New Year's 2015

We scooped up the kids and headed to Seven Springs on New Year's Eve.  We stopped at a ski rental shop just off the exit and rented Patrick tiny skiis and boots for the season.  Tommy is close in enough in size he can piggy back off of Patrick's rental.  There was no snow to be seen except what the snow makers were blasting onto the slopes. Patrick headed out with Daddy for a few runs on the bunny slope and the beginner hills.  This guy is a pro at riding the lift now!

We had an early midnight around 7:00 and let the kids make all the noise they wanted after we finished dinner (a bucket of KFC!). 

New Year's Day Tommy got the first run with daddy, and Tom said it was like Tommy's legs ceased to work once he got on the skis.  At one point, Tommy skid down the bunny slope nearly sitting on his skiis. 

We read, built Legos, and played a game go pick-up sticks.

Later on New Years Day, we took all three kids to the bunny slope so I could see the boys skiing firsthand. Tommy did better, Patrick practiced some turning, and Kaya ate a lot of snow. She also insisted on having a snack and her milk cup with her at all times on the slope.

Just before leaving, Baba and Grampy stopped by.  We tried hard for a posed picture...

Whole30, Day One

Thought I would post my three meals (no snacking) from my first day of the challenge.  The kale I had with my eggs was a bit strong, but I got most of it down.  Lunch and dinner were keepers!

Breakfast: 3 organic eggs cooked in a bed of kale that was sautéed with coconut oil, green onions, lemon juice, and garlic. Black coffee. I had to get up 30 minutes early to cook this.

Lunch: fresh spinach, and carrots, with canned beets, with a drizzle of macadamia nut oil.  Organic chicken nuggets (breaded with arrowroot powder and fried in coconut oil)

Dinner: sweet potatoe with a  teaspoon of ghee (clarified butter), asparagus sautéed in ghee, and chicken cooked with extra virgin olive oil and fresh rosemary. The next two days are supposed to feel similar to having a hangover. Can't wait.

Christmas - Part 2

Late Christmas afternoon, we headed over to Tom's parent's house for dinner and presents exchange.  Uncle Mike was home from college, Aunt Liz and Uncle Anthony were already there, and Tom's Aunt Ellen and Uncle Tippy came as well.  

All three kids with Grampy (so bummed this is blurry since everyone is looking!)

Patrick and Tommy both got lots of Lego City sets.  Endless building.

Baba with Aunt Ellen

Kaya's gift from Baba, Grampy, and Uncle Mike was this stackable washer and dryer set from PB Kids.  It was even cuter in person.  Patrick and Tommy were so taken with it, they were literally squeezing Kaya out and pushing her into the ottoman (she is crying in the picture). 

The washer and drye both have working timers that ding when the clothes are ready. There is a little lint trap that is removable and each has a wooden sign that you can flip to designate "clean" or "dirty". 

I love this picture of Tommy.  He hates getting his picture taken and is usually screaming when we force him to pose. He wanted me to take this picture though.

Brothers...

Merry Christmas, all!

Life Changing (I Hope)

I have been yo-yoing with my weight since Kaya was born, never coming close to losing all the baby weight.  I am tired all the time. I suck down coffee like it is water all day long. I eat processed junk.  So when I showed up at my last MOPS meeting and our Mentor mom was there looking 

FANTASTIC, I asked her how she made such a drastic change in the one month since I had last seen her.

The answer: The Whole30

(Google it if you haven't heard about it.) 

It wasn't just the weight she lost that tempted me, it was also the energy she gained. 

I start my first 30 days of clean eating (no gluten, no grains, no dairy, no sugar, no processed foods, no alcohol) on January 5th.  There are about ten of us I think, going at this together. My dear friend Ashley is doing it as well, being the dear friend she is.  There is zero cheating for this program to work. 

Here are a few of us the night before we started:

Goodbye truvia and creamer in my coffee. I will be forced to meal plan for the first time. I will be eating a lot of eggs.  I will do some posts about my experience, but I won't be documenting my whole journey.  

Excited to begin!

Christmas 2014, Part 1

Christmas started Sunday for us - my mom and her boyfriend hosted an early Christmas lunch at their place. We stuffed ourselves on fried chicken, then opened presents. My sister and her family were there as well and the cousins had fun.

Tommy wasn't feeling great on Christmas Eve, so Baba came over to stay with he and Kaya while Tom and I took Patrick to the 4:00 children's mass.  This was the first year P was old enough to participate in the mass as an angel or shepherd.  He was adorable.  

