Translation

Eli is really starting to talk more.  I took this video a few nights ago. I thought it was awesome. I've watched it like 5 times.  Eli likes to watch it too.  Every time I watch I laugh because I want to share it with the world but I know it's not going to be as special to anyone else.  And I'm thinking many may not even understand what he is saying. To Andy and I-it is clear as a bell.

Here are some translations for easier viewing:

~His initial jabber to the question "who are you going to go with?" has no explanation.

~yes I do realize I sound like a psycho mom...trying time and time and time again to get him to tell me/us/the world who he is going on the bike ride with

~Around 55 seconds I ask (yes again) who he rides on his bike with and he says something that sounds like "myerr circle".  This is his way of saying motorcycle because he heard one outside.  He then repeats it 3 or 4 times.  So cute to me-his rendition of motorcycle.

~Then he realizes he's on camera---cheese!

~He'll say "love you" to almost anyone.  But this makes me giggle because it sounds like he says "love it" instead of love you.

~I ask him who he saw this weekend and he says Kristi-one of his day care ladies-although he didn't see her this last weekend.  Then he says "I see jon" (kristi's husband).  Then he repeats it again-very confidently: Jon.

~When I say "Baby Sydney?" he answers with House  (yes we went to baby sydney's house)

Ok was that too many translations?  Was this video even worth it?  Andy and I still love it.

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

 

Tongue

It's hot today. REALLY hot.  I bet E-bug tastes really good.

1 hour of my weekend

Was spent preparing this......

Andy thought we were going to a pot luck. Nope. I told him we were set for the week.  A lot of my patients want advice for weight loss and cancer prevention.  Now your looking at it. I'm a big advocate for veggies.  I like them more than fruit (just a preference, not a nutritional value reason).  Many patients want time saving tips for weight loss and proper nutrition.  I always tell them to take 1 hour out of the weekend and prepare for the week.  Ultimately that will save time because
1. Easy to grab -they are cleaned and cut.  If you're like me, leaving the house at 6 am does not give me enough time to get out the cucumber and clean and cut it and put in a container.  This makes it easy to grab for lunches.
2. You can also use these for breakfast-omelets!
3. Dinners are made easy-stir fry, raw veggies and dip, or veggies and humus, or just steam them.
4. I will not have to dirty a knife or a cutting board ALL week.  Amazing.
This encourages me to snack on veggies and I love having a variety!
Also everything you see in the picture above is gluten free.  WOW :)

Luckily Andy and I both like different veggies and some the same.  Note-the radishes are from our local farmer's market and I don't have to share those with Andy. YUM.  I dare you to do this.  Do it! Send me a picture if you do.  Just 1 hour. Literally-just 1 hour out of your weekend-and you will be saving time AND  doing something so good for your body.

Almost 2

Dear Elijah, 
Today your daddy went golfing and you and I spent the morning together.  I enjoyed it so much I wanted to write to you and tell you all about it.  I hope that some day, oh say...maybe 30 years from now you may be approaching fatherhood yourself.  Maybe as you prepare to be a dad reading this will help you understand just how special being a parent is.  But I think (since I'm your mom I can say this) you are not only special, but amazing, charismatic, funny and inquisitive (among other things) and the most fun child to be a mom to.  

You sat nice in the jogging stroller while I went for a run.  You have not done this since last year.  I was a little worried you'd be bored or put up a fuss, especially since you were only rolling around  an outdoor track.  There weren't squirrels or birds to watch.  But you survived without complaining. 

We filled up your pool and all morning you said "I wanna poo".  I thought you had to go #2.  But you were staring out the window at your little pool-dreaming of the splashing you'd do.  I told you we had to  wait for the water to warm.  Meanwhile you ran errands with me, ate breakfast and played trains.  You were a very good listener.

Then we headed outside.  Oh the joy in your every step.  You went in and out of the pool.  Your bucket seemed to be super glued to your fingers. You spent a lot time filling it with water from the pool and then pouring it over anything and everything, but mostly all over yourself.  You stepped in and out of the pool but never sat down.  I looked away for 3 minutes and when I looked back you had poured a bucket of mud into that pool.   So...we had to dump that pool (Oh the joy that brought you) and refill it. The water was ice cold again.  So, back in and out you stepped.  You threw in rocks. You kept "watering" different things.  You stayed right by me and the pool, never wandering.  I was able to sit and watch you.  Bucket in. Pour. Splash. Rock in. Rock out. New rock. ANTS!  Such a boy. 

These days you let me put sunscreen all over you because that is a sign we are headed outside.  I'm dreading the day you wiggle, cry, shout, and run away when I try to put lather you up. Your swim suits from last year still fit you.  We have about 10 now because people have given us some and I can't say no at rummage sales. I hope we get a lot of use this summer.

When daddy got home from golfing we took quite the bike ride.  You melt my heart.  These days you are making sentences (small ones, but yes-sentences).  You know how to change your voice if you are asking a question, even if you forget a word or three.  The inflection in your tone is so darn cute.  "Mamma bike ride?"  You love to see air planes, buses, trucks (mixer? dump truck?) and motorcycles.  My heart swells when you try to say motorcycle, it comes out as "meer-circle".  Back to the point-the bike ride we took brought us to the big blue swirly place-icecream.  You haven't done a whole lot of this before but you ate like a pro.  We shared a hot fudge sundae you and me.  It was so special to me.  You had your own big boy spoon and we sat at a little picnic table while the cars drove by.  You took spoonfuls that were much too big for you and splattered it all over everything.  Once I finally let you just control the spoon by yourself,  I saw the real joy in sharing icecream with my favorite almost 2 year old.  Thank you for that today.  I never enjoyed icecream so much.
~We're back out at the pool now. Daddy went for a little while again.  You are so busy dumping water in and out of your bucket and finding rocks I haven't even had to stand up once to help.  You are a dream come true of a little boy right now.  I am entranced by your every little move these days.  I wish that someday you are able to recall these moments you share with me because I feel like there are not enough.  I work all day to make enough money for us to get by.  NOT to be away from you.  All day at work I dream of coming home to play with you.  I know you are too young to start remembering "moments", so the most important thing is for you to remember me.  To know me.  To enjoy me...no matter what age you are.  It's the moments that really make my heart pitter patter-letting you control your own spoon, letting you pour water every where and anywhere, stopping everything and building that train track, putting sun screen on you 5 times in 3 hours.  See you next weekend for more long, sun and fun filled days together.
Love, Mom
PS Today you napped without a nuk.  It didn't kill you or me.  Unbelievable.  Can we do this?

new favorite word...

