Can't Get Enough

I can't get enough of this baby.
He can't get enough of his toes.

Fashionista

She totally gets her awesome sense of style from me. You know you're a mom when you make her change, not because it doesn't match, but because I don't want to wash two shirts for one day.

Will Work For Food

Last week, we went on our annual trip to the strawberry patch. There is something about doing this with my kids that feels rural and earthly; like I'm doing something good and connecting with the earth and teaching my kids valuable lessons about work. Then I realize, "not true". In fact, given my kids, this was easier than taking them to the grocery store. I have this happy, do-good, green feeling as I'm leaving, when I realize that the real work is not the picking; but all the was done to grow the berries. Alas, I've a long way to go...
At any rate, happy days. These berries are oh so berrylicious. You have not had a strawberry if you have not hand-picked fresh berries. That's the best part--you don't have to pay for what is consumed while picking. Those are the tastiest berries (as evidenced on Sadie's shirt)
Funny thing. Brooklyn was so excited to leave the patch and pay for the berries. I didn't get it, until upon paying she asked, "Mom, so how many berries did we pick?". She was bummed with the explanation about weight and scales and such.

Dandelions, Splash Pad, Sleepy Baby

I just had to add this picture of Sadie. While my mom was here, she would look at Sadie with her crazy, messy, thin, super curly hair...she said she looks like a little dandelion; or maybe a baby bird. So true.




Last week, we went to the splash pad near our house. Sadly, it's never quite warm enough around here to be wet, but the kids enjoyed it for a few minutes. It's a wonderful thing to have this literally blocks from my house. I really get a lot for all those lousy property taxes I pay...



Sleepy baby. It was so cute when we sat him down in the recliner and he just crashed...

Catterpillars

A few weeks ago, we went to a local field and found several monarch catterpillars. We brought all four catterpillars home (one for each kiddo) and created a little catterpillar habitat for them. Watching them grow was amazing. The ate and ate; and poooped and pooped...sometimes doubling in size in one day. Within only 5 days, four catterpillars had become four chryssallises.

More Cute Baby

Fireman's Pole

Jake added a pole for the kids to slide down to their new treehouse!

Cute Baby

Need I say more?

Last Day of School

Brooklyn had her last day of school a few weeks ago. The school has a last day party; siblings are invited. First, we headed to the cafeteria for lunch. Afterwards, we went outside for carnival games, fun water games, bounce houses and time on the playground. Brooklyn had a pretty hard time saying goodbye to her wonderful teacher, Mrs. G. The good thing is that there is only one Junior Kindergarten teacher at our school, so Ty will be in her class next year; then Sadie the following year. I've really worked hard at being her friend...she has to/gets to put up with a Morton for three years in a row!

Grandma J

Grandma came and visited for a few days and the kids were in spoiling heaven. They love being with her so much, though she's a little camera shy, so this in the one and only picture that I got of her (without her eyes closed). We took a trip one day to our zoo. Always a riot. Thanks for a great week Gramma!

Fathers and Sons Campout

Every May, our church does an overnight campout for the guys. Jake and Ty had a blast. Jake is really patient with Ty and I think he spends more time just following him around, throwing rocks in the lake, and picking daisies; rather than playing football or something more "fun" with the big boys. But Ty really benefits from the one-on-one time. The first two pics are of Ty, taken by Jake. The second two are pictures that Ty took. It's fun to see his perspective on the world, huh? It was nice for everyone all around this year. My mom was in town, so we had a girls night with Sadie and Brooklyn (and Jack).

Jack's First Taste of Food

Memorial Day

The Sunday before Memorial Day, we went to a local cemetary. They had hundreds of large flags displayed. Each represented a soldier who had given his/her life for our country. It was a beautiful and moving display. We talked about it with our kids; who are too young to understand. I am so grateful, despite all of the negative stuff going on right now, that we have our freedom and live in an amazing country. As a mother, I am indescribably grateful for those who have made sacrifices for my freedom.

First For Brooklyn

At the end of last month, Brooklyn lost her first tooth! It was very anti-climatic. Usually, isn't losing teeth about plier and threats and blood and tears? Nope. Not here. I was pulling into the driveway coming home from a bike ride. Brooklyn was standing in the backyard with her hand near her mouth. She looked a little green, I thought maybe she was going to be sick. When I asked her how she was, "look Mom! I lost a tooth!". The tooth had fallen out when she was trying to open a package with her teeth.

