I am the biggest loser of a mom.

I can't believe it - I am so mad at myself. What started out as a pretty good day has turned sour.

I signed Brooke up for swimming lessons. We're going to Hawaii in December, and she's only had one round of toddler lessons at about 18 months of age, so I want her to learn some more and get some skills under her belt. I feel really strongly about this. So I stayed up until midnight to sign her up for the particular class I wanted, paid a lot of money, and then got really angry at the city recreation people who wouldn't let me sign up for Level 1 and then Level 2 consecutively. They told me she has to pass level 1 before I can sign her up for Level 2, even though that means about 3-4 months lag in between classes which I think is downright idiotic. I said I didn't care if they charged me for Level 2 even if she didn't pass Level 1, with a smug confidence that she will of course pass Level 1. I hung up in a huff because they said no exceptions.

Well fast forward to last week, the first lesson is on Tusday. Guess who screws up and forgets completely? Yep. I recently switched from a hand-written date book calendar to using my Blackberry calendar, and apparently I am having some "transition trouble" to say the least. I was so furious with myself for missing the first class.

Second class: last Thursday. The only appointment I could get for Jack's 15 month checkup was one hour before swimming. So I planned ahead, took Brooke in her swimsuit with clothes over it, got to the dr. office 15 minutes early so we could be out of there on time, etc. After all that planning, we were STILL 10 minutes late to her 30 minute swimming lesson. I was all sweaty and out of breath when we rolled into the pool, dragging heavy Jack and trying to find which group of kids was her class. She got in the pool and barely paid attention - distracted by water toys in a basket next to the pool, kept jumping out, walking away from the group in the water, etc. Very embarrassing. The whole time I was wrestling Jack (literally) because he wanted to get down and run, which I obviously couldn't let him do in the pool area. The whole experience was awful and stressful. I had to have a "chat" with Brooke afterward about paying attention, etc.

So that was Thursday. Today, another lesson. And guess when I remembered it? At 3:55 (our house is 20 minutes from the pool.) So we missed it AGAIN! I cannot believe it. I am so not THAT person, the one who shows up late, misses commitments, etc. It's killing me. And even if she has perfect attendance from here on out, we're going to be out of town next Thursday, so she will miss at least 3/8 lessons which is TOTALLY unacceptable! At this rate, she probably will NOT pass the test at the end.

I know that in the grander scheme of things this is not a big deal, but I am really beating myself up. We were sitting here in the family room doing nothing of consequence at 3:30 today when we should have been getting in the car. I could just scream I am so frustrated with myself. After her distracted performance on Thursday last week, I am not looking forward to her lesson on Thursday - she'll be miserably behind, probably just as wacky and paying no attention, and the Jack Wrestling Show will go on as scheduled for 1/2 hour. Why do I do this to myself?! And poor Brooke is mising out on the chance to learn to swim because I can't get my act together.

Uggghhhhhhhh.

Painting project

Well, I am exhausted but proud to say that this weekend, we got started with the goal of repainting the interior of our house. Almost the whole house needs it (the outside needs paint too but that's a different post for a different time.) Since we've owned this house (almost 5 years) we've only painted the kids' rooms, master bedroom and kids' bathroom. The rest has been this awful, drab, dreary gray color that we've hated. It's such a bad color for our house, because we back up to a forested greenbelt with very tall evergreens and it's DARK. So the gray paint was NOT helping the situation. Of course, over the years we've accumulated dings and dinge that need patching and covering up, but we've had no touch-up paint that matches so eventually we had to do it. We were already planning to paint - had 4 color samples painted on the walls to choose our pleasure, when Friday our dingbat dog decided to tear a small hole in the entry hall wall. Needless to say, the painting project became an A priority overnight.

We decided to get the family room, kitchen, and hall done this weekend and we were successful. It entailed staying up until 3 am last night (and kids got me up at 7:00 this morning! Nice!) and finishing up all afternoon today, but we are SO GLAD we did it. It looks awesome - it's a nice cream that is clean, bright, and warm all at the same time. Next up: the living & dining rooms (which have vaulted ceiling so we'll have to rent an extension ladder) and the ceiling of the whole downstairs. And there's more after that, but for now, we're just happy to be out of the gates.

A side note: when did paint get so expensive? I was planning on ~$25-30/gallon. We bought Benjamin Moore paint, which we've had great results with in the past, and it was $45.99/gallon! Gulp! Fortunately our latest project only took two gallons. I think for the rest, we will investigate the 5 gallon buckets...

For the love of PB&J!

This is a typical lunch at our house. Thought you might like to play along.

Mmm... peanut butter and jelly...

What? I can't have an Oreo yet?! The injustice of it all!

Ah, much better.

