I posted this picture: This seems like so long ago.
I was 34 weeks pregnant with my baby boy.
I was on bedrest most of the time – I couldn't stand for longer than 10-15 minutes without contractions starting. My world had shrunk to the size of my living room.
The wonderful ladies from my bible study were delivering meals so I could rest and my family could eat something besides scrambled eggs for dinner, but that was just about the only social interaction I had.
Blogging was one of the only ways I was able to socialize. (And while still in my jammies to boot!) I remember being so excited for comments and discovering so many of my favorite blogs while relying on my laptop for communication.
I remember being so excited to share his arrival with my readers.
I can't tell you how much I have loved sharing my baby with you.
Every year, I swear I won't buy Easter clothing for my kids because 1) it almost always snows or is completely freezing, making the cute spring clothing inappropriate and 2) I always forget about SHOES to go with the cute dresses I picked out, so the girls end up wearing white dresses with their black or brown mary janes, which makes me twitch. But almost every year I cave and buy something. This year I can totally justify it, since we have so many events this summer that they will need to dress up for 😉 So here are a few little gems I found for you:
This dress on the left is the Easter dress that both of my girls wore last year – they were so adorable! They're still available at Target – for only $14! They still fit them, actually, but let's not let that stop us from shopping.
This plaid dress by Chaps is at Kohls for under $25. I love the colors – they turned a traditionally winter print into a bright spring one!
A suit? Sorry. I have to go lie down after all this cuteness. Its just too much for my system. And grieve the fact that there is probably NO WAY that Colin will ever let me put any of these cute outfits on him, seeing as I can barely convince him to wear clothes at all. SOB!
Almost exactly two and a half years ago, we finally caved and got the girls a pet. Two $2.50 goldfish from PetSmart. (What? That's almost as good as a dog!) They were promptly named Cinderella and Ariel, were deeply love and the girls could even tell them apart, despite them being small, virtually identical goldfish. We were not expecting them to last long.
Background information: Our first attempt at pets was during Ellie's Nemo-obsessed stage. We bought her two goldfish. They lasted less than a week before they both died. Luckily, Ellie was only 20 months old, so she didn't notice and we decided to quit before this got expensive.
Anyway, I walked in the girls room to get their pajamas on Monday night and noticed one of their beloved goldfish was floating at the top of the tank…
Upside down.
CRAP!
Sidebar: I knew these dumb fish would die while my husband was out of town, so I would have to deal with it on my own. I just KNEW it!
You see, my girls are very emotional about saying goodbye. They cry for three days after Grandma leaves. They cry at the very thought of moving to a different house someday, because they would miss their pink bedroom. And its not unheard of for them to tear up a little when Daddy leaves for work. So you can only imagine the grief and the tears I was anticipating. And oh, the questions! "Is Cinderella in heaven now?" (Cinderella died. Not to be confused with the virtually identical Ariel, who is alive and swimming.)
The girls were busy playing in my room, so I quickly took the fish tank downstairs and cleaned up the tank (ew) and took the dead fish out and put it in a coffee cup (EWW!!!) and tried to decide what the heck to do with this stupid, gross dead fish i mean "Cinderella."
I decided against showing them the dead fish and having any type of 'ceremony.' These fish had an extraordinarily long lives for cheap goldfish, so we are unlikely to have this same luck again. And I do NOT want to start a tradition I'll have to keep up!
I sat the girls down in their room and had the dreaded conversation. They actually took it pretty well. Their faces were initially horrified and sad, but as we talked about what a long life the fish had, what a good fish she was, and how lucky we were that she was our fish. We talked about how thankful we can be for our wonderful Cinderella and how she will be missed. (INSERT INTERNAL EYE ROLLING HERE!) When I said that we can get a new fish soon, they cheered up and were okay.
Tears were shead. Prayers for Cinderella were prayed. They talked to Ariel about not being afraid to be by herself in the fishtank.
Then, with zero ceremony at all, I snuck into the downstairs bathroom and flushed our dear pet fish, "Cinderella" down the toilet.
We drove up in a light snow and saw the lodge, warm and welcoming like a postcard! We walked into a gigantic three story lobby, saw a roaring fire in the stone fireplace surrounded by comfy couches and picked up a cup of the complimentary hot coffee that is waiting to be enjoyed all day. Let me tell you, after a drive in the snow with three kids, it was heaven on earth!
We went up to our room and gave a collective “Wow!” It was gorgeous: rustic without being tacky (hard to pull off!), more than enough room for our family of 5, and had all the comforts of home. I was very impressed with how well-stocked the room was. We’ve stayed at a ton of hotels, condos and timeshares over the years and generally the “kitchens” are ridiculous. Usually they have one small pot and a frying pan and they never have enough dishes. This kitchen had everything from steak knives to a can opener to cookie sheets to wine glasses to food storage containers. I’ve never seen one like this. There was everything we would have needed to cook a big meal for our family! There was even a dishwasher. We ate breakfast in our room both mornings, relaxing in our pajamas.
