Harvest Feast and a Hair Cut

Yesterday was sort of all about Sky. It started with a special Harvest Feast at her preschool, and she got to pick which hat she wanted to wear for singing songs, and which food item she wanted me to bring.

I found out she really wanted watermelon (which explains why she's been talking about it for weeks), but her teachers helped her settle on muffins since watermelon is not in season right now. It also explains why when another parent asked her which snack she brought she said watermelon, as she was eating the muffin I made. Thankfully someone did bring watermelon and she was all about it!

I'm not so sure Sky is going to be the sing in front of large groups type of kiddo.

She was not thrilled about any of it really. Not even the hat that she picked out!  The Christmas program in a few weeks will be interesting.

After that and tons of cuddle time, movie, and lunch it was time to go get her hair cut. It has been ages since it's been cut. It was growing out so nicely that we waited a while to do it again. But, because those darn curls turn into a tangled rats nest every single day I knew there were probably a ton of split ends and frizzy strands that needed to go. And, Santa pictures are right around the corner!

Sky was strangely emotional about getting her hair cut. I think she was afraid it was going to hurt, or that she'd miss her hair. I'm not sure, but once I told her we were going to see Eleanor for a hair cut she was not happy. She kept asking for cuddle time and saying she didn't need a hair cut, and was not herself. She's not usually a worried or stressed out child, but she was all out of sorts for most of the afternoon.  

Thank goodness Eleanor at Embellish is amazing with Sky, and it probably helps that Sky knows her from our days in Stroller Fit class together. Given how anti haircut Sky was I was rather shocked that she wanted to get her hair wet in the basin. Last time Eleanor had to spray her hair with a spray bottle. I didn't get any during or after pics because 1. Sky needed me to held her hands during the cut, and she kept asking me "what's happening mommy...are we done"?  2. I'm having nothing but trouble with my phone and the camera keeps giving me random fatal error messages. So when it was time to get the finished product pic my phone crapped out on me. I'm bummed because Eleanor got Sky to walk the catwalk to show off the bounce in her curls.  

Given how much I use my phone for business, photography, and blogging I need to get a new one, but dang they are expensive. What happened to the days of a free phone with a 2 year contract?! It is about time though. I do factory resets every week and restart it several times a day to keep it sort of working.

Sky must like her new cut because she came home and sat on the floor in front of her mirror staring at herself, making faces, tossing her head and smiling at herself. Again, no pics of that, dumb phone.

We wrapped up the day with corn-dogs for dinner. It's one of her favorite things, but she doesn't get them often. I figured she earned it though after being so brave about the haircut.

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I'm going to go ahead and say Happy Thanksgiving right now, because tomorrow it's all about family. I don't know if I'll have a few moments or not to do my Thankful Thursday post (seems like if ever there was a day for a Thankful Thursday post it would be tomorrow!) or not. If I get up early enough I will, but I'm not willing to take time away from family to do a blog post. And, I'm more of a write my post the day of rather then write it early and schedule it to post type of blogger. So, Happy Thanksgiving, enjoy the food, family, friends, and football! I know I will be!

 


    

Stuffing Time!

Since Thanksgiving is two days away, and food is on everyone's mind I thought I would share the Stuffing recipe I use, and make every year: Wild Rice & Mushroom Stuffing. It's GF and DF (if you use vegan butter, which I do and it still taste great)! I already made it once this year for early Thanksgiving, and am getting ready to make it again on Turkey Day!

Photo: Rachaelraymag .com

You can find the recipe on the magazine website or here: Wild Rice & Mushroom stuffing

A few tips for you: 

-Wash the leeks really well. They hold a ton of dirt and grime!

-Leave the leek greens in big pieces...it makes it easier to discard them once the rice is cooked

-I used a combo of sliced fresh cremini mushrooms and dried porcini mushrooms. The porcini mushrooms give it a richer, meatier flavor, and you can use the water you soak them in (to reconstitute them) in place of 1/2 cup of the broth. 

-For some reason I could not find currents anywhere this year, so I used dried cranberry's instead and no one noticed, and I thought it tasted great still.

-Pay or bribe someone to zest the lemons for you! My least favorite thing to do in the kitchen.

Prep work.

It's a really great way to assure those with food allergies/issues still have a yummy stuffing dish to eat with Mr. Turkey.  

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What's your Thanksgiving "thing" that you make every year...aside from the turkey of course! 

