beat the heat & blueberry treats

Summer and I are not exactly BFF's this year.

Maybe it's the fact that our AC is broken... maybe it's the fact that none of my summer clothes fit quite right yet... maybe it's the fact that infants don't seem to like the heat very much and toddlers don't want to stay in one place for more than 7 minutes at a time.  

In any event, it's hot and this mama is over it.

I've been spending my mostly unshowered, sticky, sweaty days trying to keep both kiddos happy while not simultaneously melting (both physically and emotionally).  There's been an exceptional amount of water play, both inside and out.  We've made our way down to the lake several times in the evening for dinner and a dip - which has been super fun!  Other days we play in the sink or lounge by the kiddie pool.

Despite the heat, we've somehow miraculously stopped eating the insane amount of ice cream we were previously consuming in this house.  There's still a fair share of Stoneyfield yogurt squeezers stocked in our freezer, but it's yogurt, it's organic, and it's local.  AND Olive thinks she's getting a treat when I give her the 'ok' to have one.  If that's not a mom-win, I don't know what is.

On the flip side of mom-wins and getting my kiddo to eat healthy, she's not the greatest at finishing the foods that she requests lately.  She's fabulous at taking a single bite out of something and then promptly requesting more.  She's also wonderful at requesting a large amount of something and then failing to finish it.  As much as I love consuming half eaten toddler food, today was not one of those days.  Ollie was enjoying a bowl of yogurt topped with some freshly picked blueberries.  But... after about two bites she felt a bit remorseful for dumping in the entire bowl, and quickly decided (after mixing all the blueberries into her yogurt) that she no longer wanted to eat it.

Wonderful.

I could fix this though.  I had to.  I can't waste food.  I decided to lay out some parchment paper and make my own frozen yogurt treat.  Since Olive currently requests to eat all things cold/frozen, this seemed like the perfect solution.

So far they've been a hit - enjoy :)

finally friday

It's been almost a month that I've been out on maternity leave, and I'm just starting to forget what day it is.  Luckily, Paul's still in work mode and kindly reminds me the days of the week.  Considering that I've got a toddler and an infant in tow, I'd say that it's been a good week.  

I was lucky to have my friend Allison come up from Conneticuit and visit with her baby boy, Will.  With babies in the mix it's much more challenging to see her (I actually hadn't since her baby shower!), so catching up was beyond nice.  She gave me some wonderful advice about our upcoming wedding, and we got to reminisce about work a little bit (she's a former member of the 'Tree as well).

This week decided to throw in the towel with breaks (time outs) and focus on making each infraction a conversation/learning experience which includes lots of eye contact and an apology to all parties involved.  Olive is two, is currently growing a nice, new molar, and is still acclimating to life with a baby brother, and it's only been a week (not even) but I'd like to say that the behaviors aren't happening as frequently :)

I'll keep you posted on that one!

It did come to our attention today that poor O has HFMD.  She's got those terrible bumps all over her feet, up her legs, and a little bit on her hands.  She wasn't thrilled with the concept of being sick and actually told me that she was scared!  Hopefully they'll clear up in a week or so, but it would appear that the sickness has already put a kobash to our weekend plans.

Any recommendations to a weekend of isolation are welcome - tonight we're thinking pizza and the kiddie pool (and a beer or two for his mama).

Cheers to the weekend!

4th of july festivities

It's been a solid 8 days since Lou officially joined our adventure.  I'd like to say that he hasn't slowed us down ... and for the most part, he really hasn't - it's still all Olive.  We set out to have a semi-eventful super casual-at home weekend with family and friends, complete with overcooked grill meat, summer shandies, and a decent amount of red, white, and blue garb.  

Since Sunday was the 'happening' day in Strafford, we packed up the car with food and kiddos and headed across the street (yes, we needed a car to literally go across the street) to Paul's sister and brother in law's place (lovingly known as Copelandia).  Paul's brother in law's mom and sister were up, Paul's parents came over, as did mine, and our friends (and former roommate) Brian and Meara came too.  We brought over our new (to us) pallet patio furniture and set up to cook exorbitant amounts of food.  The kids splashed around in a kiddie pool, and the babies seemed content.  This mama even managed to have two whole beers!

After a little coaxing, a small handful of us decided to keep the 'big kids' up late for the local fireworks.  We coerced them into their pjs with the promise of the magic that is fireworks.  We made the seven minute drive down to the lake, found a spot to park, and got there just in time for the kick off.  Olive was a little crazed, and Lou slept the whole time, so overall, I'd say it was a win.  Aside from the fact that Ollie didn't go to bed until after 10PM (which she happens to be doing again tonight for some terrible reason) it was a great weekend. 

Hope everyone else had an equally relaxing one - Cheers!