Why Do Weekends Fly By?

Why do weekends go by so quick?  Sound familiar...like an 80's song from the Bangles???  Yes, tomorrow is another manic Monday.  Our weekend was fun.  Had dinner with some friends and their sweet family on Friday night.  I got in a nice 8-miler on Saturday and it went REALLY well!  I was even able to push the last couple of miles rather than just survive them!  Yesterday after the run, I carted kids to dance class, went to Target, and then our family attended a birthday party in the evening.  Today after church, we went out to lunch with some friends again.   I haven't had to cook since Thursday!!!  This upcoming week is a big one.  My youngest turns one on Wednesday.  He is getting so big and has his own little set of friends.  Below are some recent pictures of him and his pals.  He is one sweet energetic boy and we adore him!

Kids Clothes

Hi all!  I have had several folks ask me where I get my daughters clothes.  This is flattering to me as I really don't spend much $$ (you can't when you have 3!) but really try to find her cute things.  So, I wanted to do a quick post on this just with my 2 cents.

Gymboree is one of my favorite places to get kids clothes.  However, it's more $$ than an Old Navy or Children's Place.  What I have found is that the Gymboree clothes wear a LOT better and remain nice looking through wash after wash.  Clothes from the Gap do as well, but I tend to prefer the styles at Gymboree.  This holds true for both play clothes & dress clothes.  Gymboree also has wonderful sales, and this is the only time I shop there - I don't believe in paying full price for anything!  I get things that mix & match so that it changes things up.

Kelly's Kids online in one of my favorite places for dressy clothes b/c they have great sales!  I got my daughter's Easter dress there last year for $15.  It fits my style b/c I am partial to the hand smocked, classic dresses and Kelly's kids is awesome for this!  They also have cute coordinates for families which is where I got my kids their matching outfits for the family pictures we're having taken in a couple of weeks (on sale, of course!).  Also, Kelly's Kids gets my vote for best hair bows!  They are beautiful, hardy, and inexpensive.

Kohl's & TJ Maxx are wonderful and I just bought my daughter several winter outfits from TJ Maxx.  In addition, I found a ski suit for her for $30 (these are normally SUPER $$$).  You have to look closely to make sure the sizes are actually what they say they are and we usually have a couple of things that don't fit and require a trip to return them, but the price savings is worth it!

For shoes, I'm a big fan of zappos online.  I print out a foot measurer and measure each kid's feet in the fall and spring.  Each kid gets dress shoes, play shoes, and possible a set of boots.  The selection from zappos is wonderful, shipping is overnight & free.  Prices are comparable (sometimes better) than other stores and the convenience is worth it!

Hand me downs.  I am a BIG believer in hand me downs from anyone who will give them to me!  In turn, I pass clothes along to friends as often as I can.  These are just a few thoughts on what I do for the kids' clothes.  Hope they help!

BSF, Busy Months, and A Break

Bible Study Fellowship is a program that I have heard such wonderful things about!  After much prayer, I've decided to start studying with a BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) group in a few weeks.  I have heard that the studies are very challenging and intense and I can't wait!  In addition, we have an exciting few months ahead of us with friends coming to town for labor day weekend, a trip to Santa Barbara to crew the Avon Foundation Walk for Breast Cancer (for me), a wedding in Canada in October, followed by Halloween, Thanksgiving (when my in-laws are coming to visit - YAY!), and Christmas (when my parents and sister will be here - YAY!).  On top of that, I start teaching a new group of students this Thursday and have a busy semester ahead.    Having said that, I'm planning to back off on the blogging - it can become addictive for me and it's starting to take up a little more time than I want.  Take Care!

Lightening the Load, a Future Rock Star, & a Groupie (heaven forbid!)

Below are some things I've tried this week that have helped save time and lessened the burden on my shoulders.  It's not much, but it did make a difference. 

