Sleeping is for Losers

ROAD TRIP: Those Special Moments

While we were away, this boy

and I shared many special moments and lots of chatting time.

One morning, as I was making coffee, I heard him rustling in his bed. I peeked my head in and he whispered "will you come lie down with me". Heart melts.

We snuggled up and it was silent for a beat. Then he turned to me and whispered,

"Mommy, you smell like stinky cream cheese and daddy toots."

Moment=over

ROAD TRIP: The Highlights

I love a good road trip. Always have.
Our road trip to Florida from Toronto took us through six States:
Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida. I have been to Florida; but the rest of the States we drove through were foreign to me. So here are some of my thoughts and highlights:

I am the only one who thinks it's awesome to play "Lose Yourself" by Eminem while driving past 8 Mile in Detroit. Come ON! As if that's not the perfect song!
My road trip theme song (Party In The USA!) was vetoed
"Call Me Maybe" became the road trip theme song by default because it is on the radio every single moment of the day. And we all know the words. (well, not William, but he would yell and kick his feet when it came on).
My husband totally loves One Direction.
There is no need for a pillow in the car. It's just annoying and doesn't get used.
Pull-ups=awesome for the three year old who couldn't hold it one time.
The States really does have a lot of stuff we can't get in Canada. We guzzled Cherry Coke and Sweet Tea, chowed down on Cookie Crisp and Trix, ate so many containers of Chobani yogurt (although I think it is starting to become available in Canada), and stocked our fridge with B&J Fuzzy Navel. I am so jealous that Americans get to enjoy these treats every day.
Many restaurants in the States do not carry anything but pop (soda??). My kids don't drink pop- that's my personal choice. However, I cannot tell you how many times we were at a restaurant that served nothing but soda or alcohol, which means that Zach got a taste of the good stuff on one occasion. Hooked much?
Apparently, pop at breakfast is perfectly acceptable. This is totally judgey HOWEVER I just cannot see the need to drink a Mountain Dew at 7:00 a.m.
I love me a Southern Accent. Z loves them too. I loved hearing people talk to me in Georgia and Kentucky. I loved when they asked if I was "from the North" because of how I talked. I loved that everyone called me sweetie and cooed over my boys. I just don't get that in Toronto.
I love me some McDonalds. Good thing too, because we ate more McDs than anything else.
People on the beach in Ft. Myers were grossly tanned. Like, SOOOO over the top.
I am the whitest human on Earth. So is Zach. We are sooooo white.
SPF 60 works.
It is HOT in the South. Like HOOOOOOTTTTTT! I was wearing jeans when we stopped in Kentucky and pretty much melted.
The "wildlife" in the south (lizards, crabs, etc.) was amazing to my 3 year old. He adored searching for those little creatures.
You can buy alcohol everywhere. I forgot that. It's so convenient.
The terrain of Tennessee is amazing. The mountains blew my mind.
Apparently, TEXAS is not on the way to Florida when driving from Toronto...contrary to what I believed.
Downtown Detroit is scary. LEGIT scary.
Gas station bathrooms=scary. LEGIT!
Crossing the boarder is much faster and easier then I anticipated.
Sometimes, my kids sleep.

ROAD TRIP!!!

(aka: how to survive a four day road trip with a 3 year old and 1 year old and your spouse. And live to tell the tale)

Our family vacation to Florida was very carefully planned. But I did not spend more time on anything than planning the 'car time' that the drive from Toronto to Florida (and then Florida to Toronto) would provide us with.

There are a lot of good ideas on the internet regarding road tripping with kids but I'll tell you that few of those ideas pertain to kids as young as mine. I will assume this is because no one is stupid enough to spend four full days in the car with little kids. But I am. So here are my tips:

Pack a PLETHORA of {healthy-ish} snacks:

Snacks are a must. But you must pack double the amount you think your family will need. Because boredom eating is not just for us stay-at-home moms, believe me. My one year old will eat double the amount I can when he is bored.

The key to road trip snacks for young children (and their parents) is to make them portable, easy to grab, and sure-fire crowd pleasers. And healthy. Trust me- you are going to need healthy snacks.

