big week for pierce (& his mom)

This little guy started his first week with an official babysitter on Monday. Her name is Soumya but all the kids call her Titi, including Christian. Up till now we've been fortunate enough to have friends and family watch Pierce for us, which has been a real blessing (there's something so different about being able to have him watched at or near our home). At the same time, we're excited for the boys to finally be together all day, every day. Christian has been over-the-moon at the prospect of having Pierce with him and I hope his enthusiasm continues now that his wish came true.

Even though it's the same babysitter that I've dropped Christian off with for nearly two years I still got emotional that first day (and today, too, if I'm being honest). I handed him off and went back to get all the bags (it's ridiculous how many bags we leave the house with every morning -- my purse, my pumping bag, Christian's lunch bag and extra bag with books and clothing, and now Pierce's bottle bag) and when I returned he was sitting on the floor laughing with Christian so as much as I wanted to linger I just sucked it up and waved good-bye, fighting back the tears as I hurried to the car. I hate to think of all the precious moments I'll miss out on, just as I did with Christian.

What a blessing it is for mothers to get to stay home with their kids! Although I'm sure there are some days you'd rather drop them off, you really don't know how lucky you are.

just another day in paradise

It's been one of those days you want to remember.

So I'm jotting a few details down.

Nothing out of the ordinary, but that's in part why I want to remember it.

Shane's got the car for the day, so the boys and I have been "stuck" at home.

We slept in, all snuggled together in our big bed. We watched some cartoons ("Phineas & Ferb"), made some breakfast (sourdough french toast), and played trains.

We opened all the windows because the weather is PERFECT. 72 degrees with a breeze and little noticeable humidity. We won't see many more days like these. They are so rare in the summertime here in Virginia.

We used our new double stroller to go on a walk with some of our favorite friends. We made time to stop at a neighborhood park and let the kids play until they were all tuckered out. There were no fights, no accidents, no tantrums -- just good old fashioned fun and laughter. Then we made our way home, with Pierce enjoying the best kind of nap -- the one with a light blanket and a nice breeze.

Back at home we made tacos with fresh avocado. They were finger-lickin' good. Then we fed Pierce his first, well, I guess this was his second round of rice cereal (his first took place too late last night when he was too tired to appreciate it). He enjoyed the attention and the chance to tap his new teeth on the spoon. He even seemed to enjoy the new texture, when he was able to keep it in his mouth. ;)

We played some more with trains and Pierce showed off his fancy leg work. All he wants to do is stand these days. He seems to be forgetting that he needs to learn to crawl before walking.

We then watched "How to Train Your Dragon" while I nursed Pierce and he and I both fell asleep on the couch. Don't worry, Christian only let us sleep so long. But man it was nice. Again, the breeze in and out of our apartment today is just heavenly. The perfect kind for an afternoon nap.

The next thing I knew Christian was on the balcony with a huge strand of toilet paper. "It's my yope!" he declared, meaning his "rope." He's still not great with his "r"s (an imperfection I secretly hope he doesn't correct anytime soon).

I coax him over and we gather up the T.P. and inspect the bathroom, which is covered in more T.P. and wet underpants. Lovely. We clean up and get his shorts on correctly (he's managed to get two legs in one whole, so it looks like he's wearing a mini skirt with a tail attached). Then we draw with chalk on our balcony. He wants me to write all of our names, and then he wants to show me that he knows which one is which. He does.

Next up: reading books in the breeze, over and over again. Christian's favorites this week are ones we grabbed at the library. They include Dora the Explorer, "Gorilla! Gorilla!" and "Pirate Bob." Pierce gets excited just being part of things, and keeps reaching for the books, eager to taste the pages.

It's now time for a snack. Christian needs a straw for his water, of course, and because we're eating on the balcony he declares this "a picnic." I agree.

I just finished nursing Pierce again. I love when his starting-to-get-chubbier little legs peek out and twist around my arm with his toes while his head and hands are covered in a light blanket (this is more for his sake than mine -- he's at the age where everything is a distraction and if Christian makes a peep Pierce quickly detaches to see what's going on).

Now I've got Christian tugging on my arm so it's time to stop typing and start playing pirates. He's already built us a ship, throwing all the couch cushions on the floor and bringing all his "treasure" of toys from his room to join our expedition. His new line these days? "Ay ay, Captain!"

I hope to have more of these kind of days soon, when I'm no longer working full time. I just hope that when I do I can recognize them for what they are and remember that this is the paradise I've been waiting for. Even when they do include floods in the bathroom and toilet paper trails.

white house easter egg roll

We got lucky the day after Easter and scored some highly coveted spots at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll.

Waiting in the security line, trying to keep the excitement alive. Why didn't I bring the stroller?

Waiting his turn to hunt for eggs.

 Supposedly there were some special "golden eggs" but no one in our group found any. They had fun searching anyway.

How many people can say they had their face painted at the White House?

Can you see the White House behind the crowds? It was seriously insane.

 Christian's favorite character: Curious George. He was a little shy at first but had fun pointing out all the characters he recognized.

