Thursday, March 28, 2013

Ryan's Trip to The Dentist- Take 2


It's hard to believe that it has already been 6 months since Ryan's first trip to the dentist... & now his second visit to the dentist has already come and gone.
 
I took him in on Monday morning (3/25.)  I was a little nervous because Tim was also at the dentist at the same time, meaning I had to take Jake with us.  Our trip to the dentist started out well when the assistant took us back to the exam room.  She wanted to know if Ryan would sit all by himself.  I told her I wasn't sure if he would, but that we could try.  She helped him sit up on the chair and lay down.  She asked him if he wanted to watch "Curious George."  Ryan is currently obsessed with monkey.  I was hoping that Curious George would help Ryan behave better.
 
We were only waiting for a few minutes when the dentist came in.  Last time, Ryan had to sit on my lap and she leaned him backwards to look at his teeth.  Except he wouldn't open up his mouth for her.  He kept his jaw clenched the entire time except for half a second when she was able to get one finger in his mouth before he closed it again.
 
This time, he opened his mouth slightly from the very beginning.  When I told him to open his mouth big and say "Ahhh" (we had been practicing all morning,) he actually did!  He opened as wide as his little mouth would let him as she looked at all of his teeth.
 
 
 
I'm not going to lie, I got a little teary eyed watching him lay down and listen to the dentist.  When did my baby get so big?  After his appointment, he got  a Piglet toothbrush and he picked out an Elmo sticker.  We went up to the recptionist and scheduled his next appointment for the first week of October.  I got a little sad thinking that at his next appointment he's going to be 3. =( 
 
The lady asked what color balloon he wanted, and he told her orange!  He got his orange balloon and he was so happy.  Speaking of colors, Ryan knows green, red, blue, orange, and yellow!  He also got a sticker for not having any cavaties and was happy all over again with his second sticker.  Then he got a certificate for not whining or fussing for the dentist!


 
I made a big deal of how well behaved he was for the dentist so Ryan was so excited.  He also got a little floss pick and let me floss his teeth!  He was pretty excited to show Daddy his certificate when Tim came home. 
 
 
Later on, we went for a walk around the neighborhood and Ryan insisted on pulling Jakey in the wagon.  Ryan wouldn't even let me help!


 
 
 
Ryan and I took a bunch of silly pictures when Jake was taking a nap.  Look at those big blue eyes.  My baby is getting so big!


Wednesday, March 27, 2013

What a Difference a Year Makes

"We spent the day at the park at a birthday party. That was definitely a day where I learned for the millionth time that parenting is meant for two. Tim had to leave after only half an hour because he had to work. So I'm trying to be super mom and balance both kids. One wanted to go exploring and the other wanted to be held. I love holding Jake & I love exploring with Ryan. But both at the same time? At a park? With jungle gyms? Not so much. I couldn't chase Ryan up the jungle gyms and catch him at the bottom of the slide while holding Jake. Not to mention, the party just happened to run through 1:00 and past 1:00. Naptime. Perfect. Two babies wanting two completely different things and now they are both whiney because it's naptime.
Needless to say, the birthday party was not a success."
 
 
 
I took that from a blog entry I had written a year ago.  This past week (3.23) Tim & I were invited to a birthday party for a family friend.  We spent the morning running erands, had a lunch date at Chipotle (yuuuuuum!!) and came home to take naps.  At 4:00 we got ready for the birthday party. 
 
As we were pulling into the park I started having flashbacks of last year's birthday party.  It was on St. Patrick's Day.  Jake was only 2.5 months old and Ryan was 21 months old.  Jake was still in his super fussy stage and Ryan was the ever exploring toddler.  Tim had left early, and after only half an hour, I was feeling so overwhelmed.  Taking care of two babies is no joke.  Taking care of two toddlers is a lot of work too.. but after a while it just becomes so routine that it becomes easy.
 
 
 
 
Getting the boys out of the car, I just kept remembering how rough last years party was for me.

This time, the party was later! Jake got to take a little nap, but I still had to wake him up.. but he was still so sweet. Ryan was able to run all over the place without me worrying about what he could and could not do. He's big enough to do it all by himself now!
 
 
Ryan was so intrigued by all the big kids.  There were bikes, scooters, footballs, soccer balls, Ryan loved it all!  He would stare at the big kids riding their bikes and throwing the balls around.
 
