Thursday

Why Yesterday Was A Success

1. R is potty-trained! He is a pee-and-poop-on-the-potty champ! I even trusted him enough to take him to the zoo today in underwear without even bringing a change of clothes! (Not surprising, since I was the mother of newborns who never carried a diaper bag, who never had anything, just sometimes a crumpled-up size-too-small diaper in my glove compartment)
2. I got two stains out of clothing while doing laundry
3. I prepped supper before we went to the pool so that I could be quick when we arrived back home at 6:30. I've never done early meal-prepping/crockpot cooking/frozen casseroles before.
4. I bounced back from what felt like a slow death on Tuesday, to feeling fine yesterday.
5. I made two blueberry-cherry crisps (one for ME and one for my neighbors).
6. I showered.
7. I organized the kids clothes and folded lots of laundry

Wednesday

What I've Done Since My Last Shower

1. Been to the pool. Twice.
2. Had a bout of diarrhea and vomiting
3. Went cherry and blueberry picking in 95 degree weather
4. Slept three nights

Tuesday

When Mom's Sick

1. The kids get to watch a lot of TV
2. I have to clean up her own vomit, which isn't fun
3. W becomes my caretaker, bringing me cough drops, tissues, clean towels, chapstick...
4. R doesn't help at all
5. The kids make dots all over their bodies with markers
6. Frozen pizza makes its second appearance of the week at suppertime
7. I sit in the bathtub for two hours at a time
8. I see how flat and tight my stomach gets from puking and wish my illness with coincide with a swimsuit outing for once.
9. Puddy lays right on top of me the whole time I am lying down.
10. My lifeless body becomes R's racetrack for his cars
11. R finally decides to successfully potty-train

Monday

How We've Kicked Off Summer

1. Milkshakes at Fitz's
2. We bought a summer pool pass
3. Sno-cones at Oh Lolli Lolli
4. We got our traditional minor sunburn on the first day at the pool
5. Pool party with friends
6. Just bough flip flops at Target for the kids
7. Andy grilled today
8. We've been staying up late and sleeping in this holiday weekend

Saturday

Today's Grocery List

1. Quinoa
2. Soup
3. Chow Mein noodles
4. Chips
5. Cereal
6. Tortilla shells
7. 2 chicken breasts
8. Grapes
9. Eggs
10. Monterey Jack cheese
11. French bread
12. Scallions
13. Frozen corn
14. Tomato
15. Avocado
16. Limes
17. Vital Wheat Gluten
18. Strawberries

Friday

Our Summer Bucket List

1. Pick peaches
2. Go to Silver Dollar City
3. Bake cookies
4. Explore Elephant Rocks park
5. Go on a train ride to Illinois
6. Visit the Science Center
7. Picnic at the Arch
8. Day at the Buffalo River
9. Geocatching
10. Dessert at Crown Candy Kitchen
11. Visit the Buffalo Park
12. Host a birthday party for Puddy
13. Go to a Cardinal's Game
14. Visit the Butterfly House
15. Go to the Sea Lion Sound opening at the zoo
16. Make a bird feeder for Papaw
17. Go to a putt-putt course
18. Make popsicles
19. Visit the art museum
20. Take out the paddleboats
21. Make books

Thursday

Things I Want

1. Some white short shorts
2. Black t-strap sandals
3. Workout clothes
4. Sunglasses. there are a pair of Vogue brand ones at Macys that I love.
5. Running socks
6. An iPhone case like THIS
7. THESE shoes
8. A new swimsuit
9. The perfect pool bag

Tuesday

Why W Has Declared This Day "The Bestest Day Ever"

