A tasty side of teething

TEETHING IS AWFUL...for everyone involved.  And to make it worse, for me at least, I have two kids teething at once - a 1 year old getting all of his fronts and a 2.5 year old getting her 2 year molars.  We have meltdowns, we have tantrums.  I blink, one, or both cries.  We don't sleep. We don't eat.  It's no good, simply put.

And then today I had a rare occurrence...two babies napping at the same time.  I opened a thing of greek yogurt and almost sat down (which pretty much never happens), and then I had this great idea.  Teething kids love cold things in their mouths.  Teething kids don't eat.  Freeze the yogurt!  YUM!

So here's how it went down.  I put wax paper over a big plate and emptied one thing of black cherry (or whatever flavor you love) yogurt into a sandwich sized ziplock. 

Then I snipped just a tiny tip off the bag...



And piped the yogurt into small circles (about the size of a finger tip or so) starting in the middle and working out...

Popped them in the freezer for a couple of hours, peeled them off the wax paper, and they are ready to go.  As soon as the little ones woke they were fussing, so I gave them these and they loved them.  (I'm not going to lie, I had my fair share as well because they are delicious and nearly guilt free!!)

The only negative thing is that they melt pretty fast.  I gave them to these guys on the plate that had been in the freezer and that kept them from melting a bit.  On the plus side, they're cold and hopefully provided some relief from those darn teeth, they're healthy, taste awesome and are super easy to make.







That magic moment when you realize how bad you smell

When I became a mom, I never realized how many aspects of my life would change.  It has been literally years since I have slept straight through the night.  If I get to use the bathroom without one or both kids playing on/around me, I consider it a vacation.  I am ahead of the game if I wash my hair more than 3 times a week. Etc etc etc!  Nobody tells you about these things.  And if they did, I really don't think it's something you can understand or fully comprehend until it is your life. 

Anyhow, I remember when we just had Taylor and all of these changes were so hard to cope with.  How could I function without a shower? Where would I find the time to blow dry my hair? Do my makeup? Me...me...me! 

Fast forward a couple of years.  Two kids, many missed showers, and so many amazing memories later and I have a clouds parting, angels singing, sunbeams bursting, you get the picture, moment.

The day started off pretty normal, Taylor woke first and in a great mood.  I made her a bottle, got my coffee and she and I went to the front playroom to play so we wouldn't wake The Buke.  (Lucas)  We had the most amazing conversation about everything from the day she was born to how much she loves her poppy (Bruce) and so much more.  I ran to the bathroom and when  came back, Taylor was sprinting to the bedroom "Buke's awake! Buke's awake!!"  How awesome, I thought, that she is so excited to see her little brother.  We got the little guy and continued playing our merry little hearts away...no mommy centric agenda, just pure, uninterrupted playing!

I told Taylor it was her 2 1/2 birthday and I swear you could see the cogs in her little head turning and a wave of excitement sparkle in her eyes.  At the request of my little princess we scoured the house to create a blue birthday party!  By 9:30, the blue colored lemon cake was coming out of the oven.  (yes, I know "boo hiss you used artificial colors!"...it was a magic cake, blue-1 and all!!) We found some blue streamers and hung them.  Apparently tape doesn't like to stick to my walls and this was more of an endeavor than I had anticipated.  I was breaking a sweat and almost out of ideas to get those dang things to hang and Taylor says "don't give up Mommy"! Anyhow, our morning was an salute to Taylor. 

House work...pshhh, the mess isn't going anywhere, trust me.  What is going somewhere is the  small window of time we have with these little innocent creatures!  So we played, and we played, and we played some more.  We ate frosting, messed up the house, talked nonsense, chased each other, built blocks...magic!

And then, silence came over the house...it was naptime.  After eating some lunch, I did what I usually do to recharge and get ready for the afternoon, nothing!  I was sitting on the couch watching tv and wondering what the heck smelled so bad.  After awhile I realized...that smell...yeah, it was me!!!  We were so busy playing that I hadn't showered.  I had earned that smell!  Ok, you are probably thinking "eww gross" but, hey, I don't care.  It has taken me 2 1/2 years to realize that sometimes being stinky is an awesome thing! To be so caught up in play that you ditch the necessities of the past in favor of spending time with your rapidly growing babies is an awesome thing!

Cheers to all of the stinky, messy haired mommies of the world!  I GET IT!!!

Comfortable patience

So it's a new year.  Resolutions...  We all want to lose a few lbs...uninteresting resolution.  There are so many many things that I wold love to "resolve" to do to become a better person but it would be nearly impossible to lump them all together at once and just for the sake of having a "new years resolution" if you ask me.  So, what do I constantly struggle with........

It's hard to describe it, but on most days, I feel the drive to get out of the house.  To go somewhere, not because I need to, but just for the sake of going somewhere.  And so I spend the first part of the morning trying to put my brain around whatever it is that I have made up as needing to get done in my mind.  I play with the babies, feed them, put Lucas down for his morning nap, all the while distracted by my ficticious "must do".  I HAVE to get my shower so that we can get out the door once he wakes up.  Yes Taylor, mommy will play with you, but her brain is somewhere else.  I don't like this!!!  It isn't comfortable and it isn't going to change unless I make it change. 

So this morning I began.  It is 3:00, I've been nowhere, not showered, and I'm not certain that I brushed my teeth, BUT I have been fully present with my little ones and we have been having a blast.  No I am not saying that I'm never leaving the house again, however, I need to get these senseless trips stopped.  Given the choice between a morning of relaxed, engaging playing at home and a rushed senseless trip to the mall, to grocery store, or somewhere of the sort, I'm pretty sure my little friends would choose staying in!  I have no idea if any of his makes sense, but in my mind, it does, so I suppose that's all that matters.  I hereby resolve to be a fully present mother and say ttfn to the useless excursions!!!!