My Favorite Things

Since I don't have anything exciting to blog about, I thought that I would make a few recommendations on my favorite kid things. When Sofia was a baby, I wasn't really that picky about baby gear, because I just used hand me downs mainly. Now with Gabe, I have more of an opinion on what things work better for our lifestyle, and here are two of my favorite favorite baby things:
The Baby Ergo: I love love love this baby carrier. You can wear your baby/toddler in the front, on your hip, or on your back. I like the Baby Bjorn for the first few months, and after that, my kids are way too heavy and it kills my back. The other day Sofia wanted to get in the carrier on my back while I made dinner, and I felt nothing. With a second child... this carrier has been a must, because I am able to cook dinner with Gabe on my back or help Sofia at the same time as carrying him. I think that the Ergo cost about $90, but it is worth every penny.

Phil and Ted's Double Stroller: I used my friend's Phil and Teds when I was watching her son so I could take Sofia and Kian on a walk, and I fell in love (if it is possible to fall love with a stroller). I love that I have the option of having it be a single or double stroller, and when it is double, it doesn't take up extra space that a side by side double does. This stroller is pretty spendy, but I was able to find it used off of Portland's Craigslist.
What is your baby/kid gear that you love??

My Sweetie Pies

Thank you Aunt Heather for this adorable dress. Sofia is having fun figuring out how to ride her little bike.


When Chris saw this picture of himself flexing, he said,"Man, I look buff, and fat, and bald." I didn't know that those all went together. I love how Gabe is looking at him like "You are so weird Dad." Even if you are balding and your stomach has seen flatter days, I still think you are a hot tamale.

Every Day a Bad Hair Day

Okay, maybe I'm not as bad off as this guy, but seriously, I am having serious problemas with my hair lately. It's not that I don't like my cut or anything (although I could use a new one)... it's more just how my hair reacts to different products. Unlike you thick haired women, I have to wash my hair each day or it gets greasy and yucky. The problem that is now going on, is that even when I do wash my hair, it still looks greasy. The villian... my shampoo and conditioner. I can almost feel a waxy residue on my hair, and seriously right after my hair dries, I look like I haven't showered for days. In the last 6 months I have used Herbal Essence and Garnier Fructose, and they both leaving my hair smelling like a flower but looking like an ugly weed. What products to you all swear by? Should I switch to an organic shampoo? Should I switch to a fancy salon brand? I am a desperate woman, and I will try anything!

Update on the Chillins

Okay, finally pictures for you all. Here are things that the kids are up to lately.
Gabe- Gabe is crazy. He has been crawling for over a month now, and as you can see, he has mastered climbing the stairs as well. He climbs onto everything and stands... and then inevitably, loses his balance and cries. He is such an active boy but he is so good natured and will smile at anyone. I take him with me when I teach a Live and Learn with Your Baby class, and he spends most of his time crawling around socializing with the other moms and babies. I produce very social children....which is so weird since I am such an introvert :). Yeah right.
Sofia-Sofia's imagination is starting to really take off. She loves to sit in a chair and pretend that she is a librarian doing story time for the children (me). She always starts off by saying, "Hello everyone. Welcome to story time." She is also obsessed with Diego. You may have noticed Diego on her bum in the video, but you may be interested to know that he also hangs out at our house. Yes, as we were just making flubber together, she informed me that he was there helping her stir, and he went home for a little while, but he will be back later to help again. I guess that Diego would be a cool imaginary friend to have. Potty training has been funky. If she is bare bum at home, she will always go in the toilet and if I remind her to go in public she will usually pee, but poop is a different story. She will poop in the toilet if she is bare bum at home, but she doesn't remember to/or want to in public or if she has underwear on at home. I need advice. I feel like I want to consistently try in underwear for awhile and see if she will change her pooping ways, but I don't want to push her too hard and have her use her bowel movements as a power struggle. Help!!

My Little Scientist

This story may not interest many of you, but I thought that I should document it. The other day we were at the park, and Gabe had lot's of fun playing with a Grandma visiting from India. She looked so beautiful her purple Sari... I wish I could wear those. Anyways... as Gabe was falling in love with this sweet Grandma who was doting over him, she randomly said, "I want to tell you that I feel He (Gabe) will be a scientist one day. When he is scientist one day, you can remember me." I have no idea what lead her to have that "feeling," but I thought that I should document this in case it comes true. More pictures and blogging to come!