1. She got to "sleep in," which is what she said, but she really woke up at 7:00, which is normal for a school day.
2. Her and R watched Sesame Street while I was meeting with another school mom at her house.
3. I took them to Demun Park for a nice morning of playing.
4. We got sno-cones next door, and she was thrilled they had her favorite- strawberry
5. Snack-Plate for lunch (I do this when I don't know what to make them. They each have a plastic plate with 4 sections. I fill the 4 sections with random things that wouldn't normally go together. It's our version of muffin-tin meals.)
6. Movie after naps
7. They get to to to "Daddy's Office!" because I have a meeting in Clayton at 5:30, so I'm just going to drop them with him so he doesn't have to come home early.
8. I let them buy a frozen pizza for Andy to make them for supper, since I'm going to be gone. Oh, the joys a $2 Totino's Party Pizza can bring.
9. Her Minnie Mouse nightgown is clean and ready to wear tonight.

Monday

What I Ate Yesterday

1. Water and a cheese stick
2. Post-race complimentary sacked breakfast: cinnamon-raisin roll from Breadsmith, orange juice, and a banana. I skipped on the yogurt.
3. A wrap for lunch made with a Flatout tortilla, smushed avocado, mushrooms, sweet potato, onion, Organic Girl Super Greens, and garbanzo beans with some Xochitl chips
4. Farfalle with pesto and sauteed onions, peas, mushrooms, red/orange/&yellow peppers, spinach, and shallots
5. A couple chocolate-banana brownies and a glass of almond milk

Sunday

Right Now, Because I Can't Think Of Anything Else As My Brain Is Fried

1. Almost Famous is on the TV, and I'm only half-watching
2. R is building a very involved train track
3. Puddy is begging for supper
4. My ankles hurt
5. Andy and W are out shopping for balance bikes for the kids and getting an ice cream cone
6. I am trying to figure out the ins and outs of Shutterfly and getting very frustrated
7. Quinoa is simmering on the stove
8. I'm SO HUNGRY for supper....maybe a veggie-packed pasta?
9. I am horrified at the state of uncleanliness of my home. I just can't get motivated this weekend.
10. I am wearing my glasses, even though they just snapped in half at the nose bridge piece.
11. It's raining.
12. I'm making brownies tonight and can't decide if I should make them homemade or use the reduced-fat mix of Trader Joe's.

Friday

Things I Love About My Kids

1. W's hair fresh out the bath
2. How she loves to be praised and loves to be snuggled
3. When it's too late for clothes, but too early for jammies, and I put them in a hand-me-down-from-me t-shirt (because it reminds me of getting to wear one at my Great Aunt Mert's house)
4. R's love for a backscratch and rub
5. When he goes off on a monotone blabber where I don't know what he's saying but I have to respond because his inflection suggests that it was a question
6. When W works on an art project that lasts over several days
7. How they play together. It's such a sweet, precious thing for me to watch.
8. New jammie nights
9. R's imaginary play...all by himself immersed in whatever...airplanes, Legos, train track, dinosaurs....he is so content and creative.
10. I can trust them in all situations....fancy restaurants, doctor's offices, art museums, nice stores.
11. Listening to them apologizing to one another and granting forgiveness (especially R- melt my heart)
12. The joy they have when Daddy gets home
13. Baking with them
14. W's so sensitive to my feelings and hurts alongside me when I'm hurting
15. I love when R comes sleepily stumbling out of his bed in the morning, dragging his monkey blanket and Chops the bear
16. Singing You Are My Sunshine together
17. They both love to play with my hair and fix it up with barrettes
18. R says "pinkles" instead of "sprinkles," and W calls construction paper "instruction paper." I treasure those little sweet goofs.
I could go on forever...

