Zoo

So yesterday we went to the zoo as our first trip as official members! Although there was still a bit of a chill in the air, the sun and 57 degree temp made for a fun time.

Each time we have gone to the zoo with Drew, it's a whole new experience! The very first time that we took Drew was in July of last year with my parents and have since been to the KC and Akron zoo's as well. But this time, he's walking. And by no means at all did he want to sit in his Bob and watch the animals. Nope, he wanted to be walking around and going where HE wanted to go at all times. I have to admit that we bribed him a few times with food and snacks so that we could get him quickly up some long stretches of path.

I'd say his favorite animals this trip were the lemur's (again) and the elephants. But then again, he loves fish and small mammals that move quickly like monkey's.

And guess who was bad at pictures again?

This has always been, and always will be, on my bucket list. I MUST touch a koala before I die. I just can't handle their cuteness and how soft and furry they look. 

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And in other news, please be thinking of me on Thursday morning as I'll be flying with Drew BY MYSELF for a work visit to KC. I'm nervous, scared, excited and anxious all together and just hope I can entertain Drew for the 2 hour flight.  Fingers crossed!

First 5K of 2012

I rather enjoy race times that start at 9am as opposed to 8am. For some reason, that extra hour to wake up and get motivated really helps! But also, in the early spring, it's another hour for the weather to warm up a bit. Yes, I'm a weenie about cold runs. I'll be the girl with the fleece headband, pants and running gloves in the 45 degree weather when professional runners are in shorts and tank tops. Don't judge.

A couple weeks ago we were starting to see 60-65 degree forecasts for race day and I was excited to finally run with Drew in some sunny weather. If you remember, last year we signed up for two races with Drew only to be stormed or frozen out of both of them.

And then 8am came. And it was only 38 degrees.

We pulled the trigger yet again to not run, especially since Drew has been sick for a bit now. It was sunny, and looked like it should have been 67, but it was a chilly 43 when race time hit. We still bundled Drew up and went to the site knowing there would be hundreds of pups. The race was to benefit a local rescue group and it was fun to watch him squeal in delight seeing all of the doggies.

I didn't snap a single picture and Derek only snapped a couple of me showing Drew the firetruck.

More pics to come later of our outing to the zoo this afternoon. It warmed up to 57 and was nice out so we decided to take our first trip there as official zoo members!

Turkey Burgers

So Derek has been craving a burger. And I've been craving something other than chicken or fish. But then you have to keep in mind that we're still calorie counting and have to be creative. In an effort to cut out red meat, I've been substituting 99% lean ground turkey for hamburger in some recipes and it's WELL worth the extra few bucks per pound.

That led me to making my own turkey burgers! I found quite a few recipes online, but changed out ingredients here and there leading me to the below. It was low-calorie and tasted even better with a piece of melted swiss cheese.

Ingredients (Makes about 5 patties)

1 lb. ground turkey

1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1 egg white, lightly beaten

1/8 cup finely diced onion

1 T. chopped fresh parsley

1 clove garlic, peeled and minced

1 tsp. salt

Dash of pepper (optional)

1 T. extra virgin olive oil

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients. Form into 5 patties (or 4 if you like them fat!).

2. Cook the patties in oil in a medium skillet over medium heat, turning once, to an internal temperature of 180 degrees F.

Each patty (if you make 5) works out to be about 165 calories or so and they are quite yummy! Enjoy!

Masterpieces

Can you see it? The feeling. The raw emotions that are reflected in these pieces of art?

This is just another reason as to why I love Drew's school. Almost every other day they are sending him home with drawings and crafts made while he's there. It makes me smile when I look at these pieces. I can just see his concentrating face that he makes when coloring. But the best part? It's how the teachers tell me often that he loves finger-painting and crafts and how he grins from ear to ear during art time.

My little turkey loves art and that's awesome.

The Tongue

Starting a few weeks ago, we noticed that Drew was sticking his tongue out more. Generally, it accompanies deep concentration when coloring or playing and is quite funny. It's definitely not a trait passed down by Derek or myself and I've honestly never seen any of his grandparents stick out their tongue either. A facebook friend said it's pretty much a trait that all boys carry, so does your little boy do this as well?

Either way, it's cute.... it just adds even more slobber to his shirts!

Master Shower Makeover

So we all know our house is old. Like really old. Like 1930's and we have an original nuclear attack 'to do' sheet listing what to do with women and children within the household. And when it comes to showers, they were sparse back in those days meaning we were lucky to find a house with a good one. Sure it's only about 2.5 feet wide, but it's in great condition and we LOVE our rain shower head.

