Printables

Made It: A Garden

Over the weekend we started our very own garden(s). 

Two 4x4 raised beds, fenced in to keep the deer away.  

One for vegetables: tomatoes, sugar snap peas, cilantro and basil.

One for assorted flowers, including African Daisies (we just couldn't pass those up). :)

Now just to keep it all alive! :)

Happy Mother's Day: You Will Never Believe What I Did Today! :)

Friends and family, if you know me well, then you better sit down for this one. :)

This morning I ran in a 5K race.  I kid you not.

Okay, three things.
1.  It was the Run Like a Mother race in Ridgefield, CT. 
2.  5K is ~3 miles.
3.  I can't talk about it with a straight face.  Me?  Run?  Hahaha!  Really it was more of a jog-when-I-think-my-family-is-watching/really-fast-mall-walk.

Did I train?
Um...sort-of.  I walked around our neighborhood a pre-determined number of laps pushing the double stroller (sometimes tripled up).  I also hit the pavement in the basement while watching HGTV--that was as exciting as it sounds.

And whatever in this world would possess me to do such a thing?

Plain and simple.

Peer pressure.

I ran bright and early (8:30a) on this beautiful Mother's Day with Becca and Emily.

Pre-race.

Post-race.  

Emily and I finished our walk/run in about 35 minutes. :)  Becca is an actual runner and beat us by a landslide. :)

Beza pre-race.

Post-race.

A very fun morning.  :)  Thanks Becca and Emily! :)

Happy Mother's Day!

Mom Favorite: How Have I Never Heard of This?

Amazon Mom.

I'm not sure where I found out about it--maybe on another blog?   Or in a magazine?  Anyway, it's AMAZING.

It's Amazon Prime, FREE, for up to a year!  Just for being a mom!

(3 free months and an additional month for each time you spend $25 for up to one year.)

That means FREE 2-day shipping (no way!).  AND additional discounts on baby-related items.  AND even more discounts if you sign-up for recurring delivery.

I am getting my diapers (LUVS) delivered, for free, to my door for less than I can buy them at my usual super-stores (which are 30 minutes away).

I also ordered these little gems with Amazon Mom right before we left to bring Beza home.

Teething Bling Donut Shaped Pendant Teething Necklace (more about it here) and Oh Plah Teething Bracelet (more here). 

Wearing the Teething Bling necklace on our trip to bring Beza home.

Loving Amazon Mom! :) 

Today's Lessons

1.  Silly Putty can be removed from sheets, bears and pj's with a strong dose of rubbing alcohol and elbow grease.

2.  Don't let children sleep with Silly Putty.

3.  Make sure diapers are tightly secured.  Luckily today's incident did not take place at a friend's house, in the van or at the grocery store.  Rather it happened on the tile (the freshly mopped tile.).

(T minus his jeans.)

4.  Boys think Mustangs are cool.  And he hasn't even seen the car, yet.

5.   These are not real caterpillars.  But if you squiggle them in your hands, you can make them look real.

6.  That trick works only once.

7.  Going foot loose and fancy free and letting Beza eat the real deal with her hands appears to be the key to getting her to eat. 

8.  Food can be really messy.

9.  Especially when you play peek-a-boo.

10.  Sweet potatoes turn into stuck-on paste.

11.  A good bath can wash away all of your troubles. :)

"I saw a snake and ran for my life!"--

--M panted as she burst into the bedroom.

"No way!  Is it still there?"

"Yes!"

So we did the only sensible thing. ;)

We donned these--

And happed upon this--

Another view (in case you just can't get enough ;).

M had been getting a piece of scrap wood to decorate with markers (we've been doing a lot of wood art. :), when she crossed paths with this guy.  She ditched the wood and ran into the house--locking the door behind her. 

When we went back out he was still there and we got to watch him slither across the grass and then into the woods.  Kind of creepy to hear the leaves crackling under his body.  He finally disappeared under last year's Christmas tree.  Needless to say, we won't be traipsing around in the woods any time soon. :)

After that grand adventure, we had our new family tradition (going one month strong)--Tuesday Tea.  A fun time to break out (hopefully not literally) the china and to say things like, "Would you like a spot of cream?"  and "Lovely afternoon, isn't it?"

Today's Tea questions: What do you want to be when you grow up and where would you want to live if you could live anywhere in the world?

An astronaut.

I want to live in a pink house.  But I want to live with you because I really like you guys.  I'll just paint this house pink.

A skoovy-divey (translation: scuba-diver).

In a skoovy-divey house (translation: In an underwater house.  Should make visiting interesting.)

And when asked, Beza gave us this look.  We decided that she was saying something about one-eyed elephants? :)

Made It: Sweet Lunches

Well, actually, what makes them so sweet are these insanely cute lunch bags.

 Beza's

 T's

M's

They make lunch on-the-go really fun. :)  Check more out over at Skip-Hop.

