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Daily Life

Summiting Mount Hollywood

Posted on January 31, 2018

The face you make when you just summited your first mountain! Well, “mountain” … Every country has a different definition of what is considered a mountain, but Mount Hollywood is 1625 feet, is called MOUNT Hollywood, and has a vertical gain of 560 feet from where we started, I’m saying we can call it a mountain! (The internet agrees and if it’s on the internet, it has to be true right?)

Either way, I’m so incredibly proud of this little lady today. The fact that you walk a slope the whole way up and then back down after you summit was both good and bad for us. Good because once you get to the top it’s all downhill after, and also because if K said she wanted to stop it would be easy to turn around and go back (as if this kid would ever ask to stop ?.) The bad is that the way up is tough. It’s not incredibly steep, but it’s a continuous slope so it’s relentless, and K has little legs. It also means you have to really watch your step going down.

The view is 100% worth it though. I tried to leave several times and K kept crying and saying “I want to stay here forever.” I can relate! There’s something so special about reaching a summit and hanging out up there, taking in the view and appreciating the hard work it took to get there. You see things from a vantage point most of the world will never see.

I don’t know that K quite understands all of that yet, but she sure enjoyed the hike today (even though she was slightly disappointed there was no waterfall – apparently we need to talk about gravity soon.) Overall it was an incredible hike! My only regret is it was 80 degrees today and I let the kids have all the water! #momlife amirite?

Daily Life

Honest Motherhood

Posted on January 27, 2018

#honestmotherhood … (well, except the words on the flash cards ?. Jason snapped this pic when I was only kind-of sort-of ready. As much as I want to pretend my tiny genius can read, we are doing the other side of the cards – letters and numbers, not words.) So I’m bouncing one in the carrier and doing flash cards with the other while I try to enjoy a post-hike beer. And I can’t help but think of when I was pregnant with K and Jason and I would say how after she was born we were going to get sitters ALL THE TIME and still go clubbing and go to bars ?.

It’s funny because I still hear first-time moms say this when they’re pregnant (and I don’t want to be that person to correct them because I think everyone needs to come to terms with their new roles as parents on their own.) But the truth is, it’s not that you CAN’T go clubbing when you’re a mom as long as you have a sitter; it’s that MOST of the time, you don’t really want that anymore.

While we do still like to go out for a drink sometimes, we prefer early happy hours where we can also grab dinner or appetizers for the kids (or brunch. Omg whoever invented brunch, I love you.) Not to mention we pretty much have to take up the entire table with 50 toys to occupy the kids long enough to each have one beer. Oh and don’t forget passing the baby back and forth ?. Because whoever is holding the baby pretty much cannot sip their beer. But at the same time, I wouldn’t trade it for anything else. Sprawling out across a high-top table with markers, crayons, flashcards, French fries, and a couple of brewery beers with my amazing family ranks amongst one of the best Saturday nights of all time ?

Daily Life

Feeling really overwhelmed lately

Posted on January 20, 2018
Taking a much needed poke bowl break (and apparently Belles likes her poke with a side of puffs .) Seriously though, I love eating with Belles because it’s one of the few times I feel like I can relax around her (other than when she’s sleeping) because I know the only thing she’s putting in her mouth is food! I remembered that newborns are hard but somehow forgot that having a mobile baby is a full-time job because everything goes in their mouths!
        Yes, she’s adorable and I love spending the day with her but it’s also exhausting following her around making sure she doesn’t find a carpet fiber or a penny or small toy that K left out. No matter how much you vacuum, or how much you baby-proof, they always find something! And even though it isn’t work per se, the fact that you can’t take your eyes off of them can be draining sometimes. And watching the baby every waking moment means EVERY other thing can only be done when baby naps.
      So cleaning, laundry, dishes, dinner prep, shower, relaxing (HA! What’s that?), it all has to be squeezed into a couple hours! And if I recall correctly, this phase lasts oh, about a year .  I know in a couple months it will improve (and maybe she’ll only put 50% of the objects she finds in her mouth), but in the mean time it’s tough. I know, I know, cleaning can wait, sheets can be washed a little less frequently, and yes, these moments are fleeting. I just needed to rant a little today. But it’s also Friday so help will be here soon in the form of Daddy . And it’s almost beer-o’clock ? So, #breatheandrelease

