often than not, the days are long where you are just wishing for the day to come to a close and for sleep to come without being woken up right after you fall asleep) - you soon realize that those are all the precious moments that add up to to the eventual change we witness in our lives and it's just bittersweet when you look back and realize this. The other day I was reading my old posts and that's when it hit me. I post mostly about my family and when I look back on the everyday this is what I see and it makes me smile.

Here's the other thing that I've been guilty of and then I saw it reaffirmed on an episode of Scrubs :-) - we all think our experiences are unique sometimes, whatever it may be. For me, it could be with my birth experience, parenting experience for whatever age group, marriage, etc. But then you have to remember that you are one tiny person in a big big world and for the most part, you are just like all of the other humans on this earth trying to figure out life. It makes me laugh and it's calming to remember this :-)

Max turned 1 this month! Oh, my sweet big boy. He looks more like a 2 year old. Around 11 months, I would nurse him in public or carry him in the ergo and I started noticing wierd looks from strangers and I got the feeling they thought I was nursing or carrying around a "too" big of a kid. Someone asked me last week if he was 18 months. Yesterday, he threw a tiny fit on the ground and someone said "terrible two's?" Ha ha.


Another peak...how cute is this?

Max is always happy when he wakes up and pretty good about going down at night without a fuss. He's also suprising us with his somewhat consistent sleep patterns at night. I love looking at him when he is in my arms falling asleep, that's when I still see the baby in him. He has the prettiest hair, brown and glossy and lots of it and he has fairer skin like me. His eyes are just like Maggie's. I love-hate seeing his legs get scratched up from walking and falling. It's a sign of him growing up and just a reminder how fast time is really going by.

As for Maggie, one of the themes I've seen with turning 4 is she is really exercising her right to say no. I want her to feel like she can express her opinion and have a a choice in some things. Most recently, her dance class had to go. After about a month of classes, each week it was a new complaint: too loud, didn't want to change into her dance clothes, etc. When she was actually in class, she appeared to have fun and I really liked her teacher. I fought it for a few weeks trying to get to the bottom of it, which I thought maybe we had but then it became a useless fight again. Seems kind of insignificant, but for me at the time it was a hard thing to let go of. As a parent you want your kids to do well, have fun, and learn and when it doesn't go exactly as planned, it's a little disapointing. We're in the "taking a break" period and it's been nice because life has been so busy elsewhere.

I read cookbooks a lot, like all the way through. The other day I got the idea from one to start using lemon curd more. This past weekend I threw together some great oatmeal by using what I had in the kitchen and  I wanted to share because it tasted amazing and it's a really healthy, long-lasting breakfast.

Old-fashioned oats - the easiest way to cook these is pour dry in a bowl, boil water on the stove, pour water into the oats and let sit and absorb for about 5 minutes. I added in dry-roasted slivered almonds, orange-flavored cranberries (Trader Joe's), milk, 1 mashed banana, and after tasting it, it wasn't quite sweet enough, so then I added a spoonful of lemon curd. So yummy. I loved the different sweetnesses and the crunch of the almonds. Max sat on my lap and ate it with me.

Weeks in pictures

State Fair finale

Day in the Life

You know you are having a great day when everything just falls into place. Hubby stayed in with the kiddo twice this week so that I could go out and enjoy some time with friends. So, today he was home doing his thang and I stayed busy with the Magster. We had a suprise visit from his dad and I captured a nice moment, father and son style. The funniest thing happened this morning. Maggie woke up early, which is normal, and we often try to entice her to fall asleep for another hour or so if we bring her into our bed. After doing this and her fussing around a bit, in my half-sleep state I felt her sliding off our tall bed, which she needs help to get off of, but intead of waking up and walking off she layed on the carpet and put her head on the pillow on the floor. It was so trippy. She slept like that for almost a couple more hours.

We hit up Harvest Day at our local horticultural center/community garden. I had Maggie on my back in the ergo and we tasted a variety of grapes and tomatoes grown there. It's an awesome site, with an orchard full of ripe fruit, native/Mediterranean plantings in full bloom, and lots of vegi plants. I picked up some plants for our own garden that are hard to find. Romanesco, dwarf pomegranate, lemongrass, dinasour kale, and other fun ones. You should have seen me leaving, it was a sight. Toddler on my back whining, a full tray of plants in front, and bags hanging off of me. In the same area is our library and we scored lots of books before we left. Maggie is always drawn to the kid computers, not the toys or books. The little girl next to her was being such a sport.

After a few afternoon beers with the boys, some much needed grocery shopping, and a dinner made up of homemade pesto over asparagus ravioli, sauteed brussel sprouts, chicken sausage, garden bruchetta on ciabiatta, and white wine, I'm one happy girl.

Now off to do more laundry and maybe throw some chocolate chip cookies in the oven...

Week(s) in pictures

Celebrating dad

A belated father's day to all the dads. We ate chicago-style pizza with my dad after he returned from a fishing trip in Mexico. It wasn't the best fishing trip but it made for some great stories as always. Maybe too much blood and guts during dinner though. My dad is famous for his stories.

The pic above is last weekend when we ventured to San Francisco for some festival fun. First time for Mags.

Cool finds in red

My birthday is coming up and it's a big one. I think I need to splurge on this little baby (minus the shoes).Check out Butter by Nadia. The styles and combinations are endless. It's a miracle dress and every woman should have one. But, well, it's kinda expensive. Ok, really expensive. So, not really gonna buy it, but what a cool dress!

Was out shopping the other day and someone told me about water slings. I'm an avid fan of slings and carriers so I did some research and ended up with this.

I bought it off Etsy and paired the colors burgandy and deep orange together with brass rings. My wedding colors, with a neat leafy stitch design. We've used it in the shower and it's helpful for getting us both bathed at once without it being dangerous. The cool thing about this sling is it dries really quickly.

Good daddy

It's been a struggle getting Michael to wear the baby but he recently took to wearing the ergo. Above all slings and carriers, this one is pretty "man-friendly" :-) Maggie has loved being worn since she was born and prefers the upright position. It's an instant baby calmer and usually she sleeps most of the time. It's the best way to nurture and be close to her during the day while also getting stuff done around the house or doing errands. She's not quite comfortable on long walks in the stroller yet, so it comes in handy for that too.