We go to the pet store for entertainment

Please tell me it's not lame to go to the pet store and pretend  like it's the zoo?

Because that's what we did this weekend--took the kids to the pet store for entertainment. It was a rainy Sunday so we figured why not, since we had to run errands anyway. The kids loved it!



I mean, we're clearly not fooling anyone. The zoo > pet store, which we'd know since we just went to the zoo a couple of weeks ago (I should probably get those pics off my camera and blog about it, huh?). But the zoo is an hour and a half away, and the pet store is less than 10 min. Convenience wins.



Birds, fish, reptiles, mice, ferrets, hamsters...and even a pair of guinea pigs humping (yikes). Yeah, we totally laughed behind the kids' backs and pretended nothing was happening. See? Free entertainment.

Although, the begging has already started for a guinea pig or hamster. That's SO not happening. But I do have to admit--those guinea pigs were pretty dang cute when they weren't getting frisky in front of our eyes :)

Linking up with Heather and Megan:

Pick a different book, please!

I know reading is fundamental, and one of the most important things you can do for your child is to read to them on a regular basis. I know that. And we do. Adam and/or I always happily read at least one book or chapter to the kids every single night.

But when Lorelai insists on the SAME book every night for days (and days) on end, it gets a little old. But since it's not worth the fight right before bedtime...I admit that sometimes I skip entire pages of the book. Or change the words. Or summarize so I'm not reading every word. Shhh, don't tell on me.



Thankfully she doesn't know the difference and she's still seeing the book, hearing the words and having quality snuggle time with me. But I know my days are numbered before she's onto my tricks. I just hope by that point, she's varied her choice of reading materials. I mean, I like Here Comes T. Rex Cottontail as much as the next guy, but Easter was weeks ago. Let's move on. Please. :)

Linking up with Heather and Megan:

3rd annual Easter egg treasure hunt

I'm still sorting through/editing the hundreds of photos I took on Easter (my hat's off to all of my bloggy friends who already have their Easter posts up!) but in the meantime, I wanted to share what I (for the Easter Bunny, of course!) came up with for our 3rd annual Easter egg treasure hunt.

Last week I confessed that I waited until the very last minute and worried I wouldn't be able to put the clues together in time, but somehow I made it happen. Some of them are really lame because I suck at rhyming and I didn't have a lot of time, but I don't think it mattered one bit to the kids. They loved it and even talked about how excited they were that Lorelai would be able to do it with them this year. They were SO good with letting her "help" with the clues.



Anyway, here's the note they woke up to, first thing in the morning.

Good Morning, AIDAN, LOGAN and LORELAI!

Are you ready for an Easter Egg Treasure Hunt? Well get to hoppin'!

Yay, it’s rhyme time!

“Where's the treasure?” you may ask.

You must find it, that’s the task!

Is it here? Is it there?

You must look everywhere!

Look for your first clue in the thing that Daddy packs for a trip to someplace with warm weather. Don't go alone, work together (all three of you!) ☺

Clue #1 (in daddy’s suitcase): Look for your next clue where you'd fry up some fake bacon or bake a pretend cake. The timer is on, don't be late!

Clue #2 (play kitchen): Shhh, speak not a word. Just look for a clue near a green bird.

Clue #3 (on the mantle): Where does grandma rest her head? Maybe you'll find a clue instead!

Clue #4 (guest bed): Color, draw, or maybe stencil? Look for your next clue with the writing utensils.

Clue #5 (desk drawer): Read a book here, or rock to sleep. But find your clue, before you do!

Clue#6 (Lorelai’s chair): Are you hungry? Well don't get a snack. Find your clue there, then you can go back.

Clue #7 (pantry): Look for a clue where you can see the weather, or maybe look out at a bird with a feather!

Clue #8 (dining room window): Where do the biggest clothes hang? You don’t have to measure. This is where you’ll find your treasure.

And here's the treasure they found in our closet.



Nothing too overboard. A few sweet treats (jelly beans, cadbury eggs and peeps are in the eggs) and the boys  each got a Skylander, while Lorelai got a pair of shoes and two tops.

Maybe I should go ahead and confess that I've already eaten most of Lorelai's candy, plus some of Logan's. He busted me today, and I straight up lied. Bad mommy! But they were at Grandma and Grandpa's last night for another sleepover, and the Cadbury eggs were calling my name. I know they would have shared if I had asked--they're really good about it, actually. I'll just have to open up the last bag and replace the ones I took. No harm done, right?!