There are several room layouts that fit anywhere from 4 to 10 people. We had layout B and it was perfect for us – plenty of room for us and all our stuff. The rooms have tons of storage in the huge closets, so we weren’t constantly tripping over all our boots and suitcases and stuff. You probably know that my two non-negotiables of a hotel are 1) comfy beds and 2) a great shower. The beds here were very comfortable – even the Murphy bed I shared with Colin was nice! The shower was terrific – actually the whole bathroom was gorgeous, now that I think about it!
Cascades Indoor Waterpark (located right in the lodge) was super fun. The kids had such a blast. We could hardly tear them away to eat and sleep – it was all they wanted to do. It was torture when they woke up at seven and had to wait three whole hours for it to open. (“It is open yet?” “What about now?” “Is it open now?”) It was very fun – even for mom and dad. We spent most of our time there over the weekend, going there twice on Saturday and again on Sunday before we left. The waterpark has a great variety of attractions, so its perfect for families with little kids and big kids/grownups. My husband also went tubing with the girls on Saturday afternoon, which was a huge hit! The girls had never been before and they really enjoyed it. Meanwhile, I got pampered at the gorgeousWaterfall Spa. I was so impressed with how affordable, yet luxurious it was. My Apres Ski Massage was fabulous! I highly recommend scheduling some “me time” while you’re there!
There are two restaurants in Hope Lake Lodge: Acorn Grill and Edgewater Cafe. We hit the Edgewater Cafe for lunch on Saturday while we were at the waterpark. The burgers were very good and the kids devoured a pizza. That night we went to the Acorn Grill, which was excellent. My husband and I both had very yummy meals, going with the entrees our server recommended highest, while the kids happily devoured their chicken fingers. (We skipped dessert at the restaurant and got ice cream at the Edgewater Cafe instead! Yum!)
Greek Peak Resort is a terrific family destination. We had such a terrific time – my kids were in tears when we left, saying they wanted to stay for a whole week next time! I’d love to come back with my extended family — this would be such a great place for a little family reunion! The small touches made a huge difference: hot coffee and muffins in the lobby, a hotel store that actually had reasonable prices, shuttles to the ski area every 10 minutes… Plus, every employee we interacted with was eager to help, very friendly and constantly asking if there was anything they could do to make our stay better.
Disclaimer: greek peak mountain resort provided our family with lodging and other benefits, such as tubing tickets, for the weekend, so my family and I could experience the resort. i was not compensated financially for this post.
I've been thinking/reading/researching about whole food lately. I've been slowly trying to wean my family off of processed foods… within reason. (Mama's gotta have her Cherry Coke Zero!) Its going to be a long process, but we're taking baby steps here! I don't grind my own wheat or bake my own bread. (Although I want my mother-in-law to teach me how to make bread when she's here this summer. She makes the yummy healthy bread!) So here are my baby steps:
1. Trying to cook from scratch whenever I can. This has been the easiest step! I never used boxed dinners (like Hamburger Helper… shudder) and I love to bake. So, yes, they're eating cookies but at least I know what is in them! (And I've been exploring sneaking whole wheat flour and such into my cookie recipes. But don't tell them, okay?)
2. Adding more fruits and veggies. I'm a lucky girl – this is not hard for me. My whole family – even the kiddos – love every kind of fruit and most vegetables. So its just a matter of staying on budget 🙂 I've been making a point to stop at my local farmers market once a week or so to stock up.
3. Buying all hormone-free dairy (organic when I can): I buy all our dairy at Trader Joes. Everything is hormone-free and affordable. My kids love single-serve Stonyfield Farm and Trader Joe's brand yogurts, which make great snacks! And I always buy large tubs of vanilla yogurt (to serve with fruit and granola) and plain (for smoothies). Trader Joes has great cheese options as well.
4. Making breakfast 3 days a week: The other two days my kids have toast and yogurt or cereal. We are no longer buying sugary cereal or, more specifically, any cereal with more than 10 grams of sugar per serving. Because there is a lot of 'healthy' cereals out there that really aren't! We have pancakes and waffles, smoothies and toast, scrambled eggs… its great to have a hot breakfast on a cold morning!
5. Snacks. My challenge: My kids are just like me… I tend to eat small amounts all day long as opposed to three big meals. And my kids are the same. They'll eat a meal and want a snack two hours later. And its a challenge to keep those snacks healthy. They love their fruit snacks and granola bars as much as the next kids! But we've been having more cheese, fruit and veggies, yogurt, popcorn, homemade banana bread or muffins, or pretzels.
