7 Quick Takes

1.    1.   I’m slowly getting myself back on the wagon of losing weight. After spending 4 months on the GAPS diet and losing a whopping 15 pounds, we (my whole family) stopped doing GAPS and I fell off the wagon. Majorly. I gained back 10 of those 15 pounds and have been sitting in that same position ever since. It’s a depressing day when 2/3 of your wardrobe no longer fits/looks good on you. So, I’m working on eating healthier and cutting back my carbs, which is my kryptonite. I know I can do this. I just need to look at the short-term. So, my goal for this weekend? Do NOT pig out. Discipline. Moderation.

2.       

      2.     We spent this past weekend in Ohio, visiting my in-laws. It was a good time and we got to see some wonderful friends and family who we had not seen in a year. But let me tell ya, the mosquitoes were a’plenty and for the second time this summer, I got chewed up! Mr. ADM and I were discussing this on our way home and I reminded him that they spray for mosquitoes where we live, so our reality is really not reality at all. Any good recommendations for a natural bug spray? I may have to test a few out, esp. on the kids.

Cousins all together for the first time

Visiting the Great-grandparents!

Miss 'Tude

Birthday Celebration with the Ohio family. Lovin' on her cake.

Pool where we first encountered aka "got mauled" by the mosquitoes. Yes, Miriam is wearing her brother's underwear. We do have a swimsuit for her...she just grew out of it before summer hit. So, after this, my sister-in-law and I went to the great land of Target and found her a more gender-appropriate suit. 

Cousins enjoying the zoo.

3.  

      3.     For the first time in our short lives as parents, we’ve hired someone to babysit our children who we’ve never met before! SCARY! Just kidding. She’s a friend of a friend of my sister’s, so we kind of know her. Plus, she attended our alma mater which right there means absolutely nothing probably, but for us, it means we trust her character a lot more. I’m sure the kids are having a blast as I’m typing this. They love babysitters. Sometimes more than us.

4.   

      4.    I was going to attempt to do the 7 Posts in 7 Days and royally failed. What can I say? Cleaning our apartment so the babysitter didn’t assume we were hoarders was a priority. Because we’re not hoarders. Really.

5.   

      5.    I have to admit something. Some of you may strongly dislike me after this. I do NOT like Finding Nemo. Dori and Nemo’s father just get on my nerves the entire time. They did from the first time I watched it. Yes, I put myself through multiples viewings of this movie, because my kids got their father’s taste in movies apparently and love it. Go figure. I’ll take Toy Story, Bolt or even Monsters Inc (which is more on the “eh” of my likeable scale) over Nemo any day.

6.   

      6.   Craft fair! My dear partner-in-crime, Heidi, and I did our 2nd ever craft fair - first time as both being under AlmostDomesticMama! It was a great day and we had a lot of fun minus getting gnawed on by some really mean flies. Heidi's husband rescued us with bug spray and the rest of the day went smoothly!

This was only half our booth. The other half was filled to the brim with backpacks, aprons, more flag garland, blankets and bibs!

7.  

      7.    This weekend kicks of resale season! I’m SO pumped! Resales are one of my favorite ways to shop – I can buy higher-end clothing for my children that I normally would not be able to afford. I don’t mind second-hand, esp. when it comes in excellent condition for a price I can afford. My husband shakes his head at me because the delight I get from these things is like a foreign language to him. Not resales in general – he’s right there with me when it comes to toys and books and fun stuff like that. But clothes = momentary happiness just doesn’t make sense to him. 

      

     I will be attempting to link-up later, but in the meantime, go to Conversion Diary for more great Quick Takes!

Warm weather brings...lots of stripes?

The boys, enjoying the warm shorts weather. They obviously dress themselves most days. They love the stripes. And mismatched socks, which apparently are "in." They also love to wear them with sandals, which I swore I'd never let my children do, along with mismatched outfits (I thought I'd pick out stylish matching outfits before I actually had kids and then I thought, "I'll make sure all their bottoms are neutral so they can pick ANY shirt out and it'll match..."). Put that down into the "things I said I'd never do as a parent...and then, I did."

Miriam, multi-tasking. She'd take a look out at the yard, then put her hand in the water, then look back out and talk to the tree, then put her hand back in the water. Also, this is the cute, easy skirt I made her. Fits perfectly!

