Sometimes

This has not been a winner of a week, friends. The past weekend was great, and I'm so glad, because I needed that to sustain me through this week.

We have four kids playing sports, on three teams (the girls play on the same team). We have a practice or a game on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. On Wednesdays my four older kids go to Faith Formation. So Fridays are usually our only day with nothing scheduled.

At the beginning of the season I wrote every game on my calendar. Every practice is written down too. I usually do a good job keeping track of everything, even on Thursdays when we have two games and a practice. Well, this week I failed. We had an aberration in the schedule. TJS had a game on Tuesday--probably the only Tuesday game of the season. I looked at my calendar that afternoon to verify the time and location of the girls' softball game. I failed to notice the tee ball game. We didn't show up, we didn't call--it was so irresponsible. We did not tell TJS he missed a game--he would be devastated. I felt terrible that I couldn't stay on top of it.

So Wednesday rolls around and I'm preparing dinner. I'm feeling confident and decide to use the grill, despite my reservations. I turn it on and get our pork tenderloin on it. I go back inside and do some dishes and get the vegetables started. After about 15 minutes I ask the kids to go outside and clean up the backyard. They comment on the smoke and I tell them it is fine, just junk on the grill. And then I open it up. And see flames. And some strange blue ribbons dripping next to it. Oops. The pork is a black rock on the bottom. The blue ribbons are the blue plastic bin next to the grill melting! I turn off the gas and the grill and grab some baking soda to douse the flames. The pork is raw in the middle. To the trash it goes. I gave the kids microwaved chicken nuggets with the roasted potatoes (that were awesome) and vegetables. I called Husband and told him of the disaster and he brought home wings for us.

Sometimes I get it wrong. Sometimes I miss a game or ruin a dinner (only second or third time in nearly ten years of marriage). Sometimes my kids are whiny and rude to each other.

But all the time, there is grace. And thank God for that.

I Would Pay A Pretty Penny

Life is on hold friends.

LCS is learning to use the potty. Or at least wearing underwear and sitting on the toilet. We've had more accidents than successes so far. But she wants to wear the big girl things and she is willing to try so I feel as though I must seize the moment. None of my kids have been potty trained before 3 1/2 years old, so this is new territory for me (she's 2 1/2).

I would gladly pay someone to handle this task for me. I hate it. I hate being a prisoner in my house and a slave to the bathroom. I hate cleaning up the messes. I hate stopping what I'm doing every 10-20 minutes to try again. I hate this.

Okay, but I will like paying for fewer diapers, yes? I need some encouragement and sympathy. Stat.

Updated to add: The minute I hit publish on this post, LCS came to me and asked for a diaper. She was wet, again. I let her wear the diaper. So I guess I'll be reposting this when she is serious about learning.

Choices

I'm feeling a little frustrated these days. Nothing major, mostly selfish pity-me stuff. I should probably keep it to myself, but what is the point of having a blog if I don't write on it (in it? at it? not sure how to phrase that)?

It feels like life these days is a lot of give and not enough take. Hello selfishness! But, really, each choice I make involves giving up something I might want to do. BTS is still not sleeping through the night, so sleep is always an elusive target. So a morning comes and I can go to the gym or I can stay home and try to sleep, or at least rest, while he is sleeping and the other little ones are watching a movie. If I stay home I feel lazy for not going to the gym. If I go to the gym I am calculating how I will make up that lost hour of time. I know the exercise is good for me, but I''m still not at the commitment level I was at before BTS was born. I did run 3 miles and do an hour of Zumba yesterday though, so there's that.

I am having trouble getting the kids to nap at the same time. So, again, while BTS is sleeping I have to decide if I'm going to eat or sleep or shower or read. I am not reading like I usually do (partly because I'm having a hard time finding a good story) and I think it is affecting my mental state. I'm not as alert as usual. Anyway, there are all those options, plus dishes to be done and messes to clean up and so on. And I suppose I should be playing with my children.

So I'm struggling a bit with this time in my life. It is a phase and things will get easier. I know this. I've been through it five other times. So I guess my choice now is to moan and groan about things or see the positive in each situation. I know what is right and what is better for all of us, so I guess my choice is made for me.

No more whining.

I Heart Lean Beef

I have a bag and an apron to prove it.

The fabulous Holly of June Cleaver Nirvana, Burb Mom, Business 2 Blogger and DFW Bloggers collaborated with the Texas Beef Council to put on a day of learning about and cooking with lean beef.

When I received the Evite to attend Appetite for Inspiration I immediately set to work to make my attendance possible. Mainly because I am always looking for reasons to get out of the house and do something different. We were promised good food, fun, and useful tips and tricks. We were not disappointed.