The problem that we faced when we moved in was some mold on the grout and behind the clear caulking. It's been over 2 years now and that mold has grown. (Mostly because we're lazy, but I'll blame it on our hard water). I decided it was time for a nice shower makeover. I called the Grout Medic and set up an appointment to get that baby cleaned and they were out within a couple of weeks. The total process only took about 3 hours and we just had to wait to shower for about 24 hours due to the technician applying all new caulking.

Here are some before and after pics:

Honestly, I'm not even going to go into detail as to what all they did. You can tell by the pictures how well their machines and chemicals worked. Our shower is now sparkling clean and so much better than before!

It was SO worth the money to feel like you're showering in a brand new shower again!

(Grout Medic did not endorse this post, nor do I have any personal affiliation with the company)

An Evening Outside

Sunday night was one of those evenings that we finished dinner, put our phones away and ventured out back. After a few cold and rainy days, it was gorgeous weather and we played out there for quite a while before bedtime.

Derek and I really want Drew to love the outdoors and not be one to prefer a TV show or a video game. He currently doesn't watch any TV and although I know this will change as he grows, I like his love for being outside. It was just nice to enjoy nature. We watched birds, we played in the dirt, pointed at airplanes and more.

But mostly, we played on our slide.

At times, Drew would just sit in the grass and watch the trees sway or an old leaf scurry across the blades of grass. He would occasionally look up at me and smile and I could tell he enjoyed just relaxing there soaking up the fresh air. 

We got out the bubble gun and as he pointed, screamed with joy and kept repeating 'bubba', I knew that was a good idea. He giggled as he would pop a bubble and would sign that he wanted more once they were all popped. 

My hope for the future is that he really loves playing outside. I know that all kids love playing outside, but I want it to go beyond that. I want him to prefer it over other indoor activities and really love mother nature. 

She is a beautiful beast that has so much to offer if we all just take the time to see it. 

Update on Walking

So Drew has been taking steps for months now as I mentioned before on here. Almost right after that last post, his balance got even better he would take anywhere from 5-15 steps. But that's it.

Until a few days ago.

Almost to the day he turned 15 months, the kid just began walking all over out of nowhere. I'm sure some parents see their kid take a couple steps and proclaim that the child is "walking". I think that's really pushing the meaning of the word and told Derek that I wasn't considering Drew a true walker until he stood from the ground and chose to walk on his own. No prompting, no pulling himself up, no crazy cheering squad. He had to do it himself and prefer that over crawling.

And the kid has. And he's been doing it now a few days and doing GREAT! Sure he loses his balance a lot, but he LOVES walking and barely lets us hold his hand anymore. I think it's adorable watching him stand up and realize that he doesn't need to hold onto anything. I love the look on his face when he realizes he is doing it all by himself and it's much more fun than crawling!

WATCH OUT WORLD!

Coloring

We love Melissa and Doug in our house so when I read about their jumbo crayons, I got really excited.

Here's why:
     * They are non toxic
     * They are triangle shape so they don't roll
     * They are made of plastic meaning they won't break like wax does
     * They are nice and big for fat toddler fingers learning to hold onto things

Although they have been taste-tested one too many times, Drew seems to enjoy coloring on his sketch book with these crayons. My father is a talented artist and Derek's brother Matt can sketch like no other so I'm glad to see that someone else is continuing the drawing chain in this family! 

Future Picasso perhaps?


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And on a side note, the "Sanibel Shed" is going well as Derek and I are now officially the lowest we've been since being a senior in high school! I really would like to lose another 5, but Derek and I are rewarding ourselves tomorrow with a splurge day. Bagels for breakfast, Jimmy Johns for lunch, pizza for dinner and a yummy piece of cake from a local deli to top it all off. I. CAN'T. WAIT.

And then it's back to the grind to lose 5 more pounds and tone up my deflated tummy before this.....

Drew's 1st Easter Egg Hunt

I'm 95% sure most of you are tired of reading Easter posts within the blogging world, but I have just ONE more! I had to include our egg hunt fiasco event that we attended this past weekend. It was CRAZY. Seriously. Pure chaos.

So this year, I wanted to attempt an egg hunt with Drew. Knowing that he still topples a lot when walking, I figured a large hunt where kids were separated by age would be best. At least the 3 years olds wouldn't be too much bigger than him. I figured a 5 year old would just bull him over and not care!