1.  Kids putting away their own laundry:  I mentioned before that I bought my older children their very own laundry baskets (blue for my boy, fuchsia for my girl).  As each load of laundry came out of the dryer, I folded and sorted it into 4 baskets - one for the grown-ups, one for the baby, and the respective baskets for the older kids.  Once all the laundry was done my older kids took their baskets upstairs and put their clothes away (I took care of the hanging clothes, of course).  It was such a help and had the laundry put away twice as fast!

2.  Making beds:  This one took a few days of fussing before it was accepted.  My older kids make their beds each morning.  It's not perfect and usually requires a little assistance, but it's getting them into the routine I will expect as they get older.

3.  Getting up earlier:  This one was hard b/c it meant getting up at 5AM instead of 6 (that extra hour is WONDERFUL!).  But this morning, I was able to get in a workout and shower before any of the three kiddos woke up.  It was peaceful and made my morning go MUCH smoother.  Instead of buying the fancy "light up the room" alarm clock, my husband and I are doing things the old fashioned way.  When the alarm goes off, he or I turn on our bedside lamp BEFORE turning off the alarm.  It's not fun, but it works. :)

4.  My friend the ponytail:  This may be gross to some of you, but I have cut my shower time in 1/2 by only washing my hair every other day (at most!).  My hair stylist has been telling me for years that it's better for your hair to only wash it a few times a week anyway.  Well, it took 3 kids + work for me to try it.  Not only is she right, but I'm ready in 1/2 the time b/c there is no drying and fixing involved!  My hair seems to be growing faster and feels softer & healthier.  Who knew!?!  Ponytails are my new friend - I have some dressy clips for work.  If you're like my mom and my sister, this concept will not be looked upon favorably, but don't knock it 'til you try it! :)     

On a fun note, our family went to a retirement party for a co-worker of mine last night.  It was fabulous!  The entire aquarium was rented for the party and there was a band and the works!  Having the aquarium to ourselves was wonderful and my kids boogied to their hearts content.  My son wound down around 8 (his usual bedtime) and pronounced himself done dancing b/c he needed to rest.  My daughter, however, kept the party going until the band quit playing and threw a big ole tantrum when they did quit playing b/c she wanted to keep dancing.  Imagine her at 16!!!   Someone mentioned that this was her first groupie experience and I had visions of Kate Hudson as Penny Lane in the movie "Almost Famous".  Heaven forbid! 

Her brother was invited to play the drums with the band and he had a BLAST!  Hope you had a wonderful weekend!   Happy Monday!

What We Have Been Up To

Just as a little update on our family, I thought I'd share what has been going on over the last month.  My oldest is playing soccer this year!  As a former high school soccer player, I am THRILLED!

We said a sad goodbye to my daughter's preschool teacher before the kids promoted this week.  My daughter has been with her since she was 18 months old.  We love Miss Mona and will miss her so much!  On a funny note, her class did "preschool superlatives" where my daughter was voted "best dressed" and "best hair".  Ha!

In addition, Miss Alana who kept the kids over the summer for a couple of days a week is headed back to school.  We love her and hopes she has a wonderful year!

As for me, I'm training for an October 1/2 marathon and ran a 7 miler this morning.  I got a new toy to make the runs more fun!  It arrived today - of course it came after I finished my long run for the week.  But I still can't WAIT to try it out!  :) 

Lastly and sadly, we're saying goodbye to our dear friends the Boyarkos who are moving next week.  Here are some picture from their going away party this weekend.  Sniff Sniff - we will miss them so much! 

Trip to the Dentist

Yesteryday I took my older two with me to the dentist.  My son and I were scheduled for our regular cleaning and it was my daughter's very first dentist appointment. As expected, she LOVED it!  The hygenists immediately won her over by wearing pink gloves and answering her thousands of questions.  She had a great time watching them clean my teeth and opened her mouth wide when it was her turn.  My son who is more cautious by nature was not as trusting as his little sister; however, he could not let her be "braver" than him so he opened wide as well.  They looked so cute in those big chairs!  We are lucky to have such an awesome dentist!  Thanks Mr. Reuben!

