Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMGGGGGGGGGGGGG!
Why don't my children sleep????????? Why?Why? Why? How do I know if Olivia is sick or just crying to cry??? How do I know?????????? It's 9:36. We put her back in the bed at 9:22. Josh is going to go in at 9:45 if she's still awake.

Some things...

A couple things.

First of all...SNACKWELLS are not dead. I mean for years the only ones on the shelf were devils food and vanilla creme sandwiches. Who remembers the mini choc chip cookies being staples on Apollo Dr????? I do!!! Well guess what?!?!?!? There are now Snackwell 100 cal packs and one of those packs is choc chip cookies with a fudge drizzle. It's not the exact same, but you get the same background flavor and I am sooooooooooooo HAPPY!

Second. I got brave enough to plant some veggies in pots in our backyard this year. As it turns out, Joshua is taking care of them..typ...I suck at plants. We have a problem though. All we're getting are small tomatos and most of them are rotting on the bottom before we get a chance to pick them. Any thoughts? Anyone?

Finally. The vicious cycle of weight. I keep watching me and Joshy putting on pounds and I don't do anything about it. Like...make lunches,make dinners, and stop eating treats all the time. What do you think is going to motivate me to be the captain of this project???? I do have a pool in my backyard that Zachary Samet exercised in like every night of the summer last year. I told him that I'm gonna need him to start that up again. Maybe if he's here, I'll do it too! Anybody want to play a weightloss or healthy choice game? NEECOLE!!! I'm talking to you because these other broads are pregnant and nursing. You let me know!

Shout out to Sari

One time before me and Sari were BFF cousins....yes that time existed....tragic...it's in the past...anyway one time we had the exact same comforter and didn't know it. Well guess what?!?! Crate and Barrel which is exactly where we bought it, has come out with an entire store that sells the prints. I'll take this tray right here as a memory of that good ole comforter from the
Delta Zeta house. Sari...where did you live when you had yours??

Whoooaaa Whirlwind

I have much to say, but am sooo soo so so so tired.

We have a precious new nephew. Leo Parker Schneider. He was full term, but ended up in the NICU anyway with an infection. He's fighting to bust out of there and is getting better each day. We woke up Saturday and went to Austin, because I wanted to see the situation for myself. You know how people like to make things up when something like this happens...make things up like how people should or shouldn't be feeling and diagnosing who is responding appropriately or not....you know??? Well I just wanted to see it for myself. I'm glad I did. Now I know that all is well or is soon to be well and I can stop making things up about what might be happening and stop listening to other people doing the same thing. It's amazing how we're all able to just rise up when we need to! I'm extremely proud of Michael and Talia for doing what they need to do and staying positive!

Easta....very real good feel good today at Anne Peirce's house...as USUAL!









Now for this week. I have major anxiety about going back...typ! the countdown is on, but there are still soooooooooooooo many numbers to count. I'm just going to stick with the old tried and true...FAKE IT TIL YOU MAKE IT!!!! D-O-N-E DONE!

ps....no school tomorrow for the last day of passover.

Clarity

Lots of clarity lately...

1.) School is going to be a roller coaster everyday for the rest of the year...done. At least there are only 25 more days. Thank you Jesus.

2.) I broke Passover tonight over Angel food cake...oops! Oh well!

3.) Why oh why oh why do I get so ridiculously wrapped up in things. Things like all of those things I keep talking about that need to be balanced. It's just life...we're just living.

4.) I've recently gained 5-7 pounds....damn. It's a vicious cycle. I'll make them disappear when I'm ready.

5.) The garage is only going to be cleaned out if we put it on the calendar. So it's on the calendar.

Can't Stop!

Ever since I finished my last bite of very cheesy quinoa mac and cheese for lunch at Ruggles Green with Neecole, I've been waiting to taste that Matzah Brittle I finished last night. I'm going to try my best to "keep passover," which means following as many Passover dietary rules as possible, so I couldn't just get a sweet treat at Ruggles when I was done. Also...I'm pretending that I'm sure that Quinoa pasta is kosher for passover, but I'm not. Back to the brittle... I seriously, seriously, triple seriously can't stop eating it! CAN'T STOP!!!!!!!!