Jamie at TotallytheBomb was kind enough to drive me there, since we are neighbors and carpooling is the hip thing to do. Even though we live less than a mile from each other we had not met in person. But bloggers do crazy things like ride in cars with strangers all the time. The event was held at the Viking Culinary Center at the Milestone Culinary Arts Center. Very fancy. We were a little late and missed the snacks and visiting before, but we did not miss the main event and that is all that matters, right?

The first part of the morning was spent listening to Angela Lemond educate us on the benefits of healthy eating, family mealtimes, and how beef fits in that picture. She is a dietitian specializing in pediatric nutrition. I was a little concerned that we would be bombarded with facts and figures and guilt trips and so on. I was wrong. Angela shared lots of useful tips on making quick and easy changes to how we eat that can improve our lives. I think the best one was to take fruits and vegetables out of the crisper and put them where you see them when you open the fridge. I may have had to throw out rotten produce once or twice, so this tip was especially on point. She also recognized that we are busy moms and need easy ways to incorporate change. As a mom herself she was able to communicate to us in our language.



After learning about how to do things better we were treated to a visit from Chef Richard Chamberlain of Chamberlain's Steak and Chop House and Chamberlain's Fish Market Grill. He has won awards and been on TV! He demonstrated two delicious recipes. We were able to sample each one and they were divine.



Beef and Heirloom Tomato Salad with Balsamic Syrup was first. The salad was arugula and it was tasty.


Next he made Beef Pot Roast with Maple Sweet Potatoes and Cider Gravy. I don't usually like sweet potatoes, but he put the potatoes in a food processor with some syrup and they were delicious, since they still had some of the juice from cooking with the roast.



So after we watched a real chef make these delicious dishes we got our turn in the kitchen. We were each assigned to a team that would prepare one of several beef dishes. I was on the Sweet Hawaiian Mini Burgers team and I was so glad. I have what I like to call texture issues, and ground beef is something I use sparingly because of that. However, it is cheap and my kids like it. Anyway, we went into the very nice test kitchen and got to work. Everything we needed was on hand and ready to go, thanks to the fabulous folks at Viking.

Look--I cook!


I was lucky enough to cook with Mariah of Humphries Nation and Rory of Mama Contemporanea. We fashioned our little sliders and roasted the pineapple and made the sweet sauce and assembled the sandwiches. Chef Chamberlain gave us some plating tips and our final product looked pretty good. It tasted even better. I will definitely be making these.



We were all able to sample each other's dishes and then we got to eat even more! Not only did we sample the recipes, but a full lunch and dessert was served as well. The beef was excellent in all of the dishes. Turns out there are 29 lean cuts of beef and many ways to prepare them. We were gifted a cookbook written by Chef Chamberlain with recipes that are mostly 10 ingredients or less and take under 30 minutes to prepare! The organizers really knew what we needed. The event was a blast to attend. I got to meet other bloggers and do something out of the ordinary. Thanks Holly and Texas Beef Council!



All photos courtesy of TexasHolly.

Full disclosure: I was not compensated for this post. We were given bags with a cookbook and various other small things, but we were not required to write about this event in any way. I could have attended and not written a word about it if I chose. I wrote about it because it was fun and I really do heart lean beef!

It Was Bound to Happen

As a parent of six kids, I have a surprisingly small number of truly gross, embarrassing, or frustrating experiences. And after our Monday evening adventure at Target I am very, very grateful for that.

Husband had taken CDS to batting practice and I had the other five kids. My girls want boots for their birthday, which is in October, but I noticed the pickings were already slim at Target, so I wanted to take them shopping now to maximize options.

We arrived at the store and headed to the shoe department. Now, as an experienced mom, I had made sure everyone went to the bathroom at home before we left, to try to make our shopping trip as smooth as possible. At our Target, the shoe department is in the back and the bathrooms are at the front. We had been browsing for about ten (frustrating) minutes when TJS told me he had to go to the bathroom. Really bad. Poop. Okay, I can't argue with that. I realized he really needed to go and it was not going to be easy to get everyone moving quickly.

I sent TMS (almost 9) with TJS to hurry to the restrooms and we would catch up. LCS was demanding to push the stroller, which is taller than she is, so we were moving slowly. Did I love sending two of my kids off alone in the store? No, but I don't think anyone wanted poop in the middle of the store either. By the time the rest of us made it to the front TMS emerged from the bathroom to tell me there was a problem.