I think this sludge would make a great hair tonic.

Satisfaction. Now that was a good lunch!

Shout-out

I have to give a shout-out to the Fail Blog. This website makes me laugh so hard. If you haven't checked it out yet, please do! It's full of bizarre, irreverent funnies that will make you giggle. And there is new content on there daily!

Thankful Thursday

Ah, the fact that I am struggling to come up with anything good today tells me this is probably a good exercise for me. So, in no particular order of importance... here is what I'm thankful for today:

• TiVo. I know, it's shallow, but I love my TiVo. With the new seasons starting up (Grey's and The Office tonight!!) it's nice to know that I can watch my shows when it's convenient for me, which is usually NOT when they are on. TiVo just takes good care of me and makes it possible for me to sleep when I want to sleep, and be with my kids when they are awake, and still not miss the shows that I love. And let's not start in on the long list of real estate shows that TiVo helps me indulge myself in... My parents have recently joined the "TiVolution" and I hope they love it as much as I do!
  
• Brooke's pre-school. She is SO HAPPY with school, it is going so well for her and it's also been good for Jack and me. It gets all of us on a schedule at least 3 days a week and while Brooke is learning and playing her heart out every M-W-F, Jack and I get some time together which is precious.
• Our babysitter, Angela. She has been a God-send for our family! She's been with us for a year now, and every Tuesday and Friday, she steps in and takes excellent care of the kids and the dog for me and even does the kids' laundry for me every Friday. It's wonderful to have her in our lives and I love that when she arrives, she blends seamlessly into our routine. If I haven't gotten the breakfast dishes done, she does them. If the kids want to walk down to the park, she takes them. If the floor needs sweeping, she does it without being asked. She is a great person and I am so lucky to have had her this past year. I know she will go back to a "real job" sometime in the next 6 months or so, and meanwhile I am just really thankful to have her to help me out.

This is our babysitter, Angela, with Jack and Leo, back in May.

So NOT awesome

Here's a new recipe I don't recommend: it's for chocolate chip cement. Make one batch of toll house cookies, only accidentally omit one of the 2.25 cups of flour called for. Proceed to scrape, scrub, and chip off baked on cookie cement from two pans for 1/2 hour. End with zero cookies. Bah Humbug!

Grey's Anatomy is almost back!

Clips from this coming season have been posted and it's going to be a good one. Get your DVR's ready - the season starts next week!

The Farmers Market

I am ashamed to admit that after five years living here, we have never checked out the local Farmers Market before today. I have meant to, even tried to, many times, but for one reason or another, we never got there. Now I know what we've been missing - a lot! The market was quite good sized, held in the parking lot of a huge church downtown, and there was so much wonderful produce, flowers, and various other specialty items. The kids and I had a great time. I picked up $20 from the ATM on my way there, since I am usually an all-credit gal (miles!) but I knew that cash would be king at the Farmers Market. Needless to say, I came home with zero. We got a bag of salad greens, a huge cucumber, a pint of mixed cherry tomatoes, a pair of beets, and four enormous peaches - all organic. Oh - and a gorgeous bouquet of flowers!

The moment I got home (dinnertime) I snapped into gear, making tacos, and chopped up our own two little tomatoes - my first and maybe only harvest from our own garden this year, and made a salad with the FM greens, tomatoes, and cucumber. The greens were too firm and bitter for my taste, but the tomatoes and cucumber were fantastic.


If you haven't checked out your local Farmers Market yet, get thee down there ASAP, the season is almost over (ours goes for three more weeks before winter hiatus.)

Thankful Thursday

Well, to start with - thanks to Tiburon for this tradition - I'm finally getting on board with the Thankful Thursday tradition. I think I need to remind myself of how much I have to be thankful for. And thanks also to Mindi for the cute graphic. I know you "stole" it from someone, but I don't care, I love it!

This week, I am thankful for:

• My great kids. I couldn't be more blessed with these two - they are healthy, smart, cute, and all-around wonderful little people. They challenge me every day, and in the end I think that's a good thing (even though it's sometimes pretty rough in the middle!)
• My sweet and considerate husband. He is an incredible husband and father and I couldn't ask for more in a life partner and co-parent. We are coming up on our five year wedding anniversary and I'm looking forward to some alone time with him to celebrate all that we've built over the last five years!
• Our little blue house and our big white car. They both take care of business quite adequately and I count on them to be there for us!
• Awesome hand-me-down clothes from our neighbors. I cleaned out Brooke's closet yesterday and I was amazed at what a large percentage of her clothes are beautiful, high-quality things that her friends Alli and Brooke (aka "The Other Brooke") have worn. It has really helped with my budget for kids' clothes, and allowed me to buy a few really special things each season (like I did yesterday at Gymboree) instead of a ton of really mediocre things.
  

