A Garden Party For Two

Penelope's first birthday is tomorrow. I wasn't going to have a party for her since we are going to celebrate in Tennessee with our family in a few weeks, but I couldn't not do something for our littlest girl. Our dear friends and neighbors have a little girl who is 4 days older than Penelope, so us mamas decided to combine their parties for a sweet afternoon in our side yard.

We had no theme in mind, no real plan for a party. We just wanted to sit in the shade and eat cupcakes with our friends while our kids played.

We laid out some blankets, poured some lemonade, our friends came, the kids played, and we ate cupcakes. It was perfect.

 

I made the girls' outfits. I found some adorable first birthday stuff on Etsy that I decided I could whip up for really cheap. They turned out great!

If I were really wealthy, I would have gifted the guests with Pottery Barn anywhere chairs as party favors. But I'm not, so the birthday girls got to sit in them to eat their cake.

 

 

Gracen totally went for the cake. Penelope didn't want to touch it, so I had to feed it to her.

Our friends really showered our girls with gifts. They got a ton of great stuff and loved ripping through all of the packages.

I loved their party. It was so simple and casual and fun. I'm so glad we decided to do something to celebrate these two precious girls turning one.

Tomorrow is Penelope's actual birthday so there is more fun and celebrating up my sleeve.

The Beginning of the End

I think Penelope is trying to wean. She is only interested in nursing in the mornings. The rest of the time she is too busy or gets easily distracted and doesn't focus on drinking her milkies. This has caused me many mixed emotions. Part of me is really excited to have my body to myself again, to be able to wear regular bras, and not have to dress with easy access to the goods in mind. The other part is really sad this part of motherhood is almost over. Mega sad face. 

I nursed Beatrice for 15 months. I planned to go longer, but the time was right to wean. It made me sad for a second because I loved having that connection with my firstborn, but I was a few months pregnant with Penelope at the time and knew it wouldn't be long before I would be nursing another baby.

Penelope came soon enough and we began our nursing journey. Feeding her has been such an easier and more enjoyable experience than my first go around. It is probably because I know what I'm doing and have way more faith in my body's ability to nourish my girl, but also, she's just a better nurser. Where Beatrice took her time and fidgeted, Penelope gets the job done. We never had an awkward learning stage, she never bit me, she doesn't try to undress me in public to get at the goods. Nursing her has been a real joy. I enjoyed nursing Beatrice too, but it has been a completely different experience this time around. 

I'm not sure how much longer Penelope and I will continue to breast feed. I have a feeling it won't be very much longer. I am proud of the work my body has done to feed my girls, proud of the wear and tear its endured, and proud of the commitment I made and kept to nurse for the first full year of their lives. I'm a little sad it's almost over, but mostly glad we made it to a year without any hiccups along the way. I sure am going to miss these snuggles though. Mega, mega sad face.

Night Walk

We've started a new family tradition around here. After dinner each night, we take a walk around the neighborhood. We load the girls up in the stroller and walk for almost an hour.

The exercise is great, but the best part is that JD and I talk, really talk. We were kind of in a bad habit of talking about the girls and not a lot else. We reconnect every night while working off our dinner calories.

Sometimes we let Beatrice out of the stroller to walk with us. She loves this. We do too (although it does slow us down considerably). She loves the freedom to explore and pretend. So far, we've been in the jungle, to a wedding, and ran like antelopes.

Penelope enjoys riding in the back of the stroller, laughing at whatever silly thing Beatrice is up to. Sometimes she wants to be big too. Daddy helps her out with that and carries her.

We try not to miss a night. It's something we all look forward to.

Not A Good Idea

A couple of months ago, I bought this top:

Photo via J. Crew. Buy it here.

I became obsessed with finding the perfect pair of white skinny jeans to wear with it. I scoured the internet looking for the perfect pair, all the while planning many summer outfits styled around my new white skinnies. I found a designer pair on Hautelook for half the price (seriously, sign up for this site if you like fancy things at a fraction of the cost) and couldn't wait to wear them everywhere. 

These are my kids. They are sweet, little angels, but don't be fooled. They are stain magnets. If it stains, they find it. And make sure it's all over their clothes, my clothes, and everyone else's clothes. Sweet, little stain magnet angels and white pants don't mix. 

I did not think about any of this before purchasing my discounted designer jeans. All I could think about was how cool I was gonna look in my summery outfits. I've had my jeans for 2 months now. Do you know how many times I've worn them? 3. They have been in the laundry room soaking in Oxyclean and bleach and other stain removing concoctions the majority of the 60 days I've owned them. Buying white jeans with a toddler and a baby was not a good idea. 

Know what else is not a good idea? Buying white jeans for a toddler and a baby to wear themselves. My mom sent a package a few weeks ago with 2 itty bitty pairs of white skinnies for my girls. Just like when my jeans arrived, I couldn't wait to put them on them. The first time Beatrice wore hers, we went to the park. The second I let her out of the car, she bucked around on her knees like a bronco and scooted around the grass on her bottom. Her jeans were destroyed. They sat in a bleach solution for a good week before I got all of those stains out. I didn't even bother putting Penelope in hers. 

Today, with the end of white pant season upon us, I broke out all the white jeans in the house. All 3 of us wore our skinnies to meet JD for lunch. I made sure no one touched me the entire day. I fed Beatrice her lunch so she wouldn't mess up her hands and wipe them on her pants. There was a close call when Penelope pooped, but miraculously we made it a whole day (plus an outing) without staining our white pants. 

