board games

I think every kid has a favorite board game from when they were little. For me, it was Clue. I loved this game, trying to find out if it was Professor Plumb, with the candlestick, in the conservatory. I also liked Sorry and Aggravation (this one goes by many different names...it's like Sorry but with marbles).

The other day I was watching Tori and Dean and noticed she was playing Candyland with her son. I decided to give it a try with Cam and he loved it!! It's so fun now that he is old enough to play actual games. Not only does it give us something to do during Kendall's naps, but it's fun to see how excited he gets when we play.

a new favorite

These are our new favorite things. I know they aren't that new, but we just discovered how great they are. My theory has always been, "The more bread the better." However that isn't always the healthiest. :) These provide just the right amount for a sandwich or hamburger and they are only 100 calories. We get the 100% Whole Wheat and they are very tasty.

On an unrelated note, we had a great time this weekend when my brother and sister-in-law came to visit. Here are a couple cute shots at Victoria Gardens on Sunday.

sticker chart

Since day one of discovering that we would have a very different journey with Cam than with most kids, I've had an amazing support system. In addition to Chris--my mom, sister, and my friend Karen have been more supportive than I could possibly describe. The hours they have spent (via email or over the phone) analyzing, researching, and encouraging, are astounding. I don't know what I would have done without them.

Anyway, one of their brilliant ideas is one I'm currently implementing. I have realized that I HAVE to tackle the issue of Cam crying when Kendall cries. I noticed I had started a pattern of giving into EVERYTHING Kendall wanted, just so she wouldn't get upset. Obviously this is not a wise discipline strategy. I needed to help Cam get passed this.

So this morning Chris and I shared with Cam his new song, "It's OK! It's OK! It's OK when sissy cries!!!" I explained to him that every time Kendall cried, and he not only sang the song, but didn't cry himself, he would get a Skittle. Boy did he catch on quick!! Whenever she would start, he would look at me, smile, then sing his song...immediately followed by a request for a Skittle. This afternoon was a little harder for him as a couple times she cried much louder and longer. He teared up, but stuck it out and even sang his song (in his little shaky voice).

I'm very encouraged and made a chart this evening. The Skittles were flowing a little too heavily for my liking, so this way he'll have to earn several stickers before he gets a candy. :) I have his teacher on board as well and will make her a chart she can have at school. I'll let you know how we progress, but so far I'm feeling hopeful!!

honest scrap

I was nominated by Jessica for the Honest Scrap award. I'm supposed to give 10 random things about me. I could only come up with 8, so here goes...

*Whenever I get nervous, I have to go to the bathroom several times. Back when I interviewed for my position as a school counselor, I didn't eat anything that morning because I was so nervous. Despite that, I went to the bathroom (#2 hehe) 3 times within an hour!

*I convulse in my sleep. It's like right before you fall asleep and you jerk...except I do this over and over for several seconds throughout the night. I've been tested and seen docs, but nothing is wrong. It's just the way I sleep. As you can imagine, this isn't the most conducive habit for sleeping with my husband. :(

*I think El Pollo Loco chicken is spicy. That is how much of a wimp I am when it comes to spicy foods.

*I went on a whopping one date all through high school. It was to Marie Calenders (ohh, how romantic!) and I ordered a really messy salad. Not quite sure what I was thinking.

*That guy and I were beginning what might have been a relationship, however I decided I didn't want to go that route. I told him over the phone that, "I just wanted to be friends"...however my best friend, Jen, was also on the line listening in (for moral support, of course). How horrible is that? :)

*I tried to eat a whole slice of the Motherload cake (from Claim Jumpers) in college on a dare. I made the mistake of eating beforehand because someone told me if I didn't eat, my stomach would shrink and I couldn't eat as much. Mistake. I barely got through half.