Katy spotted Thor too. We were all deeply saddened to discover we missed out on a picture with Perry the Platypus. We're basically his #1 fans.

 Too bad we discovered the obstacle course near the end -- it was easily Christian's favorite activity. He could have done it all day.

 New to the white house: the playground. At least it wasn't there last time we visited.


We each got a commemorative egg on our way out the gates. (Your tax dollars hard at work!)

 We walked around the block so Katy could see the front of the White House too.

 I had Katy snap one of us too. Sometimes I forget the boys need photos of their own of this place.

Leave it to christian to find a stick wherever he goes. What a sweet aunt he has -- she carried all 37 lbs of him to the car.

easter weekend

These are super old but I decided to share anyway. More pics of Christian's birthday and such to come.

 

meet our new summer salad: broccoli slaw

Now, I know these are nothing new but I've never made a "slaw" in my life. And definitely not a broccoli one. I've had them on occasion though and I've always enjoyed them, unlike the more traditional slaw. I'm not a fan of mayonnaise so maybe that's why cole slaw has never been my thing. But for some reason, I can handle a bit of mayo in this salad. I think all the added dressing ingredients help. Plus, maybe my taste buds are growing up a bit..? Still, no cole slaw for me, thank you very much!

Christian helped me make this for a barbecue and I couldn't stop him from dipping his fingers into the bowl and stealing bites and licks. I brought the leftovers home thinking they'd be fabulous for Sunday dinner and Shane ended up devouring most of it before Sunday ever came. So -- there you go, healthy, iron-packed and delicious -- what more do you need? We'll definitely be making this again soon.

P.S. Instead of buttermilk I cheated and used the milk+vinegar trick.

Thank you, Smitten Kitchen!

Broccoli Slaw:
Makes about six cups of slaw

2 heads of broccoli
1/2 cup thinly sliced almonds, toasted
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped

Buttermilk Dressing:
1/2 cup buttermilk, well-shaken
1/3 cup mayonnaise (this is more than is in the original, to thicken the dressing further)
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons finely chopped shallot (or, you could just use a little extra red onion to simplify it)

Trim broccoli and cut it into large chunks. From here, you can either feed it through your food processor's slicing blade, use a mandoline to cut it into thin slices, or simply hand chop it into smaller pieces. I used the stem and the flowerets, but if you have a broccoli stem aversion you can just use the tops.

Toss the sliced broccoli with the almonds, cranberries, and red onion in a large bowl. Meanwhile, whisk the dressing ingredients in a smaller one, with a good pinch of salt and black pepper. Pour the dressing over the broccoli (if you've skipped the stems, you might not want it all; I otherwise found this to be the perfect amount) and toss it well. Season well with salt and pepper to taste.

Should keep up to a week in the fridge...

Variation: Try with cauliflower and use dried currants instead of cranberries, walnuts instead of almonds, and maybe even some celery slices throw in. Have fun with it.

finally...some good news

When I found out California bar results were out this week my heart nearly stopped. Shane did his best to convince me there was no way he could pass but I've still been getting my hopes up in recent weeks.

I knew Shane wasn't going to look though and when the results came out late last night East Coast time, I decided not to push it. Plus, we didn't have his application number handy and it was impossible to look it up without it.

Well, this morning I tried to play it cool but I was getting antsy. While Shane was out with his mother I couldn't stop thinking about where I could find that application number. I realized it had to be on the e-mails we got confirming his initial application, etc. and started to sift through Shane's gmail account. I figured he wouldn't mind. He has me log in there all the time to check things for him.

But once I had found all the information I needed, I wasn't sure I wanted to know. Bad news would just ruin our weekend and what would I do? Just pretend I didn't know and let someone else break it to him? Probably. Who wants to be the bearer of bad news?

All of the sudden I couldn't stand not knowing any longer. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, muttering a little prayer that I could be at peace with whatever the results were, and pushed enter....and then, paused, unsure if I wanted to open my eyes. However, I'm glad I finally did, because this is what I saw:

I let out such a squeal that I scared both of our boys who were hanging out with me in our bedroom. They both broke into tears and I scooped them up and reassured them I was so happy and that they should be so happy. (When I saw the Virginia bar results last summer I burst into tears and Christian was the one trying to comfort me while I reassured him that they were very happy tears!)

It's such a relief to find out that all those late nights spent dragging the kids in their pajamas into D.C. to pick up Shane after he'd put in a full day's work and then crammed for the bar were not in vain! Same with those early trips into D.C. on the weekends to drop him off so he could study all day in peace. Not to mention the countless times Christian wound up in tears because Shane had to lock himself away in our bedroom to try and review once again.

When Shane got home today Christian greet him at the door with a sign that said: "You did it! You passed!"

Shane tried to play it off but I know a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders. He admitted that he had been dreading the idea of taking that test again.

It was a group effort but Shane deserves most of the credit, of course. He didn't get one day off of work to study, and even took meetings over the phone the day before the exam began. Which actually means he gets to share that credit with our Father in Heaven, who obviously heard and answered our prayers. (Thanks to all you out there who have been praying on our behalf!)