 

Daily Life

Parent Teacher Conferences

Posted on January 19, 2018
When did she become such a little grown up?! Carrying her own backpack and drinking out of a cup and asking “why?” about Every. Single. Thing. We had parent-teacher conferences yesterday (I know… and she isn’t even 3 ) and I kind of had an idea about how things would go. I spend every second with K so I thought I knew everything about her development and what she still struggles with.
        I was pleasantly surprised about how well her teacher said she behaves at school (and much better than at home for Mom ?!) She sits in her seat most of the time (but wanders a little at lunch) and rarely throws tantrums. She still cries (fake cries) quite a bit, and much more than her peers (because she’s a little actress…) but less than before. Actually her teacher said yesterday was the first day she made it all day without crying but then when we went to pick her up when the conference was over, she was crying when we got there  Almost made it!
           Her teacher also mentioned several times how “independent” K is, along with words like “spirited”, “strong”, etc. Jason and I always laugh because we know it’s code for “You got one of the hard ones!!”, but we also know strong children become strong adults who can change the world! (At least that’s what we tell ourselves when we’re mad she thinks it’s okay to run 50 feet away from us without so much as a single look back as we chase her screaming her name ?.)
          We still need to work on her recognizing her name in writing but I found out she can count to 29, which surprised me. At home she stops at 13 and says she doesn’t know what comes next! For someone who is so independent about everything else, it’s kind of funny she’s been keeping an extra 16 numbers under wraps when she’s counting in front of us ?.
         Overall I left pretty much beaming. Not about her counting or other milestones – the school is not focused on academics and neither are we at this point, but about the kind words her teacher said about her. She seems to really love K, and “spirited” or not, she loves her spunky personality and her zest for life. It’s a good feeling when other people see what you see in your kids. You feel like you must be doing something right.

 

Daily Life

K’s Dance Recital!

Posted on January 18, 2018
Today was K’s dance recital – and what a helluva day it was! I realized around 11 that K’s dance shoes are in my cupholder in my car… and my car’s in the shop… roughly an hour away. We had to be at the recital at 345 and we were leaving school for the day around 145. There was no way to get to my car in time so we went to 2 different Targets looking for ballet shoes.
       We found something that looked similar enough to ballet shoes and left Target around 230 and still had to go home, change into her leotard, and get back for the recital. We made it with 5 minutes to spare and after a few minutes of walking around in her new shoes, K decide she didn’t want to wear shoes anyways ?. Surprisingly, even though the recital is in a different room than class (which K had a mild meltdown about) and even though her regular teacher was absent today (which K seemed to somehow not notice), and even with no shoes, she went out and did a great job.
       
          When we started this class in September, I had to get special permission for K to start because she wasn’t quite 2 and a half. The next 5 weeks K spent most of her class time sliding around the floor on her belly. I wondered if she was too young, or if I pushed her into it. She always said she was having fun though so we persisted. Halfway through the 5th week, K joined in! And she started loving it! At the start of class, I never for a second thought that by January she would be ready and willing to go out and perform for us. But she totally rocked it and I am so proud! ?

 

Daily Life

On Letting Go of My Expectations

Posted on January 17, 2018

What most of our pictures look like these days . I brought the girls to the Queen Mary today for the first time in maybe a year (and first time for Isabelle!) I thought at almost 3, K would be old enough to learn a little bit about the ship and enjoy looking around more than last time. But both girls enjoyed this phone booth more than anything else!

We spent a solid 20 minutes walking around it, looking inside of it, K wanted to open it and know what it was for… It’s hard for me sometimes when the kids don’t enjoy things the way I think they are SUPPOSED to be enjoyed. (Probably because I’m a control freak …) It’s not the money, because the Queen Mary isn’t that expensive and the kids are free. And it’s not an age thing either – I wasn’t expecting them to sit through lectures on the history of the ship or anything.

