Horse Riding With Grandpa

Over the weekend Grandpa drove over from E WA specifically to go horse riding with Sky. Well, originally with Sky and I both, but with me being so sick I ended up bailing on the ride which Sky was happy about because she wanted Grandpa all to herself anyway.

He actually found a "mommy and me" ride in Woodinville, which Mark and I were happy with because it meant we got to sneak off for an unexpected "date" to wine taste while they rode horses BONUS!

Still having all sorts of issues with my pics. They are just not uploading the way they usually do. These are all grainy and unedited.

Sky on a real life My Little Pony Snickers. He took me back...looked similar to the pony I had as a little girl. Super sweet nature and Sky fell in love with him from the start.

Grandpa was on a horse named Tater and apparently he was a bit feisty that day. No match for Grandpa, but Sky is still talking about how fussy Tater was. The guy that was working that day was supposed to lead Sky while Grandpa rode along on his own, but it didn't take the guy long to realize Grandpa is a seasoned horseman so he left Grandpa too it, and the two of them got to ride for an hour by themselves. BTW - she did have a helmet, they were walking over to the bin to get one that would fit.

While they were doing that Mark and I were doing this..........

...seriously I love wine, and wine tasting, and unexpected Sky free time with Mark. It's just a nice treat!

It makes my heart happy that Sky and Grandpa got to ride horses together. I grew up on horses, and Dad grew up on horses, and Sky kept talking about "just me and Grandpa mommy, you no come". So I knew having time with him on her own was a big deal. Toss in a horse ride and she was over the moon, and hasn't stopped talking about it. "I had fun with my grandpa mommy" is what I'm hearing every few minutes every day.

A few other highlights from the weekend, bowling, lot's of treats, and Sky got fitted for her first official pair of running shoes.

She does this little dance and cheers for the ball all the way down the lane. It's stinking adorable! Girls got a pretty good bowling game going on. She almost beat Grandpa.

Asics...also Asics were my first pair of running shoes!

I didn't tell her Grandpa was coming mostly because I didn't want to hear about it forever before he got here. This was moments after seeing him and realizing he was here for a visit...she was beside herself with joy.

All in all it was a great weekend, and the extra bonus was Dad worked on my sinuses and I know it helped with the pressure I was dealing with. Thankfully by Tuesday evening I was feeling pretty great. 

Thank you Dad for coming over for a visit and making it so special for Sky! She loves you and hasn't stopped talking about you and the horse ride!

P.S. For some reason some of the pics started working. I also realized some of the setting on my camera had been changed so reset it. Pretty sure that's the issue. 

Lets Go To The Moon

P.S. I'm having tech difficulties with my pictures from the weekend. They've been uploaded, but I can't access them for some reason. I will get the weekend adventure up as soon as I'm able! I know Grandpa is waiting to see it! :)

Sky has developed a fascination with space as of late. She has always been into the moon, spotting it as soon as it's up in the night sky and asking about why she can't see it in the middle of the day. I can't tell you how many times she looks out the picture window, sees the moon, and asks to go outside to look at it. We have spent a lot of time sitting on the hood of daddy's truck moon gazing. 

So it's not surprising to me she's all about the moon, and space, and rocket ships! I think this cool little sandbox toy she got really kicked it all off though. 

She loves playing with her "moon rocks" and astronauts, and the black sparkly sand just adds to the mystic of it all, and makes it super exciting. Not super exciting to clean up spills, but that's life with a 3 year old. 

Then Mark busted out this book from his childhood and now it's all she wants to read. But, she will only read it with Daddy. When I offer I get a dirty look and she wants to know when Daddy will be home. 

I think Miles From Tomorrow Land (Disney Cartoon) is adding to the space theme as well. Now she's asking if she can live on a rocket ship, live on the moon, and best of all "can we live on earth mommy"? When I tell her we do live on earth she gets mad and says, "no, I mean can we LIVE on earth"?! She's just a tad bit confused. We need to work on that, 

I think our next, and soon to happen, family adventure will be a trip to the museum of flight and maybe the science center see what space stuff they have to offer.

Loving this "When I was a kid I was an astronaut" stage she's in (again she's a little confused). She is so much fun! 