Efficiency

Over the last month or so I've been looking for ways to increase efficiency in our household.  I have tapped the brains of some super-organized mommy friends who have good practical advice for raising larger families efficiently.  I received such great information!  One of my dear friends in TN who is a mom of 4 girls (the last 2 are twins!) told me about a book called "1000 Ways to Stay Organized" and it's on my pick up list for my next trip to the library.  Here are a few things I have tried and am going to try.

1. Only cooking 3 times a week but having enough leftovers to cover 6 evening meals.  That covers our week since we usually have dinner with friends or go out as a family at least once on the weekends!  Less cooking = more time with my family!
2. Teaching my kids to pick up more of the housework.  My kids are still pretty young, but we are working on things like making their own beds, picking up the toys every evening, cleaning out the car before getting out, helping put away their own clean laundry after it has been washed, putting everything in it's proper place when they come in the door, and cleaning up their own plates after dinner.  As they get older, this list will get longer! :)
3. Only going to the grocery store once a week (and keeping enough stocked to get by in case I forgot something on that one weekly trip).  This is something I do a bit of, but have been trying to do better with.  I did well this week with stocking up on extra staples and snacks but not so much with extra dinner items.  
4. Getting work outs in between 5:30 & 6:30am - this has been a BIG struggle for me over the summer b/c my work schedule is more flexible and I can come in later in the mornings.  I'm in for a reality check next week when classes start.  I have thought about investing in one of those alarm clocks that wakes you up by brightening the room...anyone tried this?
5. Finishing ALL laundry in 24-48 hours - I can't stand doing a load a day b/c then it's never done!  I usually hit it hard on Saturday and have it all done by Sunday evening.

If anyone has any additional ideas, please let me know!  I love learning from others! 

Cutting Back

There are have been a few changes around our house recently that have made me wonder if I need to back off a little at work.  My husband was recently promoted to a new position and in addition to having more responsiblity is going to be traveling more.  I also have really missed having a day or two with my kids at home.  I didn't realize how much I needed that time with them and some time to manage the household.  After much prayer and thought, I met with my mentor this morning about cutting back to 4 days a week at work.  That extra day at home is going to be so helpful to our family and should keep things running smoothly without extra stress.

The con is that backing off may prevent me from ever going to 1 FTE in the future b/c the budget will be set for 0.8 FTE from now on; however, that is perfectly okay with me.   It will probably take a month or so to get the paperwork squared away, but I feel really good about this decision.  As much as I would love to think I'm super woman who can do it all, I can't.  And that is okay. :)

Professional Dress & Kids

One morning last year I was talking with a coworker before my morning class when she hesitantly told me with her nose wrinkled in distaste, "By the way, you have something on your shoulder".  I looked and immediately identified a glossy streak across my right shoulder that was caused by one of my children using my shoulder as a tissue.  I hastily ran to the ladies room, scrubbed off the slime, and dashed to my classroom praying that there were no more kid marks on my clothes when I would be standing in front of 90 students. 

It's hard to dress professionally with kids.  Heaven forbid you put on a spanking clean pair of dry clean only dress pants because they are sure to get cereal, yogurt, or worst of all, spit up on them in the first 10 minutes of wearing.  It's a struggle to find items that are hardy and hand/machine washable so that our dry cleaning bill isn't out of control.  The clothes have to weather 3 kids, 2 dogs, miles of walking in the hospital, clinics, and campus, and 12 hour days.

Anyway, since I need some more work clothes, I'm going to be shopping this week for clothes that can survive the daily juggle.  Thankfully, I enjoy shopping so hunting for work clothes is still a lot of fun! :)

Money Saver Idea

A while ago I noticed that every week I spent about $10 on deli meat.  My husband is a creature of habit who has eaten the exact same thing for lunch every day since college....a sandwich, fruit, and yogurt.  Needless to say, sandwich meat is as necessary as water at our house. 

