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Easter

Easter with little kids is so much fun! From the fun Easter dresses to all the tasty food, and the multiple egg hunts. Easter at my house is always lots of fun.

I like to do Easter dinner for my family so the next few posts are going to be my favorite Easter dinner recipes. I calculated this weekend and I used over three dozen eggs, two boxes of butter, and almost a gallon of whipping cream! Mmmmm!

I get out my nice dishes and cloth napkins and have lots of fun. This year my 3yr old got to help me set the table. She didn’t quite get which side of the plate the knives and forks went on but we had fun!

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Bringing up Bebe

Just finished reading an interesting book on childrearing. Bringing Up Bebe: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting. This was a fascinating book. The author is an American who’s living and raising her family in France. She covers the many differences between American and French parenting styles and philosophies.

I didn’t agree with every French parenting decision that she liked in the book, but many of them were quite insightful, and some were useful. She talked about things like how is it that French children eat a variety of foods including vegetables while American children will spend months refusing to eat more than peanut butter and jelly? And why do French children rarely throw temper tantrums?

Definitely insightful and a great look at some different parenting styles. A fun read, and a book I would recommend.

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The Foundary has a Great Return Policy

I shop a lot of different sample sale sites, it lets me get things that I wouldn’t otherwise buy at prices I’m willing to pay. My most recent experience was with The Foundary. I ordered a pendant light for my bathroom. It was only $30, well $35 with shipping, but still a great price considering the cost of all the other pendant lights I’ve liked.

Their shipping is really fast, so I got this in under five days. Unfortunately, when it was delivered the glass globe on the light was broken. I’ve received broken stuff from sample sale sites before, Billion Dollar Babes is the one I’ve had trouble with in the past. Their return policy is terrible and I was expecting the same experience with The Foundary. Imagine my surprise when I discovered an easy to fill out form on the Foundary’s site.

I filled out the form, and requested a replacement product (I really like this light so I was willing to try again). Within 15 minutes I had received an e-mail confirming my return, and telling me to just keep my broken one and donate it to charity – no need to ship it back. And 15 minutes after that I received another e-mail confirming that my replacement product had been ordered and would be shipped soon.

I received my new light today in one piece – barely a week since my original order. And I couldn’t be happier! Now I’m off to add “Hang Bathroom Light” to my husband’s todo list.

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Musings on Motherhood

Motherhood with young children has it’s ups and downs, but, the ups far outweigh the downs. And getting enough sleep is overrated, right?

I get frustrated with my infant when she insists on eating multiple times at night instead of her usual once, but, really, how can you beat snoozing with a warm, snuggly infant. (until of course, she spits up on you and you have to change your pjs in the middle of the night)

And then the 6:30 am wakeup calls… but, those sweet smiles in the morning make getting up worth it. My littlest one has learned to roll over, so she rolls over and grins at me when I come in the room to get her in the mornings. Then, after she eats she relaxes on my lap in bed while my toddler climbs up and rests on my husband’s pillow. I think he wishes he could stay with us instead of going to work in the mornings.

Yesterday, my almost 3yr old rode the mini roller coaster at the amusement park all by herself. I was so worried. But she loved it! I’m happy to see her so independent (especially since I couldn’t take the baby on the ride), but at the same time, it’s sad that she doesn’t need me to ride it with her.

And as I type this, I look at my very messy office and remember how clean things were before kids (how did we end up with so many toys!), but I also watch my child dance to some music we have playing and that alone makes me ok with the constant picking up. I enjoy watching my children play, seeing their personalities, creativity, and watching what they get out of life.

Children are such a precious gift, and I have my days/moments when I just need a break, but, really, I would miss so much without them!

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Being a Mom

Being a Mom definitely has it’s ups and downs. As I sit here tonight, I haven’t decided yet how my day’s been or what I’m going to call my evening.

I’m sitting at the kitchen counter with my netbook at 9 p.m. because my husband is meeting with a client in our office.  These bar stools are comfortable but I prefer my desk.

I’m sipping a very tasty oolong tea from California Tea House that I purchased with my Deal Pulp voucher.  $7 for $20 worth of loose leaf tea was a great deal! A lot cheaper than Teavana at the mall. And it’s probably the first hot tea I’ve gotten to drink leisurely all week.

Of course, now I’m wishing I had some greasy chinese rice to go with my perfect chinese tea. This stuff tastes just like that wonderful tea you get at a chinese restaurant. (which is really why I like chinese restaurants) Maybe I’ll make chinese for supper tomorrow…

I’m trying really hard to remember what I accomplished today. I think remembering what I DID today is easier than finding any accomplishments. Around the “Mommy, help me with this”, “Mommy, I want this”, “Mommy, read to me”, “Mommy,…” and three infant diapers that leaked I’ve managed to fold 2 1/2 loads of laundry (not take care of, just fold), and my kitchen is basically clean. I guess I should call it good, but, I find it so hard to do this.

There’s that long list of things I wanted to do: 1.Paint my headboard, 2.Sand my nightstand, 3.Finish one of the four sewing projects I have cut out – just one, not all of them, seems like I could manage somehow, 4. Consume a HOT beverage (oh, wait…I just finished my oolong tea and it was at least warm when I got to the bottom) 5. Finish the laundry, 6. Pick up the living room, 7.Write a blog post (almost done here) 8.Read a whole chapter in my book without interruptions (hey! it’s the small things, this whole reading one page a day thing is really messing with my ability to follow the story) and 9. Get to bed at a decent hour.

All the things I want, but that in the long run, aren’t really that important. My headboard isn’t going anywhere, and those toys on my living room floor will be there again tomorrow even if I pick them up right now.

And, then there are the things I did do, not always the things of I think of as important, but in the long run, they’re way more important than a hot cup of tea! 1. Read to my toddler, 2. Play with my baby, 3. Take my kids shopping, 4. Look over my stash of trinkets for Easter eggs – I can’t wait to watch my little girl open them all! 5. Play with my kids, 6. Referee my children playing together – my toddler loves the baby but I can’t leave them alone, and 7. Enjoy all the giggles and smiles.

So, really, it’s been a good day, and as far as my kids are concerned, I’ve done a lot.