Thankful Thursday

Things I'm thankful for today:

-Finally feeling like I'm getting better. This is the first morning I woke up and wasn't in pain/felt like I need to hurry up and take the good drugs. A lot less sinus pain and I can touch my face without it being painful and my teeth don't hurt. Thank goodness! I was starting to feel like I was going to be sick forever.

-Sky is really good about taking her medication even though she doesn't like the taste. It's working because her temp is down, still have to keep her home and away from other germs as much as possible.

-Wine. Not doing a challenge or anything, but we just haven't been drinking it much this month. This is only the 2nd bottle this month, and even though my taste isn't totally back to normal this was still really good.

-That the Duke vs North Carolina game once again lived up to the expectation. As a sports fan I love a close one, even if that means not knowing if my team is going to win or not. I'd much rather watch a good match up than a blow out, even if "we" lose. Thankfully Duke hung in there and pulled of the win, but it wasn't won until the final seconds of OT, and it was so exciting to watch! (I'm that way with my Steelers as well, would rather watch a good game, even if they lose, than watch a blowout...except when playing a handful of teams that I love seeing beat down, and in college football where margin/quality of win is factored into standings).

-I know I've posted about this cookbook before, but it continues to deliver over and over again! I made the Spinach, Mushroom, and Scallion Frittata over the weekend, and it was good, and it has been re-heating really nicely all week. Then last night I took on the Citrus Herb Spatchcock Chicken and it was really good as well. Not sharing the recipes because they aren't mine to share. Go get the book...it's worth every penny! So far I've tried 12 recipes (doing 1 a week since I purchased it) and all 12 have been given the thumbs up to add to our rotation of go to recipes. I've never had another cookbook perform that well. For reference I'm happy if I get 4 or 5 keepers out of a book.

Not going to lie...really proud of the beautiful brown skin on this chicken! 

-That I was daring enough to spatchcock a chicken! I've had chicken issues most of my life. If I have to handle it too much I just can't eat it. But, I also felt a little like a fraud given how much I love to cook and try new things, yet avoiding "real" chef stuff like spatchcocking. So I put on my big girl food handlers gloves and cut the backbone out and broke the breast bone and cooked a whole chicken, and I liked it.

(Not thankful about having to clean out that baking dish though. Since it's stone I can't use soap, hoping a hot water soak will do the trick).

-Vikings is back with it's new season tonight! We have been waiting and waiting. If you don't watch it you should. It's really good...brutal, but in a subtle way. Since it's the History channel, and not HBO, they don't show all the horrific details, yet they still manage to more than get the point across.

The Blood Eagle (Google what that is...that's what I had to do) episode from last season is a perfect example. It's horrific torture, but they never showed that actual process all they showed were the faces of the spectators, and the face of the person it was being done to, and based on the looks on their faces I was sick and really uncomfortable (but didn't even really know why). After the fact I had to Google it to even know what wasn't being shown. Even though the History channel keeps a tight grip on what they are allowed to show (it is modern tv though so there is still a fair amount of blood and guts) I never feel like we are losing anything in the story it's so well done.

-That Sky will have a distraction this weekend when one of her favorite people visits. She may be sick, and we may be on Dr. orders to keep her home as much as possible to let her immune system recover, but she still needs to get out of the house a bit. So, we will plan some low key excursions that will not include playgrounds, or other interactions with kiddos. 3/almost 4 year olds go stir crazy fast! Grandpa will help save the weekend though!

-That if I'm going to get sick during a training schedule it's the first week I'm missing. I'd much rather be sick now than the week before race day, especially since we are flying to the race! Really looking forward to getting out there with Michelle and logging some miles! Not going to lie seeing her run activity on fb made me a little sad...I should be out there with her.

House of Germs

That's what our house feels like. Sky has been sick for weeks, and I woke up miserable at 1am on Valentines Day. My teeth and eye's hurt so bad I thought I was going to lose my mind. Romantic no?

I mean with a bathroom counter that looks like this...

...it's bound to be a super romantic V-Day right?! I tell you Mark had his hands full between Sky and I. I ended up "sleeping" in the recliner because it hurt too much to lay down, and honestly I had not the patients to take very good care of Sky. So Mark took Sky out and about Saturday and Sunday for day long adventures so that I could basically lay around being miserable. I couldn't sleep really, couldn't lay down, couldn't focus on a single thing.