A problem in the bathroom involving poop. Just what every mother wants to hear. TMS made it clear that clean clothes were going to be required. I hurried over to the kid section and grabbed underwear and some track pants (might as well buy something we can use all winter) and made my way to the dreaded bathroom. TJS was in the handicap use stall and it was not a pretty sight, but it was only going to get worse. Oh yeah, I went into the bathroom with unpaid merchandise because of course there were lines at every register.

I assessed the situation and quickly busted out the wipes (should have bought some of those too, I realized). The soiled clothes went directly to the trash (in a diaper trash bag from my purse). I had to wash a shoe in the sink because TJS managed to step in his mess. His mess that was not in one stall, but two! That's right, two stalls. It appeared that he made it to one stall but did not get to sit down properly. I did my best to clean up both stalls. I washed my hands a lot. I gathered up our stuff and headed to a register to pay for the clothes my son was now wearing. I informed them of the need to clean up their bathroom. And then we went to our car and I wondered if I would ever step foot in Target again.

I'm pretty sure I'll manage. TJS is not even the least bit embarrassed about his little accident. And I can only laugh about it now. Laugh with me?

Five!?

TJS is five today!

When did this:



Become this:



???

He is such a fun, sweet kid. Friends at church called him Happy Baby Pants when he was little because he was always so easy-g0ing and that is still mostly true. He loves baseball, football, anything with a ball, and his baby brother. Maybe his baby brother the most.

Husband and I can't believe he is already five! Even though we have had two more babies since he was born, we still miss his baby time. I think because we experienced it more fully than we did with the three big kids. With them it was all about survival. We were able to really enjoy each milestone with TJS.

We can't wait to see what life holds for him.

Happy Birthday TJS!



That is perhaps my most favorite picture of him thus far. Come back tomorrow for a funny/gross/embarrassing story about him that I couldn't share on his birthday.

Four Months (and a few days)!

My sweet BTS is four months old! A friend said I was lying when I said was our sweetest and easiest baby. She said that because she bears my complaints about him not sleeping through the night. But, despite that, he really is so sweet. He is so happy and only fusses when he is hungry or tired, and those are both problems that are easily solved.


He is 13 lbs, 15 oz. and 25 inches long. I suppose that is average, the doctor didn't mention where he falls on the percentiles. He is doing all that he is supposed to be doing and then some. He rolls over both ways and grabs at lots of things. He is really, really fun.



He is king of his castle and our home. :)

Thoughts on Thursday

Hey, it is kind of like Quick Takes, but not. Still it is the best I have to offer.

1. I am getting my haircut tomorrow and I am definitely doing something different, which means I am going to go even shorter, since that is really my only option. So perhaps there will be pictures next week. I'm thinking about the Victoria Beckham long pixie cut, maybe. I can't find a picture of it right now.

2. I am doing another 5K in three weeks but I haven't done any running the last two weeks. Oops. Once again it is tricky to balance all the things I need to do and nursing BTS and so on. Also, I just really like Zumba, but it takes an hour so doing that and a run in the same day is not always possible. I did do cardio kickboxing today and it was awesomely hard. I'm so sore already, but a good kind of sore. I need to get to boot camp and kickboxing regularly to tone up my arms and abs.

3. BTS turned four months old on Sunday and I have yet to take the monthly pictures with the monkey. I forgot to take it with us to our family get together on Sunday and just keep forgetting to do it since. Maybe today.

4. Husband has been having a knee issue and his running has been postponed. It makes him and me sad. We are hopeful that this extended rest is all he needs. He thinks he tweaked it at tee ball practice, not running barefoot.

5. I keep buying the wrong size jeans apparently. Twice I have purchased jeans that seemed like a good fit in the dressing room, only to wear them for an extended time and find myself constantly pulling them up. I guess I need to avoid stretch in the jeans I buy. I don't want to go a size down yet though, because I just don't think it will look good. More motivation to exercise I guess.

That's all for now. Hopefully you can come back tomorrow for some pictures of the sweetest, easiest baby on the planet.

First Time

LCS did something for the first time in her 2.5 years of life last week. She has recently decided that she is too cool for ponytails or pigtails. I was very sad about this, as the cuteness was criminal when she sported pigtails. I decided it was time to cut her hair if she wasn't going to let me put it up. So as we went out the door Friday, this is what her hair looked like:



I loved the curl, but it was pretty hit or miss on a day-to-day basis regarding how much curl would be there. Like me, she has thin hair and the longer it gets the worse it looks. So off we went to Great Clips. I was a bit nervous about this endeavor because her behavior is wildly unpredictable. She seemed very excited about a haircut though (and a sucker--she remembers going with her sisters for their haircuts). So we arrived and I gave her a sucker to eat while the haircut was happening.