Wanted: Kid Entertainer

Kid Entertainer/nose wiper wanted. Hours: 4:30-5:30pm daily. Pay: A seat at the dinner table. Duties include: keeping children from melting down and clinging to my legs during dinner preparation. Send resume to Stephanie, start date ASAP.

Brooke's Cardiology appointment

In July, at her 3-year checkup, Brooke's doctor heard a faint heart murmur and told us that we ought to get it checked out by a pediatric cardiologist. She assured us it was probably nothing, but better to be sure of that so we got in the queue for an appointment at Seattle Children's Hospital. Finally, today was the day. Good news - it's a harmless, very common murmur called a Stills Murmur that she will grow out of and we don't have to worry about it! What a relief. We were treated so well at Children's, Brooke actually really enjoyed her visit - the facility is incredible and so many fun things to look at and play with, and the two residents and one senior cardiologist who examined her were incredible. I hope we never have to go back there for obvious reasons, but if we did, it's good to know that such a high-quality facility exists only 10 miles from our home.

Fortunately, the appointment came on a day when our regular babysitter was scheduled to be here, so Justin and I were able to go with Brooke and focus all our energies on her. Afterward, Justin went to work and Brooke and I headed off to University Village for a "girls' day" (Brooke's favorite thing to do). We did some shopping, some playing at Pottery Barn Kids and in the mall playground, and we had sushi from a conveyor belt for lunch (a first for Brooke!)

Do the Puyallup!

For those of you not from the Northwest (or even not from the Seattle area) you may not know what a phenomenon The Fair is around here. A small town called Puyallup (pronounced "pew-AL-up") hosts a truly awesome fair for three weeks every September, and it's the best one I've ever attended. I grew up loving the fair - my grandfather worked the refrigeration systems at the Oregon State Fair, which was only a few blocks from my grandparents' house growing up, so we made it a family tradition to go to the fair with them every summer and the memories are sweet. I really enjoy everything about the fair - the rides, the animals, the demonstrations in the exhibit hall, and best of all, the food. So it's no surprise that I want my kids to learn to love the fair as much as I do - and I think we're on our way. Yesterday, Justin and I took the kids to the Puyallup Fair and we all enjoyed ourselves tremendously! The weather was incredible - 78 or 80 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. We get like 3 of these days per year here in the Seattle area so when it happens, people get crazy!

Last year, my friend Marie came up from Portland for the fair and we took Brooke, then 2, and Justin stayed home with Jack, then 3 months old. Brooke had fun, but there were a lot of rides she couldn't really go on by herself because she didn't really get it. This year, we have clearly turned a corner. She couldn't get enough!! She is a thrill-seeker just like me.

Clean, dressed, and excited, ready to go to the fair...

Moments before slamming her head into the mirrored wall in the fun-house. Oops.

The carousel. Finally, a ride that Jack can go on with us! (At least he could after I fibbed and told the operator he was 2...)

That's Brooke on the yellow airplane, white sunglasses and curly hair are about all that you can see. She grinned at us and gripped the steering wheel every time she flew around the corner!

One of the best rides of all is the Giant Slide. You can see in the top pic how big it is, you have to climb over 100 steps to get to the top. Justin and I each took a turn on this one with Brooke.

Self portrait. Jack will have a lot more fun next year when he can go on more rides.

I caught this little lady with my camera through a window while we were eating lunch. I thought she was awfully cute and patriotic and check her out, partaking in the Krusty Pups (aka corndogs) and curly fries. You go girl!

Of course, an elephant ear was eaten by THIS little girl... who worships elephants!

And so it ended... two tired kiddos who came home and took bubble baths, ate dinner, and fell asleep by 6:30pm. What a day!

We knew this was coming!

Poor Brooke. After only 3 days in pre-school, she is already sick with her first "classroom petrie dish" cold. Having been at home with me for 3 years, she's hardly ever sick, and we realize how lucky we are. I have a feeling this is going to be the first of many bad colds she brings home. My little girl is currently dosed up with children's ibuprofen, propped up on pillows, and sleeping in a steam-filled room thanks to her cow-shaped humidifier. Now I just hope we can keep Jack from getting it (as well as Justin and me!)

I don't make this stuff up

This is just cracking me up. I'll admit, it's after ten so I might just be loopy from exhaustion, but check out the hilarious graphic (and text) on the back of my new $1.49 Goody comb. I had to buy it because one after another comb disappear from my bathroom... I am certain I will find a cache of combs in the bowels of the playroom one of these days but until then, a girl has to comb her hair! Anyway, back to the graphic. If only it was that easy! Who knew that all it took was a $1.49 comb to go from crazy wild hair, which I definitely have, to sleek smoothness? Dang! Stop the presses, I'm returning that $100 flat iron I just bought!