He definitely needs some of his own big boy toys!  Good think his 3rd birthday is in just 3 short months, I know exactly what to get him. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The weather was perfect, the food was good, and the company was great.
 
 
 
 
Ryan even got in line to hit the pinata.  He didn't need any help swinging the big stick or hitting the pinate and he loved it.  Look at that sweet smile. 
 
 
 
 
What a difference a year can make?  Babies don't stay little forever.  Yes, my babies are still so little, but they are so much bigger and more independent than they were last year. 
 
 
Love days like today.
 
 
 

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Citrus Lane March 2013

Our March Citrus Lane boxes arrived on the 19th- but I haven't had time to sit down and post a review.  This month, the mailman left the boxes on our doorstep instead of our mailboxes so Daddy got them while we were out for a walk.  When we came home, Ryan was SO excited to see his box!

 Grandma got the boys both a 3 month Citrus Lane subscription (Groupon) for Christmas. This is now our third (& final) month receiving our packages.

For anyone who does not know, Citrus Lane is a subscription box service for babies/toddlers/kids from birth to age 5. Basically, you will receive a surprise box filled with 4-5 (mom approved, top of the line) items tailored to your little ones age.

You can get boxes on a month to month basis for $25/month.. or you can a 6 month subscription for $21 a month! When I signed up, I put in my little one's name, birthday, and gender to ensure that both Ryan & Jake will receive boxes especially made for them.

Citrus Lane ships their boxes from California on the 15th of every month and arrive on your doorstep between the 17th and 22nd of every month. Did I mention that you also receive free shipping?!

I wanted to do another monthly review because like me, every one google searches Citrus Lane reviews and my last review got a ton of hits and I even recieved a $10 credit for someone signing up through my link. Thank you :)
 
 
So.. Here we go!
 
 
"Momma- Open!"
 
 
The first box we recieve is for a 33m old boy.
 
Happily, opening up his March box.
 
1. Slumber Friends Plush Pillow from Coud B.  Ryan is loving pillows at this age, so he was pretty excited about getting a new pillow.  & He knew it was a pillow right away.  It also has a removable lavendar scented aromatherabpy pouch for extra soothing.  It also has a little velcro latch and loop hole so it can be converted into a pillow pet. This retails for $21.95, and it came with a coupone code for 20% off.
 
2. On the Road Pouch Puzzle from Mudpuppy.  This is my favorite item in our box this month.  Ryan's at the perfect age to start doing puzzles and it has cars all over it!  It came in a resealable durable plastic pouch too.  We actually took this out to dinner the night we got it.  Puzzle retails for $9.99, and it came with a coupone code for 20% off.
 
3. Jungle Tattoos from Wee Gallery.  Okay- so the tattoos are cute, but Ryan has never seen a tattoo before.  I was a little concerned seeing these in his box.  He does love stickers, so maybe he would like them.  I feel he's a little too young for these.  We'll give them a try and I hope he likes them.  These retail for $5.00.  A little high I think- I'd never buy a pack of 12 tattoos for $5.00.  This also came with a coupon code for 20% off.
 
4. He also recieved a Banana & Apple Pouch from Peter Rabbit Organics.  You can see it in the first picture of him opening his box.  He ate it right away so I didn't get a picture.  My kids looove the food pouches so I was happy to see it in his box.  Retails for $1.46.
 
5.   The last thing in Ryan's box was a $20 coupon code for JUSTFAB. You have to spend $20 extra in order for the code to work. I've never heard of it, but we will not be using it so I'm not counting it towards anything of value.
 
 
Here's Ryan having fun with all of his Citrus Lane goodies!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The second box we get is for a 15m old boy.. He was too interested in his waffle that he let big brother open his box for him!
 
 
 
 
 
 
1. Slumber Friends Plush Pillow from Cloud B.
 
2. Puzzle Wheel from Mudpuppy.  My boys LOVE this pillow! It's easy enough for Ryan to put together on his own.  A little too hard for my 15m old, but he will grow into it.  It has cute little robots on it & the colors are super bright & my 33m old LOVES naming all of the colors.  Excellent choice!  This is our favorite thing that came in our boxes this month.
 
3. Jungle Tattoos from Wee Gallery.
 
 
4. Two Packets of Food+ Recipe Card from NuturMe.  This is pretty interesting.  It's dried fruits and veggies that you can mix into their favorite meal to boost its nutritional value.  I think I just might use these for my older son. My 15m old eats anything I give him, where my 33m old is so picky.  This came with a $1.00 coupon to use online at their website.
 