Thursday

Today

1. I just ran a 5K! I'm so proud of myself. My friend Aaron went with me and pushed my children in the jogging stroller to give me a break. It was easy-breezy, and I'm thankful for that.
2. Teddy is here playing with R. W thinks she's babysitting them, which is helpful.
3. W and I are going to bake some beet cookies (a weelicious recipe that we enjoy).
4. I need to make some returns to Target.
5. I am going to walk the kids down to the Redbox machine to rent Hop to watch tonight while Andy's cycling.
6. I am waiting to hear back from the mom's of W's classmates so that I can begin to work on the Shutterfly book I'm making the teachers for their end-of-the-year gift "from the class." A nicer version of THIS that has the kids answers and a photo of them. And I just got an email that Shutterfly books are currently 50% off.
7. Almost every article of clothing we own is in a clean laundry pile in my bedroom that is only getting bigger. I need to tackle that.
8. I need to shower, but don't trust 3 kids in the house alone. Since we have a tub and a shower in our master bath, I want to put the kids in the tub while I shower. I am trying to determine the inappropriateness level of showering in front of someone else's three-year-old.
9. Want to make some chickpea cutlets
10. I forgot that I never watched Sunday night's Mad Men and two episodes of Restaurant Impossible. What a surprise treat I have waiting for me!
11. Tank top weather! I've been waiting so long for this.
12. Can't stop thinking about/being challenged by/wondering what it means to me/etc. this quote my friend Ryan tweeted: "If you buy into that myth that our homes are self-sufficient incubators for child-rearing, then you will be isolated by a constant sense of failure."

Wednesday

Little Things I Say A Lot That My Kids Have Also Adopted

1. We gotta go, go, go, gotta rodeo!
2. Referring to the interstate as the big highway. Actually the big hah-way.
3. Well, forevermore!
4. Bless your heart.
5. I'm fixin' to...
6. Let's rock and roll
7. Do it to it
8. Hot tamales!
9. Welp...

Monday

R's Favorite Things

1. Duplos
2. His train set
3. Horses
4. Airplanes and helicopters
5. Sitting on the arch steps and watching the river
6. Backscratches and full body rubs
7. Blueberries
8. Dinosaurs
9. His friend Teddy
10. Papaw
11. Papaw's truck
12. Quinoa
13. Typing out words on the computer
14. Cookies
15. Sliding
16. He-Man
17. Going to Missy's house
18. Robin Hood
19. Playing with his sister

Sunday

This Weekend

1. Friday afternoon, we went to the zoo for Zoo Friends Day and stayed until 7:30. It was so fun! Our favorite moment was spending time with Kenzi, the baby elephant.
2. Friday night, Andy went out, so I had a little movie party for one in my bed. I watched The Searchers, an old John Wayne film and had chia pudding.
3. Saturday morning, the kids and I went with Aaron and her kids to the farmer's market at Tower Grove, our favorite weekend ritual.
4. After produce shopping, we went to the Left Bank Books story time and the kids enjoyed stories and a special mother's day craft while I sat on the floor in a corner and poured over some expensive art books.
5. I took a too-long nap.
6. Andy went out again Saturday night, so I had another little movie party. This time I watched Melancholia (again) and had freshly baked strawberry crisp.
7. Sunday morning, I opened my mother's day cards and gift from the kids and Andy made pancakes for breakfast.
8. We went to church.
9. We went over to Andy's parent's house for brunch and let the kids play for awhile in the yard before we came home.
10. Family movie afternoon- animated Robin Hood, a family favorite.
11. A not-so-much evening of playing, eating supper, and getting ready for bed.
12. Andy and I are getting ready to watch the final 3 episodes of Fringe for this season.

Saturday

My Favorite Picks At The Farmer's Market

1. Strawberries
2. Cherries
3. Greens! (arugula, bibb, spinach, kale, chard...)
4. Beets
5. Honey
6. Brioche
7. New potatoes
8. Mushrooms
9. Green beans
10. Asparagus
11. Broccoli

Friday

Our Teacher Appreciation Week Gifts

1. Monday- Panera gift cards
2. Wednesday- Aveda products, Starbucks gift cards, and W made them a bracelet and card
3. Friday- chocolate chip cookies on a cute tray all wrapped up with a fabric bow and dishtowel

