real food!

I'm having so much fun feeding hollyn solids! Apparently, things have really changed in the world of babyfood in the last three years.

Our pediatrician informed me that the new recommendation is that meat be baby's first food! And that just about all the rules are out regarding the order of introduction. I didn't start with meat first because it just sounded gross. Basically, Hollyn just eats what we eat as long as it can be mashed or pureed! Her favorites are tortellini stew, cauliflower soup, pears, and Nancy's yogurt. Not a huge fan of applesauce or other sweet/sour fruits.

Feeding babies solids used to be a stressful thing-- so many rules!! But now it is so much more enjoyable! Plus, this just makes more sense if we want our kids to like a variety of foods.

Gone are the days of jarred, bland food...or even making your own, bland food! Bring on the flavor!

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how I roll (on 4 wheels)

An account of my afternoon, starting @ 12:10:

load kids in car
drop park off at school
watch out for poles!
drive down to Griffin's school
take him into the class/ chit chat with teacher/ drop off juice for harvest party
haul hollyn back to car
drive to Parker's school/ sprint thru rain with infant carrier/check in at office
shoot, hollyn needs a nap!
read with each of the 20 kids in Parker's class (love seeing the progress!)
try to keep the girls in the class from kissing hollyn! try to get hollyn to sleep while I listen to the readers
sprint thru rain with hollyn
check out at office
pick up cookie dough at school for fundraiser
drive down hill to griffin's school for harvest party
sit in car for ten minutes so baby can catnap (blog!)
next, I will go party with the preschoolers--yay for harvest:)
I'll drive up hill to pick up park, leave Griffin to finish school
pick up Parker....hurry!!
drive down hill to pick up Griffin
drive back up hill to go home
check mail
unload kids/ projects/ etc.
breathe:))

3:25 p.m.

p.s. I'm not complaining! I actually love it!! I just thought that this afternoon would be fun to document my comings and goings...poor Hollyn! She's such a trooper:)

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griffin pledge

pledge griff

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrTD3RnktrM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

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welcome to the circus

I recently wrote on Facebook that I feel like I am part of a circus act. It is true. I really, really hope someone out their is enjoying the entertainment, because if I wasn't the one experiencing "the act", I would think it was hilarious.

However. Ahem. Sometimes chaos gets old. Don't you think?

This morning was going well. I got more sleep that usual and I was actually feeling as though the circus was taking an intermission. Things were rolling along unusually smooth. As in, I was showered before ten. And we had no major injuries. Yet.

I was feeling so good about things that I decided to pack everyone up and head to school before p.m. kindergarten in order to check out the book fair. So far, so good. I let kids pick out a book and even paid for them without losing a child or witnessing a tantrum. Nice work, Amy. You might just have this parenting thing down.

I send Parker on his way to his classroom across the school grounds. I put the younger two in the car. I'm about to shut Griffin's door and I notice that Parker is looking back to wave to me. It was like slow motion. He turns back around and hits his forehead smack-dab into the light pole. Not again! He did this exact same thing during his second week of school. He is so much like me, it is ridiculous!

So I quickly shut the car door and lock the younger two in so that I can go rescue Parker. It takes a few minutes but I finally encourage him to get off the ground, find his courage and walk into class. I kiss his scrapes and he walks to class. Nice parenting, Amy. Good work. You deserve a medal.

Hmmmm.....

Why is Griffin crying? Why isn't he sitting in his seat like I ask him to? Shoot.

So I open the door to the car and see snot rolling off of Griff's chin and a red, swollen finger. I quickly realize that I had slammed Griffin's fingers in the car door as I ran off to help Parker and earn my parenting award! And not only did I slam them in, but I locked to door so he was stuck the entire time while I was gone. Awesome.

Now Griffin is napping with an icepack around his little hand. Hopefully he'll forgive me :( Poor guy. Not feeling as great about my parenting skills anymore. Welcome back to the circus, Amy. Intermission is over ;)

poor baby

I'm beginning to think we're really bad at determining when our kids are actually sick. In the spring, our kids had pinkeye and ended up exposing tons of kids because we had no idea! And just this week, Hollyn had roseola, and again, we had no idea! And that is just plain dumb, as Griffin has had it before and we know the symptoms! All that to say, BEWARE: we're likely spreading nasty germs right this very minute...

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i dare you...

So, yeah...I dare you to try to tell me that this isn't the cutest ASB card ever??? Yes, my 3 year old has an ASB card:) And my 5 year old would also have one if I hadn't forgotten about HIS VERY FIRST PICTURE DAY!! But this one is so cute I almost forgot about that;)

school rules

I love love love being a "school mom"! Love watching Parker interact with his friends, seeing him learn things every single day, forming a partnership with his teacher, interacting with other parents....so much to love!

I also love hearing how the day went when I pick Parker up after school. I ask four specific questions:

*Did you work hard?
*Were you respectful?
*Were you a good friend?
*Did you have FUN?

So fun to hear the responses:)

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tired and weary

I really have so much to be thankful for, but I have to admit that I'm feeling pretty tired and weary. I repeat: I have so many good things in my life. I am thankful.

But I'm heavy-hearted. Some dear friends recently experienced a loss and I ache for them. This has overshadowed everything.

And Joel dislocated his knee cap playing soccer. We have a mouse problem...and I happen to have a certain phobia. Hollyn has her 1st cold. Life always seems to fly by and leaves me spinning.

There is more. But I am just tired. I promise to not be such a downer tomorrow :)

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5 minute blogger

I have this idea. you see, I am always struggling to find the perfect balance when it comes to the way I spend my time. blogging is a tough one because it is something I enjoy but don't feel I should spend much time on right now. so I'm going to allow myself 5 minutes a day. it wont be pretty...there may or may not be pictures and it will all be some from my phone. we're talking quantity not quality: ) we'll try this for a month or so...times up. see ya tomorrow!

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five months, fantastic!

Soooo, this post may be my lame attempt to keep up on here...but at least I have a picture!

hollyn is 5 months old now and I'm remembering why I love this age SO MUCH! Here is why::

*belly laughs
*serious personality glimpses...oh my!
*mobility- rolling all over and even scooting! my guess, she'll crawl in the next six weeks. What?!??!
*she loves toys. especially loud ones or ones that can act as a salt lick:)
*oh brothers!!! her favorite people in the world! she seems to have full on conversations with Parker...must be a good listener. And she starts laughing as soon as she sees griff. fantastic!
*Snuggler!! She burrows. And I love it. SO MUCH.
*food. the real stuff! she just started but you would think she was a professional Foodie. doesn't like to mess around with the baby stuff...she prefers corn chowder. and cauliflower stew. seriously! And if you feed it to her too slow, watch out!
*13 lbs! At her 4month....errrrr...almost 5 month apt., hollyn was 12#15oz.
*cuter than ever. is it even possible? apparently: )
*social butterfly. she can be dog tired and still pull it together to charm a perfect stranger: )

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