Pizza face

India was very excited when she got her Highlights High Five magazine a few months back and saw a recipe for “pizza faces”. We have had it a couple of times, and it is an easy and fun meal for toddlers to help out with.  Here is our version:

• 
  
• English muffins (1 per kid, and 1-2 for adults depending on hunger level) 
• Red pepper 
• Broccoli 
• Sliced olives 
• Spaghetti sauce (jarred or homemade) 
• Cheese (we use what we have on hand) 

Adult work 
1. Preheat the oven to 350
2. Cut pepper into thin slices
3. Separate broccoli into little pieces
4. Split English muffins and place on a baking pan
5. Spread sauce over entire muffin (kids could do this, but it’s a little messy for India in my opinion)

Kid work 
1. Put cheese on muffin
2. Put eyes (olives) on
3. Put nose (broccoli) on
4. Put mouth (red pepper) on
5. Have an adult put them in the oven for 10 minutes or until the cheese melts
6. Enjoy!

I am trying to come up with how I could do this with fruits as more of a morning meal but haven't come up with all the ingredients yet.  Anyone have any ideas?  Comment below if you do.

Maybe the glass is just too small

As I am sure everyone has, there are days when I am just so annoyed and every little thing sets me off.  I can’t lie, this typically coincides with days that my three-year-old is being a handful.  You can only hear so many tantrums before you start to feel like having one yourself.  Or what about the days when you are already running late and frazzled and realize that you forgot this or that and now you are even more late.  It’s easy to think what a crappy day you are having and have a little pity party, I know I have attended more than one.  However, looking at the whole picture, I have to attempt I have it pretty good.

What you might be saying, is Erin being optimistic?  I am a self-proclaimed glass half empty kind of girl (I said this yesterday and a friend said “no” in a mocking tone).  Right now I know two different families that are going through such heartbreak that it makes my “bad days” look like a joke.  Family number one is dealing with a nasty tumor that is offering an average lifespan of 8 years.  I can’t imagine being given those numbers and this family has three little ones under four.  The second family has a little boy less than two weeks old who stopped breathing last week and has been in the hospital ever since.  He isn’t able to breathe on his own for long and there doesn’t look like there is much that can be done for him.  He doesn’t seem to be in pain and his family can hold him, but tears spring to my eyes just typing about him.  It makes my morning of children screaming because they just want me to spend time with them look like a walk in the park not the nightmare I had made it out to be in my head.  I guess all it takes is just a little change in perspective…

Half-marathon training week one

Yesterday ended our first week of half-marathon training and overall is just went okay.  I ended up with bad allergies the end of the week, and running did not seem like a great idea.

Sunday-3.5 miles at least I think that is about what I did.  The battery died on my Garmin, so I had to guess where I thought a quarter mile was at one point in the run.  I have since done the route and I would say it was pretty close.  B+

Wednesday-3 miles before coffee, yikes not something I would normally enjoy but actually it felt good to get my run in before the day started.  A

Thursday-4 miles didn’t happen.  I woke up with a sore throat, and a crazy bad headache.  F

Saturday-3 miles but it felt like 30.  Again, my head was hurting and my nose was all stuffed up.  I hadn’t even gone a mile and I was ready to quit.  I was able to do the whole thing, but didn’t enjoy it.  C-

Total miles run=9.5

I really want a pair of Nike Free Run shoes, has anyone tried them?   

Running, running, running

That is going to be Jeff and I starting today. We officially start our half-marathon training this afternoon with a 3.5 mile run. We are doing the Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Marathon at the end of June.  It freaks me out to think about running 13.1 miles, but it the thought of running 6 miles last year seemed crazy too and I did that no problem.  Any running or motivational tips?  Comment below.

After the 10k last September

Maybe spring is right around the corner...

The girls and I headed outside for a little sun this afternoon and I was so surprised that it was actually warm!

