Embracing the Busy Day

I need to learn to be more of an optimist.  I knew yesterday was going to be a busy day, so I prepared myself for it to be chaotic and frantic.  Little did I know it would turn out to be a pretty fantastic day...I should have known when it started off with a fantastic green juice...

...kale, tangerine, apple, celery, and lime.  YUM!

I got my workout in super early, to make sure it wouldn't get lost in the shuffle today...just some time on the elliptical while reading this book...

...(I'm a sucker for an easy Nicholas Sparks read...so far this one's great!)   I followed up my time on the elliptical with a quick round of full body weights and planks.  Nothing crazy...but a decent workout to keep me fit and sane.

We had a little wiggle room in our morning and we took advantage of the chance to enjoy some breezy, cool weather outside ...

...you know, doing the usual stuff, like building boxes, hiding from the camera, and trying to ride trucks up and down the steps.  Good times!

Unfortunately the rain drove us inside, but we found plenty of fun things to do inside too...

...like making play clay using the recipe from the cornstarch box...

...it turned out well.  I'm thinking we'll try to make some christmas ornaments with it since it says you can bake them.  Now I need some christmas cookie cutters...

We also mixed up a batch of homemade chex mix...

...I used olive oil in place of the butter and LOTS less salt than the recipe called for and it turned out great.  It was a hit with the boys.  It made the house smell great too.

And we did some puzzles...

...I have to brag.  They do these completely on their own with no help from me.  See Colton still wearing his helmet from when he was riding his bike outside.  He loves that thing...haha!

We also did our Wednesday produce thing...

...the boys sure do love making trains out of the boxes.  See the engine they made for Colton to ride in??  So creative!! 

In the midst of all our fun, I got good news at the dermatologist too...all clear and no need to go back until next year.  Love good reports.  Maybe Mickey will get the all clear one day too...one can hope.

While the boys napped, I got to do a little tutoring with one energetic, awesome little gal.  It's definitely a highlight of my week.  

We rounded out our night with a lovely evening at story time.  The featured stories were...

...the boys and I especially love The Cuddle Book.  We cuddle all the time!

We hung around for a bit to sip on some drinks and listen to the accordion player...

...its gorgeous out there at night this time of year.  We love it!  (I look a little sleepy with my little cuddlebugs...lol)  The boys were mesmerized by the accordion too.  They say they want to learn to play it when they get bigger...that could be a fun adventure :-)  

It was a great day!  I need to remember to look forward to the excitement of Wednesdays rather than worrying about the busyness of the day...busy isn't always bad.  

We're off for some fun adventures again today, including some haircuts.  Fun Fun!  Hope your day is fabulous too.

A Little Bragging And Such

Mommy brag moment...check out what the boys did all by themselves yesterday while I was cooking in the kitchen...

I kept peeking in to check on them and they kept blowing my mind.  Check out their process...

Mason seemed to be running the show and Colton was his sidekick...

We had to move it to the floor when it got too big for the table...

Mason puts in the last piece...

They've always been puzzle fans but this is the first "big" one I've seen them tackle completely on their own.  Now they're begging for more puzzles.  I love how they love a challenge and it was fun to watch them work together and see the task through til the end.  They make me smile!

You know what else makes me smile, our new Bedtime Stories Story Time.  Last night was a success.  I'm so thrilled by the great turnouts we've been having.  Keep spreading the word....and imagine how lovely it's going to be in that courtyard come fall.    The cooler temps are definitely something to look forward to...got a few months to get through first though...we can do it!!!

It was nice to come home to dinner ready and waiting for me thanks to a little forethought...

Whole30 chili served over wilted kale and topped with avocado...YUM!

This morning kicked off bright and early.  I love how I've been waking up ready to go rather than feeling sluggish.  I still love my coffee but I love that I'm not desperate for it the moment my eyes open. I've even scaled back to just one cup most days...I used to drink 3.  Speaking of energy, now that my energy is back in full force, I might have gotten a little carried away at the gym yesterday...I'm SUPER sore today from yesterday's leg workout.  Oh well!  Gotta seize the moment, right??  And it's good to be sore every once in a while.  I spent my time in the gym today focusing on back and chest.  I also spent a little time on the elliptical to try to work out some of the soreness in my legs.

Day 24 of my whole30 experiment kicked off with a pretty uninspired breakfast...

Eggs over easy, leftover steamed broccoli and sauteed onions with half an avocado and a side of coffee with coconut milk.   Lunch was eaten while sorting the a huge delivery of produce.  It included leftover chicken, some roasted carrots, a steamed artichoke, and a big spoonful of coconut cashew butter for some healthy fats...random, but got the job done.