Oh, and ask me how often I've worn the top I bought that started this whole white pants obsession? Twice. Because it's silk and silk is not that good of an idea with a baby and toddler either. 

Personal Space

I have issues with personal space. I don't want to sit close enough to be touching anyone. I don't want to rub shoulders or bump elbows with other people. And I really don't want to be hugged. If I have to, it's awkward and brief and my heart won't be in it because all I can think about is how uncomfortable it is for me to be touching other people. I sound like a total psycho. My friends know this about me and love to force me into full body hugs. It gives me the heeby jeebies every time. Sorry guys, it's not you. It's me.

I'm not frigid or loveless or anything, I just don't want to be touched. I like my personal space and get a wee bit claustrophobic when people invade it. That's perfectly normal, right?


Having babies has really forced me to deal with these issues. Babies are no respecters of personal space, let me tell you. My girls are on me all the time. They climb me, sit on me, run their fingers through my hair, pull at my clothes, put their hands under my clothes, eat off my plate, and put their fingers in my nose. And thankfully, they are the only people on earth that I don't avoid physical contact with. And JD, obviously.

I really love the way my kids treat my body like an extension of their own, like they have a need to be near me and touching me at all times. It is really sweet and makes me feel like being a mama is the best thing ever. Except when I'm trying to use the bathroom. Mommy really doesn't like going with 2 kids in her lap. It's as if the 9 months inside me wasn't enough. My kids are still attached to me in a way that communicates, "I feel the best when I'm wrapped around you like a spider monkey. Also can I have a bite of that food that's in your mouth right now? Here, let me use my fingers to pry it out."

The evidence:

I love these little snugly space invaders.

Happy Weekend

 

This weekend has been great. Farmers market, swimming, movies, dinner with friends, and snuggles. Tomorrow we meet up with my cousin for a beach day. We are having such a happy weekend. I hope you are too!

Quitters

I used to be really into healthy living. I ran 5 miles a day, I went to the gym 5 nights a week, I ate spinach salads and raw veggies for lunch, and I had muscle tone in places that are now very, very mushy. I really took care of my body not just for vanity's sake, but also for my future health.

These days, I have trouble sticking with any sort of workout plan very long. Remember my ab challenge back in February? Yeah, I gave up after Valentine's Day. I still care about healthy living, but it's more of a lofty idea for the future, something I'll do once I finish this plate of brownies. I guess I'm just in a bad habit of no exercise and eating like crap and my body is paying for it.

After Sunday's baconfest, JD and I watched a documentary called Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. It was so inspiring, we decided to do a juicing cleanse to jump start healthier eating for us. We did our research, brought the juicer up from the basement, and decided to start on August 1st.

Our initial goal was 30 days. I convinced JD that might be a wee bit ambitious for first time cleansers. We settled on 10 days, with me doing a modified cleanse since I am still breast feeding Penelope. Nothing but juice for JD for 10 days. Juice and raw foods (nothing processed) for me. No coffee, so sugar, no bread, no meat. Oy.

We were so excited on Tuesday night. We were hours away from the beginning of healthier, fitter selves. How foolish of us. Everything was going great on Wednesday morning. We woke up early and juiced kale, apples, carrots, lemons, cucumbers, and celery. We felt great...until about 10 am.

Then the headaches set in. Blinding, painful, withdrawal headaches. I stayed in the fetal position all day while the girls fended for themselves. JD came home from work early from exhaustion. We were a mess. We spent the night talking about grilled cheese sandwiches, pizza, and burrito bowls from Chipotle. We wanted to give up.

We trudged on though and the next day, we felt a little better. Losing weight on the scales didn't hurt either. We woke up early to juice again, this time hoping that the worst was behind us. It wasn't. Around 10 am, the headaches raged on. I decided I wasn't cut out for cleansing. I was cut out for food. And lots of it. I decided that I had to eat myself into a healthier me. So I had a bowl of oatmeal and a banana. Then I took a long walk to the fishing pier. I felt so much better. Juicing is for the birds. 


JD came home and decided that feeling like crap for a couple of days wasn't the way to a healthier him either. We discussed what we had hoped to gain from this experience before the headaches set in (ridding our bodies of the chemicals found in processed foods, better eating habits, and healthier, fitter selves for life) and decided that we could accomplish it without going through the torturous juice cleanse. We decided to give up. And then we made spinach and grilled chicken quesadillas with avocados and ate until our shrunken stomachs were bloated and full. It was heaven.

Actually, we don't feel like we gave up at all. Although JD is a little touchy every time I mention the fact that we are big, fat quitters... The day and a half juice cleanse put us more in touch with our bodies and really made us think about the kinds of things we want to put in them in the future. Our new goal is to eat 75% natural foods (fruits, veggies, nuts, legumes) and eliminate the processed foods that come in a box or a can. The rest will be lean meats and hormone free animal products (cheese, eggs, milk, butter). Lots of water and regular exercise too. We are going to incorporate regular juicing in our diets as well since the benefits are undeniable.

I'm really proud of JD for initiating this cleanse and sticking with it for more than 1 day. He is the guy that used to think a PopTart and Hawaiian Punch was a healthy breakfast. Even though we technically gave up, we are still inspired and committed to healthier eating for life. That doesn't sound at all like quitting to me!