She didn't move a muscle! I have never seen her so still and awake in her life. She just looked at herself in the mirror and worked on that sucker. We had to work to get her to look down, she was so focused. It took about ten minutes to get the job done. We were all happy with the results.



I don't know why she insists closing her eyes in pictures, but she does and so this was the best I could get. My baby girl looks older and cuter, and happily some of the natural curl still shows up in the back some of the time.

Quick Takes Friday

I'm not promising seven thoughts here, but I shall do my best.

1. I overcame early week laziness and went to the gym on Wednesday and Thursday and will go today. Every woman (and man perhaps) has days when she feels gross. I find those days are rarely the ones when I exercise. Although weight loss can not occur in one day, I feel thinner and firmer after a workout. No running this week, but something is better than nothing. I was going to run yesterday after riding the bike for 30 minutes, but I quickly realized I forgot to wear the proper support "equipment" so I walked a mile instead.

2. Mean Green football kicks off tomorrow! We are playing Clemson and we are heavy underdogs, but that does not dampen our enthusiasm. I have made sure all of us have clean Mean Green shirts to wear and am planning our game time menu this morning. Between football and the Rangers having a 10 game lead in the AL West our sports happiness level is at a record high.

3. The weather is sort of fall-ish here. Gray and windy this morning, but not cold. I like fall for about two weeks and then get tired of it. I think I would like a two week rotation of seasons. Just enough time to wear all of my favorite clothes for the season and then put them away for six weeks and then get them out again. Could someone work on that?

4. This Heavenly Life posted about cooking and the seasons. Like her, I prefer my fall and winter menus to my summer fare. I think I have more variety in the cooler months of the year. I need to get more comfortable with our grill and really try new things in the warmer months.

5. Husband bought me jewelry for my birthday! He paid attention to my wish list and got the bracelet from The Vintage Pearl and the earrings from Zephyr Woods. I love them both. He had "faith hope love" put on the bracelet. Between that and two gifts from my mom I am covered in hope. I think my word of the year is going to be my word of life.

6. BTS will be four months on Sunday. I am quite sure I won't post pictures until Tuesday. That is when he has his checkup anyway, so I can post stats on size and such too. He seems long for his age, we'll find out.

7. Also, I need BTS to do this throughout the night and soon. I realized that the last time I had a newborn I only had one child in school and we only had one outside activity. Now we have three in school and four in sports and it is wearing me out.




For more quick takes visit Conversion Diary. Happy Friday!

Trying to Figure It Out

The kids have been in school for a little over a week. We are definitely getting into a routine, but we are not all the way there yet. I'm really struggling with finding time to work everything in and do it all with charity and cheerfulness.

The before school routine is smooth. I get up and make breakfast and wake up the kids most mornings. Husband will do this if I am nursing BTS, or if I have been up all night with the little one and am finally sleeping. Lunches get made, hair gets brushed, and they are out the door by 7:20 most mornings (school starts at 7:50). At this point TJS is asking for a snack already and LCS has abandoned her breakfast at the table. I usually let TJS eat his sister's breakfast.

It is after this that things get tricky.

I am trying to go to the gym just about every day. I'm following the training program for a half-marathon that I used last year to prepare for two 10Ks this fall. I should be running or exercising pretty much every day. Childcare at the gym is available in the mornings from 8:30-11:00. I really like to go to a couple of classes, so I sometimes have to run before them, which means being at the gym for 1.5 hours. I would rather not have BTS take a bottle, but if he does that is okay. If I don't exercise at all I get cranky. I wasn't able to go to the gym Monday or Tuesday this week. I could feel it mentally and physically. Today I went to Zumba and I was so glad I did. That hour was a good one.

In the midst of this exercising (which is admittedly selfish in frequency) I also need to run our regular errands. I have to buy groceries and things like that. And of course the kids (and I!) need naps. Husband bailed me out today by picking the kids up from school and I got an hour nap in, since after the gym we had to go to the bank and the nap schedule got messed up.

All this to say that I have got to finesse our schedule better. I get sucked in by the computer in the mornings when I could be more productive. I'm going to have to suck it up and go to the store after the gym even when we are all tired. I was hoping that I could send BTS and LCS to some kind of mother's day out program, but that is not a responsible financial option right now. I've run around town with four and five kids, so doing things with three kids shouldn't faze me. But the personality of one kid does make it challenging.

My blogging has been far from consistent for ages now anyway, so I don't expect it will be noticed if it continues on this sporadic schedule for now. I want to do more and be more and I have to figure out how that will happen.