A Walk in the Park

Sometimes it's just what you need to press the reset button. In the midst of a busy day, with a to do list longer than I care to think about the idea of walking in the rain at the park seemed like the thing to do.

Life has been busy, not overwhelming but crowded all the same, and some of the busy I like, and brought on myself. But, (there's always a but isn't there?) I realized as we were walking we hadn't done this in a long time. We used to go for walks at the park all the time. We'd run, laugh, talk and just have fun together. I realized that in all the business and running her to school, swim lessons, play dates, and dragging her along to multiple (accident related) appointments a week that over time I let those things become our "quality" time together.  Conversations had in the car, going to and from. Noisy, crowded time that's main purpose had nothing to do with Sky and I actually connecting with each other.

  Run with me mommy.

All of a sudden a weight lifted that I didn't even know I'd been carrying. I realized that while all that other busy stuff still needs to happen and be handled that I need to schedule my Sky time first, and make everything else fit in around it. When she's begging for attention, for me to play with her, cuddle with her, sit with her for breakfast, go for a walk at the park...I need to do it. Very few things are so important or critical that I can't give her what she needs and thrives on. Time, time with me, one on one with my full attention.  

I guess I started to think that because she's starting to have parts of her life that are hers, and don't involve me, and that she's happy to play/entertain herself for longer and longer that she'd be ok if I answered one more email, took care of one more thing on the to do list, let her watch one more cartoon/movie so I can get something else done. 

 Singing to the trees.

Today was a good reminder as to why I'm home with her in the first place.  It's for her, not for me to do my own thing or get things done, but to be there for her and with her, and give her what she needs. Not that I haven't been doing that, but I've been distracted. It's all a balancing act, and I know all that other stuff still needs to be handled, but it can be handled after I make sure Sky and I get our time each day. Time to just be and enjoy each other (this kid is so funny and when I listen to her I learn so much and laugh!), I just have to make sure she's the #1 thing on my schedule each day.  

"Oh mommy I love the rain on my face"

She's such a cool little person, but sometimes the busy life and frustrations that go along with the impulsive actions of a 3 yr old make it hard to remember that. Nothing like a rainy walk at the park to bring life back into focus and remind me just how lucky I am. 

As we were walking back to the car, out of the blue, Sky says, "See Mommy, I just knew this would be a good walk". If only she knew just how good it was!  

 She peed in the woods for the first time!  We were too far from the car to get back to the portable potty and while she was reluctant she realized she didn't have much choice.  That's "her" spot behind her and she asked me to take a pic while she yelled "I go potty outside"!

Because I'm Happy!

Oh my goodness its has been so crazy busy the last few days, good busy though.

Jamberry business is going great!!! Customer service, and sending prompt thank you's is important to me, and responding to requests for info/samples. I have been running to the post office multiple times a day, and sending Thank You emails/cards like a mad woman. But, it's all good. I'm busy, I'm having fun, and it's nails. I get to have pretty nails, and help others to have them too...that is just down right fun!

Plus, it's Holiday time, and we have fully embraced it in the Yeatman house!

Decorations are up, and the tree will be up soon.  We had a light bulb moment in regards to the tree this year and I can't wait to make it happen.  Of course I'll share photos once it's all done.

Christmas music is on, and I'm loving it. I really love that it's all 100% Sky safe and she seems to enjoy it as well.

Egg Nog has been purchased (actually the 2nd one this year) and Sky loves this one. Of course she does it's like drinking pure caramel...it's been a yummy addition to my coffee as well. Once this one is gone though no more. Just too much of all the good stuff and I'm not running nearly enough yet to make up for it.

Speaking of running...exciting news on that front, but it's not time to share just yet. I am running in the morning though and that is pretty exciting...it's been a few weeks.

We actually have lots of exciting news to share, but again just not the right time yet. But there is an air of change and excitement in the air for us right now!

I know it's not nice to leave things hanging like that, but I blog what's on my heart and mind (for the most part) and right now I'm just Happy, and Excited, and looking forward to the next few weeks! I'll share as the time becomes right!  :)

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Tell me something your excited or happy about!

Thankful Thursday

Things I'm Thankful For Today:

-Really good migraine medication...threenagers and migraine's do not mix well.  At all.

-Managing to hit 5 stores in 2.5 hours and getting all the grocery shopping done before I picked her up from school.

-That I have a cold mommy heart when it's needed.  Some lessons are hard to watch her learn, but needed.

-That I get to experience her shopping the toy catalog.  She loves it, can't stop looking at it, and finds new things to exclaim over every time.