I have friends and co-workers with real passions.  Some love reading, exercising or running, scrap booking, cooking, watching sports, blogging or being a parent.  In the last year I have been struggling to define what my passion is.  There are definitely things that I consider important to me.  I enjoy doing many things (some of listed above) but there isn't something that I feel obsessed (in a good way) about.  Not a lot gets me super excited.  I know...I'm not getting to the point.  I thought it was food and eating but that has even changed in the last few months. 
I have thought long and hard about this.  What makes me think? What do I spend a lot of time doing? What do I share with anyone and everyone?  Lately my passion has been being a negative person.  I could sit and think about all the negatives in my life for hours.  I could talk to family and friends about my woes. I can dream of things being better in certain ways.  I can pout. Pity myself. Cry about it. Laugh about it.  Have a glass of wine because of it.  I can take a longer nap so I don't have to get up and face it.  I guess I'd say I'm passionate about being negative.
How.
Sad.
How.
Bad.

But I've realized...the one thing that makes me move on, turn my thoughts back the right way is Validation.  When I want to complain about something, I don't want to hear how wonderful my life really is (with a bunch of reasons listed) because I know all that. I really do. That's a separate post because I could create a list that goes on and on and on for miles regarding all the blessings in my life, all the good in my life and how it could be so much worse.  I don't have that much to complain about.  I KNOW IT!  It's yucky that I am like this but guess what world?  This is me...And it makes me sad. But...BUT! When someone validates my concerns, worries, negativeness-I move on.  I change my attitude because I feel like someone finally is understanding and listening (which is the most important part).  This means that they are not trying to solve my problems for me or belittling me.  I can tilt my chin up a little higher and see the world with a little more color.  It's no longer a black and white shabby view.  That validation pushes me to have positive thoughts-which is what I need.

This last weekend my brother took Eli on a few adventures of his own.  He showed him where worms hid in tree stumps, let him live on the edge by trying to catch hail during a big storm, and took him for 20-30 minutes at the horse races.  I didn't hear it too much myself but he must have had quite the conversation with my sister because evidently he validated how tough it is to be a mom with a little guy on the go (and also how tough it is to be a working mom, or a stay at home mom with 3 littles running around).  Eli is very independent. He never looks back to check if he is close to family or friends.  He is off in his little world and nothing stops him when he is determined.  It is hard to take him somewhere and fully enjoy the time.  There is guilt if andy is watching him, and if I am in charge I don't enjoy anyone else at the function.  It's tiring.  To hear my single, currently childless brother validate that it seems hard and exhausting made me so happy.  Thanks Uncle Greg.  Click here for more details on the validation that I needed this last weekend.

3 men in a tub

When I get together with my sister, one of our traditions is to throw all the boys in the tub.  The time is getting closer where they may not all fit in the tub so it is a very special time for them.  We always try to capture them in their glory-but remain respectful.  Uncle Andy did the honors of washing them up and letting them play.  I think that is why they are beaming....

If these pictures made you smile...head on over to my sisters blog here and check out her blog post about our men in a tub.   She does an amazing job showing the journey these babes have made in the bath tub together.  Can you believe this do-it-all-superwoman-mom of 3 is organized to post that?  Who is this woman you ask?  She is one of my closest confidants yet we are never in a picture together. Always taking shots of each other with the little ones or of just the little ones.  This last weekend I demanded one shot of us. Luckily we both look presentable because it may be another 5 years before we show up together.

away

We've had some amazing weekends away.  We survived the long car rides, spent time with loved ones and ate good!  Eli makes himself right at home no matter where we go.  He especially loves Aunt Sarah's house.  No matter what time of the night we get there, he digs RIGHT into the big wooden track and trains bin.  He builds tracks silently until our initial hellos are done and we demand he go to bed.  He doesn't sleep long in the morning because he knows what awaits him.  He enjoys his cousins "The big boys" and smiles and laughs even if they aren't looking at him.  We forgot our suitcase and survived by going on a shopping spree.  We played outside, inside, cards and catch phrase. We drank wine and went to the horse races.  Eli enjoyed special moments with his Uncle Greg that he doesn't and won't see for a while.  Props to everyone-we survived without eating out a restaurant and nobody went hungry and we had meat free, dairy free and gluten free options that were yummy. Oh and we all got some squeezin' time with Miss Sydney! I think I captured some of the joy.... Here are my favorite shots.

Uncle Greg showed Eli where the worms live!

pure little boy joy

Liz didn't want to share the sweater or the wine!

Eli fell asleep ON Andy. That hasn't happened since Baby-hood.  He slept for 45 min-1 hour during the start of the Indy 500!  Everyone else was "starting their engines" while Eli was resting his.

Charley cheering the horses on.  I won almost every race-and luckily Charley bet "with me" on one of them and shared the winnings.

The clan-ps please excuse andy's big hairy leg right in front of me.  Kinda creepy but really-it's his leg not mine!