Kid Food, Will They Eat It?

August 2, 2013 ~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

After an evening Costco run I found myself running around like a crazy person trying to get all the crap put away, and the artichokes prepared and cooking then it dawned on me I probably needed to feed the kid. She wasn’t going to gnaw on a pork chop so I rummaged through the fridge to see what I could pawn off on her. I saw a lonely turkey hot dog and remembered an idea I saw on Pinterest ages ago. Get ready to be blown away.

Who ever came up with this was either brilliant or totally bored. I pushed the dry spaghetti noodles through cut up hot dogs and threw them into a pot of boiling water. 9 minutes later…

Voila! I was pretty sure Kaili wasn’t going to eat this but I felt a sense of accomplishment for even attempting it. She picked at it but was much happier with her artichoke. Maybe in another year?

The Moms Getaway

July 31, 2013July 31, 2013 ~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

Halfway through July I decided I needed ~~to runaway~~ take a few days away, you know before summer ended. I knew who also deserved a break, my friend Michelle, super mom of 3 kiddos. She agreed and that’s when we planned on Palm Springs. We had just been there with the men, we knew where we could stay but we weren’t sure if 107 degree weather was what we wanted. After a few weeks of hemming and hawing we decided that PS would be our best option.

We met at the Hyatt downtown Friday afternoon, quickly caught up then headed out for dinner. We hopped around to a few different places enjoying small bites at each. We were dining on the patio at one of the spots and the misters were on keeping patrons cool, or should I say wet is a better word?

I told her it looked like she backed her ass up into a fountain. We slyly made our way bathroom to “air dry” her lady lumps.

That didn’t work so well. Maybe the hairdryer would be a better choice? (Please excuse the toilet shot)

Problem solved. We then hit a modern bistro called Lulu’s. They had happy hour all night in the bar area. Good food, good drinks, good prices.

We ended the night watching people make fools of themselves singing Karaoke, pure enjoyment.

The next morning we went and saved a couple spots at the pool before ~~eating~~ drinking breakfast. Pinnochio’s has good food, bad coffee and cheap bottomless mimosas.

We found ourselves tasting olive oils and vinegars soon after at Olive A’Sudden.

We sat in the room chatting until finally dragging ourselves out into the heat. We spent the evening in the pool until the sun went down and we decided it was probably a good time to get dinner. We met a nice San Diegan couple at the pool and they joined us for a just OK Thai dinner.

We decided to dance the night away at a popular gay dance club, it was the perfect ending to a much needed girls getaway.

Shane took Kaili to SeaWorld that Friday and wore her out.

Happy K…

Not so happy K…

They had a great weekend and apparently she was a perfect angel for him. (mmmhmm) He even did her hair, I was impressed.

A Glimpse of the Classroom

July 30, 2013 ~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

We have been busy and looking at my calendar I noticed we only have one weekend that doesn’t have anything scheduled through the first half of September. Now all of the sudden it’s August and I should be writing up the school newsletter and getting next months curriculum done but I have been bad about getting blog posts up so that will have to wait.

The last week at school we talked about light and colors. The kids became scientists as they discovered how light travels, they created colorful kaleidoscopes and mixed colors in different ways, the results were surprising and they seemed to have a blast.

I filled 3 empty jars with water and added liquid water colors, red, blue and yellow. They took the lead using a medicine dropper to mix different colors in an empty ice tray. They did this activity for 3 straight days, patiently taking turns.

Painting with 2 of the primary colors each day resulted in color changing fun.

Torn paper rainbow collage. I brought this activity out each day until it was finished. They worked hard.

Kaili enjoys herself at school. She loves her little friend Kaedyn, a girlfriend of mine and fellow teachers daughter.

Next weeks curriculum is Beach and Ocean, stay tuned for some fun ideas!

I just got back from a girls weekend away and I will tell you all about it!

What A Weekend!

July 23, 2013 ~ Girlmom ~ 2 Comments

I had the best weekend, ab fab! Kristi came out late Friday night to celebrate her birthday with yours truly. She brought along her brother in-law or in her words , “a play date for Shane.”

Saturday morning we hit the bay for some paddle boarding. The weather wasn’t the greatest but it turned out to be just fine meaning it didn’t rain, and we weren’t shivering. The only concern I had once we were on our boards was that we were surrounded and I really mean surrounded by jelly fish. Big ones, small ones, gazillions of them. I really didn’t want to go swimming with them, at all! Luckily mission accomplished, we stayed dry.