For Christmas last year I fixed my first ham.  It was easy and my husband ate the leftovers on sandwiches until February.  After that I was hooked!  Every 2-3 months, I buy and fix a large ham for dinner and freeze the leftovers in batches that last about a week.  Every Sunday my husband goes to the freezer and gets out a bag and has homemade ham on his sandwiches that week.  I'm going to try a turkey breast in the next few weeks and will let you know if that works as well.  I like ham b/c it's SOOO easy to fix and is difficult to ruin.  My kind of food!  Anyway, below is my ham recipe.  My glaze is a mish mash of several other recipes I have tried before and it's what my family likes best. 

A large ham costs anywhere from $15-$25 and the leftover sandwich meat lasts for 6-7 weeks.  It saves us $40-50 every 2 months on our grocery bill.  Below is the recipe - enjoy!

1 ham (already cooked - my favorite are the spiral cuts or the butt cut with the smallest bone - you get more meat)
Roasting pan (I got one at Bed Bath & Beyond recently for $10!  Before that I used the disposable aluminum ones)
Glaze: 1/2- 1 cup of apricot or apricot/pineapple preserves, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1-2 TBS dijon mustard. Whisk together until mostly smooth

Pre-heat oven to 325.  Cut slits in the ham (unless it's already spiral cut) and place in roasting pan with cut part down.  Pour on about 1/2 the glaze & coat ham.  Bake 20-25 minutes/pound at 325 re-glazing with the second half of glaze about half way through the cooking time.  Let sit for a while before carving.

Thankful for Mommy Friends

As an assistant professor on faculty, I was assigned a mentor as soon as I accepted the appointment.  My mentor is a senior faculty member at the associate level (aka, tenured).  She helps me formulate my reseach goals and plans, track and expand my service, and evaluates my teaching.  Her goal, as she often reminds me, is to help me be a successful faculty member (aka, tenured).

As a mommy, I am so very thankful for my mommy friends.  Not only do I love girls nights out and afternoon playdates, but I learn SOOO much from how my friends handle their own daily mommy juggle.  Not wanting to sound inept, I used to hesitate to ask, "So, how do you manage..." or "How would you deal with ....", but now I am quick to ask my mommy friends as soon as anything comes to mind.  My mommy friends are my mentors as much as they are pals and support.  Thanks to all my mommy friends out there - I couldn't get along without you!  

 

Is There Anything Better Than Grandparents???

My in-laws were in town for the past week and we had a WONDERFUL visit!  My husband and I talk frequently about how lucky we are in each set of parents.  We love them all so much and love being around them.  Both sets are a lot of fun!  The week was great!  Grammy & Papa watched the kids overnight so my husband I could have a quick getaway combined with the trialthlon.  Grammy even fixed dinner - it is such a treat to come home from work and find a yummy dinner already made!  Here are a few pictures from the visit. 

Martha Stewart Moment

My sister-in-law has made some awesome food changes at her house and reading her blog made me evaluate some of our poorer eating habits. In general, we eat healthy meals. Lots of fresh fruits and veggies, lean meats, whole grains, etc. In my younger days I read much on nutrition and have found a good balance over the years. I've done the research and buy organic/hormone free where there have been proven negative outcomes with conventional and am proud that my kids enjoy whole wheat pasta and fresh veggies & fruit. 

Despite the healthy meals, my family and I consume lots of junky snacks. Specifically chips (give me a bag of salt-n-vinegar kettle chips and I can devour it in one sitting!) and candy. Initially the candy (mini snickers, M&M's, etc) was meant to be an occasional after dinner treat, but it quickly became a staple. The chips...well, what can I say...they are my waterloo! I munch on them when I'm fixing my "healthy" dinner....it's terrible, I know!

A couple of weeks ago, we went over to a couple's house for dinner. For dessert, our hostess served fresh fruit with yogurt and pine nuts. Believe it or not, my kids LOVED it and so did I! So, last night I cut up some bananas, grapes, persian pears (from our yard), and blueberries, topped it with organic vanilla yogurt and sprinkles for the kids/granola for the adults. The adults loved it! My kids enjoyed it as well although both asked why they couldn't have candy (how quickly bad habits form!!!) and said that yogurt was not a treat.