I headed out to our grocery store and got individual (snack sized) packs of baby carrots, sugar snap peas, and celery and dip. I rarely buy these items but it saved me so much time as they were pre-packaged and easily portable. I also added some apples, a few bananas, grapes, cucumber slices (I cut those myself- someone please made those in snack size, ok??) and cheese strings. I think I threw a few drinking boxes in there as well.

I also used a cloth shopping bag for my 'non-perishable' snacks: boxes of crackers, teddy grahams, animal crackers, rice krispie squares, fruit snacks, etc. Anything that was easy to grab and munch on. The front seat of our car looked like a small convenience store, it was so packed with food, but by the time we reached our final destination, we had plowed through 3/4 of the snacks I had packed.

Pack a cooler:

In our trunk, we kept a larger cooler which was packed with the 'essentials' our kids need and love. Homogonized milk for Will, 2% milk for Zach. Peanut butter and whole wheat bread. Juice. Cereal. Pre-sliced apples (yes, seems needless & kinda costly, but having these apples all sliced and ready to eat was a lifesaver).

The key to the cooler was that it was easily accessible when we stopped at rest areas. Instead of paying for a fast food lunch we made peanut butter sandwiches and guzzled juice or milk and munched on crispy apple slices. It saved us so much time and a ton of money!

Stop. A. Lot.:

Listen, we had 24 hours of driving to do with a 3 year old, who is newly potty trained, and a 1 year old who only wants to walk. We took full advantage of the AMAZING road-side rest stops that the US had to offer. Every rest stop on the I-75 was well lit, the bathrooms were relatively clean, and there was always enough grassy space for the kids to run some of their energy out. We had a chance to grab a snack from our well packed cooler. And we got to see how hot it really was outside (FYI- it was HOOOOOTTTTT!). A 15-20 minute stop was enough to keep the kids going for 2 or 3 hours.

Book a hotel room in advance:

We were not interested in driving for 24 hours straight with the kids. So, we decided to stop just outside of Atlanta, Georgia for a stay overnight. We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express, which was FANTASTIC and included a delicious breakfast, which all four of us enjoyed thoroughly. But it was also fully booked. So, when travelling with (little) children, I strongly suggest you book your hotel room in advance. For the record, Z loved sleeping in a hotel more than anything else we did on the trip. He snuggled in with 4 pillows and we literally dragged him out of bed, crying. He has NEVER loved sleeping like that. Major tip: Pack an overnight bag for your hotel stay. PJ's, toiletries, clothes for the next day. It will save you MAJOR headaches!

Pack toys they'll actually play with:

My boys love toy dinosaurs and they love books. That's what I packed for the car ride. Whining or tears? Have a dino. Grizzling starts...here's a book. Blankies and Marvin the Martian were staples in the back seat, along with the real life saver...

PORTABLE DVD PLAYER:

We have a portable dvd player with two screens that attach to the headrests. This saved our lives. Literally. They watched Madagascar, Ice Age (two different ones), episodes of Sesame Street and Chugginton, The Wiggles, Raffi (oh Raffi, how I love you). Although most of the movies were aimed at Zach, William enjoyed them just as much and was lulled to sleep by the glow of the dvd player more times than I can count.

Push. But not TOO far.:

Be ambitious in how far you want to drive in one day, but don't reach too far. The last few hours of our first day of driving were really difficult. We were arguing and there was crying and missed exits. We had just pushed too far and really should have stopped a bit earlier. Which brings me to my last point...

Make the car ride part of the fun:

My boys had never been in the USA before. We loved talking about each State as we entered it and teaching Z the {few} facts we knew. We loved showing him palm trees for the first time. And drinking sweet tea. And talking about accents. And showing him the mountains of Tennessee. It was fun (sometimes) and a good learning experience for all of us!

We Drove To Florida...

One week ago:

This guy:

This girl:

This 3 year old:

And this {almost} one year old...

Headed off on a two day road trip to Ft. Myers, Florida.

