Detox Week

We're back from the beach, and Spring Break 2012 has officially come to an end. In fact, I'd say it was really over when Ava threw a tantrum like a toddler last night and got sent to bed for it. Today, though, she was up and at 'em, and happy to get back to a routine. We even started the day for her with an 8am dentist appointment. Always fun.

I was so indulgent last week, or so it felt. I ate whatever, drank too much wine, and exercised too little. I also used too little sunscreen, and I hate to say it, but I just prefer me with some color. Real color, not tan-in-a-can color. I know, I know. It's terrible. I'll be good the rest of the spring and summer. I just needed a little base. It's my vice. My kids, on the other hand, are like little Edward Cullens (minus the sparkling-in-the-sunlight-thing), and are in constant need of SPF 300. I'm not sure they produce melanin at all. However, they do look cute on the beach. Not that I'm biased:

 

I did manage to sneak in a few runs on the beach, which was really nice. The weather was insanely perfect. And, the beach is flat enough that five miles feels pretty easy. 

But, aside from a few runs, I did nothing good for my body. So, this week is detox. I hate detox. I'm trying to avoid dessert, and worse, alcohol. It's not that I'm a raging alcoholic, but I do like my wind-down glass of wine around 5:30 every day. It's kind of a ritual. And, let's be real. It's more like 2 glasses. Which, really, is not exactly a crime. But, sometimes I think it's good to give your body a break from the things it craves. We'll see if I last the whole week. This gorgeous spring weather makes it tough, but I think I can make it. 

I'm off to make a healthy dinner of black beans and rice. Can't wait to hear the not-so-subtle cries of disappointment from the kids on that entree. 

Happy Birthday Davis (better late than never, right?)

Happy Easter weekend, peeps. We've been at the beach all week enjoying some amazing weather for spring break. Of course, it turned a frigid 50ish degrees today, so we're all kind of cooped up inside. I did manage to send Morgan to lunch with the kids while my mom and I snuck away for a grown up girls' lunch, complete with a Bloody Mary for me. I'm going to try to undo that damage in a little while with a chilly run on the beach.
On Monday, the day we headed down to the beach, my baby turned 3. THREE! So, Davis, this post is for you. You, the little boy who made me see why it is that women seem to swoon so much over their sons. You, the boy who is in perpetual motion, but never too busy for a hug, or to tell me you love me. You, my sweet son, on whom I will forever have a huge crush.

Three years have come and gone in the blink of an eye. It's hard to believe there was a time when you didn't sleep through the night, a time when you didn't talk. Nowadays, it's play hard, talk constantly, and sleep soundly. You never meet a stranger, and your exuberance for life is contagious. While it's certainly true that you make me crazy at times, it's also true that you put a smile on my face no fewer than 50 times a day. You are an absolute love, and you make me proud to be your mommy. In the words of your favorite song, you are my sunshine. I love you.

Big Boy Room

Thanks for the potty training suggestions the other day. I've decided not to stress over the pooping issues.....it will all work itself out in time. 

Moving on to more fun topics. I'm getting ready to move Davis out of his crib and into a big boy bed. When we were at Disney last month, he slept in a double bed by himself and did great. We didn't use rails or anything, and he slept on one side of the bed rather than the middle. He didn't fall out at all, and he also stayed put. I anticipated that he would be up and down all night, but no. So, that was good.

Luckily for me, my mom has a couple of twin beds at her house that belonged to my grandparents. Davis' room is really small, so I'm not going to try to cram two beds in there. If it was a guest room, that might be okay, but since I want him to have room for toys, we're just sticking to a single twin. I used to think that looked a bit institutional (sanatorium, anyone?), but I think that if it's done correctly, and with cute accessories, it can be a good option.

So, the bed is dark wood, something else I used to shun, but for a boy's room, I think that's fine. Plus, I can always paint it at some point if need be. The walls are currently light blue, and they're staying that way. I picked up cute madras bedding at Pottery Barn Kids a few weeks ago:

I didn't do the alligator sheets, though. I picked this train print instead:

I need to find some cute wall art, because what I have right now goes with his crib bedding. I may let Ava do some drawings or paintings with colors that coordinate with his bedding and just frame those for now. I think she'd enjoy helping out with his new room. If I'm feeling really nice, I might even let Davis paint something. 

