Kindergarten prep

It is Thursday and my Friday. Yep you read that right. I have every other Friday off, and this Monday is a Holiday. So this is going to be a great 4 day weekend.

With all of this time off, I thought is was time to show everyone how I Kindergarten prepped for this school year. I know, I know. The year is half way over. What can I say I am a busy Momma. I also plan on doing some Family Dinner planning, and a lot of cleaning and organizing. There are a lot of changes coming my way and I am going to be ready for all of them.

Check out the cool things I got Averie for Kindergarten. I think that now is a great time to do this because these items have been in use for some time now, and I am loving them all.

First up:

This Bento box is so cool. I bought this and a couple extra trays. I think this will be easy for Averie to use, and easy for mama to clean. WIN WIN!


 I also bought this backpack. Isn't it the cutest. I will just slip the bento right into the lunch pail. The lunch pail is the perfect size to house the bento box.

Lets see what else did I buy her. I went to Target and checked out the Cat and Jack brand, and found some great t-shirts for her. I love dressing that kiddo. The Cat and Jack clothing is very reasonably priced and very durable.

Here is my little girl on her first day of Kindergarten.





I am ready for what the week has in store, and I cannot wait to share it with all of you.

and she's a cleaner

How did I get so lucky. Averie is just like her Mommy and loves to clean. Mind you she likes making the mess first, but that is totally okay with me. As long as this Mommy has a partner in crime.

We use Honest products to clean, so I feel safe her handling cleaning products. I posted a while back about Honest products. See link, http://awonderfulkindoflife.blogspot.com/2015/03/honest-company-and-zulily.html. I can confidently say that I have not tried a product from the Honest company that I don't like. I currently use their sponges, and hair and body wash along with the items in my previous post. Addicted doesn't describe it.

Did I mention that they just launched their Beauty line. I would love to try those products as well. The ingredients are all natural and safe for children. Ding Ding Ding, SOLD!

Finally another cleaner in the family! Oh how I have waited for you Averie to get to an age where you want to help, and get mad at me for trying to take over. The LOVE of my life.

All about Averie

Let's talk about Averie. How was her 2014?

I have to mention this even though this happened in 2015. Averie is four years old now. Can't believe that I am a mother to a four year old. Look at her devouring her Ice Cream at her Ice Cream Parlor Party!



 Averie met Caleb and Lucas for the first time in 2014



She has grown very close to her stuffed teddy, "Bear Bear."



Averie was a 50's girl for Halloween. Cutest costume to date.



Averie loves spending time with Daddy drinking Jamba Juice. 



 Averie is now sleeping in a big girl bed. She likes to share it. *smiles*




Grammy is her best friend.



She is learning to ride a tricycle.



Averie loves watching ABC Mouse on the iPad.



Averie Loves Mommy.



Averie has had a couple debilitating colds. Which have magically stopped since Nessa went to college.



Averie had a great summer.



Averie explored the world.



Averie ate hundreds of blueberries.



Averie went to the Dentist.



Averie is Artistic.



I could go on for a very long time. I think this is a good place to halt the photo sharing. Averie was a very busy girl last year, and will be a busy girl this year too. She is always up for adventure and new experiences. I can not wait to see what this year holds for her. 

Not too deep

Do things ever get really hard for you? I mean you struggle on a day to day basis trying to stay positive and happy. I read an article in Self magazine recently where Miranda Kerr said, "Happiness is a choice we make." I have been trying to live by this. But for some reason I keep getting thrown curve balls. I wake up with a positive outlook, and the day brings me down. I am beginning to realize that maybe this is not the life that is meant for me. Maybe the choices I made brought me to this place, and I am feeling this way because I am lost. This is not the place I am meant to be. Over the last year I have reflected a lot on who I am, and what choices I make from here on out. Thinking that maybe I could shift the way I feel. I fear that I might have failed. I still feel lost, overwhelmed with stress, and anxiety. I do not give up easily and so I will continue to press forward and make what changes I can so that my disposition is better, but I wonder when I will break. At what point do I get so tired of always trying that I just give up. (Again not in my nature.) It seems that, "life is what you make it." was right after all. It is in my hands what happens next. I have exhausted my family and friends. They have heard my complaints over and over again.

I will admit that things do seem to be changing. But I feel like the words I use to express that are the only change so far. One of my goals was to buy a fuel efficient vehicle and I did do that. That seems like a silly change but it was much needed. I am so desperate for something positive and to be happy. Not all the time but 75% of the time maybe. It might sound like I am just in a funk, but when I reflect even as far back as High School. I have sabotaged myself for as long as I can remember. I guess the question I have to ask now is, is it me? What more can I do? I have so much going that is positive but it gets overshadowed by all the yucky negative stuff. How do I make the bright happy stuff shine through all the bad stuff. I want to be sincere about life and how I feel. Not acting like things are okay I want them to actually be okay. Until then....

There is one thing that will make me smile no matter what.

Wordless Wednesday {Sister Moment}

 

It is moments like these, that melt my heart, and take my breath away. 

Nessa trying to steal a kiss from Averie.

