A rose by any other name

So I was informed the other day that Quinn does not like his name and no longer wants to be called Quinn. When asked what he wants us to call him instead his reply- "Trash Can."

Sorry kid as crazy as you can make me I am not calling you "Trash Can."

Super Big Brother

Quinn sure loves his sister (as long as she's not crying :D )

Beans, Barre Classes and Business

So I am jumping into the New Year with lots of adventure.
I am proud to say that I am making a very good effort to add beans back into my diet. For those that know me this is a very BIG step. Around 8 or 9 years old I decided I could no longer eat beans, the taste of them would make me gag. I know they are a great source of protein and they are wonderful for living on a budget, but I just could not get past the taste. Unfortunately, being the cook for the family with one extremely picky eater (and this is not the toddler) has become quite the challenge. To face the challenge and to improve upon myself I am expanding my taste buds. It is with much pride that I have now incorporated beans into two meals and actually enjoyed them (thank you S&W for your wide variety of bean mixes.)
My next achievement came with much more joy if not a little bit more soreness.
I had the great pleasure to get a great deal at a local women's studio that does specialty classes for an intro to pole dancing and then a week FREE to unlimited drop in classes. It has been so much fun getting back into shape and even nicer I have lost 5 lbs. in 2 weeks- Yahoo! Meet me at the Barre has been one of my favorites. Marsha was an awesome instructor even though my muscles were screaming at me all the next day. Boo-Ya Burlesque was my next favorite with Megan A. it really brought me back to my high school dance days. Tonight is my last class, but I am working on a way to get in more classes as a treat to myself. Crazy I know who would think of exercise classes as a treat- Thank You DIVA DEN for your great deals and awesome instructors.
Last but not least is the next chapter of my life. After almost 3 years of working my business I am saying good-bye. It is with a little sadness, but a lot less stress that I am looking towards my future of Radical Homemaking- meaning more gardening, canning, cooking, and mothering. I am looking towards adding in some classes so I can work on my undergraduate degree so that when the kids are in school I can get my Physical Therapist degree, but that is in the future. Right now I am looking out my window towards the garden that needs prepping and children that need attention and I smile, take a deep breath and hope this new chapter has much happiness.

Girly-fied

My Little one has now been girly-fied. Yes there are some out there who think this is barbaric- I obviously don't. To me I have now shared a tradition with my daughter that my mother and grandmother passed down. I can now share with my daughter the joy of earrings without the pain of having to deal with healing herself. We went with the Purple Titanium for her first set, felt like it was the most hypoallergenic of the choices. Like a true trooper she cried only a tiny bit and then was over it and on to shopping for tights :)
She also has not had any problems with pulling or playing with them since.
Oh how I love my girls!!!

Charlie Brown

He's a classic character, and lately I am connecting with him on many levels.
Main connection comes from his routine difficulties with the "football." Oh how I have come to dread those footballs, but like Charlie I can't seem to keep from trying to reach for the dreams they represent. If only I could actually get it kicked rather than ending up flat on my back.
And then there is Lucy. Lucy, the self-proclaimed superior character whom everyone else sees as the witchy sister to the lovable Linus (course this is my Charlie Brown bias- so if you don't see Lucy this way sympathize with me anyway.) Just like Charlie as much as I know the outcome will never be different, I keep running into her trap hoping that I can beat her at her game. Yeah I know most people would say "then just avoid her," but how they forget- Charlie's best friend is Linus. They're spheres are intertwined there is no avoiding, just surviving. But being a girl "Charlie" with a little bit different relations I think I might be reaching the point of telling Linus that I need a break, sorry Linus the survival skills are getting low and my back needs a chiropractor.
Luckily, there's always Snoopy to cover the strip.

Snow, Sled and Super Friends

What an awesome second day of the year!
Wasn't so sure how it would turn out this morning at 7:40am when my two and a half year old was screaming at me because he didn't want to get dressed, but in the end we made it and had fun to boot.
Even though it was Sunday we decided to join our friends on the mountain and enjoy the white powder. Because they live in D.C. Uncle Mikey and Aunt Christa don't get to spend as much time as any of us would like with the kids, so we have to take advantage of the times we get together the best we can. And because Uncle Chad and Aunt Nicole gifted us time at the snow-my effort to get Nicole to eventually teach me to ski and kick my booty actually to the snow, they were able to join us as well.
It was so great seeing my little guy sledding down the hill with such a huge grin on his face. To sit around the lodge enjoying hot chocolate and friendship was delightful. And best of all was feeling the love we all support each other with as we feel the frigid air flying past our faces.
Parker, my tough and tumble little girl, got her first trip down the hill on the sled at four months old. Can't say she was particularly impressed. She did look mighty adorable though in her new snow suit.
Afterwards we all joined up together at Calamity Jane's (one of my new favorite food stops) where we shared a wonderful meal of hamburgers. I got adventureous and went with the Hot Fudge Marshmallow Sundae, probably first and last time for that one, but it was "interesting." Quinn impressed a table of little athletes as he downed his Uncle Mikey's rootbeer milkshake.
Yep, definitely an awesome day out with friends and I sure hope this is a good sign for the year to come.

Robbing Peter

It's an hour till the new year has finished it's first day. Yeah I know it is normally the day before the new year begins that people take their look back and prepare for the changes they hope to make in the coming year, but well quite frankly I had to finish the year fully before taking the deep breath and first step forward.
I've been playing out what I would write for a while now, the title was the loudest. This past year has been mainly the game of survival. I went through the storms of pregnancy; after the first trimester finally passed I went through the thunder of the second and of course after the thunder comes the lightning. Like a true summer storm it has it's beauty in the darkness. I often felt- frustrated at what I couldn't do, blessed with the ability to do, and confused at the ups and downs and disconnection.
This year was also an Over the Rainbow tornado of life and living space. As we're spinning around with the in's and out's and where who sleeps where I can feel myself becoming lost in the subconsious dreams I can't quite express.
Of course at each moment of almost dispair I'm brought a saving grace.
Like Emily Watts says I need to feel blessed in my "Have To's."
I have to get up each day because I have two beautiful souls in my care.
I have to clean and cook because I have a roof over my head and food to nourish me.
I have to pay bills and live on a budget because I have been given the opportunuity to live in a country where I could get an education and have credit as well as stay home with my little babies.
I have to . . .
This year is about taking the first step on my road- not necessarily a yellow brick road- but my life road for this year. Good or bad, beautiful or frightening storms have their ends and tornados eventually move on giving a person a new view of what they can live through.
To the new year and memories with my beautiful babies!