My dilemma is that we still have the nursery rocking chair in there. It's not an ugly one.....it was my splurge when we were doing the nursery for Ava. It's upholstered, and doesn't have any exposed wood or anything like that. It looks more like real furniture. When I bought it, I really thought we would always keep it and be able to put it somewhere. Of course, now it truly feels more like a nursery piece, so I can't decide what to do with it. We have a bonus room that I'm trying to revamp, so for now, I may move it up there. I'm a little sentimental about it. I mean, that's where I spent many a night feeding and rocking my babies, and it's hard for me to let it go. 

For a new seating option for Davis, I think I'm going to get him this beanbag seat from PB Kids:

It's available in the same madras as his bedding, but I think that's just too much matching. 

I need new window treatments, too, and I'm thinking of trying out some DIY Roman shades. I'm not crafty, so we'll see how that goes. Of course, the ones from PB that are already made are awfully appealing. Especially with the blackout liners....

Those also come in the madras, but again, maybe too matchy-matchy? I don't know. 

For now, I just need to figure out when I can get to my parents' house and load the twin bed into the Odyssey. I'm hoping that will happen just after spring break. I can't wait to get the room all done!

(Mostly) Potty Trained

Disclaimer: this post contains discussion of my preschooler's bodily functions, primarily, his bathroom habits. Read at your own discretion. 

A while back, I mentioned that I was going to start potty training Davis. This was a task I should have taken on last summer, when he was a young 2. I was a little lazy, though, and despite the fact that diapers are gross, there is something easy about them.

In my mind, though, I knew I needed Davis in underwear by his 3rd birthday, which happens now to be only 6 days away. So, about 2 weeks ago, after he recovered from some nasty fever virus, I decided to just go for it. No Pull-Ups, just straight into underwear. He has done great. We've had very few accidents, unless you count the fact that the child refuses to poop in the potty. That's right. He would rather crap soil his Lightning McQueen underwear than sit on the potty to go. Peeing? Not a problem at all. He tells us when he needs to go, and even stands up sometimes. (By the way, my heart goes out to all of you with more than one boy. The mess in the bathroom is  just gross.)

I've tried several routes with the pooping issue. At first, I just threw away the dirty underwear, which Davis didn't like. Underwear with Disney characters is pretty cool, after all, and seeing it go out with the trash is no fun. He was distraught by that,  but not enough to entice him to try out the potty. I think he's scared, but I can't totally nail down the problem.

Next, I went to Target and got a toy that I know he wants. It's some airplane from Imaginext. This one, I think:

It's sitting in plain view on top of my refrigerator. I remind Davis daily that he can have it when he poops on the potty. We came really  close today, but at the last minute, he jumped off, having clearly changed his mind. The fact that he was walking around holding his little tush made it clear to me that he really needed to go. I stalked him until nap time to prevent an accident, though. Heh heh.

So, no luck with the airplane. I'm kind of at my wits' end because seriously? There is nothing worse than cleaning up after him. It's gross. If you're actually still reading this, any advice you have to get him TOTALLY trained would be so appreciated. Obviously, I don't want to make a huge deal over this and railroad the progress we have made, but if I have to clean up another pair of underwear, I may scream. Or just throw up. Because really? Yuck.

The Easter Bunny

Ava keeps telling me we need to go see the Easter Bunny.

 

I'm pretty much standing my ground with 'no' on that one. Does anyone my age recall going to talk to the Easter Bunny? Last time I checked, Easter isn't Christmas. My kids will get some candy, and maybe a stuffed animal. Maybe even a small toy. That's what I used to get, and I was happy with that. This notion of going to talk to the Easter Bunny about what you want in your basket is ludicrous to me. (By the way, I just had a lot of trouble spelling "ludicrous", and really wanted to spell it like the rapper: ludacris. That, according to spell check, is not correct).

Anyway, I'm just wondering if I'm out of the loop. Is it really a "thing" now to go and talk to the Easter Bunny? I'm good with  getting some pics with a bunny at an Easter egg hunt, but I think my kids are already spoiled enough that they don't need to be demanding gifts from some perv in a bunny suit.

 

image

But maybe that's just me.

In the meantime, I leave you with a sweet image of my peacefully sleeping eldest child. Insert "awwww" here. Or, insert, "Carter is really obnoxious with this picture" here. Whichever you prefer.