I also confess that I LOVE this tradition, and I dread the year they outgrow it. But I'm going to have to start getting creative with the clues and the hiding places, because there are only so many rhymes I can come up! Maybe something like a puzzle with the clues next year? Whatever I do, I can't procrastinate again! :)

And one more confession, while I'm at it: I went to the store to get egg dye, and walked out of the store without egg dye. But the #momfail doesn't stop there. I thought I had a whole carton of eggs...but turns out we only had three. So we had to improvise. I used sharpie on mine, Aidan used sharpie and marker on his, and we used food coloring on Logan's, and just added those three to the batch we did last year.



Lorelai still has yet to decorate a single egg, but she did get to try her hand at watercolor painting. So I didn't totally get it together for Easter this year after all...

Linking up with Heather and Megan:

PS: Past treasure hunts are here and here.

I totally dropped the ball on Easter

Time for another round of mommy confessions. This time, I have to confess that I haven't even given a second thought to Easter until like right now. I think I've had a mental block that it's coming up, and I blame the stupid &@#!% cold weather. To me, Easter=Spring, and it most definitely doesn't feel like spring here in central NC. This time last year, my daffodils were in bloom and we were rocking the t-shirts (thanks, Timehop app for rubbing it in, ha!). At least we don't have snow like so many others, but this is not Easter weather.

So this is where I start to freak out. I don't have a single thing for the baskets, haven't stuffed plastic eggs for Lorelai's party at school this week, haven't bought dye or even planned any time to decorate eggs, haven't thought up clues for the annual Easter morning egg treasure hunt...Oh my. And honestly, my work schedule is so busy this week I'm not sure if I'll have time to run out and shop. I really don't know what I'm going to do and I'm so mad at myself for not planning ahead.

And we literally just now (as I'm typing--Adam's on the phone) figured out who's hosting dinner. Thankfully, Adam's parents volunteered this year because as much as I loved having it at our house last year, right now our house is a total sty and our yard is a complete overgrown mess with not a flower in sight. So bad.

Andplusalso? Which dress am I going to choose for Lorelai to wear? Gah!


If only this were my biggest dilemma right now... Sigh. But at least we already have a dress for her, thanks to hand-me-downs from my sister!


I need to seriously get my butt in gear. Not cool, Becky. This is one of the holidays for the memory books (in my mind) so I want to make it special and memorable with lovely traditions and good family memories.

Linking up with Heather and Megan:

I confess: I'm that mom. The one who teachers probably hate.

First of all, let me say a big THANK YOU! to everyone who offered support and advice on Aidan's project grade situation from last week. Our conference is on Thursday and I'm nervous because I loathe confrontation, but I'm ready and hopeful. I'll update with how it goes.

Anyway, I've realized that this debacle is not the first time I've had a problem with the way Aidan's teacher grades, so I'm pretty sure I've pissed her off. :(

First, it was Wordly Wise test questions being marked wrong when they weren't. This was on two different tests that I saw, but who knows what else I missed before I knew to look more closely.

Then it was the grade he got on his last project after their unit on The Mouse and the Motorcycle book. It was a cool project--he had to create a house for Ralph the mouse to live in and write a persuasive letter describing why the house, our house and our city would be a good place to live. He accidentally left the date off his letter which I fully accept was irresponsible, but the rest was very well-written and thought out.

Turns out, each of the five parts of a friendly letter (date, greeting, body, closing and signature) were all worth 10 points equally to make up 50% of the project grade (the actual house was another 50, and he got full points for it). Now, a 90 on a project doesn't upset me in and of itself, but the fact that the date was worth as much as the entire body of the letter is just wrong and goes against the entire spirit of the project.

Based on that rubric, someone could have written a totally off-topic/crappy letter (or not written anything!) and gotten the same grade as Aidan. Not cool! I brought it up with the teacher via email and politely requested that she reconsider taking a full 10 points off. She agreed, and ended up only deducting 5pts.