My other favorite part is where it says "The styling options are endless." Today is my lucky day!!

The Circus! (and I don't mean my kids)

Today, we went to see the Ringling Bros Barnum & Bailey Circus in Everett. I think I was a little surprised at how much fun we had! Those guys put on an amazing show, and tickets cost less than $20 each, so I have to say I was impressed! Brooke is WAAAYYY into elephants, so I knew she would be thrilled to see the elephants in the show, and Jack was captivated by the lights and music and clowns for about 45 minutes and then he decided he just wanted to get OUT OF MY LAP. And Justin's lap was not cutting it either. At one point Justin had to just get up and take him to the aisle, he was so squirmy. Oh well, I guess you can't expect too much sitting still from a 1 year old.


Brooke thoroughly enjoyed a $12 bag of cotton candy, which was soon ALL OVER her face and hands. We escaped with only one crying fit (Brooke apparently wanted popcorn, REALLY BADLY, but forgot to mention it until we were in the parking garage. Oops.) We had dinner at Chevy's, which was not as good as Justin and I remembered it from years past, and Brooke spilled two huge glasses of ice water on our table which was actually quite comical. But it was fun nonetheless and both kids crashed instantly in their beds when we got home.



Oh, and if you are looking for a funny online circu game that kept my 3-year old laughing hysterically for 1/2 hour the other night, check here.

First day of pre-school!

Wow! She did it! Brooke had an excellent time at her first day of pre-school. Justin followed us in his car so he could come in and see the classroom and kiss her goodbye. We got there and she dove right into an activity (there was Play-doh out on a table with cookie cutters, one of her favorite activities). She didn't even care that we were leaving. We stole a quick kiss and walked out the door and I don't even think she noticed. I would have been sad except that she was so looking forward to this day and she's been ready for school for a long time now, so the whole experience was 100% positive. When I picked her up, 2.5 hours later, she walked out of the room a little glazed over, but within a minute she was excitedly telling me all about her day. Over lunch she told me that one girl cried and her mommy had to come pick her up. Brooke said she didn't miss me (I asked) and she can't wait for Monday. Awesome, I'm so proud of my girl!

In other news, I am thrilled to say that I just hired a housekeeper! Woo hoo. Every other week, starting next week, and the price I was quoted was $30/month less than what I was prepared to spend (the amount freed up in babysitting dollars now that pre-school has begun). And, they can come while we're out of the house on one of the pre-school mornings, which is perfect. I didn't want to have to get out of the house just because the housekeeper was here. I am doing the happy dance right now!

Beads

She even made a bracelet for her BFF, Ellie.

I have noticed recently (ok, for a long time now) that Brooke is needing more and more stimulation. Pre-school could not come at a better time. So I picked up some projects at Michael's the other day so that she and I could do some fun things together while Jack naps. Yesterday, we stamped the animals from Noah's Ark onto white paper with "cages" drawn on it for a do-it-yourself Zoo, then she colored them. Today, our project was a $1 foam bead necklace & bracelet set. She loves it so much that I am going to go back and pick up a few more. I can't believe how well she did at stringing the beads herself! She even learned to use a toothpick to "unclog" some of the beads that needed it. This just confirms what I already knew about Brooke having inherited my artistic/crafty aptitude.

Labor Day Weekend

We celebrated Labor Day weekend with a day trip to Mount Rainier. I can't believe that we've lived here for 5 years (and Justin grew up here!) and have not been yet. It's a truly phenomenal and gorgeous place. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

On the way there, we noticed the temperature dropping. Little did I know that this photo would not be the end of the low temps (at the lodge, it was 36 degrees and snowing! In August!) Can you tell by Justin's face that we were pumped up to get out of the house for the day?


Jack was decked out in his new Chuck Taylors (and a bag of cheese ritz bits, apparently) for the event. Must look snappy.


We stopped for lunch at one of the visitor lodges. The kids met a bear.

A short walk was taken, rocks were balanced on, nature was inspected.


The highlight of the trip was Christine Falls - absolutely gorgeous! Above the falls, the river comes crashing around a corner and has carved a graceful arc out of the rock. Really spectacular. I spent a fair bit of time freaking about how easy it would be for someone to fall off the cliff though, as Justin pointed out. Hands were held tightly.




It was a lovely day, we'd do it again in a heartbeat. Next time we'd like to camp out one night so we can spend more time there and see more! The wildflowers were still in bloom at the higher altitudes, so I'm sure in mid-summer the park is unbelievably beautiful when they are in bloom in the meadows.