Thursday

Yesterday's Ridiculousness

1. I can't quit coughing and hacking stuff up. I would say I have the black lung, but everything that comes up is green/yellow.
2. I suppose my phlegm-induced nausea gave me a lapse in judgment, as I went to the store and bought the components of last night's supper- Chef Boyardee pizza box, ovaltine milkshakes, and popcorn. The kids were in heaven. I felt like I was contributing to America's obesity problem.
3. The speaker on my iPhone is wonky, so now when I get any alerts or try to use the speaker function or play a video, it sounds like an underwater Darth Vader that you cannot understand.
4. W puked pretty fiercely in her bed, so she moved to my bed and sent A to the couch. She then threw up twice in my bed. I was awake from midnight until 2:30 am.
5. We did not have internet yesterday. I had so much stuff I needed to do on the computer, but wasn't able to.

Monday

This Week

1. Might be our last week with the nebulizer. Fingers crossed!
2. It's teacher appreciation week at school, so we are having fun thinking of ways to bless W's teacher and teacher helper.
3. Today was W's last Star Day for 3K. I stayed all morning and was crying every five minutes. I love her sweet class.
4. City Museum tomorrow with our neighbor kids and their grandma
5. W's first trip to the dentist tomorrow. I am so thankful that our dentist is a great family friend that she knows well.
6. Follow-up for R with the pediatrician
7. Zoo Members Day on Friday...we are going to make it another epic zoo visit.
8. Saturday with friends...day-long playdate
9. I have some free time on Thursday while the kids are spending the day with their grandma.

Sunday

Healthy Snacks and Add-Ins For Your Dog

1. Apples that have been cored and seeded
2. Carrots
3. Sweet potatoes
4. Canned salmon
5. Ground beef, chicken, or turkey
6. Boneless, skinless, chicken breast
7. Cottage cheese
8. Eggs
9. Beans- canned or cooked
10. Greens
11. Green beans
12. Broccoli
13. Cauliflower
14. Peas
15. Canned pumpkin
16. Millet, brown rice, buckwheat
17. Oats and oatmeal
18. Pasta
19. Blackstrap molasses
20. Non-fat yogurt
21. Garlic
22. Olive or safflower oil

Saturday

Some Confessions

1. I had a panic attack on Sunday that was triggered by a tiny seed tick I found in a reusable shopping bag that had my husband's hunting clothes in it.
2. Monday night is my guilty pleasures TV night. I watch Gossip Girl and Hart of Dixie. I just can't quit. And I'll watch The Bachelorette in May when Emily's season starts.
3. I judge people when I see what they are buying at the grocery store when I'm in line behind them.
4. I accidentally "poked" (why does that feature even exist??!) an old boyfriend's wife on facebook, who I am not friends with. I was just innocently stalking her. So awkward!
5. I ate an entire strawberry crisp by myself in two days.
6. You know how clean-freak Monica (on Friends) had her hoarder/messy closet? For me, it is my toaster oven. It is always disgusting, and I don't even really understand how to clean it.
7. I was seen in public yesterday in what could only be described as inappropriate lounge wear.
8. My sister blames my frequent depression on me only reading westerns and watching war movies.
9. However, I am starting to really enjoy watching Doc McStuffins.
10. I love mushrooms, especially baby portobellos, and eat them every daty, but hate washing them.  So I don't. Mushrooms have visible dirt on them. I justify this by sauteeing them and not feeding them to my children.