Matthew wanted me to take a picture of him, so he held up what he was playing. Note Mark's knee also in the picture. He has a current obsession with band-aids. Anytime he falls, runs into a wall, imagines he has hurt himself, he needs a band-aid. Thankfully, I got four boxes of the kids ones free recently, so, Mark, band-aid away, my son!

I love this picture because you can see Miriam's dimple! Love it! That and it's a pretty unique facial expression too.

This is one of the kids' favorite toys currently. I scored this little bee at a resale for $6. I have already gotten my money's worth out of this little guy.

p.s. I love that Miriam loves wearing skirts! 

7 Quick Takes (vol.???)

1. I have officially used up ALL my sick days at work within a month. Not that I had a ton, but I didn't expect this to happen in APRIL. So, I've spent the last two days holding my dear daughter who had a high fever. Oh, warm weather, please be here to stay!

2. My ADM partner-in-crime, Heidi, and I are taking part in a small craft fair/moms' night nearby on May 3rd at 7:30 pm. Please come by if you are local! I'm hoping to paint up (and ask Mr. ADM to help with the details) some superheroes and we'll have some adorable little girls' aprons, swaddling receiving blankets, backpacks and maybe some owls too! I'm excited and now feel like I need to get a movin' on craftin'!

3. In the meantime, I've had a small amount of time to make Miriam a couple of cute things to wear this summer. First, a dress I've been working on since LAST summer and the other one is a cute, 15-minute skirt. I have fabric ready to make a few more of these and they look adorable on her! (Excuse the bad-quality photos...these were taken with my cheap-o phone :).)

4. This is what happens when your oldest asks you if they can take a couple pictures on your phone...

(Getting ready for Facebook early, perhaps?)

5. For the first time in...well, pretty much ever, our laundry baskets have not been overflowing with ridiculous amounts of dirty clothing, thanks to Mr. ADM!

6. My great uncle passed away recently and while it was sad to say goodbye, he had been a good man and lived a full life. And my children got to see their great-grandma who they hadn't seen in 4 years (so Miriam had never met her!) as well as meet my aunt and two uncles. It was a very nice visit, despite the circumstances. Here's one fuzzy photo (my mom has the good ones on her camera) of the boys with my grandma.

7. I'm seriously considering doing the No Poo for my hair. It's cheaper and bad-chemical-free and well, cheaper. Anyone tried this method? Thoughts? 

Stop over and visit Jen @ Conversion Diary for more great Quick Takes!

The Difference Between Boys and Girls

This is a picture of a picture my son or possibly sons plus another friend of theirs (who is male) made.

Conversation about this picture:

Mom(me): Oh! You used your stickers! You did such a good job with your picture! Are the owls floating around in bubbles?

Matthew: No, they are bad guys and they are in jail.

Songs That Warm My Heart

My husband started a tradition with our sons that he had grown up with in his own family. Singing before bed. Actually, it was really started by both of us - him, because of the memories and me, out of desperation to try anything to soothe my child to sleep. I used to sing the "Hail Mary, Gentle Woman" song to babies, even when I was babysitting because it is such a soothing song. To this day, it's my favorite song to sing when one of my kids is upset. My husband grew up with his mom and grandma singing songs to him and his two favorites were "You Are My Sunshine" and "The Alphabet Song." When Mr. 2-yo was about 15 months, he started sleeping in his own bed and Daddy was the one to put him to bed most nights. Thus began the tradition and Daddy would sing those songs to him. Somehow in the mix, "Edelweiss" became a night-time song as well, and to this day, no matter who tucks Mr. 2-yo into bed, he requests those songs. Last night, my mom (his grandma) put Mr. 2-yo to bed because neither my husband nor I were home and instead of requesting those songs, he sang "You Are My Sunshine" to her. We thought it was so precious and so today, I asked him to sing me "Sunshine" as he calls it. Hearing his little voice belt out those words made my heart melt and almost brought tears to my eyes. My little boy is growing up! He's taking those words that have been given to him for over a year and a half now and gifting them back to us. It's moments like these that really remind me of the beauty of being a parent.

My Packer Fan and My One-socked Boy

Mr. 1-yo, who fell asleep before pajama-time, in his typical one-socked style.

Mr. 2-yo sporting his Packers jersey quite proudly :).