We had a quiet dinner at home, just the five of us (my dad, who normally spends the night with us, stayed clear until we knew what  germs Tommy had), and got the kids in bed around 8:00.  

Christmas morning, Tommy was the first one up just after 7:00.

Santa brought Blaze the horse for Kaya and he has been a big hit all around.  Tom and I both had one of these spring loaded horses growing up. 

Patrick decorated a ceramic plate at school for Tom and I, and also bought us each gifts at the holiday shop at his elementary school. What did he pick? Two jars of candy of course.  You can share them, he tells us :)

Patrick got a million Lego sets, as did Tommy.  Santa remembered two special requests - scotch tape for Patrick and a flashlight for Tommy.  Kaya found an Elsa dress and crown under the tree.

My mom and her boyfriend gave us this new star for our tree. 

Pap Pap with the kids.

Tom and I were contemplating whether we were much more exhausted this year, or if we just couldn't remember clearly a year back.  I only got half the decorations out, we didn't have tine to make cookies, and I was still wrapping presents on Christmas Day.  We stayed in our pajamas until 3:00.  The boys ate boxed sprinkle donuts for breakfast.  Tommy rejoiced at the return of his beloved security blanket (taken away when he was not being good), which he found wrapped under the tree. Patrick began a 48 hour Lego building binge. Truly, happiness and joy trumped the tiredness and we will remember this Christmas fondly. 

P.S. Tom and the boys got me a new camera lens, which I am still trying to figure out (this last photo was taken with the new lens)!

Our day continued with dinner at Baba and Grampy's house...

Downtown During the Holidays

If you aren't into Facebook, you may have been wondering where we have been hiding.  The week after Halloween, Kaya had her 15-month well check.  The doctor listened to her heart; perfect. Peeked inside her ears; good.  Checked out her mouth; uh oh. She was diagnosed with hand, foot, and mouth disease on the spot.  Over the course of the next week, Patrick and Tommy got sores In their mouths. I had a cold, which the doctor suspected was the same.  We had just recovered from that and our self-imposed isolation, when in enters the GI bug.  I started feeling bad, and about an hour later, Kaya threw up all over my mom.  Tom came home to me curled up in bed and as he was getting Tommy ready for bed, Tommy threw up. Poor guy was sick all night. I threw up while Tommy was throwing up. Patrick got it shortly afterwards.  We thought Tom had managed to avoid it, but two days later it hit him.  

We recovered from that, and Patrick came down with strep throat. Then Kaya has a sinus infection. Now we all have colds.  So two days before Christmas, I have nothing wrapped. Most of my decorations didn't make it up. We haven't made cookies. I just finished decorating the tree last night. 

We did make it downtown this past weekend with the kids to see some friends and check out the life size Nativity. 

Patrick and Kaya with Uncle Anthony

The Macy's windows didn't disappoint. They had beautiful, moving characters and lights.

My favorite- Pittsburgh in the background with fireworks going off.  

By chance, Tommy had to use the bathroom, so we ducked into Macy's and sought out the closest bathroom.  I was so excited to see the same scale that I used to hop on when my mom took my sister and I downtown when we were about Patrick's age. Tommy continues the tradition!

Halloween 2014

Before you start reading my post and think, "they have way too much time on their hands", you have to understand that Patrick had only one costume choice this year: Emmet Brickowski from the Lego Movie. It so happened that no company produced an Emmet costume for sale this year.  Things got a bit carried away, so I decided I might as well dress up with Patrick since Kaya turned out to be Tommy's sidekick.

It rained, AGAIN this year, but not as hard as the previous year. Kaya stayed home with Tom while I took the boys around the neighborhood (since his lawyer costume sucked and mine was pretty awesome).  Patrick paused at the bottom of every driveway and asked whether there was a dog. Every house. We also discovered that Patrick's Lego body came down just far enough that going up steps was nearly impossible. Oops. Tommy loved every aspect of trick-or-treating and surprisingly kept his Olaf head on the entire time.  

The second the boys and I left, Kaya went into meltdown mode. Apparently she was wise to the fact that she was being left behind while we raked in the candy. 

The bonus of having an older brother with a nut allergy: you get all his peanut laced candy.

Kaya chomping down on her first lollipop- Anna was her very first princess dress and she LOVED having it on. 

I loved my Wyldstyle costume (emmet's co-star in the Lego Movie) and it was super comfortable for trick-or-treat. Tom had a fire burning and hot chocolate ready for us when we arrived back home, slightly soggy.