Friday

Why I Loved This Week's New Girl Episode

1. River is one of my favorite songs, so it was fun to see it featured so prominently in the episode. Joni does reach right into the soul.
2. Jess made a Cylon reference. A Cylon reference! If you are a Battlestar Galactica fan, which I am, you were dying on that one.
3. So hilarious when Schmidt (sweet-wish-I-had-him-bottled-up-Schmidt) "The fact that you were wearing pajamas in the presence of your lover tells me that that relationship was doomed from the start."
4. "I thought at first you were the Asian Jess, but now I realize I am just a Caucasian Jen"
5. A Tom Waits reference! Nick saying the voices in his head have the voice of Tom Waits. I was just waiting for Jess to say her voices are Crystal Gayle's and they would break into a little "One From The Heart."
6. "You've backslid...all the way down the hill into the parking lot, taken your skis off and waiting for your family."
7. When Schmidt asked Cece's grandmother if he deserved a girl as great as Cece, and she responded with, "Not with all those moles on your face." Beautiful.
8. When Schmidt told Jess she wasn't the only one hurting..."the economy stinks, bees are dying, movies are pretty much all sequels now, and I have a broken penis."
9. Schmidt (again, hilarious) when he said to give Winston's earring a break because he'd just gotten back from Carnivale.
10. This Caroline/Nick/please-Jess love triangle is coming to a head and I predict it will be awesome.
11. "I'm sorry I made you feel like Monica Lewinsky." "Stop crying. You are literally the ugliest crier I have ever seen. You cry smile!"
12. Nick's Caroline video was amazing. "Or whatever they call you in your time."

Thursday

What We Did With All Those Strawberries

1. The kids ate about 20 on the way home, because I stashed them in the empty seat between their car seats. R's repeated line on the drive back was, "This'll be my LAST one."
2. Sunday after church, we had breakfast for lunch, so I made strawberry syrup on the stovetop.
3. I froze about 2 quarts whole for smoothies, and another quart sliced and diced for recipes and whatnot.
4. I made THIS Sunday night and it's pretty good. I left off the fruit slices on the top and just included them inside the bread, so mine's not as pretty as the one from the recipe.
5. I made THIS for dinner on Monday night, since we were having friends over to eat. (I omitted the white sugar in the topping, added more oats, and used whole wheat flour.)
6. I also made strawberry ice cream in the ice cream maker on Tuesday using half the sugar.
7. Thanks to Amazon Prime, my donut pan arrived in 2 quick days to make THESE for snack today and caused my daughter to squeal with excitement and name me the best momma ever!
8. Strawberries made their appearance sliced on breakfast cereal, whole in lunchbags, as a side for dinner, and rolled up with peanut butter in wraps this week.
9. I had Kashi Go Lean Crunch with sliced strawberries for breakfast almost every day this week.
10. I made a batch of veganized strawberry muffins for the freezer
11. I finished up the stash by taking some over to share with our friends for a playdate.

Wednesday

Right Now

1. Kids are playing "motorcycle fixer shop"
2. Counting down the hours until I get to go out with Mis
3. Eating a little strawberry crisp snack
4. Listening to the latest Of Monsters and Men album
5. W just ran in with a gasp because she found Lauren's lip balm
6. Wearing a bicycle t-shirt and cropped yoga pants
7. Puddy is lying upside down on the cool, bathroom floor after a long walk
8. Now I'm listening to Walt Whitman (Trampled by Turtles)
9. Drinking almond milk
10. Now the kids are drawing bubble machines on their marker board
11. W just wanted to say to the computer, "Dear Lucy, I like to play with you every day at school. Lucy, I just love when you play with me. I think you make me so happy, and every day I like to play with you at school."
12. Evangeline- Emmylou Harris and The Band
13. Jumped over to facebook to write a friend a note
14. Realizing it's time for another nebulizer treatment. So fun. Not at all.

Tuesday

What's Hanging On The Side Of Our Refrigerator

1. A W art piece- colored-in lines of a piece of notebook paper with a sun on the side and two rows of Sesame Street stickers
2. 5 big magnetic clips from Arkansas Childrens Hospital
3. A magnet from the Art Institute
4. An order for blood work for R- the lead test that they are supposed to get at 1 year. He is 2 1/2.
5. An invitation to a Duke University alumni event
6. 2 Imos coupons
7. The schedule for R's nebulizer and medicine so that we can keep track of times/days
8. A Paul Klee magnet