Some fun....

Fun #1

Me and Joshy took advantage of having Damaris today. We woke up and left the girls at home while we went to breakfast at The Bagel Shop and picked up some last minute Passover items...ha!

Fun #2

Marshalls at Post Oak. I got the girls some goodness all for less than $10 each. I'm talking 6.99, 7.99, 9.99. I might go back tomorrow.

Fun #3

Me and the girls took a field trip to Central Market. Laine was on her best shopping behavior and Liv loved it as usual. They must have known we were in our favorite store.

Fun #4

Joshy came home early from work and we played outside with the next door neighbor grandchildren and then our friend Edie surprised us for a quick visit.

Fun #5

Put those cranky, spent girls to sleep and made two Passover treats. Charoset(apples, walnut, cinnamon, sugar) and some Chocolate Matzah Brittle which is exactly what it sounds like. I even got fancy and sprinkled craisens and almonds on half of it.

Fun #6

(this was supposed to be #5, but I can't figure out how to cut and paste)

Prolonging the girls time between dinner and bedtime by letting them eat ritz crackers all over my living room. I didn't even care that I had to vaccuum it all up. You should have seen their faces while they were holding these crackers in their hands, walking around the room, eating and crumbling....everywhere...ha! I wish I would have gotten out my camera.

Now...I don't want to be misleading. There was much chaos mixed in with this fun. Both of my girls constantly want to be held by me simultaneaously. Both of my girls love to put things like sticks and leaves in their mouths. Both of my girls like to walk down the street and into the street....we're practicing driveways. I'm also fighting that constant fight for balance in life. Balance between neurotic and calm, the balance between germophobic and germ lover, the balance between organized and chaotic, and the balance between planner and spontaneous.

Laurie had a great idea today. She said just be each end of the spectrum 50% of the time. I think I like that.

And now for the last little bit of fun...

Fun #7

Blogging. It is seriously so fun sitting at my computer telling these stories to nobody. One of my neighbors told me the other night that she doesn't understand how a mother of three(she was talking about someone else)has time to sit down and recount all of the details of her day on her computer. I didn't tell her that I do it too. I don't make time for this, I love my time for this. The end. Done. Fun.

One more day......

Just so everyone knows.....someone is in their bed is crying right now. I think it's Liv, but I haven't heard it long enough to determine which one. Laurie had to go to a funeral today, so Josh and Carol stayed with the girls. They said that there was no sleeping all day....lovely. I put them to sleep about 45 min ago....crying already....

Anyway....one more day until my long weekend that I am desperate for...DESPERATE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Went to Barbara's funeral today. Sad...sad.

I don't mean to be Debbie Downer these days, but it is what it is. I can promise happy thoughts in T-minus 28 days! I can do 28 days! I can do 28 days!!

Also....it was Olivia crying and she is already back to sleep. Sweet darlin probably can't wait for Damaris to get here in the morning so she can be greeted with a smiling face who makes her take naps and overfeeds her.

Can I please just press delete?

This day...really???? I wish I could delete it. I would like to play hooky until May 1. If I can make it to May, I can make it until our last day..may 20something. At least I have a Joshy and two ridiculously cute, waddling, babbling, bath tub and berry loving babies to come home to....and secret bags of candy and greasy chinese food for dinner helps too!

3 things...

Number 1:

Here we are "relaxing."



See how I went to Target with two babies??? Ha! It was actually fun. It's a shame that the new "fresh food" section at our Target is no good, but we'll go back again for more fun anyway!

Number 2:

Just in case you don't know about Skinny Taste, it's time to know it. When Marla was here for the girls' birthday, she made the zucchini enchiladas and they were OUT OF CONTROL! Tonight I made the simple beyond belief asparagus pasta. I've been thinking about it since I saw it in my blog reader last week and it was exactly what I wanted it to be. Try it! Please!

