Kids Day

Today the kids got a quite a treat. We went to town and had no errands to run. It was all fun and games for them. First we went to a playdate at a gym especially for kids where they both were allowed to run themselves ragged for as long as they could. Then after a quick lunch we headed to the pool with friends and spent the afternoon splashing and playing. From there we went to meet Daddy for dinner on the patio at the club. To round out the fun filled day we spent the last couple hours before bedtime playing out back on the new swing set. They are both now exhausted - mission accomplished :)

Swing with Us

While we were gone on vacation last weekend the kids stayed with Nana & Grandpa. Among the many treasures they brought home with them (like fancy-shmancy Hello Kitty panties) was an enormous swing set. We were supposedly on the calling waiting list for one but apparently we fell off of the list somehow but luckily N&G were also on the list and avoided our blackball fate. After a few days (yes I said DAYS) of assembly and some veiled-attempts at disguising four letter words the masterpiece is finally complete. There's also a basketball hoop on the side that's hidden in the picture. It seems our daredevil daughter prefers the swing that resembles a horse while little mister is partial to the double-bench swing. It goes without saying that they both have fallen off already and have the bumps and scrapes to prove it. Both kids wear them like red badges of courage though and got right back on the swing.

A Day at the Pool

This afternoon we met Daddy at the pool when he got off work. The weather was beautiful and everyone had a good time. Our little lady is becoming a pro at swimming with the water wings and does it all on her own all over the shallow end of the pool even though she can't touch. The young man is enamored by anything spherical right now and when he sees anything he'll chant "ba ba ba ba..." until it is retrieved for him (thus the red ball in the picture). The only thing that would have made it more perfect is if our lab could have come with but she had to stay home. You can't please everyone I guess.

What's for Dinner?

This is one of Daddy's favorites: Thai chicken pizza

It's not spicy, even though the name suggests otherwise. Here's what you do. Bake a Boboli bread shell about 5-7 minutes (brown & crisp). Meanwhile, cook some chicken and shred then add some sliced mushrooms, sliced pea pods, and shredded carrot in a skillet until vegis are just tender, about 2 min. Add some sliced green onion.

Take the bread shell out of the oven and spread with peanut sauce then top with skillet mixture, sprinkle with chopped peanuts and cilantro and you're good to go. 1/2 an 8-inch bread shell is about 300 calories and oh so yummy.

Time Flies

On Monday we went to a playdate and one of the moms had a 5 month old little boy all curled up in her baby carrier and cuddly and adorable. I couldn't help but think how far removed my baby girl and little man have come from that point. This morning I was looking at them and thinking how big they've gotten and "where has the time gone?" Every time I look at them they seem to be bigger than the last time I looked.

We're total believers in the idea that the older you get the faster time flies. Our theory is that you have a longer relative lifetime to compare it to (a month to a 1 year old is 1/12 their lives but for us it's almost 1/400th of our lives) so it seems less significant. I don't know how true it is but it would explain how summer break in grade school seemed to last forever and now June July and August have passed for me in a blur. All that's left of all those times are great memories and pictures. So I took their pictures again this morning to catch this moment in our lives.

Bubbles

Two nights ago my little girl came to us while we were playing cards at the table after dinner and requested a little bubble time on the deck. Having about an hour before betime, and knowing it was 80 degrees on the deck (as opposed to 90 in the house) we agreed. The kids are particularly fond of bubbles even though neither of them have figured out how to blow just right and use the bubble wands. Luckily we have the bubble maker that cousin J bought them that they can make bubbles with by just pulling down on the handle. Both kids can do it and they both had a ball.

Mobility

Of course, everyone says a kid needs to crawl first. And everyone says a kid will walk on his own development schedule. My little man will walk behind a walker and has been for about 5 months now, will take 4 steps unassisted, and crawls like an Olympic athlete (hey, the compete at walking, why not crawling?). He still refuses to go the distance on his own though. Luckily, at almost 14 months and not walking, big sister's there to give him a lift.

What's For Dinner?

Two words that make me happy.....FAJITAS and Crockpot!

I'm going to slice up about a pound of sirloin and throw it in the crockpot with cilantro, tomatoes and whatever I can get from the spice cupboard (probably chili powder, cumin, coriander & garlic). Cook that on high about 3 hours then add some sliced onion, bell pepper and jalepenos (we'll pick those out later for the kiddos) and cook for about another hour. Drizzle some lime on it then serve it all on warm tortillas with a little light sour cream, ...mmmmm.... not bad for less than 250 calories a piece.

All Better

My little man is finally feeling 100% again. For those of you out of the loop, he had a staph infection in his lymph node on his neck (that became a lump the size of a golf ball) and had to have surgery to drain it. We noticed it at his 1st birthday party (see below). His neck is not turned in the picture, it really was that big and quadrupled in size before they finally decided the antibiotics weren't working (stupid doctors). 4 days in the hospital (where a nurse accidentally pulled out the drain, stupid nurse), a soft muscle tissue growth from the wound that they thought was a tumor (stupid doctors) and now two months of recovery later and finally there is virtually no scab and only probably a little scar. He got his first bath this morning in the tub, complete with hair washing and his fun big sister, much to his delight. Thank goodness because I was getting tired of the 'ol sponge bath routine. He handled it all with virtually no issue at all. What can I say, the kid is a trooper.

I finally caved

Alright, like so many other things in my life that I swore I'd never do (no offense Kia, but it is a minivan), I have caved in and started a blog. I guess it is in sort of an effort to send a million emails of "so what have you been up to" all in one, hopefully insignificant, effort. Plus I will try to share a couple of my photos and maybe a recipe or two (this is not a recommendation to try my cooking). I am keeping a log of my calories right now, not that I'm dieting by any means, so most things I cook are in an attempt to be moderately healthy.

Really, it's pretty much a compilation of things that virtually no one in the world except my sister might be interested in. You know, pretty much like every other blog out there.