Unfortunately, after the kids went to bed my husband dug into the chocolate....sigh. To be honest, I could go for a big bag of cheetos right now, but thankfully have no $$ for the snack machine. :) Anyway, that is my Martha Stewart moment of the week! The recipe is below as is the link to my SIL's blog. Happy Eating!

1-2 apples/pears
1 large banana, sliced
1 cup grapes, halved
any other fresh fruit you want to add
vanilla yogurt (enough to cover the fruit)
granola or pine nuts (toast the pine nuts)
sprinkles for kids (optional)

Cut up fresh fruit and toss to mix. Spoon fruit into individual bowls and top with yogurt. Sprinkle topping of choice over yogurt.
http://www.baseballsandbows.com/

Last Tri of the Season

I completed my last triathlon of the season on Saturday. The best part of this particular race was that it was my husband's first triathlon. Here is what we looked like pre-race. I had an early swim seed while my poor husband was seeded toward the end of the 350 participants so I was well out of the water and almost finished with the bike leg before he even hit the water. The order of the race was swim (400m), bike (20K), and run (5K). Overall I was pleased with my bike time of 46:30, was okay with my run time of 29:01 (it's a little slow, but it was the last leg and it was HOT!), but was disappointed in my swim time of 7:45.

The best moment of the race was watching my husband cross the finish line. He finished strong and didn't even look tired! That's my man! Here we are post-race.

Triathlons are addicting to me - I love the people, I love the competition, and I love the positive, energetic environment. I love making friends with the racers around me in the transition area while we're waiting for the race to start and love cheering for fellow racers during the race and when they're crossing that finish line. I love comparing my performances in races to see where I have improved or maybe could use improvement. Lastly, I love that my kids are seeing the love of exercise in my husband and I. I was so excited this morning when after my early morning run both my older kids wanted to go for a run with me around the neighborhood. So, with them in their PJ's and sneakers and me in my Nike gear, we went for a run. :)

It's Been a While!

Despite my better judgment, I did my first long run this morning in preparation for the October half marathon. I probably should have rested this week since I have a triathlon this Saturday, but it was a good reality check for me. It has been 7 years and 3 babies since I last trained for a distance run and I had a forgotten a LOT in that time! The run today reminded me of all of the following.

• Hills glorious Hills: I usually pick a hilly training route. Reason being, tis FAR better to bonk on a hill when training rather than during the race. That being said, I had forgotten just how much of a difference that makes compared to flats (most of you are probably saying, "Well, Duh!"). Currently, I have a strong 5-mile base when on flat ground. After 5 miles of hills today, I wanted to sit down and cry. Drat those hills! Why can't everywhere be flat like Kansas?!?
• Give me Water!: Another key is avoiding dehydration (again, "Well, Duh!! "). Not being the brightest color in the box, I drank and obligatory glass of water prior to heading out the door but did nothing to really hydrate prior to the run. Coincidentally, I had weighed myself prior to the run simply b/c I try to weigh myself once a week. When the end of my run became extremely difficult and my throat was parched, I remembered that I used to weigh myself before and after long runs when I last trained to see how much water I had lost. Goal is to weigh the same pre & post run b/c it means you are as hydrated at the end of the run as you were at the beginning. Unfortunately, I was a whole 2 pounds lighter. While that doesn't sound like much, when you start at 109 lbs and end up at 107, that's approximately 2% of your body weight. I hastily gulped down several glasses of water, but the damage was done and I still have the splitting headache to prove it.
• Cold Sweats: After longer runs I tend to have cold sweats for a few hours afterwards. This is even after I have cooled down from my run and showered. It goes away after 2-3 hours.
• GI Irritability: Something about long runs makes my GI tract feel a tad irritable for a few hours after the run - sometimes for the rest of the day. While it never manifests into sickness, I always feel a little off. Hey, who can blame my gut - after being deprived of water and jostled around for a while it's got reason to be irritable!
• My friend the NSAID: Ibuprofen is my friend when training. We began our relationship when I was training for a marathon and was in the upper teens/low twenties (miles) for long runs. I'd take 4 of him before a run, 4 after, and then 4 every 4-6- hours for the next day. He's a reliable, helpful friend. He and I reunited this morning after a long hiatus. We'll be seeing a lot of each other for the next few months.