It was hard to decide what we wanted to do, as a family of four, for our first family vacation. In the end, due to finances and the ages of our boys, the idea of driving to Florida (from Toronto) and renting a condo right by the beach was the best idea. It allowed us to still live our "normal" life (normal= semi regular naps for the baby, pretty "normal" meals, a bathroom nearby for the 3 year old, etc.) but provided us a way to escape the distractions that a stay-cation would have bombarded us with.

Truthfully, there is no such thing as "relaxing" when you have two kids this young. I was still cooking and cleaning and dealing with meltdowns and fights and 'accidents' and demands. I was still changing diapers and glued to the couch at the end of the day because *apparently* it's frowned upon to go out to a bar and party it up while your children sleep at home. Heh. But being far away from our home and our family and our jobs and our friends gave us the opportunity to just be together with our kids. And that, my friends, was the real highlight of our trip (that, and the discovery of Whale Wars, which we cannot get enough of!).

I'll be posting a lot more of our trip but for now, know that this happened a lot...

Beach- every morning from 9 am until noon.

Swimming in the salty water. Will LOVED the water until he got a massive mouthful of the warm, salty water. He barely went near it after that.

More sandcastles than you can imagine. And MOATS. THE MOATS!

Hundreds of trips to the waterline to grab another bucket or watering can full of water to fill up these MOATS!

THE UNTHINKABLE! NAPS...ON THE BEACH...

Swimming in the pool every afternoon. The best!

AND LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS of sitting in the car. {with their 'brother' Marvin the Martian. Don't ask.}

stay tuned...more to follow...

Bloggy Break

I'm gone away. For a week:)

See you when I get back with (hopefully) awesome stories, but more likely tales of woe and warnings to never take a two day car trip with an 11 month old and 3 year old.

xo

Protein Pancakes: The Video

I'm going to share my favourite meal with you- protein pancakes.

I eat them for breakfast, for lunch, and for dinner. They are delicious, nutritious (but I'm not a nutritionist or a dietary professional, fyi) and easy to make. My older son (Z, who is three) loves them as well, although I often leave out the protein powder if he is going to partake.

THE VIDEO:

Things you will learn from this video:

how to make protein pancakes
i am awful at holding a flip video camera and talking and cooking.
will jabbers in the background almost the entire video
i have a cold
my kids are super cute
we almost spill the Magic Bullet twice
although it looks like it, there is no paid product placement for Enfamil or Teddy Grahams

Here's the base recipe:

1/3 cup oats

4 egg whites

one scoop protein powder (vanilla or chocolate flavour)

Add-ins:

Just like regular pancakes, feel free to add in a handful of blueberries, half a banana, or some chopped up strawberries.

Directions:

Place all ingredients in your Magic Bullet or blender. Whirrrrrrrrrr it up (technical terms, people). Pour the batter into a pan (a la pancakes) and cook over medium heat until golden brown. The pancakes will not be as fluffy as regular pancakes, but they will be yummy!

Live Blogging The Bachelorette

I'm not sure how into this season I'll be...but I'm live blogging the season premiere of The Bachelorette, with Miss Emily Maynard.

Just checking out the photos, I'm going with Doug, Chris and Ryan...and really hoping that those photos were just really bad because um, not full of lookers. Maybe they have really great hearts;)

OK, Emily is beautiful- really really beautiful. It gives me hope that, when my boys are older, I can look good again. I mean, not Emily good but good for me. I never looked that good at 26.

Did she really fall for Brad? REALLY? I have a really hard time believing that she was into him at all...

Emily just said PUT ON YOUR BIG GIRL PANTIES. Ok, I love her.

A big of (gossipy) background- although Emily is an event planner, I hear that her fiancé was very wealthy and she (for her daughter's sake I assume) has been well taken care of since his passing.

OH HAI Chris Harrison. Can't wait for the most.intense.season.ever.

And here come the guys. So far- ugh. I'll only mention the ones I think have a chance.
RYAN- there he is. He's a Sports Trainer, has the cutest accent and beautiful eyes. and I think Emily likes him.
TONY- he's a dad and that would bode well for him, one would think...
ARIE- I'm giving him a passing nod because, well, he's hot but the whole race car driver thing is going to be a turn off I think...

We're taking a break from the guys to meet up with Emily and Chis Harrison...SHE IS STUNNING. However, why did she have to name her daughter Ricky after her dead fiancé? WHY?

