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04.02.2011

God-Grandma? Worked her magic on Baby Mila.

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Apparently there were a few days where I forgot to take pictures.

03.30.2011

His hair is too awesome to ignore.

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Ian working on his fitness.

He ran over a lap and then we made him stop to go home. Yes, that's daddy way ahead, mommy had quit running at this point...

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Photo credit:Amy.

Mila's reflux was acting up, so no pictures for this day. I did leave Amy alone with Mila on the 29th though, and she got a good smile. :)

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Daddy's tickling my head!

Jogging Stroller

I have a new appreciation for those parents in Austin (or any other hilly location) who run with their double stroller. Let me tell you. I've been going walking with the kids lately and thought I had worked up the courage to run with them too. I see parents doing it all the time. At the trail, one hoss of a mother, lapped Jackie and I on Town Lake... twice. That's embarrassing. We were only walking though, and she was hauling ass. I had run/walked a few times now, so I mustered up the energy (and the children) this morning. It was actually pretty cold, so they got blankets.

During the walking portion of the adventure. I realized that my BOB was a little tricky to push. Then, I noticed I had a flat tire, so Stephen drove us a pump to pump up the tire. MUCH easier. Then, the jogging started. Oh. My. Goodness. It was intense. You know when you're getting ready to sprint and you take those first three super intense strides? You know the ones, you're leaned forward, you're pushing as hard as you can, on your toes, etc. Well, that's what every. single. step is like when you're with a jogging stroller (minus the downhill portions, those are difficult for many other reasons as you can imagine). Let's just say, my arms, abs, back, butt, legs, and rib(?) muscles are all sore. Yes, I said rib muscles. I didn't know there were muscles there. There are. And they hurt. My entire body is aching. I feel like I just swam a marathon.

Super intense. If you want a good workout. First, come to Austin. Then, come borrow my kids and stroller. That was intense. What helped me make it all the way? Two things.

1) Mila falls asleep when I walk/run. It's glorious. And she'll smile at me a lot. I loves it!

2) Ian. Who would have known he was such a great cheerleader? When I'd start running he'd yell things like "FUN! RUN, RUN, RUN!! Fast!!" It was so encouraging. Then, when I'd stop to walk or something, he'd say "MORE!" HA!

Not to mention, he'd turn around to look at me to say "hi" and see how I was doing, then tell me to run some more. It was very motivating. Had no idea that would happen. But, I loved it! :)

That's all for today folks.

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Delicious. Delicious. Crawfish Boil.

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Maggie guarding Mila. She's very protective. This is from my session with Jackie and Maggie. You can check out the pictures here.

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Taken with my broken lens (insert heavy amounts of tears here). Ian got ahold of it and it's jammed and will only be zoomed all the way out (200mm) :'-(

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Ian and I were dancing, I'm not sure what to call this dance move... :D

Wishlist

I love Amazon. It allows for aimless hours of internet shopping in one convenient location. Not only that, but it has a super handy button on the side for your wishlist. I have a really long wishlist. I thought I'd share it with you today. You're welcome, in advance.

Play Mat

Image from Amazon.com

I read about this adorable mat at another blog I read, Marriage Confessions. Now, I want one so bad! It's a Dwinguler Eco-Friendly Kids Play Mat. And in case you're wondering, yes, I need, the large one for our play area. We have a pretty big play area that's just my wood floor. How perfect would this thing be? Too perfect. And, if you didn't read that other blog, it's an indoor/outdoor mat. And, it's squishy. Thus, added to said wishlist. I don't want this, I need this.

Camera

Image from Amazon.com

Yes, I'm more than aware that I already have a camera. However, I don't have this camera. Mine is an entry level DSLR, this one is a little more advanced, a mid-level. It gives you quicker, easier control over your manual settings on the camera. It's faster than my camera and it performs better at higher ISOs. It's a beauty. It's also ridiculously expensive. Maybe if the photography business starts taking off, I can afford this. Did I just plug that? Yes, yes I did.

Armor

Taken from Amazon.com

Super cool looking huh? I didn't know that this existed, but was in awe when I found out. Not only would my camera look like a roided out football player, but it'd help protect my camera from it's greatest fear, my children. Thank you MADE Products for inventing such an outrageous product. I would totally buy you if I had money. However, until that day comes, you will sit nicely on my wishlist.

Lenses

Image from Amazon.com

Isn't she pretty? It's a pretty fast zoom lens and makes me breakout into dance. Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8. Beautiful. It would allow me to be pretty far away from my subjects and shoot with lower light. Very similar to what's next on my list

Image from Amazon.com

the Tamron AF 28-75mm f/2.8. Doesn't have as much zoom, but would be ideal for some lifestyle shots and allows me to be closer to the subject when I don't have as much space. I love it.

Others

People, this list could go on forever, so I'll just list out the rest and have another wishlist day. I have about 50 books on it that are not offered on my kindle. Most dealing with family, organization, etc. I love books! Some software. And some bowls, plates, cups, etc that are very color and very kid friendly for kiddos. Yes, I have dish-ware on my list for my kids, so what? Alas, this and more will be saved for another time, another day.

Have a great one!

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Not quite sure Ian understands what to do with his new yard tools.