(Linking up with The Paper Mama, Parenting by Dummies, and Jenni from the Blog.)

I can't believe I overslept!

I woke up this morning expecting to look at the clock and it be 6am, usually I wake up a little before my alarm and snooze a few more minutes before having to roll out of bed. Oh no not this time, it was 6:45am, oh crap! I normally wake up at 6:20am, that usually gives me enough time to do everything that I need to do before I leave at 6:45am. That's right LEAVE at 6:45am. I panicked, crammed as much as I could into my bag and headed out the door. Forgot to put deodorant on, pack a lunch, or clean up the mess from the night before. Let's just say that this morning is going to be long. It is game day on top of everything else. Sheldon plays PG, so everyone is intense and psyched. Oh and it is Alumni day. Could we possibly cram more into one day. I mean, come on. I am so overwhelmed.

Resolution to all of this. I don't have to make dinner. It is Alumni day, so we are having a BBQ. Crisis averted there. I can go home after work and change into my Sheldon gear, because it is Tuesday and I don't have to rush to get to the game on Tuesday's. Thank goodness. I borrowed my moms deodorant. *laughs* I am going to have to grab something to eat on my break. I was trying not to spend money, but I guess this is just the effects of running late. I left Grammy with a ton of stuff to clean. Sorry Grammy. I love you to bunches. So as you can see it is pretty much covered. I think I might be able to take a deep breath. Onto some exciting things.

I wanted to talk about some plans that I am looking forward to this summer. It is going to be a busy one. I can't oversleep through this for sure.

1. Getting a little bit of healthy color. Wear sunscreen folks.

2. Camping at Brighton Beach with the Kaylor Family.

3. Kerin's (my aunt) 50th birthday at Disneyland. Just us girls are going, we are going to have so much fun, I can't wait.

4. Softball!!!! Lot's and Lot's of softball.

5. Averie talking, she is so close. I think this summer is going to be a great turning point for her. We have to get out of the couple of word rut sometime. Her signing it on point though.

6. Swimming, and BBQ's with family. This is one of my Favorite pastimes.

7. My 30th birthday, that we might spend is San Diego, one of my favorite cities ever!


8. The start of Nessa's Senior year, and the beginning of the end of her living in my house.


9. Averie growing up into such a big girl. Teaching her how to swim this summer! Feeding her fresh veggies, from my garden too!

10.  Lastly, lots of good food, friends, and family. The very best part about summer is making memories with the ones I love most.

Finally, I did go on a run yesterday after days of slacking. I was pretty irritated when I left so it was a short run, but at least I ran. I exerted way to much energy way too early so that resulted in a 3/4 mile run. 

Friday, and we are OFF again

We are off again this weekend. EAT, SLEEP, BREATHE softball, that is the name of the game people. Brian got home really late last night. I feel like I have not seen him in forever. He is leaving after I get up and doesn't get home until the time I go to sleep. I have missed him to say the least. I was trying really hard last night to stay up to see him so I got  me one of these. You guessed it. STARBUCKS. It was a necessity, I swear. *wink wink*

With this baby in my veins, I was able to finish the laundry, pack, make myself a little something to eat, and play with my boo boo. I had planned on a run, but there was a shooting down the street, so that pretty much ruled out my run. I don't know much about what happened. I do know that I locked all the doors and stayed inside for the rest of the night. I do not even live in a bad neighborhood. I really am baffled by the world we live in these days. I have no explanation as to why these things happen. What are people thinking? Or are they not thinking and that is the culprit.

So instead of running I took 100 pictures of this beauty, okay maybe 10.

I am so lucky for her to be my daughter. I mean everyday I get to look at her gorgeous face.

That brings us to this morning, I was in kind of a rush. Not bad, but enough to keep me on my toes. I had a bunch of stuff to grab, but couldn't because I knew it would wake either the boo boo, or the hubby. So I tried to keep things quiet, and tip toed out. I will have to leave packing Averie's things in the hands of my husband. I have done this once before and it was not awful, but there were things missed. Nobody packs like Mama. the plan is to leave right after I get off of work. He will pick me up and off we will go.

I did acquire a pair of the cutest shoes. Salt Water sandals. I have them in my bag ready to be put on my little ones feet. I bought these and another pair, that were left in my car. *boo boo lip* But they are white with little heart cut outs, they are not the same style. They are a 2 strap sandal. I cannot wait to put her in either pair.

I think that is the rundown of my evening and morning, check back tomorrow for a run update. I have to map a path in Livermore that is roughly 3 miles. Should be a challenge. Hopefully I can get Shelly to run with me. Muah hahaha.

Goofiness

Let's end today with a great photo. The day started pretty tough. I got into work this morning, booted up my pc like I do every morning. The only difference with this morning is that a little box popped up saying Trojan virus detected. Oh man, really. So my PC was on lock down all day. No blogging for this one. I had not realized at the time that I downloaded blogger onto my phone. So here I am...

That brings us to right now, and that funny photo. It's been a really great day and I can't wait for tomorrow. It is Friday y'all.

Really quick. I ran 2.1 miles yesterday and walked 1. Bringing my total to 3.1. I have to ease into that last mile. My legs are super sore today.

