Averi

Learning Curve

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Every day we get up, drink coffee and shower. Every morning the girls have breakfast, get dressed, make their beds and head to their spot for a daily zoom meeting. Every day I do my best to get it all done; work, school, keep the children alive. The girls get in their academics, some creative art, physical activity, and we manage to fit in plenty of fun game time. We are amazing. At the end of the day we are wiped and stressed about not only how it all got done, but how are we going to do it again and again without going mad? Am I doing enough? Shit, they haven’t had vegetables in days…It’s okay that they’ve had breakfast for all three meals, right? They haven’t gone outside in two days because f*ck! it hasn’t stopped raining.

These are how the days go. There is crying and laughing, wine and sugar but we get it done and we get up and do it again, because moms are amazing!

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We squeezed in a field trip to Mount Laguna. Such a fun day!

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fullsizeoutput_b69We even brought snow home for a Kinder science experiment. Averi and I read the book “The Snowy Day” and the next day we went outside to see what happened to the snow we brought home; A built in lesson plan.

GoNoodle is a life saver.

I can really tell a difference between the days they get a good amount of physical activity and the days they don’t. They all show their hands at bedtime.

They also love the time we set aside to create. Whether it’s coloring, cooking or painting, I think it’s the only time of day that they are quiet.

Quiet is good!

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I think if you asked them what their favorite part of the day was, they would all say family game time. We have found a few new favorites. Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza is a lot of fun, (it’s meant for 8 years and older but Averi has gotten the hang of it, she just won’t win anytime soon.) We all love UNO, and the girls new favorite is, The Floor is Lava. They love this game,  I haven’t won yet so it’s not my favorite.

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There are some tears and a lot of “whyyyyyyys?”

As frustrating as it is being on, every.single.minute.of.the.day. They really love having us at their fingertips all day long.

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Well, most of the time.

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Holiday Holiday

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Somehow it’s already mid December, I have so much to catch you up on. Currently our Elf, Peppermint Sugarcookie is playing Twister with a few scantily clad and very limber Barbies.

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Every morning the girls give a full report on what trouble he got into the night before.

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Our neighborhood puts on a Holiday party each year. It’s the perfect time to meet the neighbors we never see and probably won’t see again until the next party. It’s also a great time for the girls to see Santa. Averi loves to get fancy for all occasions, she also loves to have her photo taken.

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Our Elementary school put on a Frozen movie night and of course the girls had.to.go. We saw Frozen 2 the day after it came out and that is all Averi can talk about. Frozen Fever. But the movie theater is different than the school auditorium. Drinks were spilled, bathroom needs were constant and the Avester decided she was “too tired” and stayed put even after the lights came on. Yep that’s my kid.

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The next day we spent swimming at uncle Casey’s new place. They decided to slum it for a bit and move to Coronado Island, sigh. The view is awful. And yes it looks cold, but the pool water was just fine….for the kids…and Casey.

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Since all three girls weren’t able to attend the holiday party, we went back to the mall for another visit with Santa and some quick shopping.

As luck would have it, when we went to walk the neighborhood Christmas lights, we ran into Santa again. What a tiring job he has. Luckily he will have cookies waiting for him as a reward, or treat? So many kids and cats, I can’t keep it straight.

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Averi’s teacher held a rehearsal for the Kinder Christmas show early so I could record it. The girls are heading up to WA with their dad this holiday and she’s missing the show. It was both super cute and painful at the same time. The first picture is when they just sat down in the auditorium, the video is 30 minutes later. Wrangling cats, that is another word for teaching Kindergarten.

 

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Cooking with Kids {Basic Pizza Dough}

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I love cooking with kids, my mom cooked with me, I cooked in my classroom and my two girls have been in the kitchen with me from early on. Now I am not going to say it’s easy, cooking with children. What’s easy is taking a picture of your child cracking an egg and then once the picture is taken it’s like “okay, you’re getting it all over, get out!” Am I right? The key is to go in knowing it is going to be messy and if you have multiple kiddos then there is always going to be a fight. BUT, it’s good for them, good for their brain and if you have your wine glass full, a little easier on you!

Kaili picked a pizza dough recipe out of her cookbook and read me the ingredients.

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INGREDIENTS

1 cup water

1 package yeast

2 tbs olive oil plus 1 more for the bowl

2 tbs sugar

3 cups flour

1 tsp salt

Combine sugar, water and yeast in a measuring cup or small bowl.