So I guess I have to confess that apparently I'm that mom. The pain in the teacher's ass, the one who's all up in her business making sure my kid is being treated fairly and getting what he needs/deserves with his education. I'm not trying to be difficult on purpose and I don't think my concerns or requests are unreasonable, but I can totally see why I may not be her favorite parent. But if his parents aren't going to be his advocate and champion, who will?

Please tell me I'm not the only one like that? And that it's not a bad thing?




PS. For the record, I never had to say a negative word to Aidan's kindergarten or second grade teacher. Or Logan's kindergarten teacher (yet) for that matter. There was that one issue with Aidan's first grade teacher, but it's not like annoying teachers is my hobby.

Linking up with Heather and Megan:

Let sleeping babies lie

Kids are such angels when they're sleeping, am I right? Even though they're older now, I always love to go in and give my sleeping boys a kiss and make sure they're still nicely tucked in. And breathing. Yes, I still check.

Naturally I want to do the same for my sweet girl, but I confess: there was a long period of time where I didn't actually go into her room to check on her.



At one point last year (maybe more than once? It all runs together in my mind), Lorelai went through a phase where she was such a light sleeper that she'd wake up even if I just barely and almost silently cracked the door to her room to check on her before I went to bed. It was like she sensed my presence.

It got to the point where I'd literally press my ear against the door to try to hear her breathing and whisper "I love you" through the door crack (to no one but me), instead of going through the hassle (for both of us) of getting her back to sleep. It wasn't as simple as just throwing the covers on her and leaving the room. If she woke up, she needed to have a full snuggle/lullaby rocking session before she'd lay back down. And while I didn't always mind it (sleepy baby snuggles are awesome), I didn't want her to get in the habit of waking up every night, and requiring me to put her back to sleep.

So I just let the sleeping baby lie, and trusted that she was covered enough and comfy enough to have a good night sleep. We've never had a video monitor, so it was a bit of a leap of faith for me. Checking on my kids at night is so much more for my peace of mind than theirs. Not gonna lie, it was tough at first.

But thankfully, she's outgrown that phase (knock on wood). If she happens to stir, she easily rolls back over to sleep, so now I'm free to go in and gaze at her sleeping peacefully. I missed it so much.

Linking up with Heather and Megan:

I confess: We're too busy for soccer

As much as it pains me (and more so Adam) to admit, we weren't able to let the boys do spring soccer this year. I know sports are important for many reasons, but we just can't fit it into our schedules with the less than ideal practice times we'd have, and the fact that Adam will have to do a lot more traveling for work in the coming months.



Aidan really started to become a more confident player last season. Sad to lose that momentum.


I feel even worse about it since this time Logan was actually looking forward to playing. He loved soccer when he first started playing, but much to Adam's dismay, got disinterested and refused to play in the fall. Honestly, it worked out much better for us anyway since we didn't have to juggle multiple practice nights or competing weekend game times. But just as soon as he decided to give it another try, we pulled the rug out from under him.

But the reality is that I can't do Logan's practice every Monday from 6:15-7:15 AND Aidan's practice every Wednesday from 5-6pm. Just getting to Aidan's 5pm practice last season was a mad dash since the bus doesn't even come until sometimes closer to 4:30. And I work 8 hours a day outside the home. And Adam has soccer and I have Zumba on Mondays already.

On top of that, it's enough of a struggle for Aidan to get his ~90min of homework done at home on a normal night, and still have time to eat a normal meal (aka not cereal) and bathe and go to bed at 8/8:30. We would have to sacrifice a normal dinner and quality homework time TWO days a week (not to mention Lorelai's bedtime on Mondays) for several months.

I guess we've lucked out with previous seasons getting good practice times (last year their practices were back-to-back on the same day, which was the most ideal), and the lighter homework load was a big factor. But the biggest wrench this time is Adam's travel schedule. If he's not there on a regular basis to share that burden (especially with allowing one of us to be home to put Lorelai to bed like normal), I don't see how it logistically makes sense. I'm not superwoman, apparently unlike all of the other parents who have multiple kids in multiple different extracurricular activities. Seriously, what's the secret?? How do you make it work?

While I'm sure we could probably push back bedtime if we had to, or come up with more creative meal ideas, the thought of living with this schedule flat out overwhelms me. I like our routine and I like things to be less complicated, not a logistical nightmare. I'm sure it's mostly selfish on my part, but I don't see how adding stress to my (our) situation will result in anyone being happy.