Number 3:

No matter what I do, I can't figure out how to design this blog. Help! Thanks!

Effort

The Brunos and Sommers brought me down to earth last night. I have let myself spin off into a neurotic, hypersensitive, worry way too much about your kids frame of mind. Ha! I just reread that sentence. I haven't let myself spin off.....I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN neurotic, hypersensitive, and full of worry. So let me rephrase. The Brunos and Sommers showed me last night that its ok if your kids lick rocks, slide down a chalk covered slide, gulp hose water, eat whole cheese sticks, and seriously so much more. I need them in my life more than once a week. Anyway....they have inspired my effort for the week. I'm saying effort because I've been throwing around the word goal too much, and then letting myself down. The effort is going to be to RELAX! Not relax like take lots of naps, but relax like set up your kids water table, let them drink buckets of hose water, and then give them outdoor baths all without thinking about the planning or aftermath!

Here is the proof....

Organic??????

I know every rule there is to know about how to lose weight...EVERY RULE! Thank you Sarah Peirce Schnure for figuring out the Weight Watchers Points Finder formula so that I can now calculate the points value of any food in my head. I'm always blown away by people who are so unaware of calories, because they are naturally skinny and have never had to know any of this. Anyway...I'm on a tangent....back to the point. In terms of eating, I've always been so concerned if something is going to put a pound on the scale or not, but lately, I've been worried about different things. It's like I'm feeding these two newly chowing down mouths and my brain is so trained to think points points points, that I hesitate about giving them whole milk and think things to myself like....shouldn't they be eating egg whites????

So I'm trying to retrain the brain. I have so many questions though. A huge question I have is ......SHOULD WE ALL BE EATING ORGANIC??? I don't know! Does anyone know???? I need an unbiased opinion here. I don't want a green extremist to advise me and I don't want an uneducated(on the issue) person to tell me that we were all fine without it up until now, and of course we don't need to eat Organic(organically??). I need somebody in the middle. For now, I'm going to settle for the answers that Dr. Oz is giving me. Nicole gave me an article from a parenting magazine that he wrote, but I wasn't satisfied enough, so I went to his website tonight. He has three simple rules for when to buy organic and when to save your dollars. My questions aren't all answered and I'm not totally fulfilled by the article, but I'm going to use it as a guide for now. Here's his scoop. Read it and then tell me what you think. Raise your hand if you buy organic regularly....grocery store or farmer's market? Go!

**sidenote...glorious time tonight at the Bruno's! Aside from great food and fun had by all grown ups and babies, I smiled the whole time on the inside at how happy we all are in this beginning of our thirties phase of life. Can't wait to see some pics soon.

Sadness

I used to talk all the time about my principal last year. I was in love with her in so many ways. Actually I think it was a mutual love. She was constantly building my ego, telling me how great I was, while I would simultaneously admire everything she did from a distance. Major grown up girl crush on this woman. I thought she was the epitome of leadership in the education world. When I left in March to have babies, I found out by way of a mass email sent out by our school, that she took a medical leave to nurse her mental health. I was so in shock that this woman who appeared to me to be so completely together, was actually disguising a very serious illness. Then at the end of the school year, I hear through the grapevine that she "decided" to retire. I was heartbroken.

This year when I got back to school, I found out that Barbara Goldstein wasn't the only amazing principal I would know in my career. Her successor is also equally outstanding at her job, but I still missed having my friend Barbara in my daily school life. I saw her about a month ago at the farmer's market. Something was off. Then today happened. My teaching partner, Pam, is Barbara's sister. She was called out of her classroom today very suddenly and left in hysterics. This woman never misses school. By the end of the day, we didn't know anything, except that it was Barbara and that she had done something to herself.

About an hour ago I got a phone call from the third member of our team who is a longtime friend of Pam and Barbara's families. She told me all she could say was that Barbara died suddenly today.

Sadness

Today is April 7. Too much for April 7. I honestly think about my mom every single day....many times....many times each day, so April 7 really is no different from any other day of missing her. It still means a lot to know that other people know what today is, so thanks for the coded fb messages and writing this day on your personal calendar, and for sending me flowers just to see me smile!