This will be the first 4th of July since our honeymoon five years ago that Shane won't have to be studying his guts out. Hurray! Now to find him a new job...somewhere. ;)

word of the week: never

It's not a new word for Christian but it's definitely the "it" word all of the sudden and it's starting to drive me crazy.

"Never!" only is sounds like "Ne-er!" because he doesn't get the "v" in there yet.

Most conversations these days go something like this:

"Christian, can you run and use the potty for me before we go?"

"Never, never, never!" as he circles the house on his scooter.

"Christian, can you come to the table for dinner?"

"Never! I never!" still circling the house on his scooter.

"Christian, let's get your pajamas on and we can read some stories."

"Nope, never, never!" (yes, he's on the scooter again...maybe the real problem is...the scooter?)

I made the mistake of telling him his theme song should be "Never, Say, Never" -- you know, the song from "An American Tale"? "Never, say, never....never, say, never...again!"

What's funny is when you read the words they are my perfect message to him but the song is in a totally different context.

Now he thinks he's cute by singing it to me:

"Never....say never! Never....say never!"

Gah! What was I thinking?

the sock bun

On Sunday I tried out the "sock bun" that is so popular in the blogging world these days.

I used one of Shane's old brown dress socks and it worked out pretty nicely -- especially considering it was my first attempt and there wasn't much time to make it work before church.

What do you think? I like the fullness of the bun and felt classy and put-together without much effort. Add in my attempt to pull off red lipstick and I actually look like I'm trying again. Win-win in my book. Especially these days when I can't seem to carve out much -- if any -- personal time.

I'm definitely going to experiment with it this summer -- higher, lower, smaller, fatter, Princess Leia-style...okay, maybe not.

This tutorial was the key to my success:

(Yes, this girl is a little wordy but stick with her, she knows what she's doing.)

With rain and humidity in the forecast I wore my hair to work this way yesterday too. It stayed up all day, which is not something I can usually say when I put my hair up. It's so silky/smooth/thin/slippery that it doesn't take to most up-dos very well and I usually end up looking pretty disheveled by the day's end, no matter how much effort I've made early that morning.

It's been fun to pretend I have thick, luscious hair that I can just toss into a beautiful bun whenever I'm in the mood. (Especially since the shedding still hasn't stopped, as was pointed out to me by my hairdresser the other day.)

mother's day 2012

"Mom, you want toast?"

I admit when I first heard Christian's pajama-ed feet enter the bathroom while I showered my first reaction was, "Ahh, but I was finally going to shower by MYSELF!" It was Mother's Day, after all.

I pulled back the shower curtain when I realized he wasn't just stripping and hopping in and listened again. "Mom, you want toast?"

"Oh, sure, that would be great," I said, feeling relieved and slightly guilty for my initial reaction.

Christian loves to hop in the shower with me and I don't mind it most days but because he's quite the water hog I don't get much done after he enters. Which means sometimes my legs are more than a little hairy. And so that morning I had been looking forward to long, steamy and more productive shower.

A minute after Christian left the bathroom Shane entered. "You really want toast for breakfast? I just want to be sure. He was supposed to ask what you wanted for breakfast."

Ahhh, that's what happened. Christian probably wanted toast. He likes to sit and lick the jam off of it these days. And it's easy for him to make. He and Shane ended up making me french toast instead. Still, I can't believe I have a son old enough to ask me what I want for breakfast and then help prepare it.

This is my fourth Mother's Day but there are still some days I can't believe these sweet little boys are mine and I am theirs. Oftentimes it still seems to good to be true.



Shane's mother is in town for another week or so. We were excited to have her all to ourselves on Mother's Day. She's been such a help with the boys the past few weeks. I'm not sure how we're going to handle life without an extra set of hands on deck.

Whew! There's been so much going on over the past month that I almost want to close down this blog so I don't have to try and retrace it all.

Memorable moments included spending time with Katy and showing her around D.C., General Conference weekend, Easter (eggs hunts, egg dyeing, new green bow ties, dinner with friends, and discussions about what Christ's resurrection means in toddler terms), Christian's 3rd birthday, attending the White House Easter Egg Roll, saying good-bye to Katy (sob!), spending a quick weekend in Richmond (visiting with cousins, touring Maymont), welcoming Grandma Larsen (Shane's mom is here for a month, enjoying her grandsons), my 30th birthday (still processing this...but I think I like my 30s so far), touring Montpelier, Pierce got his first tooth (actually two!), Christian got his first tick (it came out easily, thankfully!), and we hosted a joint birthday party for Christian with his good buddy Milo on Cinco de Mayo.

I still need to download party photos, but here are a few faves from my phone that I snapped before guests arrived. We found an amazing deal for a bounce house on Living Social and the boys were in heaven.

As you can probably see, Christian's clothes (and hair?!) are soaked. We had a summer storm earlier that day and everything was a bit damp but I think more than anything he was sweating from running around in all the humidity. I actually put him in a clean, dry shirt before the guests arrived and it was soaked and dirty by the end. That's my boy! And I wouldn't really want it any other way.