*When my chore growing up was to vacuum, I would try and do perfectly straight lines. I loved the look. I still do love the look, but there is NO WAY IN HECK I would take the time now to do that!! :)

*I'm one of those people that LOVE nursing my babies. I never thought I would be that passionate about it, but it is one of my favorite things with Kendall and I'll be so sad to give it up. It is so sweet and bonding.

as of late

*Kendall is coming down with something...something that involves lots of eye gunk. :( It also involves not wanting to nap and only sleeping 45 minutes all day today. On the plus side, she officially started crawling recently and I LOVE it. She is SO much more independent and can entertain herself a lot more. Yes, she does get into things she shouldn't, but it's worth it for how much she enjoys just exploring everywhere.

*Last night we watched the season finale of Damages. SUCH a great show. If you like suspense, twists, and great acting, I would highly recommend it.

*This morning was one of the tougher mornings helping in Cam's class. The boys I worked with weren't having great days. Getting hit by one of them was the low point. :(

*My mom finally got to Germany to visit my sister!!! She had been stuck in Moscow due to the volcano/ash. Woohoo!

*Chris and Cam spent the afternoon together. They included round #4 of Chuck E Cheese using that $15 coupon worth of tokens we found a while back. I will definitely be on the lookout for another one of those!! Anyway, I just got off the phone with Chris and they also stopped by the store to get me a magazine...as a trade for Chris watching basketball tonight. Fine with me! I love a good magazine. :)

*Made hamburgers the other night. Our key to success is putting one packet of Lipton's Onion Soup mix into the meat. It makes them SO flavorful and you can get away with using lean meat that way.

*The last two days it has rained on and off. I've gone on walks both days when it looked like there was a good break in the sky. Both times it starting raining about 3/4 the way into the walk. Luckily the shade on the stroller completely covered Kendall...but not so much me. :)

HOLY COW!!!!--- Part II

Last week I blogged about Oreo Truffles and how amazing they were. Due to the amazing'ness of them, I decided to try them with Nutter Butters, upon recommendation from a friend. Oh, my. Oh, my. I'm thinking I like these better only because I'm a sucker for the peanut butter/chocolate combo.



Get ready, my Tmoms table...these are headed your way on Friday!

get ready for sappy stuff...

When I first quit my job, I thought it would be super easy. I was a little surprised initially at how much I missed it. I realized I had really enjoyed the sense of fullfilment/accomplishment I felt after each day. I enjoyed helping low performing kids get to graduation day or the new freshmen plan their first class.

However it took no time at all before I was completely in love with my new job of full time mommy. I realized I just needed to change my definition of what my "fulfillment" was. Who would have thought that dropping coins into a piggy bank to make Kendall laugh would bring me just as much joy...just a different kind. :)

One thing I do NOT miss from my old job, was the sports supervision. I don't care for sports...at all. So to have to sit through game after game was sometimes torture for me. But on the flip side, I could sit through 10 t-ball games in a row and love every single minute of them. :)

Sidenote: Cam and his team sure were troopers for this picture session. It was FREEZING that day. I can't believe we even got this good of a shot!


I know when I go back to my old career, I'll look back on these years with huge FONDNESS. :)

31

Today is my 31st birthday. We started celebrating Thursday at Red Robin, where I got my free birthday burger for dinner. Friday night some girls from my mom's group came over. It wasn't for my birthday, but it was such a FUN night. I felt like there was constant conversation (which I'm a big fan of) and we had fun sampling the appetizers brought as well as the dessert I made. I'm so thankful for my table this year. :) By the way, I got a "9" average from the girls for my Oreo Truffles. Not too bad! I will definitely make them again.

This morning we went to Cam's T-ball game. I love watching my little guy have so much fun. After Kendall's nap, Chris and I parted ways, each with a kid. Kendall and I headed out to Jen's house. My friend from college, Kristen, was in town and I wanted to see her and her son. We had a fun visit catching up and were able to do a good amount of talking considering the number of kidlets surrounding us!