Combine flour and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the center.

Pour yeast mixture and oil in well and stir into dry ingredients until you have a soft dough.

If dough is too sticky, add a bit more flour.

Knead until smooth on a lightly floured surface.

Place in an oiled bowl, cover with a towel and let rise until doubled.

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How simple is that? Now the hardest part is a toss up between the clean up or the refereeing.—> Take a big sip of wine!

Once I put the dough on a hot baking sheet, they slathered on store bought pizza sauce {it was a weeknight meal y’all} and cheese. Anything else in their mind is “gross”. Side eye.

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And voila! A cheese pizza that they both ate and didn’t kill each other over!

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Call it a Comeback

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I apologize for my absence, it really hits you how boring life is when you have two kids in school. OR how AWESOME it is. I kid, I kid, sort of….

Averi finally picked up the whole potty situation, with a few here and there oopsies. She is in school four days a week and loves it. We had her first field trip to the Children’s museum and she had a blast.

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The amazing thing about Averi is she is very independent. She made her way through the museum doing her thing and didn’t worry about anyone but herself.

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I want to be like her when i grow up. Free and not giving a shit!

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Kaili has been doing great in first grade and she loves going to school each and every day.

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Her interest in cooking is emerging and I love it.

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These two keep me on my toes every single day. They are smart, funny and just plain awful sometimes….It’s not funny if it’s not real, right.

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Where Do the Days Go?

~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

Is it really the middle of February? What the hell? I am turning another year older next week that probably explains why I can’t remember what we have done the past few weeks.

Aside from a couple of kids birthday parties and making hummus, my new weekly hobby, life has been mundane. I did, however make it to a USMNT friendly match. They played lousy but we still had fun time, with great seats on the field.

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I have been trying to take the girls to the park on Wednesdays, we have been exploring outside of our neighborhood park. Finding ourselves mostly at parks near the water when the weather is beautiful.

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Averi really wanted to hand feed the pigeon a chip, I almost thought she would succeed but   the bird chickened out.img_1137-1

The past few recipes I have made have been duds, I need to make something good enough to post. Luckily next Saturday Brian Malarkey will be cooking us dinner as we try out his new restaurant. What else should we do with a free night downtown?

Pumpkin Patching

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We managed to visit three different pumpkin patches this year. I don’t think this is something anyone needs to do, but the kids had fun.

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We took a day to check out the Ramona pumpkin patch. We also tried the famous cinnamon roll at the Ramona cafe…way overrated and then on to a few new wineries.

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Averi had her first ever pony ride, you can tell from her face that it was exhilarating.

We painted pumpkins before school and then met Kaili for her Halloween parade.

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After a mediocre dinner and a total meltdown from Averi, the girls were ready for some Trick or Treating.

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Momma lasted about an hour and a half and then I was ready to get the girls to bed.

I think we successfully nailed October this year!

 

 

Long Time No See

~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

It’s been forever since I blogged huh? I just don’t seem to have the time now that Kaili is out of school, or should I say my free time at night is spent watching trashy reality shows? I mean, how good is Bachelor in Paradise? And it just started.

Last I left off Averi had turned two years old. She had her doctor visit and she is perfect, a little small in the weight department but this girl eats so I am not concerned. We’ve been through this with Kaili already, it’s so much easier on the mind the second time around. About four days after that doctor visit Averi came down with a fever that lasted three days followed by a rash. Turns out she had Roseola and I am sure she caught it at the office.

I had been having a hell of time with her at night. She would cry and cry for hours before finally giving in and going to sleep. I was all set to move Kaili out of the room and go big, letting her cry it out without going in there at all, per her Pediatrician’s advice. But after her bout with that nasty virus, she went back to her old self and no more crying at night. Who knows what that was about, hopefully we are good now, because I was about to lose my mind.

We’ve been busy spending time at my parents house in OC. The girls have been swimming, to the petting zoo, playing at the parks and splashgrounds.

Our good friends came out for a visit from Arizona and of course the first stop was breakfast at World Famous on the beach.

Averi doesn’t dig the beach, just like Kaili wasn’t fond of it. Luckily Kristi and I got a chance to head to the beach sans kids and it was magical. We  laid in the sun and played in the water without any worries.

We also had our sitter come and watch the girls while we spent the day in Ramona wine tasting! The girls had fun, we had fun, everyone wins.