-For an awesome stylist and a whole new look with one simple little addition of bangs!

-Always super thankful when my winter running clothes still fit year after year!  That means I'm not slimming down much, but I'm not gaining either, so I'll take it!

My go to winter running tights still fit!!!  Happy running! 

-Cool weather running...I'm ready!  

What are you thankful for today?  

Birthday Weekend Fun

We had lots of liquid fun for Mark's birthday!  The theme of the weekend was wine, wine, and more wine...with a few bloody mary's in the mix as well.  :)  

The final destination was my aunt and uncles in E WA and the Tri-Cities Wine Festival.  It worked out perfectly that the Beckham's could go with us, and that my aunt and uncle have enough room for all of us!  So much fun, and Sky LOVED having Grace and Kiera around to play with the entire weekend!  

Usually when we are driving over we really just want to get there.  We typically have a reason (holiday/family stuff) for the trip and just want to get there and start the visit.  But, since Mark took Friday off we decided to leave early and take our time getting there.  

Sky is ready for the road trip!

There is so much to see and do (and drink) along the way that we wanted to experience that a bit. Plus, we were given an awesome book last year for Christmas and thought it would be fun to make a few of the suggested stops along the way. 

Since we didn't have a dd, we opted for two wineries along the way, and spaced our food intake strategically, and made sure we had enough time at each stop to safely taste and drive.  I had gone through the Yakima Valley section and picked out all the tasting rooms that sounded like they would have wines we liked, and after a few texts from my aunt we narrowed it down to two that were right off the freeway to make it easy.  

The first stop was Kana Winery Tasting Room downtown Yakima.  Seriously good wines, and so friendly.  They had coloring books for Sky and made sure she had water (in a wine glass) to "taste" with us.  One of the many things I love about her is she is friendly enough and curious enough that wine tasting is an adventure to her.  Can we do it all day with her...no, but she's good to go for a few hours!    

Starting the weekend right!

We started with an oaked chardonnay, my favorite kind, and made it through 4 tastings (Mark dumped most of his since he was driving) before we heard from the Beckham's, and discovered we could catch up with them on the road at the next winery. 

Our next stop was only a few minutes away, and while I had marked it in the book as a place to stop, we probably would have skipped it had aunt Candy not suggested it.  I love champagne but wouldn't have thought to taste through a whole selection of it.  

I'm so glad we did though because Treveri Cellars ended up being so much fun!  And, I learned so much about champagne and the differences between each type.  I feel so much more confident now in my ability to purchase champagne for parties/personal use!  

  Champagne Cocktails for the win!

We had so much fun tasting the different styles, and fell in love with the tasting room/grounds that we decided to stay for a bit and get cocktails!  Plus, it gave the girls time to run around outside in the sun (cold sun, but still a sunny beautiful day) and play lawn games while we kicked off the birthday fun!  This place was so fun in fact that the Beckham's joined the bubble club...how fun does that sound?!  It's nice it's on the way to my family because club pickups make the perfect excuse to visit should Mark and I join the bubble club.  

Grace, Kiera (in the back) Michelle and Sky at Treveri.  (photo credit - Michelle Beckham, with her mad selfie skills!)!

From there it was on to Paul and Candy's and as Sky said "Let's start the party"!  

The festival itself was so much fun!  It was big enough to be interesting, but not so crowded that it was frustrating, or the food lines took too long.  I loved how the wineries were set up and it was made clear who had won awards, because it made it easy to target your tasting.  There was way too much to taste everything, so we had to be a little selective.  The food was amazing, not just cruddy festival food, but really nice and really yummy (and free!  The ticket price included all the wine and food, and for the price of the ticket it was a steel of a deal)!  Paul ad Candy are in the industry so they couldn't take two steps without running into people they knew.  The 4 of us would wonder off taste a bit, circle back to them and then wonder off again.  

The only picture I took was the end of the night after all the tasting was done.

Empties!

So much fun!  It was kind of funny actually because Ali went with us to watch the girls for us while we were at the festival, and Paul and Candy had given her the next door neighbors # in case she needed immediate help (she has all our numbers as well), but who did we run into first thing at the wine fest...you guessed it the neighbors!  Thankfully Ali is an excellent babysitter, and the girls are pretty easy, so we were not worried at all.  

Super low maintenance babysitting!

Mark took Monday off too so we could recover/rest on Sunday before driving home.  The rest of the weekend was spent watching football,and playing with the girls.  Thankfully Grace and Kiera were able to stay and go home with us Monday so Sky had peeps to play with and keep her happy. 