Fortunately, there was relatively little fuss from the boys when we broke the news to them. Aidan enjoys playing, but said he's okay missing a season (we'll re-evaluate in the fall and keep our fingers crossed for a better schedule!). As for Logan, he was a little sad, but said that as long as we take him bowling on the weekend, he would be okay. Deal, kiddo.

Linking up with Heather and Megan:

Bad habit

Ok, it's Tuesday, so I have another confession. For the longest time, I've had the bad habit of picking my cuticles. Any and all dry or raised skin around my fingernails gets picked. Sometimes even until I bleed. It's horrible. My thumbs are by far the worst, and my left thumbnail has nasty ridges in it from messing with the cuticle so much. I'm always so embarrassed of them. And it's so mindless, too--half the time I don't even know I'm doing it.

I remember one time in college while I was taking a behavioral psych class, I conducted an experiment on myself to see if I could curb the bad habit. I wore a rubber band around my wrist and every time I caught myself picking, I'd pop myself. The problem is, if there was still skin to be picked (OMG that just sounds so gross), it didn't matter how many times I popped myself, I'd go right back to picking. Pop, pick, pop, pick...ouch, ouch, ouch. Experiment failed.

Adam tries to help remind me not to pick, and even Aidan and Logan have started to get on my case about it, but I just can't help it. So frustrating!

But at this point, I'm seriously fed up with it, and I'm ready to really try to put a stop to it once and for all. This time the experiment is to keep my nails painted as much as I can, because I noticed that I tend to do it less if I have nail polish on.



Look at the fact that my nails match my shoes! Not at my thumb...

Adam and the boys got me an ELF nail polish sampler pack for Christmas so I've been having a lot of fun trying out new shades, and over the past couple of weeks, I've noticed my thumbs looking better. I'm SO hoping that if I can get my fingers back to normal, I can break the cycle. Anyone who picks probably know that it's a vicious cycle.

Unfortunately, my polish only looks good for like 2 days max before it starts chipping, which is why I never really bothered with regular manicures before because it's a PITA to keep up with and it takes my nails forever to dry. Oh well, I'm hoping it'll be worth it :)

In the meantime, if anyone has any advice for how to stop, I'm all ears! And if you have any recommendations for a good nail polish base coat and/or top coat, I'd love to hear them, too.

Linking up with

I confess: I'm a furniture anchoring newbie

Eight and a half years and 3 kids into this whole parenting thing, and before this weekend I had never anchored a single piece of furniture to the wall. I know, I know. Shame on me. But in my defense, Aidan and Logan never even so much as pretended to climb on any furniture so it never registered as a concern of mine.

Lorelai on the other hand...I've seen her try to climb up both her dresser and her bookcase. I yelled (yes, yelled) at her not to do it, but I knew that before we made the transition to a toddler bed and she could play in there unsupervised, we'd have to anchor her furniture. It was even more clear after I read this tragic story a few weeks ago. Unthinkable, and I was mad at myself that I even took that chance with the boys, knowing what could have happened.



So this weekend, we grabbed a pack of eyelet screw from Home Depot for $1.19 and used some cable ties we already had to secure everything to the wall. This was after we realized that apparently neither Target nor Walmart had any kind of actual kits. What?! But whatever, our way is just as good and probably cheaper.




I pulled out the bottom drawer of her big dresser and stood in it, and it didn't budge, so I think we're good to go. Whew! (Also, glad I didn't break the dresser...)

Linking up with

I confess: I feel so unhealthy!

It's that time of year when everyone steps on the scale after the holidays and says "oh crap!" and unfortunately I'm no exception. But honestly? My unhealthy ways started before the holidays. I'm a snackaholic with a huge sweet tooth and no will power, and a severe lack of motivation to start working out again. I was planning to go to Zumba last night, but decided against it because it wasn't my night to wash my hair so I didn't want to get it dirty. Really?!? That was my excuse. And to add insult to injury, I had a bowl of goldfish crackers and a bowl of nerds at 9pm even though I had a perfectly filling pasta dinner. Pitiful.