5.  Another coupon code for JUSTFAB.
 
 
Here are my little ones enjoying their puzzles.
 
 
Overall, I am happy with the contents in our February Citrus Lane box.  This was my least favorite of the three boxes.  We loved the pillows, baby food samples, and puzzles.  That alone covers the retail price of the box.  Granma only paid a little less than $12 a box through Groupon. Would you like to try out Citrus Lane? You can get your first box for only $15 by clicking the link Citrus Lane Sign up. You will get $10 off your first box and I will get $10 off my next order.
 
I just renewed one of their subscriptions for another 3 months!  Looking forward to our future boxes.

Do you already subscribe to Citrus Lane? Share your review link with me so I can read your review!
 
 

 
 
 

Monday, March 25, 2013

Tim's Birthday

This year Tim's birthday was on a Thursday (3/7.)  I decided to take the day off of work so we could spend the whole day together as a family.
 
 
Ryan and I woke up early so we could go to my classroom and set up the room for my sub.  Ryan walked around taking everyone's pencils and crayons from their desk!  Little booger.  We came home and cleaned up the kitchen since I was too tired the night before.  Tim actually woke up around 9:30 or so, right after Jakey woke up.

 
Our first stop of the day was Jerry Bob's for breakfast.  We love Jerry Bob's and we usually save it for special occasions.  It's nice to have someone cook us breakfast AND not have to clean up afterwards
 
 
 
.

 
Our second stop of the day was the zoo.  I recently bought a yearly zoo pass for the family.  We'll have to take the kids to the zoo more often.  I think Ryan's at the age where he really, really loves the zoo.  He has a few zoo books and he watches a Barney episode where they all go to the zoo & he loves it.  He's knows the names of all the animals and all their sounds.

 
 
 

 
 
I thought the boys would have fun & they did.  Ryan was SO excited to see the giraffes!  He said, "A Affe." haha- he doesn't say the first syllable.  He was also really excited about the elephants and all the birds.  He wanted out of the stroller and was running around following daddy.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I can't wait to take them to the zoo many more times.  The boys are learning so much everyday.

 
 
 
 
 
After the zoo, we came home and took naps while Daddy worked on the computer.
 
I had made dinner plans for Red Lobster that night at 5:30, and surprisingly, I pulled off the surprise! Ha.  I am awful at surprises.  I get too excited and want to share the news.  Everyone in Tim's family was able to make it.  The kids love seeing their aunts & uncles & grandma.  Ryan and Jake were also SO well behaved the whole night.  We were there for about 2.5 hours and they were perfect.  The couples that sat around us commented on how well behaved they were before they left.
 
When we got home, I laid Jakey in bed and let Ryan sleep in bed with us.  Tim laid in bed with Ryan & I and said "Thank you for today."
 
We had a great day together as a family celebrating Tim's birthday.  & more importantly, Tim had a good birthday celebration.
 
Happy Birthday, Tim!  We love you so, so much!

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Dinner Menu

Here is our dinner menu for the week- I realize it's probably not the healthiest of meals, oh well! 

Monday
Pierogi Casserole
I actually didn't make this last time I posted this recipe.
Tuesday
Jenn's Birthday.. we're going to BJs Brewery, Yum!

Wednesday

Turkey Panini
I'm going to attempt to make my first panini.. wish me luck!

Thursday
 Bean & Cheese Burritos
Tim makes the best beans & I looove bean and cheese burritos- I think they're my favorite.

Friday

Saturday
Dumplings

3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
- mix together in a mixing bowl
-Next, crack two eggs open into a 1 cup measuring cup, beat the eggs & fill to the 1 cup line with milk
-pour egg and milk into mixture and mix together with your hands
-sprinkle flour onto counter & plop dough on top of sprinkled flour
-roll out with a rolling pin and cut into squares (above) with a pizza cutter

**Then drop dumplings into a boiling pot of chicken broth.
I'm not sure how long they are supposed to cook for, I always make Tim try then when I feel they are done and my timing is always right.

This recipe is fun for me.. My dad used to make them with his mom, I used to make them with my dad, and now that I have a little lady of my own, she makes them with me!

[Edit] I just received an email from my mom with the title "Dumplings" & it says "You cook them until they float to the top of the chicken broth."   :)
Sunday
A day for leftovers because I usually spend the day cleaning.