Chris and Cam spent the day at Victoria Gardens. On our way back, Kendall and I met them at a remote control car racetrack just down the street from our house. It's quite an interesting spectacle as the people who race the cars take it very seriously. :) Cam positively adores it and giggles almost the entire time as the cars jump into the air and come down with a crash. Kendall was a big fan also. I tried to get an arm shot, but this was the best I could do. :)



Tonight we are both looking forward to relaxing and watching Blindside. I'm also looking forward to partaking of the Mrs. Field's cookie Chris brought home for me. Tomorrow night Chris and I are getting a sitter and will go out to dinner to officially celebrate. Not sure how I feel about technically being in my "early thirties", but I've had a fun time celebrating. :)

shoes

Back when Cam was a walking beginner, we purchased some Robeez shoes for him. They were pricey, but I had heard how great they were. They were awesome! I loved that they were super easy to slide on and that they stayed on. Now that Kendall is in the phase of needing shoes (she is no where near walking, but still standing a lot...many times in nasty park dirt), I want to get her a pair of good shoes. I don't, however, want to spend $25 on shoes she'll grow out of before I blink can.

So question is...do you know where I can get some Robeez knock-offs? I don't like straps, I like them like the pic above. Easy, easy, easy...that's my motto. I'd like get them at a store, rather than online (too hard to find her size and then try and find a similar one online). Any advice?

HOLY COW!!!!

I'm having my mom's group girls over on Friday night. I wanted to experiment with the dessert and make something I had never made before. I went onto Bakerella and found the most AMAZING LITTLE THINGS IN THE WORLD. They are called Oreo Truffles. The ingredients? Oreos, cream cheese, and candy coating. That's it. They are heavenly. I gave Chris one bite and his response was, "You better hide those now." They are super simple, but just take a little time. Please, please make them.

Above is the professional pic. Below is mine. :)

feta

I'm in love with feta lately. I probably go through one container from Costco every week and a half. What do I put it on? Mainly vegetables. I'll heat up a bowl of frozen mixed veggies and add some feta while it's hot. It is super good. I'll also add it to salads.

When we first bought some, Chris liked the taste. However I've soured him on it due to the smell it makes when I mix it with veggies. Broccoli with feta is especially nasty to his nose. :) There is only one other food that I have eaten that has grossed him out. It was during my hot Grape Nuts phase. I used to heat up my bowl every single morning and he HATED the smell. But oh, it was just so tasty! :)

update

*Saturday our friends, Jeremy and Ana, and their kids came for the day. Jeremy and Chris played golf, while the girls stayed back with the kids. We always have such an amazing time with them and HATE the fact that we live an hour away. We ended their visit with what has now become a tradition, a dinner of carne asada fries from the Mexican restaurant up the street.

*This morning was one of my favorite mornings we have had lately. We went to Panera Bread for breakfast. Cam was WAY excited about his "Bagel-donut" (aka Cinnamon Crunch). After breakfast, we headed over to the park to feed the ducks. Kendall needed a nap and while she was down, Chris took Cam to a park near our house which was hosting a remote control car rally. Cam was in heaven, especially when the cars would crash into one another. It was such a fun morning and it was one of those times that I realized how in love with my family I am. :)

*Kendall's sleep training still continues. I would have thought we would have had it mastered by now. I will say that there is improvement, just not quite as much as I had hoped for at this point.

*Speaking of Kendall, she has been SOO amazingly cute lately. I never thought a baby could giggle and smile as much as she does. Man is she getting fun.

*I rented Time Traveler's wife tonight. Chris said he would watch some with me, but couldn't commit to the whole thing. Ha :) After 15 minutes, I was done. I have such little patience for movies that I don't find interesting. This one was super confusing and I didn't feel like waiting it out to see if I could eventually understand it. Oh well. Thanks to Red Box, we are only out $1.