What I'm starting to worry about at this point (in addition to growing out of my jeans) is that I'm teaching my kids unhealthy habits. Fortunately most of my unhealthy snacking is either at work (frustrated? overwhelmed? need a break? sure, I'll have some Doritos or m&ms) or mindlessly in front of the TV at night. But I do it on the weekends too, when it's easier to grab something quick out of the pantry instead of actually making something more healthy. And let's not even talk about how much I sat on the couch doing nothing pretty much our entire holiday break!

Fortunately, we just started a new health challenge at work, so I'm hoping to really get back on track with both working out and eating healthy. One of my goals for the challenge this week is no unhealthy snacks, so we'll see how that goes...one week at a time. I brought edamame to snack on and didn't have a single chip all day. And tonight I even challenged Adam to a Wii Just Dance battle, and we danced our butts off for 30 minutes while the kids watched. I definitely want them to see me excited about being active again--it's good if that's what they see as normal growing up.

Wish me luck! I'll definitely need it because I've tried before and it didn't last long. Boooo.


...but the tempura shrimp sushi with the spicy mayo is just too good to pass up. And ice cream? Sigh. Maybe I'm hopeless...

Linking up with

 

I confess: I hate cooking

This isn't much of a revelation, and hate may be a bit of a strong word, but I find no joy in cooking like some people do. It's just another chore at the end of the day for me that I dread. Maybe if I was better about meal planning, it wouldn't be as much of a chore, but I still envy people who like to cook and have a talent for making delicious meals. I mean, I'm not a bad cook, I'm just not inventive or passionate about it (to say the least).

As much as I like food, I just wish I had a personal chef to cook for me so I could enjoy the food without all the work. That's not too much to ask, right? Ha!

Since that's not my reality and I'm too budget- and health-conscious to eat out all the time, the meals I fix at home need to be quick and simple. With the boys needing help with homework and Lorelai needing my undivided attention, I just don't have the time to stand over a stove for any length of time.

And here's where we get to the easiest meal I've probably ever made (legit meal--frozen pizza and chicken nuggets don't count). The fact that it's inexpensive, doesn't require a trip to the store for fresh ingredients (yay cans!), is pretty darn healthy and my kids love it is just icing on the cake.

Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup
(originally from the Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook, with my modifications added in)


(yikes, clearly my food photography skills need work...It's yummy, I promise!)

• 4 chicken breast halves (I've cut back to 3 to save some money on meat and I don't miss the extra one at all since it's all shredded and mixed up at the end anyway)
• 2 15-oz. cans black beans, undrained
• 2 15-oz. cans Mexican stewed tomatoes or Rotel tomatoes (I usually use southwestern style diced tomatoes)
• 1 cup salsa (any heat you prefer, I use mild)
• 4-oz can chopped green chilies (I don't like spicy things at all and have never bought green chilies in my life so I omit this)
• 14 1/2-oz. can tomato sauce (I've used pasta sauce when I didn't have enough tomato sauce, nbd)
• Corn, eyeball it I guess? (I keep meaning to add this, but always forget since it's not in the original recipe. Can't vouch for it, but I'm guessing it probably doesn't suck if you like corn! But I obviously think it's great without the corn, too.)
• shredded cheese
• sour cream
• tortilla chips

Literally all you have to do is put your chicken breasts in your large crockpot, dump in everything except the cheese, sour cream and tortilla chips and cook on low for about 8 hours. I put frozen chicken breasts in my pot with all the ingredients and then into the fridge the night before so the chicken thaws a bit, and then start it before I leave for work. Most times it ends up cooking for closer to 9 hours, but since you're shredding the chicken anyway, cooking it a little longer doesn't matter.

When you get home, enjoy the amazing smell as you walk in the door (a very important step). Go outside and come back in, if you want. Then just before serving, shred the chicken with a fork and mix it up. Let it sit a little longer (or don't, it's probably good to go) and serve with shredded cheese, tortilla chips and sour cream. Bon appetit!

The recipe says this makes 6-8 servings. In my experience, it's enough for 2 generous adult portions (large bowl), 2 boy-sized portions (medium bowl) and one baby portion (small bowl) with probably about 3-4 servings left over. It freezes well, and you can do tacos/burritos or even a spin on enchiladas with the leftovers as well.

I'd love to hear any more super easy recipes you have! I'm clearly stuck in a food rut and need some help out before my family turns into frozen pizza and chicken nuggets :) (Ok, it's not that bad, but still...)

Linking up with Megan and Heather.