Kaili has another month until Kinder starts and soon after that we head to Rio. I will try to be better about writing but I promise I will be blogging the Paralympics and our trip to Brazil!

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BAE is TWO

~ Girlmom ~ 2 Comments

I can not believe that Averi just turned TWO years old,  I also can not believe that it’s been two years since she came home. It’s hard to imagine life without her and it’s hard to believe I haven’t spent a night away from her.

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We didn’t have a big party and  I haven’t finished going through all the photos, so this will be a short post.

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But a bragging post about how much this child is loved. My heart is full and I hope she understands one day how my heart aches for her.

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She is a perfect half girly girl and a perfect half dare devil!

She is TWO!

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Keeping Busy

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Kaili has two more weeks at her school and then she is out for summer. I finished her Kinder paperwork which I have been procrastinating on. She is up to date with her school vaccinations but she still needs to have a doctor fill out a medical record and apparently they want the same done with her dentist.Two things that are easy to want to push aside, but I finally made appointments to get it done.

We have been watching a lot of soccer with the Copa America going on. Kaili picked out a new shirt to wear for our viewing pleasure.

How do you like that garden back there? We have been eating a lot of sweet tomatoes, plenty of  zucchini and we have six baby artichokes on the way.

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I have been taking Averi to the park in the mornings without K so I can focus on playing one on one with her. She is not as adventurous as her sister was but slowly she is starting to test her fear.

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Can you believe she is going to be two in less than a month? Ya, me either. She looks up to her sister, has to do whatever it is Kaili is doing, eating, watching you name it. It’s what I always wanted with siblings but it’s also very draining.

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The girls were  invited to a birthday party out in Ramona last weekend. The land you can have out there is attractive to me but then again you are out in Ramona which isn’t attractive at all, to me.

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We try to stop at a winery or two when we are out there. This time we tried one that had recently opened. It had a great outside area, live music and luckily some decent wine. The girls  spent most of their time chasing the dog around. The little winery Chihuahua was the hit until she stole Averi’s chocolate chip cookie and booked it across the lot. Averi was more stunned than upset and I was more worried about the tiny dog eating a whole cookie, but the owners weren’t phased. Must happen often.

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Knee Scopes and Viruses

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A year ago I hurt my knee while stretching. I was in a lunge position when the mat moved underneath me during a transition. Not sure what exactly happened but the pain was instant. I nursed it for a couple weeks and although it never got really swollen, it was painful to put weight on it. I went to the doctor and he didn’t think I did anything serious so he suggested physical therapy. After months of “rest” and physical therapy I still couldn’t fully straighten my knee, I definitely couldn’t kick out that leg and it really hurt if I accidentally stepped wrong or one of my kids tried to put their weight on it while I was sitting straight legged. Long story short, I switched doctors and ended up getting a second opinion and finally a year later had arthoscopy on it.

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I have my post-op appointment this Friday. The swelling is way down…

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48 hours post op

 

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8 days post op

It’s going to take some time and daily PT exercises to get my full range of motion back, let’s hope I am as good as new sooner than later.

The kids had a rough time adjusting to my recovery. I was told to stay off my feet for a few days so that left Shane and my parents doing all the things. Averi had meltdowns over anything, especially when she wanted to me carry her around and Kaili had tears before school and swimming. I was surprised they had such a hard time but just when things were getting back to routine or so I thought, Averi got sick.

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She was beyond cranky, fever out of nowhere, extra long naps…all she wanted was for me to hold her…ALL DAY LONG and sometimes that wasn’t soothing her either. I had no idea what was wrong, she didn’t have a runny nose or a cough. I started to think I should make a Dr. appointment just to ease my mind. Then Sunday morning, I gave the inconsolible Averi a bath and that’s when I noticed little sores dotting her ankles. The closer I looked the more I saw.  I hollered to Shane “hey, Google Hand Foot Mouth disease” and while he was reading me what he found, I knew that is what she had.

The past few days have been a doozy, the poor girl has sores in her mouth on her butt, legs and around her mouth and looks like this a lot of the time.

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After messaging our pediatrician, doing some research and asking other mommies I realized there wasn’t too much I could do. It’s a virus that has to run it’s course while I do my best to keep her comfortable.

Kaili seems just fine for now, fingers crossed and double crossed this stops with Averi. I disinfected the whole house, washed ALL the sheets and blankets, got new toothbrushes  and do my best to keep Averi’s mouth away from everything. One day at a time!