Thankfully Sky and Daddy have similar interests! She is over the moon excited when she gets time just the two of them. He's able to do fun stuff, and practical stuff and she's just as happy either way.

I kept asking him to go to the store to get this or that to try and alleviate some of the symptoms until the antibiotics kicked in, and he was so awesome about it. He finally got the good stuff that you have to register for (pretty sure the drug task force is keeping an eye on us as suspected meth cookers now) and it helped more than anything else. I still don't feel good, and still have a ton of sinus pressure, but at least the crazy pain in my eyes and teeth has gotten better.

Sky was much worse today so finally took her to the Dr. and now she's on the same antibiotic I am. She was so sad this morning crying and crying, not eating running a high temp, and asking for medicine to make her better.

Silas is taking good care of her, and we are just laying low, taking it easy. Only worrying about the things that absolutely have to be done and giving ourselves time to feel better.

The biggest perk...she wants even more cuddles when she's sick. Something about hugs and cuddles from her makes it all a little bit better.

A big thank you to Mark, who is now himself not feeling very well, yet I text him a list of things we need him to pick up on the way home. He's the best!

Swimsuit Shopping Success!

Man this parenting thing holds lessons in so many unexpected places. 

I think it's safe to say that one of the most difficult shopping endeavors as a female is swimsuit shopping. There is just so little fabric to hide behind. Every wrinkle, scar, jiggle, and unsightly vein is on display for the world, and that is hard to come to grips with really. 

I personally hate swimsuit shopping, and I don't think I have ever found one I love. I always find the one that is the best of the options I have/can afford, and let me tell you it very rarely fits exactly how I'd like it to. I don't know what sewing form the industry at large uses for swimsuit's but it's not curvy girl who drinks wine, and likes to cook/isn't a size 2 A cup. Nothing against size 2 or A cups...but dang it's hard out there for a curvy girl sometimes. 

Anyway Sky is registered for her next swim class and I realized her swimsuits were worn out, and she needed an upgrade. When I told her we were going swimsuit shopping she was so excited, and all she could talk about was finding a pink one, and "Mommy can I pick it out"? So excited. 

Turned out the pink one didn't fit at all, but thank goodness we found one in her favorite color...Purple! 

Sky - "Is this really for me mommy? With the skirt?!" Me - "Yes pumpkin it is". Sky - "I love it mommy, I just love it". Followed by several minutes of twirling, jumping, dancing, and admiring herself in the mirror.

Then at the top of her lungs she blurts out....

..."I'm perfect mommy, just perfect". Pretty darn close baby girl, pretty close. 

And, I realized in that perfectly happy moment trying on swimsuit that it's my #1 priority to make sure she is always this happy with her body and herself. 

I want her to be totally 100% comfortable with who she is and how she looks. I won't say confident because too many times that is mistaken for arrogance, but comfortable is hard to mistake. Be accepting of who you are and how you look, work with it, be kind to yourself, change what you can/what needs to be changed (talking exercise/healthy eating/how you dress your body not cosmetic surgery) and just be happy with what what you see in the mirror every day. 

I mean if you can't be kind and accepting of yourself how will you be that way towards others, and how will others be that way towards you if you can't do it for yourself?! 

3 year old's lack humility, so over time I'd like to see her statement grow into "I'm perfectly imperfect" because no one is truly perfect. But, for now I'll let her go with it, and enjoy looking at herself in dressing room mirrors in swimsuits. 

Thankful Thursday

Today I'm Thankful...

-That even though I'm now sick Sky is feeling better and going back to school!

- For grocery shopping alone...such a treat!

-That every day is a good hair day. Not bragging at all, giving all the credit to Eleanor! If she wasn't such an awesome stylist who knows exactly how to cut my hair to get what I want I wouldn't have such an easy time leaving the house with good hair. I seriously don't remember that last time I left the house not happy with my hair (other than when I went too long between cuts last time, but that was not really my hairs fault).

-(another hair one) for discovering the backcomb brush! Oh my goodness...how did I ever do my hair without it before?! Love the texture it gives my hair and how much easier it is it pin it up or put in a ponytail. The right tools make everything easier!

-For the time Sky and I spend cuddling on our bed, It's the best special heart to heart time ever, and she ask's to lay on mommies bed every day.