We followed up the SUP morning with cake and champagne. I made a coconut cake for the birthday girl but I I half-assed it using a Trader Joe’s vanilla cake mix and doctoring it up. The frosting was coconut cream cheese, there really isn’t anything better.

I apologize for any regurgitated pictures. If you are following me on Instagram you have seen some of these. I try not to do this very often but this weekend was so busy that you’re just going to have to deal and accept my apology 🙂

After K’s nap we took the trolley downtown to grab lunch and people watch the crazies at Comic Con. Next year or one year soon we will get tickets and really check the whole thing out. (AKA meet True Blood stars) I could have stayed down there all day and night…next time.

We ate lunch at Hodad’s because A). we haven’t been to the downtown location yet. B). anything remotely close to the convention center was packed and C.) it’s Hodad’s, if you haven’t gone you should.

After lunch we headed to a little tasting room and enjoyed the scenery and some wine. Kaili was such a trooper , happily went along with everything we did, and none of the costumes scared her…bonus!

We ended the night with pizza, more wine and some hot tub converstions. Such a great day.

Get that pizza!! — Get that pizza! Picture courtesy of Kristi Kowalski

The next morning we hit the beach for some breakfast. Kaili wasn’t in tears when I dragged her down to the ocean, things are looking up.

Quick video of ComicCon people watching.

The One About The Sick Kid

July 18, 2013 ~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

Oh, where do I begin? Puke, throw up, puke, throw up…yep, that sums it up. Kaili got hit with the “ick” out of nowhere Saturday. She was her jolly old self but after nap she was a little slow. Slow in the tired sense not in the….well you know what I am saying. Then out it came, flying from her mouth like it had a score to settle. Yuck! And then she was fine. This continued for two days until the fever hit and then she really slowed down. Luckily it ran it’s course and she is feelin’ fine. The hardest part about the whole “epic puke” fest is keeping her hydrated. She only drinks water and milk. She only wantswater and milk. We were offering her juice, gatorade and soda and she turned her nose up at all of it. It got to the point where I was syringing gatorade and pedialite into her mouth a teaspoon at a time just to keep my sanity. Her grandma came out to stay with her so I could go to work Monday and that is so nice.. Kaili started to pick back up and by Tuesday was pretty much her normal self aside from her “normal” appetite, which may be f*cked up for awhile. We bravely took her out to dinner Tuesday evening and when she was done she let everyone know by yelling “LADY ALL DONE” to the waitress clear across the room. Brilliance I tell ya!

IMG_20130712_065628 — FaceTiming Uncle Wags before “Puke Meltdown ’13”

All smiles. Thank the maker of wine she didn't puke on our bed. — All smiles. Thank the maker of wine she didn’t puke on our bed.

Despite her illness we watched USA beat the shit out of Cuba.

Someone's feeling better. — Someone’s feeling better.

Damn, she is cute, even a few lbs. lighter. — Damn, she is cute, even if she is a few lbs. lighter.

Guess What?

July 13, 2013July 13, 2013 ~ Girlmom ~ Leave a comment

My daughter is adorable, but you already knew that.

Avocado toast is all I want for breakfast these days. I like mine with an egg, K likes hers with fruit or a masala burger, Shane thinks it’s all gross. Shows you what he knows.

No seriously, guess what? Nike Tennis is advertising David Wagner on Twitter. Now that’s pretty awesome! You should follow them both so you can say you knew about him before he hits celebrity status. People it’s going to happen.

David Wagner, wheelchair tennis’ most dominating player, looks to extend his legacy this weekend. @wagnertennis pic.twitter.com/s6pwnhG3QI

— Nike Tennis (@niketennis) July 13, 2013

Ok and this…

Long Day

July 10, 2013 ~ Girlmom ~ Leave a comment

Kaili has been playing quietly in her room, alone for the past 20 minutes. The last time she was in there entertaining herself she came out butt booty naked and had indian war painted poop all over her. I am nervous about what may come.

Tuesday’s are the only day I am not working as Kaili is supposed to have speech but her teacher wanted a summer vacation so I am stuck with the kid today. It’s hot and humid outside making it difficult to really want to be out there for too long. What did I do when I was home all day everyday with her? Jeezus, this school thing was a great idea. We ate breakfast, took a walk, played in the water table, took a shower, colored, ate lunch and it’s not even noon yet.