Pinterest is making me fat.

Once upon a time, I was a pretty healthy eater. Oh, I had wine o'plenty. And the occasional sweet. But I tracked calories, made sure I was eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and read healthy food blogs all the time.

Now I'm completely uncommitted to such things. Sure, I'm not eating McDonald's every day. Just Chick Fila every week. And I never look at calorie count. I guess I think I kind of know what's healthy and what's not. Most days I eat lunch at home, and it's either a sandwich or a salad. But there is a decent amount of snacking. And dessert. Man, do I have a sweet tooth.

And then there's Pinterest. I think I have pinned over  150 recipes. I have tried quite a few of them. And most of the ones I keep trying are some kind of cake, muffin, or brownie. Sometimes, things look so good that I apparently pin them twice. Like this:

 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

via Pinterest

In fact, I've noticed that I have pinned quite a few desserts that involve peanut butter and chocolate. I mean, honestly folks, what's not to love? This, in particular, is a must-try for me:

 

Via Pinterest

Now, not all the food I've pinned is sinful. Some of it is healthy. I just haven't tested out any of the healthy stuff. 

Last week I made a cake from Cooking Light magazine. I have a love/hate relationship with that particular publication. If you've ever picked it up, you'll understand when I complain that most of their recipes call for now fewer than 73 ingredients. Many of those are expensive or obscure. I find it's easier to go to Trader Joe's and get some frozen entree for the family than it is to traipse around town to every ethnic market looking for bamboo shoots to go in my Asian chicken. Maybe that's just me, though.

So, the recipe I made last week was their Texas Sheet cake. It won their contest for best "light" chocolate recipe. Let me tell you: light it was not. The cake and the frosting contain a total of nearly 2 sticks of butter and five cups of sugar. And it is way too sweet. I'm not entirely sure how it won, but it doesn't make me want to rush to try out the other contenders. 

One recipe I will recommend, however, is this one, which I found off - you guessed it - Pinterest. It's not terribly light, but also not a complete gut-buster. It's meatless,  but if that doesn't appeal to you, I don't see why you couldn't add some chicken. Give it a try if you need a fairly quick weeknight meal. My kids ate it, too, so I consider it a success.

 

Find the full recipe here

(note: I was out of sour cream so I substituted Greek yogurt and it turned out great)

Oh, and I'm sure you're just dying to follow me on Pinterest, so please do so here.

Weekend

We enjoyed a fun weekend with some fantastic weather. Friday night my friend Jill and I took our kids out for pizza. They played outside for a good hour after dinner. I was a huge pig and ate four slices of pizza and had 2 Blue Moons. I guess that's why I work out, right? I might have had some chocolate cake when I got home, too.

Morgan was at the NCAA tournament in Greensboro and got to witness the big Dook loss. Go Lehigh! This kept showing up on my Facebook news feed and I thought it was pretty funny:

 

Saturday involved me trying to undo some of Friday night's caloric damage with a Spinning class. The rest of the day was filled with chores, a little work, and an excursion to Target and lululemon. The lulu trip got me in a bit of  trouble with a new shirt and shorts. 

Tracker  shorts (my favorite ever....made for "athletic" legs, which is kind of a nice way of saying chubby, I think).

 

I got these in black a few weeks ago and had to add the ultraviolet to my collection. I also threw in a Swiftly tee in lavender. 

 

I need to stay out of there. I can't seem to leave without making a purchase. However, fun workout clothes do seem to keep me motivated to get to the gym, so I guess I can consider it an investment in my health. Somehow, I don't think Morgan sees it that way. (Sorry, honey).

Yesterday was church, and then we were lucky enough to have tickets for the UNC game in Greensboro. We took the kids to my parents' house, and then headed to the game. We were able to get a quick visit with Morgan's family, including his brother. Got a cute pic of him with Davis:

John is a Duke grad, and he was the one that was gracious enough to give us his NCAA Tournament tickets. He and Davis were well-coordinated in their blues.

The game was great.....big Carolina win. Of course, it's all touch and go now with poor Kendall Marshall's broken wrist. Our seats gave us a good view of all the players.....I just love this Tar Heel team. 

Hope all of you had a good weekend, too!