 Looking at pics of her and Grandpa...asking when she can swim with him again.

-For Chat Books! It's the best way (IMO) to print Instagram pics! It's a subscription service and every 60 posts they auto bind and shop your photo book for $6. Sky walks around the house with one of the many books we have looking at pics of her adventures and those she loves.

-For Silas and his growing affection for Sky. More and more I find him right next to her, looking over her, and hoping she will feed him. Even when there isn't food involved he loves cuddling and playing with her. She's pretty rough and tumble with him so I'm thankful he puts up with it and still loves her!

-Over the top thankful for throat spray and dayquil...it's what I'm living on right now.

A Sick Day At The Zoo

This weekend could have been a complete bust. Sky is sick and Mark is dealing significant back pain issues right now. Between the two of them we very easily could have laid around the house miserable and cranky all weekend.

We sort of did lay low Friday and Saturday. Sky started the weekend Friday night with a 102 temp, but thankfully her temp was back to normal Saturday evening and now she just has a has a wicked cold. 

Friday evening and Sat were a lot of laying around not doing much. Sky was too hot for clothes but too cold without, so we cuddled a lot and pulled the blanket on and off as needed.

 Silas is all about the laying around not doing much! I did manage to get a bit of a run with him Friday afternoon though. We are still figuring out how to work with each other while running.

The thing about kiddo's is that even when they are sick there is still this burst of energy that needs an outlet. She asked for a play date Sunday but it hadn't been 24 hours since the temp yet, and she has a nasty cough and sinus thing going on, so is clearly sick. Mark wanted to get out of the house as well because the only time his back doesn't hurt (as bad anyway) is when he's moving or walking. Sitting around is the kiss of death for him. 

Thankfully there was a window of sun and no rain yesterday morning so we headed to the zoo. Sky LOVES the zoo, but we only mange to get there once or twice a year if that. So it's totally special to her and something she can do while sick because there isn't any interaction with other kiddos. She's all about the animals!

 Momma tiger has 3 tiger cubs to take care of and they were so active and playful while we were there. Sky loved watching them play!

 She was also a huge fan of the walrus! We spent a lot of time watching them under water swim up to the glass. 

 Daddy tiger laying in the sun looking regal.

 Every time we ask her what her favorite part of the zoo was she says the fish. It was tropical and warm in there and the fish are so brightly colored, and I think she loves that she can look at them under the water, almost like your swimming with them. 

She was all about touching the ray's, and that orange hat is actually Mark's but Sky wears it almost every day no matter what outfit she has on. She loves his hat!

I know she didn't feel great, but she was a champ walking all over the zoo and never once complaining about anything. We could tell she was getting worn out though, and hungry so we called it a day, grabbed lunch and then had an easy afternoon at home. She woke up at 3:12 am this morning unable to breath or sleep, so we curled up on the couch with her propped up in the recliner and we slept that way on and off. I don't mind though. Some day I'll wish I had those 3 am wake up snuggles back. Even when she was a baby I kind of liked the early morning wake ups. Just her and I alone in the world, cuddling and quiet, nothing to do but hold each other and just be. Yep, I miss those moments, and don't mind them when they happen now. Thankfully she is sweet and snugly when she's sick, not cranky. 

Today is a hot steamy bath day with essential oils, lot's of movies, Kleenex, and water to help flush the yuck out. I'm surviving on coffee and hoping we can watch a movie in bed this afternoon so I can nap a little while she watches.

I really love that the tree of us can pull together a pretty great day with a sick 3 year old, and a hubby in a lot of pain. It would have been totally understandable for both of them to be cranky and miserable all day and me to be irritable taking care of them (I would be a horrible nurse!), but we actually had an awesome family day and went to bed feeling satisfied. Can't ask for mush more than that!

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Finally managed to add that 3rd run a week last week. Feeling pretty great actually! Still a little scared about the training plan starting next week and jumping up to 4 runs a week, but going to be smart and make as many of those miles track/trail miles to be as kind to my body as possible. Flights are booked for Santa Barbara...it's starting to get real!

Thankful Thursday

Today I'm Thankful For:

-Speakers in the kitchen on a different channel than the speakers for the TV sound system. I can listen to music while Sky watches cartoons or a movie.