Sprinkles to entice her to actually eat the banana. Didn't really work. — Sprinkles to entice her to actually eat the banana. Didn’t really work.

She’s been doing fine with no naps, which is scary but it is what it is. If she naps it throws off her bedtime by a few hours, which is crazy and happened the day she started school. Sometimes that is ok but sometimes it’s not, ya know I’m saying? I mean I got to get that girl in bed at a reasonable time, my favorite shows are 2 hours long and I need them watched before Shane gets home so I don’t have to hear about how bad they are.

Tomorrow we go back to school, I think she’s happy about it.

Pics and a Dish

July 9, 2013 ~ Girlmom ~ Leave a comment

There is something to be said for having your baby daddy home every night. Last week Shane worked from home due to the short holiday week and holy moly people, that extra person makes a huge difference, don’t take it for granted!

The long weekend was just that, long. Long in a good way! Friday night my brother and I joined my dad to watch the US mens national soccer team take on Guatemala at Qualcomm. That was my first national team game and I to must make it more of a habit. SO FUN! We won, 6-0….and the crowd goes wild.

Saturday morning we were lucky enough to catch Miss Kiah in Pacific Beach. She was visiting for the weekend with her boyfriend. We didn’t want to cramp her style, so we made it quick.

Kaili was happy to see Kiah, Kaili was not happy to see the beach. This girl, my girl, does NOT like the ocean. We may have to spend every Christmas on a beach vacation to teach that girl a lesson, or buy a beach house????

Let’s not forget about the Paleo Sheperd’s pie we I made. The recipe called for lamb, as it should. We ended up at a local market/butcher shop and they wanted 20$ for a lb. of ground lamb, seriously….they did have some frozen but that wasn’t going to work. So beef it was. It turned out really good but again a little greasy . Next time I would use half lamb, half beef, really limit the coconut oil and skim as much of the fat as I can. The end result? Good stuff!

Fourth of July

July 5, 2013 ~ Girlmom ~ Leave a comment

I hope you all had a great Independence day. We spent the day eating delicious food, sipping even better wine and chatting with our friends and neighbors. Kaili is getting to be such a big girl with an independence of her own. Her language is starting to explode, even if I am the only one who can really understand what she is saying most of the time.

What a difference a year makes…or not. Those are the same pants.

2012

2013

Kaili Days and a Phone Dump

June 20, 2013 ~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

It’s week three at school for us and things are great. She’s adjusted fine, she is excited to go in the morning and will give me a hug and kiss and line up with her class all by herself, no tears. I’ve been told that she does great in the classroom. She is communicating well, can recognize her name and doesn’t have to be asked to follow directions. She even said “pee pee” and then proceeded to go to the bathroom and sit on the potty. We are moving in the right direction.
The only problem is she hasn’t been napping at school. So three out of seven days she goes without a nap, gets overtired and it just rolls into the next day and so on. She is waking up earlier than she ever has, no matter what time she goes to bed. You could say bedtime has become a shit storm. You don’t know how she will handle it. Some days when she naps at home she goes down just fine for bed at her regular time, other days she is up fighting it until 8:00 pm. On the days she doesn’t nap at school she is asleep by 6:30. There is no rhyme or reason. She was so used to her schedule and it’s all up in the air without those naps. BUT today, she napped! I don’t want to jinx it but I sure hope that this is the start of something beautiful. Even if we can get her a one hour nap, it’s bound to help…right?

As for me, I just love being in the classroom. I love those 6 hours doing my own thing, knowing someone else is taking care of Kaili and I don’t have to worry about her.

Shaving cream on the table is not only a fun sensory activity for the kids but it will take off any dried glue, marker or crayon marks and paint. I like to do this at the end of class, it’s a great way to clean the tables! They can also practice writing their letters or make tracks with cars.

Shape art. We were talking about transportation so they were making shape vehicles.

Tracing. I needed to see where these kids were with their writing. I like to have them trace over a highlighter or a yellow marker. *If they need the help.

Cutting. Another thing I wasn’t sure about. I had them cut on the black lines I drew, stopping at the dot. Also tells a lot about their ability to follow directions.