mmmmm summer pies

or whatever reason I've been wanting a berry pie lately. I love pie! I got an inkling that I would make one today- the berries have been delicious at the store lately so what better time?! I chose raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries. I also used 1/2 sugar and 1/2 splenda to make it slightly better...though not much. We'll see how that worked!
Yes, I used the roll out crust- my kids were awake and that's WAY too much work. Someday I do want to make a crust, but not today.mmmmmmmmmmDidn't she do a good job with the cut-outs?
YUM.I also become obsessed with bing cherries this time of year- they are absolutely my favorite fruit but the season is so short! They are worth EVERY penny (which is a lot of pennies, actually). I decided to make a cherry pie too though everyone I asked had no idea how a bing cherry pie would turn out. Most people use the cherry pie filling in the can or at least pie cherries. Well, since these are my fav, I wanted to use them so I cut them in half to get the pit out and used them anyway!
How could this be BAD? Doesn't it look absolutely delicious?! I don't have a pic of this finished product....I got busy.

Sweet

We had a really good time in Albany even though it really screwed up the kids for the day! M LOVES music- she knows about 75 songs start to finish including all the words (or what sounds like the words). She'll sing them at the top of her lungs. Well, she was in heaven with Grandma because Grandma played the piano for her and she got to sing the songs! She also got to play a little too. It was really sweet and M thought it was great!
G-in-the-boxNot too much else has been happening around here this week. I feel like we've been really busy but we didn't even leave the house yesterday. Monday I had to teach a last minute BLS class for most of the day because I nearly let my card expire. M has spent the night away from home 3 out of the last 4 nights. I missed her so much last night I actually slept with her blankie. I think she'll be staying home for awhile.

YAY!

G ate WHEAT THINS!!!
This is huge- these must be CHEWED and do NOT dissolve- yep, he ATE them. And he's been eating Mini Wheats! WOOHOO!

Bedtime

So bedtime around here is still awful. I have been reading my books and I recently read the chapter on Spirited kids and bedtime. We need to change our routine quite a bit. We are slowly changing things. I think we need to get away from Baby Lamb and the TV right before bed first, so we have been spending time with M in her room with a soft lamp on for awhile before bed. We have played puzzles, stickers, markers, babies, etc. It's just some one on one quiet time just with her. She loves it!


We still have a lot of other things we need to change, but the book also confirms that spirited kids to better with very slow changes, so we'll do things gradually. Some of the other changes aren't going to be easy for any of us, but are necessary. Not much else to report here today. Laundry, cleaning, gym time, etc. Just the usual!

Tomorrow we are headed to Albany!

Beans!

So after feeling sorry for myself the other day, I decided we needed an activity. I cut open three packages of raw beans, dumped them in a wash basin and let the kids have at them! They had a great time. It was a super nice evening out and I got to eat my dinner in peace! YAY!
Pizza on the face.
Yeah, he tasted a few.
It went great for about 30 minutes until G started throwing the beans all over. Pretty good I think!
I wish I could just make myself do one piddly activity with them like this each day. I think it would help so much! I'm really going to try to do it this week. I just feel like there is so much to do that I have to choose between the kids or cleaning, or laundry, or cooking, etc, etc, etc. Alright, enough complaining.

Oh the guilt is overwhelming...

Sometimes I feel like a terrible mother. I find myself relying more and more on the television to entertain my children. I am NOT a good stay-at-home mom. I resist and avoid organized activities because of the mess and annoyance that both kids can't do the same thing. I WANT to do better, but each day I find myself NOT doing better. :( I have been looking at changing my job situations for a few reasons....I can get into when my son isn't screaming his head off...but I'm starting to think that maybe it would be better to be away more and then I might appreciate the time with them I HAVE? Thoughts?

fun in the sun

Man, I LOVE summer. I love it even MORE when I feel good about myself and can wear tank tops and shorts. The kids had a great time playing out in the sprinkler and tiny pool yesterday. We haven't gotten the big pool out yet- this one is doing just fine so far!
The story of his life- she's always telling him something!
Don't they look cute running after each other?!
I have no idea what she got all over her face.
We don't have much planned this week. I hit a bump in my workouts- my ankle has been bothering me for awhile so my friend Josie finally convinced me to figure out what I was supposed to do about it- well turns out I can't run for 7-14 days. The problem is it's not just running- it's jumping and aerobics too. It's killing me not to do it but I do think it's helping. It's actually perfect timing because there's no boot camp this week. Yesterday I swam and today I did Yoga and a little walking video. You have to exercise so much LONGER to get the same effect when you can't do anything strenuous! I needed to pick up my swimming and biking though, so that's alright. I was supposed to bike tonight but it's storming :( We'll see. Back for another swim tomorrow morning! That's it for now!