6. Shopping at Trader Joes: This is KEY to my success so far! Its where I can find great prices on everything from whole-wheat pretzels to canned beans. My kids love so much of their food, so its easy to convince them to try new things from there.
As I said before, I still buy soda (for the grown ups) and juice. But I'm (slowly) trying to convince the kids that water is an acceptable beverage! Its all baby steps and I'm hoping to make some bigger changes in our diets soon!
This really came out perfect! I'll never roast a chicken any other way! (I skipped the fennel)
Perfect Roast Chicken
1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper 1 large bunch fresh thyme, plus 20 sprigs 1 lemon, halved 1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted 1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced 4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks 1 bulb of fennel, tops removed, and cut into wedges Olive oil
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Remove
the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any
excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry. Liberally
salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the
bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the
outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and
pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing
tips under the body of the chicken. Place the onions, carrots, and
fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme,
and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place
the chicken on top.
Roast the chicken
for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a
leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover
with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a
platter and serve it with the vegetables.
This weekend, we took a little family retreat. We needed one, believe me! Life has been so crazy lately. Since we returned from Disney two weeks ago, we've all been sick, my husband has been traveling, we've had EVEN MORE snow and our house has been annoying the heck out of us (what with the furnace not working and needing a new oil tank and all). Needless to say, we needed to recharge.
We had such a fantastic time! I've never been to a indoor water park before and wasn't sure what to expect, but it was really nice! The kids had a blast swimming. And they even tried tubing. (And, boy, did they sleep well. Holy cow, they were exhausted! It was awesome!) And it was so nice to go somewhere that was warm… even if it was inside 😉 Colin was totally hysterical! He has zero sense of self-preservation and just throws himself into the water. He was seriously depressed that he could not go on the gigantic slide with Daddy. And he loved the small kiddie pool with a tiny slide (which he went down face first, of course)!
Gracie was the biggest surprise of the weekend. Our normally timid little girl loved the waterslides! She was barely tall enough to go on them and once she did, it was all she wanted to do. Even if I was on the other side of the waterpark with Colin, I could tell when she went down the slide… she screamed the whole way down. Ellie and Gracie both loved the pools that went outside.
And the girls LOVED tubing with Daddy! (Mommy stayed in the room while Colin rested. Sitting by the fire. Sipping a hot cup of coffee and reading a book. Awesome.) I even got treated to a massage Saturday. It was fabulous!
I highly recommend running away from home!!
disclosure: greek peak provided our family with a room for the weekend. i was not compensated financially for this post. a review coming soon to girlymama reviews.
I don't know about you, but I have several events coming up this summer that are going to require a cute dress. Dang it. Guess I need to go shopping! (Its rough being me sometimes 😉 And yes, I do realize that its ironic that I'm writing about spring dresses while buried under YET MORE snow. Lets just close our eyes and imagine being warm.
1. 'Precious Petal' cotton dress from Mod Cloth. So cute for under $50. Seen in the current issue of People's Style Watch!
2. 'Manhatten Maven' dress from Mod Cloth. Great for highlighting your arms and legs and hiding everything else — while not looking like a circus tent. A difficult feat indeed.
3. As I mentioned last week, I am completely in love with this solid embossed beach dress from J Crew. And the strapless version (solid embossed Lorelei dress) is just as gorgeous. The soft dove color is too gorgeous for words.
4. I just love the bold, mod pattern in the Blooms Print Dress from LOFT. (and its on sale for $70!)
I'm sorry. I interrupt this post to announce that Old Navy is selling jumpsuits. Jumpsuits. JUMP. SUITS. OMG – so is White House Black Market! Is this a joke?!?!? Please tell me this is a joke….
6. Oh. Be still my heart. Chiffon Ruffle Front Dress in vintage plum at LOFT. Oh, and its on sale!!! If only it was in my size!!
7. This Embroidered Dot Ruffled Sheath Dress from Ann Taylor is so classic… but so trendy. I'm a huge fan of 'little black dresses' that aren't black!
8. Of course, you can never go wrong with black (says the girl with approximately 25 black sweaters). The Rushing Ruffles Dress from Anthropologie is a gorgeously feminine version of the little black dress! Love it!
9. For a more formal wedding, this JAX Split Neck Pointe Knit Dress from Nordstroms is perfect. Not too fancy, a modern print, and a flattering cut for almost every body.
10. I love the back of this Silk Halter Dress from Banana Republic. So pretty!
What events are you shopping for a dress for this summer? Weddings? BlogHer? Spill it!
