Happy Birthday, Abi!

Today is my neice's birthday! She is sweet, spunky, precious and a beautiful little lady.
 Last week I whipped up this tutu and sent it to her. It was super easy and fun to make, a great gift to send across the country as the finished product is light in weight. And the best part? Fun for Abi! She wore it the entire first day after opening it.

G + W = no pacifiers + 1 bedroom!

So there have been a few major transitions in our home over the last week.

First, the pacifier fairy swung by for a pick-up last Wednesday. I've been dreading this transition and we made it through! I will admit that it was less painful than anticipated and that I'm happy all has smoothed over with missing their good ol' comforting pacies.

Second, the boys are now sharing a bedroom. Gabe and Will have been asking to have sleep overs with each other for months and reminded me that the deal I made with them a couple weeks ago was that once they get through the pacifier transition and sleep well without their pacifiers, they can share a room. Gabe called Jon and I on this last Saturday. So we did it because we said we would.

This has been quite an adventure. So far I've loved it and hated it (mostly during the times they're supposed to be sleeping but decide to throw a party ... the kind that includes emptying the clothes in their dresser and using it as confetti -- let's just say they had a 40 minute exercise in which they learned how to fold clothes and put them away).  But I mostly love it, partly for the sweet memories I recall from sharing a bedroom with any one of my sisters and partly for their sake and what it's teaching them about sharing, being flexible and a host of other qualities that I won't share b/c I just want to go to bed.

The main reason I'm sharing this info is because of these sweet photos of built-in bunk bed ideas I came across after my dear friend Natalie passed on a link regarding kids sharing bedrooms. We don't have bunk beds yet, but I'm guessing we will in the future! G + W are already talking about it.

Here are a couple of my faves from said photos of built-in bunks.

Reset Button

Yesterday morning I was a little grumpy. I was desperately trying to not take out my moodiness on my boys despite their million demands before and during breakfast all pre-7 a.m.

Despite my best efforts to suppress my issues, my snappiness showed up on the table. I know by now that suppression isn't sustainable, yet I'm still working on figuring out what to do with my emotions when they aren't what I want them to be in the moment.

After a bit of regrouping and calming my heart, I apologized to my Gabe and Will, told them I was kind of grumpy and made a bad choice by taking it out on them and told them that I thought it'd be a good idea to hit the reset button and start our morning over.

This sparked an idea that I thought might help to make the concept of resetting a little more tangible for Gabe and Will and actually make a pseudo reset button. I drew it, cut it and we pressed that button. Both boys wanted a turn and we went on our merry way.

At the end of yesterday I was satisfied that I was able to turn around my moodiness and have a way to walk my boys through this process in a way that they could grasp at 3 and 4 years old.

So today I had almost forgotten about said button until Gabe brought it up several times today at appropriate instances suggesting that we hit the reset button. One such time was after he had bit his brother. (This doesn't happen often and there is definitely a back-story to his frustrated emotions turned to action.) On his way to time out he looked at me and said "Mommy, I think we need to hit the reset button." Man, that kid is adorable. ...And it's a good thing he can whip that asset out at times when I'm not so happy with his choices.

Since the reset button has been a helpful tool in our house, I decided to make a little printable of one in case it might helpful for you to have your own. It's worth a shot. Download from above, print, cut and use! Seize those teachable moments and the grace that can sometimes turn things around.

Easy, Yummy Breakfast

I think the recipe below might be the easiest breakfast in the world. And it's very healthy too. Mornings can intimidate me in my typically groggy, sun-rising state at 6 a.m. with two boys ready to cease the day and exert all the energy they stole from me.

Last night I whipped this up in the 5 minutes before heading to bed. It was well worth the minimal effort. I used to make something similar years ago when I was single and working. In both cases, it was delightful to have breakfast ready for consuming.

Benefits: This gig is healthier, just as easy and less expensive than boxed cereal. Plus it gets better the longer it sits and doesn't fall apart like gross, soggy cereal (a plus when dealing with the kiddos). It's gluten, dairy and corn free, raw and delish!

Here's the recipe I made this morning which has a high capacity for modification. Adjust to your or your family's taste and quantity. Let's call it:

Soaked Mueslix Recipe Template
Serves 4-ish

2 c. Rolled oats (I use Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Oats)
1/4 c. Raw honey
Water (enough to cover mixture by about 1/2 inch)

Optional add-ins:
Cinnamon (to taste)
Chia seeds (2 tbs. or so)
1/2 tsp. Ground Kelp (a few sprinkles)
Raw sunflower seeds (a couple handfuls)
Raisins / cranberries (whatever floats your boat)

At night, in a large glass container add oats and raw honey. Using two spoons stir / cut honey into oats until mixture starts to clump together. Add cinnamon, chia seeds, ground kelp and sunflower seeds. Mix until evenly distributed. Cover with filtered water and give it a mix. Cover container with lid or towel. Let sit on counter until morning. Just before eating add in dried fruit to whole container or atop individual servings.

Note: This will also work in the morning with about 20 minutes to soak. It won't be quite the same, but still delicious and my boys like it just the same. However I like the convenience of tossing it together before bed.

Enjoy!

Food Timeline

Fascinating! foodtimeline.org

Muna

Muna + me, last summer (2009)

My neighbor is the cutest little thing. Her name is Muna, she's seven and is usually in mismatched clothes including high water pants that accentuate her tiny frame.

Every afternoon around 3.15 p.m. I can count on seeing her. She knocks on our door after she gets home from school. We have sort of a standing play date: her, my sons Gabe (4) and Will (3) and of course me. She's really good with the boys, and it's been fun seeing her grow over the last year and a half. She's a good kid.

Yesterday the boys and I were outside after their naps which ended earlier than the recent usual. Gabe loves knocking on Muna's door and asking her to play in our backyard: this makes him feel like such a big boy. So yesterday he was asking if he could knock on her door. I knew she wasn't home yet, but nonetheless we went to the front yard to scope out the situation. As we arrived, her bus pulled up to the corner across the street from us, and we told her that we were waiting for her to come home to see if she could play with us. Her face lit up, she dropped her bag inside her front door and ran the 20 feet distance between us. Off we went. Another afternoon full of backyard adventure, snack time, story time, digging in mud, playing in sand.

A few minutes ago I heard knocking at the door during my peaceful nap-time break (sigh). It was–of course–Muna. I told her that the boys were sleeping and wouldn't be able to play this afternoon but that we could tomorrow.

Then she asked if we could do what we did and wait for her like yesterday.

Her yearning to know that someone would be waiting for her to come home from school melted my heart.

And I told her yes, we'd be waiting for her tomorrow.