-Mastering this look! So easy to pin up the hair when I don't feel like washing/styling it or am running late. Still looks nice, but it's super quick - 3 min tops!

-Easily the best cookbook I've ever purchased. 100% success rate so far, and every recipe we've tried has been added to the rotation! Last night was Lamb Curry...so good! Going to start doing Sunday Brunch with Mark and Sky so I can try out some of the breakfast/snack/side stuff.

-I almost wish I hadn't found these again. I had one months ago and then couldn't find them again. Well I found them today with the Valentine Day's stuff...not even going to feel bad for eating it, or for hiding while I ate it so I didn't have to share.

-Swimming is finally clicking...finally! She is making so much progress all of a sudden. I hope we have the same teacher one more time around to help everything really set in. It's so fun watching her get excited when she paddles by herself and when she jumps in and goes all the way under by herself.

-Posting this one again because it was such a nice little treat in the middle of a busy day and a busy week. So thankful I had the GC from Christmas still and could just pop in and treat myself to coffee and book time. Has kept me going through the rest of the week!

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What are you thankful for today?

The Quiet Times

The more busy life feels the more I embrace the quiet, even if it's only a few moments of it. 

I grew up in the library and reading all the time. I love books, and still crave the feeling of an actual book in my hands. But, I love my Kindle a lot. I can put 100's of books on it, stick it my handbag and I'm always ready to read when I find myself waiting in lines, or with a random few minutes on my hands. 

I had a list of To Do's while Sky was in school yesterday and found myself done too early to go wait at the school, but too late to go home. So, I hit up the closest Starbucks and enjoyed a few chapters of my current book. It was noisy and crowded, but it made life feel still and quiet and I needed that during this busy week. 

I love how much the 3 of them cuddle in the evenings. This is what movie time looks like, and it's the calmest it gets with a 3 year old and a 1.5 year old dog. While I love bed time, I also look forward to after dinner when things calm down, and become quiet around the house. It's my happy place. I'm usually doing the dishes and can peek in at them from the kitchen and it makes me smile.

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How do you spend quiet time?

Hello Monday

Monday - it is what you make it, so if you think it's going to be a "typical" Monday, then it probably will be.

I like Monday's, like to think of them as a new start, a way to get back on the game plan for food, exercise, goals, whatever really.

Here's to a new week, make it a good one!

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Today is the first day of The Balanced Life Sisterhood activity. I have my workout calendar for the month printed and am going to do my Pilates workout for the day as soon as I'm done posting! Santa Barbara training also starts this month, so I integrated the two schedules into something that will work for me. I won't be doing every workout on the specified day, but I will do all the workouts for the month.

After my Sunday morning run I had a little back and knee pain, so came home and did the Stretching and Stress Relief workout that was a bonus when I signed up for the membership. I have to say I felt 100% after I did that. I may have found the balance of running and non-running activity to keep me as pain free as possible.

Now to add a few more runs per week...have to be up to 4 a week in two weeks which means adding miles a bit quicker than is recommended.

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I kept things pretty low key this weekend. Still feeling a bit sad missing Bishop, so wanted to give myself time to be calm and not have many social pressures to live up to. Sky had a bowling birthday party Saturday afternoon and she LOVED it! She also loved the shoes and really, really wanted to keep them. I have always thought bowling shoes were sort of cool, so I get it.

I did a lot of this over the weekend...finished the HP series, read some of my cooking magazines and found a ton of new recipes to try, started a new book, and drank some good wine.

Sky and I watched the SB together and danced and sang our way through the half time show. Thank you KP for keeping it kiddo friendly! Mark and Silas were gone as he opted to not watch the SB this year. He did get to spend hours of uninterrupted time at Bass Pro Shop and Cabelas. Between not being fans of either team, and then just not caring after dealing with Bishop neither one of us was all that jazzed about the big game.

I watched though because I love football even when I don't love the team(s) playing. It was a great game, close which the SB should be, and Sky loved cheering! I won't say which team she was cheering for, but man she got into it and gave it her all! The more she can scream, jump, clap, and yell the more she enjoys football so I do my best to join her and make it as fun as possible. I really just want her to love the game like I do regardless of which team she decides is her team.

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What was your favorite SB food that you ate?
Guacamole...I could live on that stuff!