But it’s SO HARD for me to just let them be and not steer them towards the next thing to look at, or what I think we should be looking at. I’ve always been a rubric person. I like to plan out how I think things should be and stick to that plan. Actually when my plans fall through I am mildly devastated even if it’s not something I really wanted to do in the first place; it’s because that’s what I expected to do. But I did let the girls hang out around the phone booth for as long as they wanted, even though it made my eye twitch a little while I was itching to move on to the next thing .

Kids have a way of holding up a mirror and you see things about yourself you never noticed before, or maybe noticed but didn’t think it was weird or a problem. But I guess going with the flow, especially when it comes to the kids, is something I need to work on.

Daily Life

On finding my inner child

Posted on January 17, 2018

How awesome are trains? K loves them, and all other forms of transportation, but I think at her age she just likes them because they look cool. I can’t wait until she gets older and I can explain to her that trains have been bringing goods across the country for hundreds of years and someone had to lay a lot of these tracks by hand… It’s pretty impressive when you stop and think about it.

Having a toddlers forces you to think differently about the world around you. You find yourself stopping to look at bugs and leaves again, even when your toddler isn’t with you! (Actually I feel kind of guilty when I see a cool bug if K isn’t with me – like I’m cheating on her ?.) You look up at the clouds and notice shapes in them, or even look up in general. When is the last time you looked up before having kids? For me it had been a while. It’s pretty cool having a little sidekick who helps you see the magic in the world again

Daily Life

On raising an independent toddler

Posted on January 16, 2018

“I do it MYSELF!” If only I had a nickel for every time I heard that phrase ?. In the case of chopsticks, my dear strong-willed not-yet-3-year-old, you cannot do it yourself. Not yet. But I won’t tell you that. You are welcome to try to use chopsticks as often as you want, so long as you don’t get to the point where you’re starving yourself. In other situations, however, I don’t always have the luxury of patience.

When we’re running 10 minutes late for school and you insist on trying to zip your own jacket, I’m going to have to intervene. (I did this same thing to my mom with buckling my own shoes when I was K’s age – raising a mini you is a pain in the ass sometimes ?.) But I want you to know, sweet daughter, that I am picking my battles and trying to let you learn as often as I can. Soon enough you will be a pro at using chopsticks, and anything else you set your mind to, and I can’t wait for you to prove me right.

Daily Life

Isabelle Hip Dysplasia Updates

Posted on January 15, 2018

7 months after our first visit to the orthopaedic doctor, we finally got the (mostly) good news we had been waiting for. Isabelle had another xray this morning and it looks like her hips are close enough to normal that she won’t need any further treatment. They were looking for an angle of 25 degrees, 30 requires more treatment, and her right is at 27 degrees.

She still has mild hip dysplasia, and probably will her whole life, but her hips are both in the sockets so she is not eligible for a cast or brace. The only way to correct the angles would be an extensive surgery followed by a long recovery, and her doctor doesn’t think mild hip dysplasia would cause enough problems to warrant that.

       She will still be able to run and play sports and go about her life normally. The possible long-term implications of mild hip dysplasia might be arthritis in that hip when she is 50 or 60, and IF that happens, they can correct it with surgery then. It did not make sense to do a surgery now on the possibility of “IF”. So, while it wasn’t perfect news, we are happy that her hips are in the sockets and she will live a normal life. We will go back in 4 months for another xray just to check that things are continuing to improve (or not get worse, which is unlikely.) Thanks everyone for all the positive vibes and support during all of this ?

Daily Life

The Beginning of 2018

Posted on January 13, 2018

Snow, cliffs, tropical rainforest, beach… In the past month, we have been in 3 time zones and traveled enough miles to have gone halfway around the circumference of the earth. If the beginning of 2018 is any indication of how the rest of 2018 will go, it will be full of adventure, family, romance, and great hiking, and I couldn’t be more excited! Stay tuned for a Hawaii photo dump later ! (And then after I promise to stop using this emoji . Now that we’re on the mainland. Also promise not to say “mainland” again .)