Thankfully, I have a little break before my next long run due to the tri this weekend. I'll pick it up again a week from Saturday and will be smarter about preparing for the run and will be ready for the after effects.

Guilt

Guilt is truly the worst emotion. It plagues like an incurable virus and gains strength when we are tired, hungry, stressed, and most of all when we allow it to permeate our thoughts and mind. As a working mom, 99.99% of the guilt I experience revolves around whether my working negatively impacts my family. Often the guilt is fed by comments from others. I have been asked, "Why do you work if you don't have to?", and been told, "Remember, you came from a family with a mom who stayed at home, and that's what is normal.". I wonder if the people who make these comments realize just how unhelpful the comments are- despite their good intentions.

Obviously you can tell from this post that there have been some struggles with adjusting to full time work. I am extra sensitive to comments from others and my kids. For example, a statement from my daughter as simple as "Mommy, are you staying home with us today?" made me crazy with worry that she feels that I don't want to spend time with her. This morning the same child, when I was slow to leave after the nanny had arrived stated emphatically, "Mommy, you need to leave now". Of course, that made me wonder if she prefers not to have me home. Bottom line is that my 3 yr. old daughter's comments were meant at face value. She was unconcerned when I said that no, I would be going to work and that she would be going to school. This morning, she followed up her "get out of here" comment with a cheerful "bye-bye! love you!" as she gleefully banged out a tune on the piano. The below article touches on some of the worries experienced by working moms also touches on the fact that our worrying might be all for naught.

http://money.cnn.com/2005/05/05/pf/workingmoms/index.htm

Being a health care worker, my work decisions are data driven. Nothing makes me happier than greedily dissecting the literature to work a pharmacy problem. I apply that same principle to most of the rest of my life. While I like books, I'm far more interested in the studies that form the bases of the tertiary literature. Below is a link to an interesting outcomes study on children who are in daycare as toddlers.

http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED449883&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED449883

Sometimes, I wonder if working and SAH moms all experience a "the grass is greener on the other side" feeling. There are days I would gladly give up work and stay home, but I know from experience that staying at home doesn't work great for me. I've heard stay at home moms comment that they would LOVE to get out of the house and interact with adults in a work environment. We all do what we think is best with the knowledge that what we choose isn't always easy. Perhaps working moms sometimes succumb to unnecessary guilt when they judge themselves and allow others to judge them for working. Similarly, I think SAHM's often get flack from others who make them questions their choice to stay home. We all want to believe that our choices are better than someone else's. What can be done to fix this??? I have no idea. But, I can start by being more secure and confident in my decisions and fighting that all-consuming virus called guilt.

First Dance Class and Hospitality Venture #2

Yesterday was a busy day at our house. My husband and I were finishing up training for a triathlon we're doing next weekend (so glad to be in "taper" mode now!). In addition, my daughter had her first dance class and we were having one of our church elders and his wife and our minister and his wife over to dinner.

Dance class was WONDERFUL. My girl LOVED every minute and refused to wear anything but her leotard & ballet slippers for the rest of the day. The first half of the class was ballet and then 2nd half was tap.

After dance class, my daughter and I dashed to Bed Bath & Beyond to pick out some linens for the dining room table. Below is the finished product - overall I was pleased.

I specifically picked an easy meal of lasagna & ceasar salad. However, I did try a garlic breadstick recipe (link below) that turned out great! We had a couple of bottles of red wine from a local winery and it went well with the meal. I know my friends and family back east are probably gasping in horror of us offering wine to elders & ministers, but remember folks, everyone's a cowboy out here! We're wild and crazy like that - and so are our elders & ministers! In fact, one of the couples was quite the connoisseurs of wine -we learned a lot! The dish that didn't turn out well was dessert. I made my mother-in-law's apple crisp from the apples that grow in our backyard and it didn't turn out nearly as good as hers. Oh well! I'll try it differently next time.

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/soft-garlic-breadsticks/Detail.aspx