Pushing past 2.1

The plan for today is to work, obviously. Make a couple of appointments for myself and the boo boo. She has lots of little teeth and is 2 now, so "Q" the Dentist. This is going to be bunches of fun. I can just see it now.

Then, a run. Shelly and I are running together today, and she said that when her husband ran last time he clocked it for us, and 3 laps around her neighborhood is a mile. I like having start and end points, it makes it  rewarding to run, knowing that there is a visual goal in mind. I also mapped the distance from my house to hers, and it is exactly 2.1 miles. So, here is what I am thinking. I know I can run 2.1 miles. I am going to run to Shelly's house (2.1 miles), and really push myself to run a mile with her (1 mile), and then run/walk home (2.1 miles). I will need a cool down anyways. If I end up walking, oh well. I know that the run to her house is going to be stop and go, since there are a bunch of stop signs. I am looking forward to this run big time. I wasn't planning on hitting my 3.1 mile, milestone this week. Now I am looking at a total of 5.2. I know that is a lot and I am still committed to being injury free. I will only do what I can. However, this will give me more time to get comfortable with it before my big 5K on April 7th.

Last night I ended up making sloppy joe's, and homemade potato wedges. They came out really well. My best friend makes them a lot and they always look so tasty. I figured I would give them a try. After dinner we went out for frozen yogurt. Averie loves yogurt, all kinds. This is just what she needed too. She did not get a nap in the afternoon. Can you say grumpy pants?! Not a happy toddler at all, but the frozen yogurt did the trick for a moment.

This morning I am trying a couple of new things that I picked up at the store yesterday. Bolthouse Farms Chocolate Protein Plus. It is a protein shake, and has 30 grams. That is awesome. I don't eat a lot of meat so I need to supplement with a shake or legumes, something. I just cracked this baby open and I like it. I prefer  the Odwalla brand protein shake if you gave me an option. This one is not chalky at all and tastes like chocolate milk. I would buy it again if it were on sale. The second thing I am going to try is BelVita Breakfast biscuits. I bought blueberry this time. I am going to finish my shake and break into these. Look how adventurous I am being. Normally I just stick to foods I know and don't move out of my comfort zone. World here I come. *laughing* I really have been trying hard to eat better. I know that I get out of my body what I put in, and if I want to push past 2.1 miles, I better fuel up!

After my run tonight, I am going to break into my crock pot for some yummolicious garlic lemon chicken with wild rice, and a side of asparagus. Buyah! I started it this morning and it smells so good. Amber, I think this one you are going to love.

Happy World Down Syndrome Day

Today is a very special day, it is World Down Syndrome Day. I am a proud mommy of a beautiful little girl with DS. You know what is ironic about her having DS. I don't think about it until I see other fellow bloggers, blogging about it. She is developing quite nicely, and does not have even one major medical condition. She has a lazy left eye, but other than that her health is perfect. I have said in previous posts that I have a lazy eye too, so the kid was destined to have something wrong with her eyes.

I have recently contacted a few other mothers that have children with DS, and it is really great to have someone to talk to. My husband is so busy that I have to keep up on the latest developments myself. How to get her into the best preschool, what therapies are available. You know all that good stuff. I want her to be one of the popular kids with DS. *smiles* I actually have my first event this weekend. It is called, "Girls Night In." It is this Saturday and I am so excited to go. We leave the kiddos at home for this one, so the mommies can get in some much needed me time.

If anyone out there even has any questions or just needs someone to talk to. I am here. I know in the beginning it was difficult to wrap my head around having a child with DS. In the end, I would not have it any other way. She is truly the love of my life. I would give the world for her. Feel free to pick my brain. Here is a picture of my Love bug, just because it is my blog and I can.

Running.... Oh my new love! I ran yesterday at the track with Shelly. We ran a mile on the track, and I ran there so I totaled 2.05 miles. I was not even out of breath at the end. I will admit it is much easier to run on the track than it is on pavement. I felt like I was able to breath more consistently. Here is what my run looked like. Courtesy of my new app. If I haven't mentioned how much I love it, let me say it again. I love this app. Can you tell where the track is on the GPS?

A very attractive Run #3

In addition to being excited about my app, there is also something else new in my life that I am excited about.

Wait for it.......

My new Camelbak and Gatorade.Why would anyone buy any other water bottle, you know this has a lifetime warranty right. I bought the Gatorade because the bottles are WAY too sweet. This way I can make it as sweet as I want. Ready for some randomness. Yes maam, I just made that word up. (I think).

Nessa has a game today, take a look at her team! They look sharp right. Here is hoping they play sharp today. They have been struggling to find their groove the last few games.

Last but not least, this is what yesterday's meals looked like. I am seeing a trend in my eating habits. I don't eat meals, I eat a lot of snacks. They are healthy snacks but snacks none the less.

Missing is dinner, I am having some memory issues with the dinner photo. I had rice and ginger sesame chicken. I think Averie ate most of my chicken, but I got a few bites in there. I also had a glass of Sangria. I thought I deserved it.