 Bloody Mary's and football for the win!

Let's just say road tripping with 3 is very entertaining!  Mark and I laughed the whole way home listening to those three talk, sing, and laugh.  Those girls sung their hearts out to the Frozen soundtrack 3 times through, and Sky loved every second of it!  She got a good taste of what having sisters can be like, and was so sad when it was finally time for them to go home.  

We did find time to make sure the girls had fun as well.  Michelle and I took them to an indoor trampoline place while Mark and Bob went to Ranch and Home for a bit.  

I really wanted to jump, but for once I way under packed and only had PJ's or my festival outfit, so nothing that would have worked well for this, and I didn't want to take a chance of messing up my back.  4 days is the longest I've gone without an adjustment or massage in months and I didn't want any problems until I was back home and could do something about it! 

I'm thankful we got to spend a fun weekend with good friends and family!  What a way to start your 40's!  

Thankful Thursday

Things I'm Thankful For Today:

-That preschool has helped Sky develop a love of coloring!  I can't even tell you what a lifesaver it is to sit her down with crayons and coloring books for 30 to 40 minutes when I'm cooking dinner/on the phone/watching football.  I can get a lot done in 30 uninterrupted minutes!  

-That we were able to have lunch with Mark unexpectedly on Monday, and get a long weekend with him this weekend!  

-That it's wine festival weekend (finally), and that this is what Mark picked for his birthday weekend! 

-For having a babysitter that will travel with us/the Beckham's, and watch the girls for us!  Also, that the Beckham's travel with us! 

-Family that opens their home to us and our friends willingly.  

-A weekend away!  

-Even though it's been a busy few days with back to back parties, that I'm staying busy with Jamberry and having fun with it!  

-We may get to see some snow, and maybe even play in it! 

-That Sky and I still have so much fun together day after day after day.  Love this little girl so much!  

-To the person that paid for my coffee in the car in front of me today...such a nice little treat!

-For having a good handle on Christmas gifts!  Some have been purchased, and the rest are ready to order!  

-Life, just a happy, healthy, comfortable life.  Even when it's uncomfortable it's still so much better than what some have to deal with/are going through.  I'm happy for the good things, and the "problems" that are mine to live with.  

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What are you thankful for today?

More Cowbell!!!

We received the most awesome gift box in the mail from our Cousin Mike in Mississippi!  Now I feel ready for #HA1LSTATE game day!!!

We have our very own cowbell!!!  Did you know that traditionally your cowbell is gifted to you...you don't purchase it yourself.  I wanted a cowbell, but knew better than to purchase one myself, so this gift is extra special!

Sky has transitioned into such a big girl!  Just a few months ago I could look at pics of her, or look at her when she was sleeping, and still see a tiny bit of the baby she used to be.  But, now all I see is glimpses of the 8, 9, 10 year old she will become.

He also included the most adorable Mississippi State cheerleader outfit for Sky!  It's really beyond cute.  She has yet to let me take a picture of her in it, but she loves it!  Saturday is the big game with Alabama, and even though we are traveling, I'm packing the outfit, and yes the cowbell (for outside use only!), and we will cheer State on from E WA!  I'll try to get a pic of Sky's outfit too!  

The funny thing is for just the 3 of us we are get pretty crazy and noisy during State games.  Tons of jumping around, TD dances, yelling, screaming...now we have a cowbell too?!  It's going to be fun Saturday!  

Thank you Mike!  Your gift made all three of us very happy!   

P.S. This is why there is no cheerleader pic of Sky yet...pretty much every time I try to take a picture of her she does this.  If it's not her idea, and she doesn't ask me to take her picture then all I get is "No, no pictures Mommy...can you quit it now".  So much attitude.  

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HS, College, or NFL...what do you enjoy watching the most? 

That's a hard one for me because really I just love Football!  I like HS because those are the games we can afford to go to live, but I like college because it's so big...the stadiums and crowds, and the bands and ESPN Game Day.  But, then there is the NFL, and nothing really beats an NFL game.  I'm finding more and more though that I'm liking the full circle of watching a few specific players in college...following them through their college career, through the draft, and into the NFL.  It's sort of fun guessing who will be a big hit right off the bat, who will sit the bench as a back up for a bit, and who will be a bust.     

The Big 40!!!

Someone had a birthday this past weekend...a really big one!!!  Mark said Peace Out 39...Hello 40!