Sunday Funnies: Great Performances

Culture Class

We have this caterpillar that names famous composers like Mozart and Vivaldi.  M and T aren't well versed in their names or works just yet.

Laughing, M said, "Listen to this, T.  It says, 'You hung the bathroom book.'"

Better known as "Johann Sebastian Bach."  :)

 

Parking Lot Production

On Friday I went to the grocery store with the whole gang.  T sits in the top of the cart, Beza gets the bottom while in her infant seat, and M does a terrific job of walking along with me.  

Cart space is at a premium.  I work the bottom rack for all it's worth.

After checking out, it is impossible to recreate the food tetris so I always have to carry a few bags.

Back to Friday.  I left with 3 bags on my arm and a very full cart bottom.  Just as we walked out onto the sidewalk, the watermelon plopped off and started to roll away.  I caught it, put it back and started again.  It fell off, again.  Seeing my obvious look of confusion about what to do next, a kind person offered to escort the watermelon to the van.  

Two steps later we got caught on the hose being used to water the flowers.  I lifted the front over the hose, then the back.  The rotisserie chicken landed upside down on the pavement.
 

With the chicken secured and the watermelon safely in the van, T's balloon (you know, the kind that comes on a stick and says "Happy Assistant's Day" because it's free) became unattached from the stick and started skidding across the parking lot.  I skidded after it.

Then I picked up T to put him in the van.  His bagel headed in the opposite direction and rolled so that it's entirety touched the ground.  

At last everything and everyone was inside the van.  My troupe and I then exited the parking lot stage left. :)

Rolling double-stroller style with T and Beza on a farm market excursion earlier in the week.

Referral Photos and Happy 10 Months

Ugh...Remember all of those teaser photos?  

Here's a look back at the whole picture over the past 5 months. :)

Our very first glimpse of little Beza.

She was 5 1/2 months old (9lbs)

One more referral photo.

A Christmas morning photo present (thank you KV!)

6 months old.

~7 months old (Thank you V!)

Meeting Beza.

~8 months old.

Gotcha Week!

~9 months old

At home...

~10 months old

Beza is now an expert crawler.
Pulls up on everything.
Loves banana baby food (only) and Mum-mums.
Has a bit of trouble sleeping at night, but is getting much better.
Huge fan of granola bar wrappers. :)
Can't get enough running water during her baths.
"Talks" loudly to the cats.
Lights up around her people. :)

Happy 10 months, Beza!  We love you so much, Little Girl!

4 Weeks and HomeComing

I can hardly believe that we've been home with Beza for just a little over 4 weeks!

It might be a good time to finally post our homecoming photos. :)  (Tomorrow I'll post referral photos and give a little update.)

Without further ado...here are the photos taken by Becca and Eric the night that we came HOME. :)

We were greeted with signs, balloons, cakes and pizza.

(M's preschool even made a little sign on the front door.)

And some really cute little people. 

Pulling into the driveway.

First glimpses of their little sister.

Getting to know each other.

Just as this picture was being taken, M said, "Hi, Beza.  I'm your big sister."  And over the next few days I overheard her say several times, "We're always going to be here.  You're a part of our family forever."  M loves being the biggest sister.  

Thank you friends and family for such a sweet homecoming--what a precious memory.

And Nana and Grammy Miller thank you so much for staying with our little people while we were gone.  The peace of mind of knowing how well loved and taken care of they were was priceless.  Thank you for selflessly giving your time and hearts.  Love you!

For a few more pictures, hope over to this post on Becca's blog.  BTW, they are leaving in less than a month to meet their little girl for the first time.  We can not wait for little "A" to be home, too...

More "Funnies": So Much for Vanity

My hair recently entered the "it-must-be-chopped-NOW" zone--very similar to the sensation you get when the piece of gum you've been chewing for a while is well past its prime and has to go.

On Saturday I had the luxury of going to the salon kid-free for my favorite cut--the inverted bob.  It's just a little edgier than the standard bob--you know, to totally reflect my slightly "edgier" self. ;)  I also splurged on my first ever professional (subtle) highlights.  Ahh...it felt so good!  And I thought it looked pretty good, too.

And then I got home.

When we watched Tangled, M cried at the end. (*SPOILER ALERT*)  She cried not because Rapunzel's true love was "dead," but because of the loss of Rapunzel's long, beautiful blond locks.  In her eyes the poor princess was just not the same with her short, brown crop.  (Yes, we had the beauty comes from the inside talk.:)

When M and T saw the new "end-of-the-movie-Rapunzel" me there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth.  Okay, that's a little dramatic, but they made it quite clear that they were mourning the loss of my old hair.  Tough crowd for sure. :) 

I however, am enjoying the break from my daily ponytail routine very much. :)

As I am rarely (thankfully) captured on film, here's a glance of my lovely hair style from our neighborhood Easter-Egg Hunt.