TTYNTYSTYKBD

I know, you probably got an e-mail with that title and thought that I was losing my mind. I'm not. You see, the other night Stephen and I thought it'd be a great idea to pop some popcorn, (add a few M&M's) and watch a movie with the whole family. It was a great idea, but about half way through, I started laughing. And I turned and looked at Stephen and said "Did you ever think you'd be saying that as a parent?" Thus,Things That You Never Thought You'd Say To Your Kid(s) But Do, or TTYNTYSTYKBD, was born. Catchy... huh? Yeah, I'll try and think of a better name for the sake of your sanity. But, without further ado:

"Ian, will you please get your sister's foot out of your mouth?"

And this one is, perhaps, used WAY too much:

"Ian, quit making out with your sister!"

Will update as I remember these things. But those are my two favorite at the moment.

Ten on Tuesday

Good morning readers! Ian decided to wake up at 4 this morning and didn't fall back asleep until 5. Now, I'm awake! :) With oatmeal and half-caff coffee as my muse, here we go with another Ten on Tuesday.

1. What condiments are always, always in your fridge?

Ketchup, honey mustard, and every since an intense craving I got when pregnant that still hasn't seemed to go away, mayonnaise.

2. How do you like your steak cooked? Your burgers?

I used to only eat steak if it was still alive, but now I like both well done.

3. What’s your favorite use for fresh tomatoes?

Giving them to Ian to eat. Haha! I'm not a huge tomato fan! But, there is this spread I made with cucumbers and tomatoes that is to die for. YUM!

4. What’s your go-to dinner when you haven’t planned anything in advance and you don’t feel like going out?

Spaghetti! We always have ingredients for it.

5. What’s your favorite snack food lately?

Home-popped popcorn!! TASTY! You should totally do it.

6. What’s your favorite weekend breakfast to make at home?

Bacon, eggs, and mushrooms. Great, now my mouth is watering. Is this what Mila feels like?

7. What’s your favorite thing to grill? How do you do it? 

I love grilled pork ribs. They are totes my favorite. But, I personally don't grill. I just thaw the meat and sweetly ask Stephen to grill it when he gets home. Or, I'll grill indoors on my grill pan.

8. What’s your favorite wine for under $10? If you’re not a wine person, what brand of beer is your favorite?

I'll drink wine, but I just try whatever at HEB. I like that stuff with the rooster on it. I hardly drink though because I've been pregnant or breastfeeding for the past 3 years. I do like me some Shiner though.

9. Give us your most delicious cocktail recipe.

Hmm... one that my mommers made at Mila's baby shower. I can't remember the name of it though.

10. How do you like your eggs?

Loves them! Stephen hates them though, so we rarely eat them as a family. On those days, we just have more than one breakfast made.

Blog out! And be ready, because if the kiddos allow, I'm going to try and post a new segment idea. Top of the morning to ya!

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Getting some blooms!!

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Double batch of some delicious fried rice. :)

Say What?

The past week or so, Stephen and I fall asleep in our bed and wake up with Ian in it too... Very curious how this is happening.

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Just like daddy!

SXSW

WARNING: Super picture heavy!

I love live music. Thus, I love Austin. They have so many music festivals it's ridiculous. And, they seem to have an abundance of live shows. We almost always take the kiddos with us too. Which, is why I love the double stroller and the amazing car seat adapter it came with. It's made life so much easier.

Usually Ian is in the other side, but he got to go to Sea World with Grandma today. Lucky!

(From what I hear, he had a blast!) Anyways, last night we watched the Strokes. They were actually better than they were at ACL, but still... Let me just put it this way. The singer only said a few sentences, which didn't really make sense. And I'm 99% sure he forgot the words to one of his songs. But still, 10x better than the ACL show... and this one was free.

On the way there, we saw a few things that were uber, like this tree that was struck by lightening.

Pretty sweet huh? This also marked another monumental occasion... Jasmine's first time in a big public setting. Need I say, she did amazing.

I had to take a picture with people around to prove to Amy's parents that Jasmine is a good puppy. She'll fit right in.

Ian fell asleep on our way there (we walk) and when he woke up, he was anything but chipper. He'd get up off Stephen's lap and run to Mila, give her 20 kisses, then run back. And would yell NO! at everyone else. Then, he laid back down with Stephen:

And he didn't fully wake up for about 30 minutes. But, when he finally did wake up, he was NONSTOP! We took turns watching him, Cecy got the first shift:

Today was pretty uber-tastic too. First off, let me say that I think Stephen's had an eye for photography but never really picked up my camera. So, today I told him what the manual settings did exposure, aperture, shutter speed, and I sent him on his way. He got two really good shots!

I loves me some good sun flare. And this next one might be my favorite photo of all time.

Shortly after, the guy wiped out and it was awesome. But, I just love so many things about this shot!

Tonight we watched Bowling for Soup and they were hilarious and fun to watch. Mila enjoyed it, but not quite as much as she enjoyed trying to gnaw on grandpa's finger.

She's so cute!! And last, but not least, I have finally been forcing Stephen to take pictures with me again. :)

You're welcome. Now, time for bed and perhaps some cleaning. Night all!

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My gorgeous husband.