Don't worry no mushy birthday message here.

It's sort of a multiple weekend event with a weekend trip/wine event this coming weekend.  But, since his actual birthday was on Sat the 8th we just had to make the most of it, and celebrate two weekends in a row!  

  

Saturday was all about whatever he wanted to do.  Started with a warm breakfast and coffee then we headed down to Cabelas so he could spend his birthday $$.  Looks like Sky is going to be a bow hunter just like Daddy!  

Later in the evening we had kiddo free dinner with good friends!   

Almost everyone in the pic.  I'm not going to name the restaurant because while the food and drinks were good there were issues with the experience.  I know a party of 13 is a lot to deal with, but still a few things could have been handled better.  I'm reserving judgment on this place until Mark and I can go just the two of us and see what a "normal" experience is.  

After a late evening out we spent the rest of the weekend in pj's, watching football, and just hanging out.  

I totally don't mind driving the babysitter home in the morning when it means there is a Starbucks on the way!  It wasn't an unreasonably late night, but late enough that I needed a little pick me up. 

I love football days, but Sky gets a bit board by the Sunday Night game.  We started out by building her a fort and letting her watch movies while we watched football.  She was so cozy and content!   

From there she moved onto selfies with my phone, and Legos.  I pretty much suck at Legos, but Mark was building helicopters, boats, people, castles etc and Sky was knocking them down as fast as she could.  

  

I'm much better with Lincoln Logs!  I can build a mean log cabin with those bad boys! 

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Legos or Lincoln Logs?  

I don't remember ever having Legos as a kid (sad I know, also I could be totally wrong).  I do remember Lincoln Logs though, and I loved them!

Halloween Outtakes

I hope everyone one had a Happy Halloween!  Sky had fun once we were trick or treating, but man getting here there happy, and us not frustrated with her was challenging!

Let's just say that she was not always a nice Princess Sophia, and has gotten very opinionated about picture taking!

"No necklace...I don't wan't it".  Never mind she picked it out  herself along with the matching tiara neither of which she wore.

"No picture, no take my picture".  Although I do love that she went with cowgirl boots rather than princess shoes.  We left that choice up to her.  :)

I was begging her to smile...to let us get one good picture and this is the look I got.  I'm actually a bit scared of the teenage Sky in our future.  ;-)

Finally!!!  I have no idea what changed...oh wait I think I started telling her she had better not smile.  "Don't you do it, don't you dare smile"...works pretty much ever time.

Apparently all the posing for pics wore her out because she came in cranky, ticked off at us, and didn't want to talk to us.  She plopped down on the floor and next thing you know we hear snoring. Crazy loud snoring.  Thank goodness because that quick little nap was the only thing that got us through dinner and trick or treating without incident!

She loves trick or treating.  I don't even think she realizes she's actually getting candy either.  She just loves running from house to house and knocking on doors.  Most of the time she just opens the door and walks in...she's still learning how it works.  After the first few houses she started telling us to wait for her further and further away from the door, "I do it by myself, you stay right here" and she would point to the exact spot she wanted me to stand.  She kept checking to make sure I was staying in my spot too.  So much sass in such a little body.

Thankfully when we were looping back towards the car to finish a few more houses she decided she was done, and was totally ok going home and going right to bed.  The best part is...Halloween candy makes great incentives for not having any accidents!  :)

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The best part of the entire weekend for me though....

Getting up early on a Sunday morning and going for a run with Michelle!  It has been so long since I've been able to do that, and even though it was slow, and it felt hard, and I was more sore after a 3 miler than I should be it still felt amazing!

There are still things from the accident that hurt, and will take time to work out, but I'm able to start slowly and carefully get back to "normal" activities and see how I tolerate them.  The chiro appointment the next day was a bit more brutal than usual, but it's worth it.

Getting a Red Cup after my run was a nice treat/way to say I'm back.  Not the runner I used to be, but I'm back and I'll get there!  We now have a standing Sunday morning running date set...feels so good to have a standing running date again!!!

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Starbucks Red Cup....too soon or bring it on?
It's a surprisingly hot topic.  Honestly a cup is a cup, coffee taste the same regardless.  And, I like Christmas decorations better than Thanksgiving...that doesn't mean I'm skipping over Thanksgiving in any way.

It's sort of funny to me to see people posting pics of their red cups and complaining about them at the same time.  If it really bothers them that much stop getting Starbucks until Dec 1st (or whenever they feel it's appropriate red cup time).  It won't change as long as they keep making $$.