One Fish, Two Fish birthday party

#2's birthday just passed, and she wanted a fishy birthday party.  One of her favorite books right now is One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, and when I saw an idea in Family Fun for fish cupcakes, it was final!  Here is a link to the directions.  Cute, right?  #1 and #2 love helping me in the kitchen, but since M&M's were involved, I set aside a few for them to decorate for the house.  Think "one for the cupcake, a few for me."  

#2's birthday cupcakes!  

This is what ours came out like.  Not as pretty as the ones from the magazine, and we didn't have the fruit slices, but it was still fun making them.

One of my friends is a graphic designer, and she designed me the perfect birthday invitation!  She's amazingly talented and we would go back to her in a heartbeat!  

Birthday cupcakes in our house are always tricky because #2 has an egg intolerance.  She gets rashy and itchy, so we do egg free in our house.  It's tough when baking, but there is a WONDERFUL mix made by Cherrybrook Kitchen (click here to see it) that is dairy, egg and nut free!!!  We found out about it a few years ago when my niece was coming to one of our birthday party's. She has a tree nut allergy, so we wanted to make something safe for her.  This was perfect.  Quite frankly, it's better than any other chocolate cake I've ever had.  Very rich, and it has chocolate chips inside too.  Scrumptious! 

The Golden Rule

Something I am always trying to teach my little ones is how to be kind and thoughtful.  I got The Berenstain Bears and the Golden Rule (Berenstain Bears/Living Lights).  #1 is very much a rule follower and LOVES books, so I felt this was perfect for her.  We haven't made much progress with it, because lets face it... all children are selfish little beings and only learn by actions... but I always make reference to "The Golden Rule." 

So, I guess #1 would like to get flowers more often because she picks them everywhere and brings them home to me.  I love it! 

#1 picking flowers from a little patch

Although she's going through a bit of a bad behavioral patch, she can be the sweetest little thing (she should have been an only child!).  She also walks up to me at random times throughout the day and says "Mommy, I just love you."  Enough to melt my heart!

As most of you parents out there know, you don't see much "product" from your parenting efforts until the children are much older.  I used to believe that 100%.  Now, I believe that you see little glimpses of who they are going to be throughout their childhood.  My little #1 can add thoughtful to her list!

Day one: Circuit Endurance

About six years ago, I came across a run/walk routine that, if followed, should get you to running for 30 minutes in 10 weeks.  I made it all the way to week 5 and it all went downhill. My husband and I went to a wedding and everyone got food poisoning, so when I got back, I was weak and gave up on it.  The thing with running is, you have to keep up with it, or it's harder than anything to step back into it. 
This week (which I started today) it's run 2 minutes, walk 4 and repeat 5 times.  Since I started today, tomorrow is a rest day.  I won't do the run/walking.  I will probably do some strength training instead. 

I am very excited about this because it worked well before, and it gave me a lot of energy.  Stay tuned! 

Exhaustion

I'm exhausted, to say the least.  I find that the weeks are exhausting, but the weekends are even more exhausting.  Thinking back, it doesn't seem like we did much today, but just taking care of the three kids is enough to suck the life out of me! 

The last few months #1 was in school, I joined the local fitness club and it did wonders for my energy level.  I was in quite a groove.  First, we would drop off #1, then I would walk over to the club with the other two.  Once I checked them into the childcare room, I would spend 45 minutes on the elliptical machine.  She was in school 3 days a week, so I would only go three times a week.  Surprisingly, that was enough.  I started sleeping better, my energy was up, my moods were evening out.  It was wondering. 

Lately, I've been all over the place.  I have been itching to get back into an exercise machine, but our treadmill was broken, and with the three kids, I couldn't figure out how to get a good workout in with all three of them.  We have a Double Bob Revolution, but I can't run/walk with it without wearing #3 on my back in the Ergo... The Ergo is not really meant to jog with. 

So, we started looking in the classifide ads for an elliptical machine!  A wonderful way to shop, if you ask me.  You can find the perfect stuff that way.  We have gotten our two Trek jogger/bike trailers that way, and have sold a number of items that way too. 

So, we found an elliptical.  It is a perfectly good machine... only used a handful of times.  The couple we bought it from were moving and had to get rid of it fast.  It was perfect!!! 

So, my plan is to go on it for at least 30 minutes 3x a week to start.  Maybe I will just walk on the treadmill on the off days.  The funny thing is, when we rearranged the basement to make room for the elliptical, my husband did something to the treadmill, and it works now!  Awesome!!!

Strawberry season

Our friends have had a farm share at local organic farm for a few years now, and I have always wanted to join.  Until this year, I would find myself looking into it too late and would miss the opportunity.  The thing with a farm share is, you have to give the money months before the food is ready to buy.  You are investing in them.  They take the money you give them and buy things to start producing the crop.  It's perfect, really.  This year, I remembered early and got to it in plenty of time!  Now that we're in, the owner will send us emails every year when it's time to buy shares again for the next year.  

This time of year, they have fresh strawberries coming out the wazoo!  Today, I planned a trip up to pick up some lettuce, herbs, tomatoes and strawberries.  The two little ones passed out in their car seats.  Ever since #2 started getting lots of attention for using the potty (1 in diapers feels so nice!!!), #1 has been starving for attention.  I saw this as an opportunity, so the two of us sat in the back and had a strawberry snack tailgate party.

They were so delicious.  This batch was extremely juicy.  #1 loved it.  I enjoyed slowing time down just a little bit to watch her little face as she ate strawberry after strawberry.  She won't be little forever!

Hanging out the laundry

There is nothing I enjoy doing more on a lazy summer day than hanging out my laundry. 

When my husband first installed the clothesline, I enjoyed doing laundry again.  The way clothes, towels and sheets smell after they have been drying outside all day is amazing.  I especially love the smell of wind blown sheets as I drift away to dreamland.  It's perfect!

I enjoyed it a little too much.  Finding any reason to throw a load in on a sunny day.  Then, I noticed our electric bill start to decline.  BONUS!  

 

This year, I started playing a little game with myself.  See how low you can get the electric bill to go.  So far, our lowest is about $77... which isn't bad for a family of 5.  We are very conscious of our energy usage and try our best not to be wasteful.  We are very conservative with the light usage and all of our appliances are Energy Star rated. 

The electric company just came today to do a reading.  I can't wait to see how much the bill is going to be.

Father's Day

There's something about Father's Day and this farm! 

We have been to this farm countless times, so you would think we would all be bored with it.  Not the case.  We go here and while the kids enjoy visiting the horses, cows and sheep, my husband and I enjoy the beautiful scenery and peaceful nature of the place.  

Yesterday was a great day.  We walked around and had lunch at a festival, then stopped here on the way home.  It was a relaxing day.  A happy day!  #1 and #2 ran up and down a walkway for an hour while I sat in the grass with #3 and while Daddy sat on a park bench and watched the animals walk around.  Life seems to slow down when we are here.

I <3 lazy Sunday's!