*Tomorrow I call the pre school I'm trying to get Cam into (they'll hopefully know if there will be space for him). For the summer, I'd like him to do two days at his special ed school (that he currently attends) and two days at a "typical" school. I know he'll do great as he adores Sunday School. I just want him to be around other kids (in a structured environment) that have more speech and social skills so that hopefully he can learn/grow more in those areas.

birthday freebies

I've blogged before about the GREAT free things you can get from restaurants on your birthday. It's sooo worth it! In fact, Claim Jumpers typically gives you a free dessert, but I just got my email informing me that I get a free entree, up to $18!!! Woohoo!!

cooking day

Today, instead of helping out in the different centers, Cam's teacher asked me to do a cooking lesson for his class. It was somewhat hectic, but I had such a great time. I brought all the ingredients and let each boy scoop, stir, measure, etc. We made sugar cookie dough and wrapped it around a Rollos. I wasn't able to hang around long enough to sample one after they were baked, but I'm assuming they turned out OK even though the measurements probably weren't too exact!



p.s. Night three of sleep training is only hours away. Oh, how exciting. The first night she cried off/on for 2 1/2 hours. Last night was 3 1/2. Wow, Kendall. Wow.

tortillas

Lately, whenever we go to Palm Springs, we'll pick up a dozen homemade tortillas from a small restaurant out there. They are to die for. I was determined to recreate them but have not been able to. I actually went as far as buying real lard (I was actually somewhat embarrassed to buy it because it is so nasty), but I still didn't come close to the taste. I have no idea how they make them so delicious. I guess it's just one of those things we'll always have to buy.



On an unrelated note, tonight is THE NIGHT. Yes, sleep training begins. I've finally run out of excuses and my little princess needs to learn that she is far too chunkalicious to need to eat during the night. I'll let you know how it goes in several days...

Easter

We had such a fun Easter this year. This morning, the four of us went to Ruby's for breakfast. Cam got a special waffle which he was really excited about (despite the fact that it was WAY overcooked!).


After Kendall's nap, we had a little photo shoot before heading to church. My niece, Hannah, picked out this dress for Kendall (but it was bought by grandma Debbie...thanks!!!). I think it is so adorable and different than the typical pink flower dress.





After church and another nap, we went to the park to meet my parents and some friends of theirs for a picnic. We did this a couple years back when my sister's family was visiting and it was a great success. It is such a kid friendly way to enjoy Easter. Here is a rousing game of t-ball that went on after we ate. Cam has gotten SO much better at hitting the ball and really follows through with his swing now.





Overall it was a nice, relaxing day. I wish I could have gotten a video of Cam saying, "He is risen INDEED!!!", but you'll just have to take my word for it that it was so sweet to hear!

high low

Every week in my mom's Bible Study, she has the women go around and give their "high" for the week and their "low". I'm going to do the same for my day. The high was definitely this afternoon. I found a coupon in the newspaper for Chuck E Cheese. We got 90 tokens for $15. Cam adored the place when we last went for my nieces' birthday, so we knew it would be a hit. Sure enough, he was in heaven!!! The best part was that we only used 12 tokens, so we are going to get several visits out of our $15!!!

Sorry these aren't the best pics. They were taken on Chris's phone.





The low is not just one event, it is a daily occurrence that I cannot begin to describe how hard it can be. I've mentioned before that Cam has a VERY hard time when Kendall cries. He gets extremely upset and inconsolable. I've realized that it isn't a noise sensitivity, it is an emotion sensitivity. It is worse when he knows the child. He can handle a kid at the store crying, but NOT someone he knows and ESPECIALLY not Kendall. In fact, he doesn't like it when anyone is sad. Even today on his Yo Gabba Gabba show, the main character simply said, "Sometimes I get sad..." Cam immediately ran over to me and wouldn't look at the TV (luckily he doesn't cry during times like this).

We've asked all the specialists and no one has been able to tell us how to alleviate it. Kendall is almost a year old, and it is no better than the day she was born. This is not a discipline issue that we can deal with. This is something in his little brain and it breaks my heart to see him so distraught. It's hard also to think that although Kendall isn't a super fussy baby, she is now entering the stage where she gets upset when things don't go her way (like if I take a toy away). Temper tantrums will soon follow and I can't just pick her up and stop the crying, like I can now when she gets fussy.

Anyway, that is my low for the day...and every day. In trying to look at the positive, 95% of the time my little guy is the happiest guy you'll ever meet. But that 5% is beyond difficult for me because I have no clue how to help him cope. :(