This is how we do spring break

Cabo, tequila shots, random hookups… Damn, that was something on TV; our spring break was nothing like that.

Monday-The girls and I had a lazy day as I realized we didn’t have to be anywhere, so why get out of pajamas before noon? When Jeff got home from work, I went for a run while he took the girls to the park. We traded off when I was finished and came home for dinner. \

Tuesday-Headed to Stroller Strides, and then home from lunch and naps. India had ballet and back home we went. Doesn’t get crazier than that.

Wednesday-Back to Stroller Strides, and playing at the mall afterwards. India had a great time, and didn’t want to leave but poor Hadley was practically asleep in the stroller. In the afternoon we head to Home Depot to meet the electrician to pick out a range hood. Wow, thank god I am not driving while typing this or I might fall asleep at the wheel.

Thursday-Once again Stroller Strides, I am starting to see a pattern here. After lunch both girls were relaxing (or sleeping in Hadley’s case) so I decided to relax for a while and watch something on Netflix. It was nice for the 45 minutes it lasted.

Friday-Off to another day of Stroller Strides, followed by indoor play at the mall. Afterwards five moms with double strollers invaded Swirl Frozen Yogurt. We had never been before, but it was really good. You pay by the ounce and there are about 12 different flavors and a ton of toppings to pick from. We split a strawberry/blueberry mix with granola, crushed almonds and marshmallows. Minus the marshmallows, it was pretty yummy. Later that evening we hit up Laughing Planet for burrito and chips. We tried to buy margarita fixing’s but the stupid liquor store closes at 7 p.m. I guess the people in the Woodstock area are better prepared for Friday evenings than we are!

Saturday-We decided that we would do a little retail therapy, and once again went to the mall. Jeff got some work things, and India and I also grabbed a few things. Sorry Hadley, you will have to wait for the hand-me-downs in a few years. We got lunch at The Ram followed by more frozen yogurt at Swirl. We also decided to get a new Wii as they were on sale at Fred Meyer. India was very excited to get a pink controller. We spent the evening making lasagna and playing Wii.

Sunday-Both Jeff and I went to get our haircuts as our hairdresser is moving to San Diego. Bummer, we both really like her and she was crazy affordable. Oh well, easy come, easy go I guess. Afterwards we hit up Starbucks for coffee and a cookie. Hadley dazzled us with her new skill, using a straw. We spent the rest of the hanging out and relaxing.

Our spring break wasn’t exciting at all, but it was a nice break from the normal weekly running around.

What did you do for spring break?

Mom, why did the bad guys take our computer?

This is a common question now in our house after it was broken into last week. We weren’t home and everyone is fine, but the whole thing is unsettling. The girls and I came home from Stroller Strides last Tuesday, and I ran Hadley up to her room as she was exhausted. I came downstairs and walked into the kitchen and noticed the laptop was gone. I briefly questioned if I had been using the computer in the living room (not a typical place for it) and looked over and saw the back window was open. I yelled to India to put on her shoes, grabbed Hadley and my purse and headed to the car. I realized while sitting in the car that when I had unlocked the house it didn’t seem like I had to turn the key much. The police came and checked out the area, and told us that there have been quite a few break-ins in the area, with laptops and jewelry being the prime target. The thief or bad guy only took our laptop and the Wii and all the games and controllers. We had quite a few other items of worth sitting out right next to the computer but I guess they weren’t interested in them. They were very clean about it, and I don’t even think they went up stairs; they just grabbed what they wanted and headed out the front door.

The whole experience has left me feeling both violated and heartbroken. I had thousands of pictures on the laptop, and was going to back them up on an external hard drive the same morning this happened, but had decided to do it after lunch while the girls were napping. Quite a few of the pictures are online, but I hadn’t uploaded nearly as many over the last year, so more pictures than I care to think about of Hadley are gone. I find myself jumping over any movement in the backyard, robins being the main culprit. I know that it could have been worse, but I wish the whole thing won’t have happened in the first place…