Every Day's a Holliday

April 5 = Selfie Day

Today we started off with MOPS. Today's meeting was called "Tea and Treasures." We had a really nice breakfast on China that people brought in and then we listened to a lady's testimony. It was beautiful and inspirational and a great morning!

MOPS is a little early for us so when we got home it was time for a quick lunch and a good nap. Here's Malia trying to wake Liam up from his nap.

Then it was time to take some selfies.

April 4 = Sad Sad Day

So my title's a little dramatic. The day started off fine. Here's Malia drinking half of the smoothie I finally brought myself to make. For weeks I've been planning on making smoothies every morning because I don't always eat the most complete breakfast. Well I finally made one and Malia consumed a good deal of it. Which is great- lots of vitamins and minerals for her!

We talked a lot about the color green today. My objective was for Liam to take the green letters out of our container of magnetic letters and say them before he put them on the whiteboard. However Malia wanted to play along and added some extra colors to the board.

Malia has been so cranky lately and I suspected it was teething but she doesn't let us look in her mouth. I wanted to know what was going on in there so I got Zachary to help me pin her down. Her upper canines have broken through- valid excuse for the crankiness.

The reason the title of today's post is sad sad day is because tonight was the NCAA championship game with my Tar Heels favored to win. They didn't. And that's all I'm going to say about that because it's a tad bit embarrassing to admit just how upset I was.

April 3 = Lazy Day

Today is Sunday and Zachary has duty so that translates to me and the kids having a lazy day. Here's Liam doing an excellent job of embracing the lazy day:

Also this Facebook meme made me laugh out loud and is so very accurate.

April 2 = Facebook Picture Day

I've gotten really behind on my blogging so I'm writing this ten days after the fact and I have no pictures of what we did today- only screenshots of stuff I saw on facebook. So I thought I'd share.

So true! I wrote yesterday about moms putting so much pressure on themselves to be the perfect mom. We have a picture in our head of what we should look like and what our house should look like and what our kids' days should look like. And instead of celebrating what's in front of us we compare it to that picture. So this is a reminder to let go of expectations and just enjoy what is.

I say so many times- the five minutes of peace I get to finish something is never ever worth it. Whether the entire changing table has been cleaned off or a roll of toilet paper has been rolled out entirely... the quiet is never a good thing.

Joshua Radin is my favorite singer and recently, he put an invitation on his Facebook page for people to send him lyrics they would get as a tattoo and he would write them so you can get the tattoo in his handwriting. I'm probably never going to get lyrics tattooed on my body but it's still cool to see what lyrics people submit and his response to them. In case you can't read this one it says "Wait till tomorrow, see what that brings."

April 1 = New Backyard Day

First I saw this on facebook today and I loved it. They're simple things that can help us be better moms. At MOPS the other week, we talked about how it's hard for us to see ourselves as "good moms" and chances are, we all are. If someone asked me, "Do you think you're a good mom?" the first thoughts that would come to my mind are all the things where I fall short. The fact that I don't do my preschool routine every day. The fact that I let my kids watch a little too much tv and play on the iPad too much. The fact that we might eat chickfila too much. Sometimes I forget to put their coats in the car. Sometimes I let them go to bed without brushing their teeth. Sometimes I sit in the locker room for an extra ten minutes to check my email and facebook and maybe play a game of Sudoku before going to pick up the kids from the gym's kids' club. But in the grand scheme of things none of that matters. He'll be in school soon enough... he doesn't need preschool every day. I can't tell you how much he's learned from watching Caillou and it's hard to believe what all he can do on the ABC Mouse app. Chicken nuggets and french fries once a week isn't going to kill anyone- in fact, both kids could use some extra calories. Now the brushing teeth... I really want them to learn to take good care of their teeth. I gotta work on that one. The extra ten minutes in the kids' club- they need time with peers. So why not concentrate on the tons of hugs and kisses I get and give every day? The fact that they are kind and friendly to other people. The love they have for each other. The fact that they feel safe and loved and know when they're hurt or upset or frustrated they can come and sit on my lap and I'll rub their backs and kiss their foreheads and squeeze them until they start laughing and forget whatever made them come to me in the first place. And I know I'm not the only one. This was a good reminder that it's the little things- things we probably don't even realize we're doing that make us all good moms.

Speaking of using the iPad too much...

Anyway- what I wanted to talk about in this blog post is our new backyard. Well it's not new but the "grass" is! We put these outdoor carpets down today was our first day being able to play outside!

Liam's a fan... of the backyard and still a fan of his bow tie.

March 31 = Say Goodbye Day

Alexandra's visit was so wonderful but she had to leave us today. We headed to the gym again and then went to the commissary to pick up some things for lunch and we ate at the kids' favorite playground. Here's our spread of deli meat, bread, cheese, strawberries and triscuits. Yum!

March 30 = Kinder Farm Park Day

We started our day off at the gym. I love doing that. I love getting the kids up, getting them dressed, eating breakfast and then heading straight to the car to go to the gym. By the time that's done we come home and it's time for lunch and a nap. Everyone's usually happy and busy and it's just a good flow to the day. I sent this picture to Zachary because while doing some lifting, I got a blister on my hand and I wanted him to see it so he'd think I was legit. He was impressed.

Then we headed to chickfila for lunch of course and then to Kinder Farm Park. This was Malia on the way to the park... not ideal.

So in our hurry to get to the gym this morning, I forgot coats for the kids. Thankfully I had an extra coat for Liam but I didn't have one for Malia so this is what happened with that:

After we got moving, there wasn't a need for coats or mommy's shirt so we were good to go. This was our first time visiting- it's a little intimidating to take two kids to a park (or anywhere for that matter) by yourself because it's hard to keep up with one and much harder to keep up with two especially when they like to go in opposite directions. So I thought Alexandra's visit presented the perfect opportunity for us to go! Kinder Farm Park has walking trails and farm animals and a playground. Here's the cow- it was huge!

As I said, it's hard to keep up with even one so I didn't get pictures of the pigs and piglets and the brand new baby goats that made the cutest little sounds!

After seeing the animals, we headed to the playground! I was so impressed with Liam climbing this wall!