I have foggy beliefs regarding life after death, but I am sure that the way to have someone who has died remain in your life, is to carry on their traditions, teach what they taught, and play how they played. I have no idea what your schedules are like this weekend, but I will be taking the girls out for a walk on Saturday morning around 8:30/9 and then having brunch at my house eating healthy things...skinny breakfast burritos like we're on Apollo Dr. We might even do our walk at Memorial or Rice...never can tell! Come on over if you want! I'll probably even put on some purple shorts.

I don't have many pics of Ida, because her time was not the time of digital photography, but here is a pic of me and Olivia that reminds me of one that I have of me and Ida at about the same time in each of our lives.

Response

In response to the following, challenge accepted!

3 comments:

Candice said...

You could soooo make that. Stencils for the letters, red paint, an aged wooden frame (which they have at hobby lobby - I know because I bought two) and maybe one of the beige drop cloths from home depot for the background? Or just a piece of cardboard that you could faux finish with spray paint? I mean, juding by the pics, you put together a magazine-worthy b-day party for your girls...you could so do this for $20 instead of $378.

April 6, 2011 9:12 AM

Sarah Schnure said...

Sari agrees with 10000% with Candice. You can get HD to cut you a piece of ratty wood that size. While you are making me this, make me the I
LUV
NO
LA

out of beer caps on the framed warped board like in the Big Easy bar on Kirby.

April 6, 2011 10:04 AM

nicole bruno said...

Absolutely you make that shit!! When are we doing it?

April 6, 2011 10:08 AM

wish

I sure with I could have this poster for my bathroom.....why oh why is it $378???

Thanks Neecole for the inspiration??

Sick

Sick babies are no no no fun. No fun for moms or babysitters or dads or sisters or especially for the one actually sick. I hate really dislike when someone in this house is sick. Please oh please oh please let little Livy sleep through this night and be better tomorrow.

Sunday

I wish I had pics from tonight. Nicole's birthday dinner was just real good feel good fun! I really just wish I had pics from this entire day...even of my solo trip to HEB this AM...the big HEB on Buffalo Spdwy at 8am before the huge crowd got there. I mean, I wasn't alone by any means, but it was just so nice and line-less. Then, I came home to the smell of pancakes and the girls walking up to me saying MaMa...MaMa. Sooooo goood. Then, they took a nap and I actually had time to make fun decorations for the birthday dinner. Maybe Neecole will even take some pics of them and post later since I forgot to. Then the girls woke up and we went to my current favorite store Paper Source. Paper Source is heaven. There is always something to buy...ALWAYS! Then we came home, at lunch, took another nap, and when those sweet darlin walking all over the place girls woke up it was time to get ready for the par-tay! We,(we=me, laine, and olivia) both at separate and individual times, proceeded at this point to melt down. I forced my children to sit in exersaucers while I showered....they didn't like that. As it turns out, babies who have just turned 1 like to show everyone that they are independent and that they don't need things like exersaucers to entertain them. They would rather climb up steps that lead to a bathtub or play with breakable ceramic puppy dogs, or slam fingers in forbidden cabinet doors, or even fall face first into scratchy indoor/outdoor rugs. Baby center sent me an email today telling me that all of this is normal. Will we survive this "normal?" I guess! Ha! I mean we will because even though there was one stressful hour today, there were like over 12 hours of goodness! Perfect goodness!

Splash Pool Surprise

Nicole surprised us today with a splash pool in the backyard of the Willi crawfish boil. She loves it so much that she even wrote a review about it on Amazon so that all other mothers would know they should buy one! I'm sold! Placing my order here right now! It's not the exact one, but it's close.

Then we finished the day at Anne and Jack's eating steak, beans, and the part they loved most....corn! Anne even got the girls bath toys, soap, and special towels so they could be ready for bed as soon as we got home! I love that they live here!

...and the weekend is only half over! Woohooooo!