The boys gave organic corn dogs another try today for lunch...

They still only care about the ketchup...we've definitely entered the "choosey" phase when it comes to eating.  I'm having a hard time figuring out what they like besides pretzels, bread, cheese sticks, grapes and cookies...my good eaters are throwing me a major curveball.  I'm trying not to make it into a big deal but it's kind of driving me nuts... 

We were more than ready for our fresh delivery of produce today...this girl needs more greens!!!  Check out the first thing I made once everyone's shares were picked up...

...a big yummy green drink made with kale, lemon, and cucumber...just what the doctor ordered!!

There's some nasty weather rolling in so I'm thinking it's a good night to cuddle on the couch and watch a movie with my boys...ok maybe they'll watch a movie while I read a magazine, but we'll all be on the couch together.  That's my kind of Thursday night....looking forward to squeezing the entire family onto the couch soon.  

Up and At 'Em

We kicked off this Tuesday morning a little differently than our typical Tuesday morning.  We were up and at 'em early so we could hit the pavement with a friend and her stroller for a hour run BEFORE story time.  Nothing like beating the heat so we could bust out a run AND story time by 9:30 in the morning.  What a great way to start the day!!!

The boys sported their new shades for the early-morning outing...

Of course they sported them at the dinner table last night too...

Silly Mason!!

So I don't leave Colton out, check him out sporting my make-up bag as his DIY pirate costume.  Just imagine this is a video and he's saying "Arrrrrrrrr" cause that's exactly what he was doing all night long.  

Anyways, back to today... Today's story time features were...

We all know this rhyme and Jane Cabrera's illustrations are fantastic for little eyes.

AND

A sweet story about all the things the daddy does for the baby bear.  

Thankfully the music was up and running with no glitches.   Gotta love story time success!  We finished up our morning with some playtime with our story time friends before heading home for lunch.    

I made myself a very yummy salad that I'm thinking about repeating for dinner tonight because it was that good...mixed baby greens topped with shrimp, mango chunks and blueberries, drizzled with a dressing I made by combining yogurt with the juice of one lime, a splash of vanilla, and some stevia. YUM!

I've been completely lazy during naptime today...painted my nails, read a magazine, and finished watching the movie I started last night but couldn't stay awake for...

It was cute...and totally kid friendly once the boys are older and can understand it.  I'll have to keep it in mind.   I normally can't stand Billy Crystal but he did a good job in this movie...might have to give him another chance. 

After the movie I made myself a little afternoon pick-me-up.  It's my favorite juice these day---LOTS of kale, a granny smith apple and a lemon.  SO refreshing!! 

While I drank it, I researched homemade sunscreen recipes.  I'm thinking of trying it out.  Anyone tried it and had success or failure??  I'd love tips.  So far the coconut oil, zinc oxide and beeswax combo is intriguing to me.  It appears that the beeswax makes it waterproof.  I'm wondering if it's hard to get off when you finally want it off though.  This recipe seems to be a common one.   I'm definitely intrigued by it and willing to give it a shot...just have to get the ingredients.

Time to tackle some chores before the boys wake up.  

But before I go, here's something to hopefully make you chuckle...I stole it from Macaroni Kid of Stuart's facebook page.  It's the reason I make dinner during nap time...

Happy Tuesday!!!

Life is Good Today

What a fabulous day!  It seems like forever since I've sat down to blog and didn't have anything to complain about.  Now, if I can just figure out how to make this a regular thing...

Before I get into today.  Let me tell you about a fabulous legs workout I worked up the motivation to tackle last night.  We were pretty late getting to the gym, and I didn't have high hopes for myself, but I ended up surprising myself and had a fantastic workout.  I'm another step closer to the stronger lower half I'm working towards.  Here's how it looked...

Our morning kicked off bright and early with a run to the park.  The boys insisted on holding their trucks for the ride and I was sure they'd want me to take them off their hands shortly into the run, but I was wrong.  They hung onto them the entire time.  

 We look much cleaner here than we did upon our return.  Hello SAND!!!  Signs of a good time, I guess.  I know I said I wasn't going to complain, so I won't but I do wonder why they have to put sand in all the parks around here.  Why not try some of that rubber tire stuff?  Or wood chips?  Just curious...

The boys were especially pleased that our run included views of water, boats, bridges, school buses, and ambulance, and lots of trucks.  That's a successful run in their books...I was happy to cover 4.5 miles.

My plans to get my run in before it was scorching hot outside were successful and we had the park to ourselves thanks to getting out early.  The boys had so much fun and ended up staying even longer than I planned because we were having so much fun.  I LOVE when that happens!

Can you guess who's who???  Mason has the dog shirt on.  

