Summer plans

At the start of this summer, I was determined to do "summer activities" this year, as opposed to previous years where summer came and went and I didn't do anything specific to the season. I don't have a detailed list but have a general idea of what counts as a "summer activity". Examples include:
1. A vacation - done! We went to Austin and had a great time.
2. An outdoor concert.
3. A picnic.
4. A trip to the beach.
5. BBQing and eating outside.
6. Eating lots of ice cream - done! Maybe too frequently!
7. Eating lots of watermelon - done!

Those are all I can think of right now. We have a bonus activity - we went to a local wild animal park! We were supposed to go blueberry picking one day with my sister and her family, but since all of the farms were out of blueberries that weekend (good thing she called before we headed out!) we changed course and went to a local wild animal park! The kind of place where the animals walk up to your car and stick their noses in your face. We went on this long tram ride and got very up close and personal with some animals (large, sweaty animals) who were very interested in the animal food my nephew and niece had. It was fun! Definitely a summer activity.

Sell your books!

I just sold two books and got $5.17 for them! I know - that's another Starbucks drink in my pocket!! There's this online company that buys books and even pays for shipping! Just click here to get started. Happy selling!

The letter P

Today was brought to you by the letter P. P starts many words, but I will point out only one word, and that word is poop. Not only did the son somehow manage to get poop onto three outfits (and his carseat, and the nursing pillow, and my arm), but my daughter decided that in lieu of taking a nap, she would poop in her diaper, take her diaper off (it's full of poop), smear it on the bed sheet and crib railings, and then throw it (full of poop) onto the floor (which is carpet). It was lovely.

Here's a random tip: Clorox wipes quickly clean a mirror, when you're out of glass cleaner. I didn't notice much streaking, so that's good to know when in a pinch.

Random Round-up

Ok, last week ended well, especially since Dad had the day off on Friday. I don't even remember what we did on Thursday.


This week I am sending the little girl to a home-based camp for the morning (through lunch); she's not 100% happy with the idea, but it's good for her. She has gotten used to being home with me and she wants things to stay that way, but she needs to get used to a different environment for when she goes to nursery school. She can't cry the whole day!



The little boy is doing really well. He's growing LOTS and is smiling and laughing now.



This is my new favorite salad. I replace the crab with canned salmon and I add avocado.



I am on a roll with tasty homemade challah! On Friday I got creative and made challah "muffins":
I made challah knots and stuck them in a muffin tin. Voila - uniform challah rolls! They are a bit dense, but not bad! Very very portable!

Day 3 of full-on motherhood

Yesterday was a really nice day and rather calm. It was also a no-spend day so yay on the money front! Today was busy....this morning we took a walk to the JCC to see the fish in the pond (is it sad that I can now tell the difference between 99 degrees and 105 degrees? I actually noticed that it was cooler) and then we chilled at home, then drove to my husband's office to drop off his lunch and took a field trip to TJ Maxx (where some spending occured), then home for lunch and a nap. Lunch happened; a nap did not. We were able to make it to story time at the Bellaire Nature Center which was great and then we explored the nature rooms upstairs. What a fantastic place and it's FREE!!! Really, a gem in the city. Then home for some chill-out time and then to my sister's house for dinner and playing with the cousins!

It was a busy day and the kids were pooped so they both crashed...

Need to figure out what's on tap for tomorrow.

Me and the kiddos....again

Another caregiver has left us, which leaves me and the kids to fend for ourselves...again.

I'm really not a bad employer, am I? No, I know - it's really not me. Unfortunately, it's been a combination of things but basically the ladies who have been with me so far have been great nannies but for one reason or another need to work elsewhere because of their own circumstances. If I would have had my druthers, I would have kept them all.

The upshot is that I get to spend more time with my kids, and we save money on childcare. The downside is that we still need to find a nanny for when I return to work full time (and trust me, we've interviewed lots) and I would like to prepare for returning to work which would require having someone else feed the baby. The good news is that we do have several options so I'm not totally left high and dry, but still, this kind of thing unnerves me.

Today we took a walk outside, then to the Children's Museum, then lunch with Babushka (Russian for grandmother), then nap, then I picked up my nephew from camp and brought him to his house where we stayed and played and had dinner. So it was a very busy day for us! I also managed to bake bread (love my bread machine - that's another post), did a load of laundry, washed dishes, and prepared lunch. I even got a great (free!) parking spot at the Children's Museum. All in all, a great day.....

Weekend getaway

This weekend we went to Austin, our first "vacation" in about 2 years. It was much needed. I use the term "vacation" loosely because we did shlep the children with us, which meant that we were still doing the parenting/fulfilling someone's needs thing, just in a different location. We left town Thursday night in order to quietly get there, spend a night, and wake ready to explore Austin. Friday was packed! After breakfast, we went to Zilker Botanical Garden (where we determined that it's not so stroller-friendly, at least not in the unpaved parts), rode the Zilker Zephyr around the park, and watched the swimmers in the Barton Creek Pool. We picked up lunch at the world-famous HEB with the kosher deli and in the afternoon went to the Austin Children's Museum. We listened to some live music in the lobby of our hotel before heading to our room to enjoy Shabbat dinner.

Shabbat day was filled with walking around our hotel's area. It was incredibly hot. I'm still sweating (just kidding) (I took a shower since then).

This morning we packed up and headed home. We thought maybe we'd go to a coffee shop that had a children's story hour in the morning, but we nixed that and headed home instead. We were so happy to be home!!

Here's one thing we discovered: we are NOT fans of the Sleep Number beds (you know, the ones hawked on the infomercial?). It's like sleeping on an inflatable air mattress, except less fun. I would recommend to steer clear of those.

Happy father's day. My hubby - he got vomited on twice today (by the same child). What a lucky, lucky man...