Back to any guys I find interesting:
ARIE- I'm giving him another look and, um, yes. Big fan.
CHRIS- ok, I think he's sweet. Not super cute but sweet and nervous, which I like.

I'm sorry but so many of these guys are insincere dorks. Just be nice and normal. Ugh. WHY do they have to act like this.

So far, all I can say is that I feel sorry for Ms. Emily. Slim pickings. I'm DYING over this GRANDMA. DYING DYING DYING!

NATE- cute. smells good. keeper.
MIKE- needs a haircut but I think she felt a bit attracted to him.

OH PUH-LEASE! A HELICOPTER IS COMING. Let's all run outside and see who it is. I hope Emily doesn't fall for this garbage.

Chris Harrison is asking Emily how she feels after meeting the 25 guys...I feel like she wants to kick off her heels and RUN. And quite honestly, if you're THAT nervous Emily, why would you do a show that's only about you? WHY?

Now the guys are trying to impress Ms. Em. She likes Chris (CALLED IT!) and his bobble heads. I also think she's into Doug (who I also called from the beginning)...his son wrote Emily a note. Oy. Heartstrings. Pulled.

MAJOR SIDEBAR: I think I like Emily. And I know that some of this reads catty, but really this is why people are on the show...to be talked about.

I'm loving how the guys are jealous little brats about the helicopter guy. What babies.
Cute Arie just tried to give Emily his coat and was DENIED! That, to me, is a bad sign. If I guy I liked offered me his coat I'd take it in a heartbeat.

DOUG gets the First Impression Rose. Um, look up at the beginning of this post. I totally called him as one to look out for!

AND NOW...for the most dramatic rose ceremony in history. (just to keep tabs on the guys I picked before the show started: Doug got the first impression rose, Chris got the next rose and Ryan got the one after that! THREE FOR THREE!!!!)

Well, looks like a few guys who I cannot recall even seeing in the show are out. I do feel bad for them, only because it is embarrassing. But these melodramatic exit monologues? PLEASE. Spare me.

And that's the show, folks. I think I'll be watching next Monday- I like Emily way more then I had anticipated and I'm passionate about my three guys (Ryan, Doug & Chris, fyi) making it to the end:)

Oh, and it looks like the tears are gonna flow. Sheesh.

what we're eating...

I'm endeavouring to meal plan for this week. We don't have much in the way of groceries, but I am attempting to clean out the fridge/pantry of all those things I rarely use. So, here's our tentative meal plan...

Monday
Crispy Chicken Wraps & a green salad
I use any left over chicken and do a quick shallow pan fry OR I use chicken nuggets & cook them according to instructions. Take a whole wheat wrap, fill with crispy chicken, cheese and anything else your heart desires (I love avocado, lettuce, tomato & a bit of ranch dressing).

Tuesday
Potato- Bacon Torte (but I use a store bought crust) with steamed broccoli & cauliflower

Wednesday
Breakfast Hash & biscuits
Groung turkey, sweet potato cubes, orange pepper, asparagus all mixed together in a frying pan. So yummy!!!

Thursday
Pasta and Sauce

Friday
Grilled chicken breasts with roasted veggies (and some rice for the kids)

Hey Husband

I'm a giver by nature. So I'm gonna make this SUPER easy for you.
Don't buy me flowers or a spa package or stuffed animals. Not even a card.
ALL I want for Mother's Day is to sleep.
That is it, that is all.
Sleep without a cute redhead crawling into bed to tickle mommy. Sleep without a sweet little 10 month old goobering all over my face. Sleep without the cat stretching out and taking over the whole bed. Sleep without someone *ahem* stealing all the covers.

Just SLEEP.

(I was going to add a picture of me sleeping, but I couldn't find one. Probably because I never sleep...)

He's Almost Three

Tomorrow, he turns three.
Three years old.
And so, to honour that milestone, Zach and I decided to have a photo shoot while his little brother had a nap. Our last photos of a two year old Zachary and his mother, all taken by Zachary himself (and me,sans makeup, greasy hair, couldn't say no, could I?)