They almost sat still long enough for me to get a shot of both of them together...

We got home in time to get a chat in with Mickey, another bonus for the day, and the boys continued playing outside for most of the morning.  They even let me squeeze in a super fast upper body workout while we were out there.  It looked like this...

You can tone up every muscle in your upper body in 15 minutes with that one.  Score! 

I'm hoping all that fresh air the boys got this morning calls for an extra long nap.  That would be the icing on the cake for the day.

Our afternoon was dedicated to produce, as usual.  Pick-ups ran smoothly and everyone picked up with lots of time to spare in the pick-up window.  That has NEVER happened before!  I hope it's the new trend.  We got a LOVELY organic pineapple that I can't wait to eat.  To celebrate, I just made a super fresh green juice with loads of spinach, an orange, ten carrots, and a lemon.  

Incredibly delicious, refreshing, and 100% healthy.  Have I mentioned I love my new juicer?!?  Just found out about a potential organic wheat juice source that delivers to your house.  Our lives are about to be even healthier if it works out.  Fingers crossed...

Since I've got time to spare, I'm off to read.  My book is REALLY getting good!

  

Long Trains, Some Waterfest Fun, and A Couple of Tunes

The beautiful weather returned so we took full advantage of it today and ended up having such a fun day!  We started off with a lazy morning, playing with trains inside...

Working hard to make the longest train possible. 

Then we headed outside to eat our breakfast by the pool while chatting with Mickey.  We LOVE opportunities to catch up with him and are SOOO grateful for FaceTime.  I don't know how we'd survive without it.

After breakfast, we loaded up the stroller and hit the road running.  Our first destination was the gym, where I cranked out 30 minutes of tabata training which means I did each one for 4 minutes using a pattern of 20 seconds of all-out work followed by 10 seconds rest until the 4 minutes are up.  I love using the tabata timer app so I don't have to watch the clock.  It beeps to let me know what to do and as long as the gym isn't busy, it works perfectly for me.  I used the following exercises today...

I love tabata training.  The time flies, my heart gets pumping, and it keeps my interest...way more exciting than the treadmill for sure!

With my workout out of the way, the rest of the day was back to being dedicated to family time.  Our next stop was the park for Waterfest.  

I hesitated about going but am so glad I decided to just go check it out.  There was some great stuff for the boys like owls and birds...

...we all know they're animal-lovers.  They could have looked at the birds all day.  

There was also a bounce house which they finally worked up the nerve to check out but then decided quickly decided they weren't up for the challenge...

These are terrible photos but I had to act fast to capture their first experience inside the bounce house.  They quickly decided that they wanted nothing to do with it...don't know where they get that from?!?!

Have you guys seen this video??  After seeing this a year or so ago, I decided I would never have a bounce house at a birthday party...scary stuff!

I don't care if my boys ever like those darn things!  Crazy!

Our favorite park of Waterfest was the fantastic pirate storyteller/musician.  She was captivating and had crowds around her the whole time...

She definitely kept the boys' attention and it was hard to get them to leave. They've been talking about her all afternoon.  I think they have a crush on her!  There were also lots of other various booths, many with activities too advanced for the boys, but really cool stuff nonetheless, all about water conservation and the environment.  I'm pretty sure this is an annual event and if it is, we will definitely be joining in on the fun again next year.  If you're local, you should too!

After Waterfest, it was time to head home for lunch.  I ran to try to get home as quickly as possible to avoid the boys falling asleep but I only succeeded in that department with one of them...

Colton conked out and ended up taking his entire nap in the stroller while Mason played with his long trains all around him...

I never did end up convincing Mason to take a nap but I was kind of enjoying the one-on-one time with him so I didn't really try to hard either.  It's a rare opportunity that I can give my undivided attention to just one of the boys so I seized the moment hoping I wouldn't regret it later.  

My new juicer is so quiet that I was able to make myself this lovely kale lemonade with Colton sleeping right there in the room and he didn't even stir.  The omega vert ROCKS!

Kale, lemon, apple, and a little ginger--delish!!!

The rest of our day was very low key, a little playing outside, a little more train time, and a yummy steak dinner inspired by our low iron levels.  Gotta love a good excuse for a yummy steak--grass fed and super lean with LOTS of garlic, of course!  My typical veggie lover couldn't get enough of the meat...

...while my typically meat-loving boy only wanted "trees" aka asparagus for dinner...

I'm telling you, they trade personalities ALL THE TIME!  Just when I think I've figured them out, they throw a curveball at me.  Keeps me on my toes for sure!!

We finished up dinner with a little singalong...hope it entertains you as much as it did me.  I think my kids are the best!!!

Time to put on my jammies and snuggle up with my book...