The Key to a Good Night's Rest: Peace of Mind

Chris and I are complicated creatures. Many times we have to put ourselves through a circus to come to a seemingly simple solution, but the process is sometimes essential for us. The point of this all.... we are most likely not going to sell our house right now. Although we would like a little more space and a fenced yard, we just don't feel like those things are worth an extra $120,000-$150,000 (at the very minimum) at this point. Although this townhouse may not be our ideal house for long term... the truth is, it is just fine for us right now. I would much rather have peace of mind financially than be in a new place and situation, not being able to really enjoy it, because we are stretching too much financially. We are going to make what we have now work for the next couple of years, and we are already brainstorming away about what we can do to make this house fit our family better. What we have already is great.

It is funny how the more we toyed with the idea of staying here the other day... it just seemed to click finally, and we felt peaceful...when the whole process of trying to sell and figuring out what we can afford has been stressful. It feels so great to decide to be happy with what we have now, instead of always saying: "It will all be good when....? (I'm sure most of you can fill in the blank with something from your own lives). I definitely know that we won't be in this house forever, but I think that it is so easy to get caught up in the idea of living a certain lifestyle, and then all of a sudden you have an epiphany and realize that you already have everything that you want and need.
The other night I went in to check on Sofia when she was sleeping, and she woke up for a second and asked me to "Snuggle her." As I laid there with her, everything in my life just seemed to make sense for a moment, and I all of a sudden had a feeling of love pour over me confirming what a sweet life it is indeed. I am going to try to start living more in the moment and not wait around for circumstances to change to make me happy. I am not a perfect person, wife, mom... and some days can be more challenging than others, but in the grand scheme of things, I am living the sweet life. I can choose to be happy on a daily basis, and it would be wise for me to do so considering how fortunate I am. Anyways my friends... this probably makes no sense to any of you reading my jumbled of thoughts, but it's my blog, and you are all choosing to read it after all.
I was just thinking about the lyrics of an India Arie song that I love that reminds me of this whole topic... so I will leave you with them (it is the song playing when you open my page). Peace Out.

"There's Hope"

[Verse 1:]
Back when I had a little
I thought that I needed a lot
A little was over rated,
but a lot was a little too complicated
You see-Zero didn't satisfy me
A million didn't make me happy
That's when I learned a lesson
That it's all about your perception
Hey-are you a pauper or a superstar
So you act, so you feel, so you are
It ain't about the size of your car
It's about the size of the faith in your heart

[Chorus:]
There's hope
It doesn't cost a thing to smile
You don't have to pay to laugh
You better thank God for that
[repeat]

There's hope

[Verse 2:]
Off in the back country of Brazil
A met a young brother that made me feel
That I could accomplish anything.
You see just like me he wanted to sing
He had no windows and no doors
He lived a simple life and was extremely poor
On top of all of that he had no eye sight,
but that didn't keep him from seein' the light
He said, what's it like in the USA,
and all I did was complain
He said-livin' here is paradise
He taught me paradise is in your mind
You know that

[Chorus]

[Bridge:]
Every time I turn on the T.V. (There's Hope)
Somebody's acting crazy (There's Hope)
If you let it, it will drive you crazy (There's Hope)
but I'm takin' back my power today (There's Hope)
Gas prices they just keep on rising (There's Hope)
The government they keep on lying
but we gotta keep on surviving
Keep living our truth and do the best we can do

One Hit Wonder

6 years I have been married to this boy of mine. Even though neither of us would claim to be perfect, it is amazing how I love this guy more each year. It is cool how every year I "get" him a little more, and he "gets" me. Even after 6 years, we still don't always understand each other as much as we would like.. but that is why it is good that we have an eternity to work on loving each other better. This song was written for my homeboy back in our dating days as a valentine's day gift. Have I ever written another song? No (unless you count all of the songs I make up and sing to the kiddos). I thought that I should document this song in History. I love you Chris!! (Oh and the song that pops up with the blog was one of our wedding songs).

Ballet

Sofia loves to dance ballet. Ever since my cousin's little girls came over and insisted that they all dress up and turn on classical music, she has been hooked. Chris and I aren't passing on the coolest dancing genes, so hopefully she will be okay in the dance department. When Chris gets home from work, some days we turn on the music and have dance parties for like 15-20 minutes. It is a good workout, and I am glad that no one else besides our chillins are here to witness this.

Root Canal

You know that you are sleep deprived in need of a break when getting a root canal at the Dentist feels relaxing. Ah.... I just laid there without a care in the world half way asleep trying to smile and nod with my mouth full of rubber and metal as the Dentist told me about his grandchildren. Girl's night anyone?