Pictures

Wow. It's amazing how quickly I get behind (sadly, that applies to all areas of my life, not just my blog).
At the end of last month, we went for a "hike" in a local wildlife preserve. It was a lot of fun to get out in the woods (in the middle of the city). Doing so with a bunch of kids...well, we're not ready to scale any major mountain ranges. I think at the end, I was pushing at least 4 kids uphill in my double stroller. Thank goodness I had a friend to carry Jackson. I was so glad I had friends to help me; it's the kind of thing I would have tried on my own and ended up needing someone to come rescue me. Thanks E and C!
Also, I put up some more pictures of sweet Mr. Jackson. He is getting bigger everyday. I totally love every minute with him and wish that I could keep him small.

Firsts

I am currently six weeks into training for my triathlon; with six weeks to go. Wow. I'm so not ready. Good thing I have six weeks.

Yesterday I swam/floated in open water for the first time. I have this thing with lakes and weeds...what the heck am I doing swimming a triathlon? I was pleasantly surprised that swimming in weeds bothered me much less than just wading in weeds like I do when I take the kids to the beach. It stunk when I was the last one in my group to finish swimming my practice 400m and they all cheered for me. It was awesome that I did it, and I got some awesome tips. When I workout, I am so not a gym girl; I would like running and biking outside anyday over the gym. I now feel the same way about the pool vs. open water. There were lots of other swimmers and it was just fulfilling to be a part of something. I may be super slow, but I know I can finish my swim portion of my race. That's okay.

Today, I worked out and did my first "brick". Thus far, in my training, I have only been doing one thing a day (ie: run, bike, swim). Today, I tried running after biking; just to get a feel for my tri. Getting off the bike and running after biking for over an hour was tougher than I expected.

I'm just glad I have more time to train...I'm getting excited. It's fun to have something to work towards.

Deeeeelicious New Recipes

I love to try new recipes. Love it. I found some awesome ones this weekend.

The first is for Alton Brown's grilled chicken. So delicious. Chickenlicious. I have never had such juicy grilled chicken. Next time, I might switch up the rub a bit to make it more me...but the cooking method was awesome. I think maybe it's the brining. I know that makes all the difference when we fried our turkeys at Thanksgiving. BONUS: Learning how to cut up a whole chicken is not fun. It totally grosses me out. In the past, I've made Jake do it. It just brings me to close to the fact that I am actually eating a bird. But doing it made me feel very Julia Child-ish. What real homemaker doesn't know how to cut apart a whole chicken?

The second recipe is from Throwdown with Bobby Flay. The recipe is from La Isla, a Cuban restaurant in Hoboken. It was a-maz-ing. The sheer amount of calories makes it a special occasions only food, but oh, what an special occasion! French toast stuffed with cream cheese and guava and strawberries; then battered in corn flakes and sliced almonds; then cooked in butter...topped with more sweet guava marmadlade deliciousness. You will probably have to venture out to a Latin/Mexican food grocery store to find the guava marmalade and guava shells; but I promise it will be worth it!

Alton Brown's "Ring of Fire Grilled Chicken"

"La Isla's Stuffed French Toast"

Domestic Help

So, I don't know where I went wrong. Maybe it was that fairy-tale about the shoemaker and the elves. Maybe it was the fact that growing up, aside from my chores, the housework/yardwork just got done and I was oblivious to how much work went into it. But seriously, I think I maybe just missed some of the fine print in my mortgage papers. We were knee deep in paperwork, I'm sure there was something in there about the laundry fairy and my lawn boy...all included with my house, right?
Not so much. This week, I tried an experiment. I thought, perhaps my need has not been evident enough. So, I gave up. I let the grass grow into a jungle. I neglected laundry until the kids were nearly naked. I stopped washing dishes and began to increase my carbon footprint with my contributions of paper products to my local landfill. Later, as my children were running naked through the jungle...still, no laundry fairy, no lawn boy, no elves to do my dishes. Dang. Guess it's all me. I had a good day this week when I realized that the only way to get something done was to bribe my kids. I "paid" them lunch at McDonalds while I did the lousiest job ever mowing my lawn...I also FINALLY caught up a bit on laundry (you're never actually really caught up, 6 people at my house are wearing clothes!)...
Who knew being a mom would be so much WORK? (No comments allowed Mom!)

I Just Might Survive

The past four weeks, I have been doing the beginning of training for my first sprint triathalon. My race is as the end of July. My biggest concern in training has been practicing swimming enough that I don't drown. This week, I also started to realize that because I am swimming in Lake Michigan, the more time I spend swimming, the more likely I get hypothermia and/or frostbite (no, I wish I was kidding). At any rate, I've recently kicked up my swimming training a bit, as that is my weak link of the race as it is. Now, for the happy news. When I signed up, my race's swim portion was 800m (1/2 mile); yesterday, I was informed that it will only be 400m (1/4 mile). I just might not die.