So I found a 100,000 egg hunt that had a 2-3 age category but took really any kids under 3. When we got there, I estimate that nearly 4,000 people were already there. With Derek's anxiety starting to set in, we quickly registered and made our way to his area only to hear the hunt was being pushed back 15 minutes. This is where it got sticky. Kids were getting crazy. They were becoming very antsy as they could see all of the eggs and parents were quickly following. It was near lunch time. And nap time. A dangerous combination. Not to mention probably another 1,000 people had showed up.

So we waited. And more people came. And I began to get nervous despite Drew, on the other hand, watching balloons, eating popcorn and having no issues just hanging out.

You know in the Hunger Games preview where they are counting down the beginning of the game and your heart is pounding as you know what's next in store for the main character? That happened to me as the announcer began 5, 4, 3, ....

I bolted. I scooped up my kid and ran. My motherly instincts knew we would have 4 seconds to ensure he got an egg so I ran. I became 'that' parent, but to about 1/8th of the degree other parents were.

And I then stood up and saw the madhouse. Parents were literally dragging their kids in order to gather as many eggs as they could. Apparently there were a few 'golden' tickets in which you would win iPad's and other good prizes if you found those. It really felt like a 'hunt' in the truest meaning of the word. Drew was literally on the ground just long enough to grab those few eggs. Then I noticed that parents were brushing dangerously close to him as they sprinted by and I was done. He wouldn't know he only had a few eggs and at that point, his safety was my only concern. 

Once we got to the side where daddy was with the camera and bloggie, we were able to breath and look through our findings. 

And then the boys walked around a bit while mommy gawked in disbelief at how crazy some parents are.

And then we went home and enjoyed a quiet little hunt in our front yard where no madness could ensue.

Next year, we will not be back. Instead, I hope to find a much smaller scale hunt that Drew can actually enjoy and not be run over by crazy 30 and 40 year olds. Until then, I hope everyone else had a wonderful Easter!

I Heart Target

This is why I love the Target $1 bins....

So simple, yet so much joy.

Happy Easter

Oh and I had to include Drew's school pictures with live bunnies that we just got back. They included him in the group that he wasn't supposed to be in first, hence the orange Thomas the Train tshirt on the left. Then, the 'real' picture is on the right where he's all nice and dressed up. Of COURSE he is smiling and happy in a tshirt instead of dressed up with his hair done. I wish I could cut out his face and put it on the dressed up picture!

I also can't believe they got those bunnies to sit still for the entire school. Poor things probably were groped and grabbed more than they ever thought they would be in their entire life.

Lastly, I was so excited to get Drew's basket together this year. Last year he was only a couple months old and way to young to really enjoy anything out of a basket. We probably went a bit overboard for a little Holiday such as Easter, but it was really just a few items we'd been wanting to get him anyway. What little boy doesn't love a good dump truck?

Also thanks to both sets of grandparents for the toys and books you both got for Drew for Easter!

Smell the Flowers

I love the innocence that comes along with having a toddler. Everything is an exploration and their minds are completely present in everything action they take. The smallest thing will make Drew smile or laugh and it's incredible to watch him learn from his surroundings. Sometimes I wish life were as simple as that. To view the world as one big palette of colors and sights and not have a care in the world. To be 100% present in everything we do would be wonderful.

It's the slow moments where I get to be 100% present with Drew and I enjoy each and every second of them. The slow moments where we have no planning and nowhere else to be. Like when we sit in our sunroom with Drew and watch the birds and squirrels move about the backyard. The peace and quiet with no phones or distractions slows the world down and allows us to enjoy life even more.

Although our lives speed by and we probably miss a lot more than we should, knowing Drew doesn't miss a thing makes me happy. I will try my best to never impose my annoyances, judgments and stereotypes onto him so that his world may stay an open palette.

Next time I get lost in the tornado of stressors in my life, I will just look at these and remember how a flower made him so curious and happy. How he stood there with a grin enjoying how the petals fluttered about when he touched them. How simple that moment was. And how present I was.

Have you stopped and smelled the flowers lately?

Craigslist Scores

There are people who absolutely hate Craigslist. And then there are people who would buy pretty much anything.

I'm in the middle.

I don't mind the occasional plastic toy like the $6 Little Tikes toddler slide that I scored. Or the Rainforest Jumperoo that I negotiated down to super cheap in almost brand new condition! But I won't buy much more than that.

Selling, on the other hand, has been also quite successful for me! A couple years ago I sold an old chandelier that we replaced in our last home for a great price. (I couldn't believe someone even wanted it!) And this past weekend, I sold this black table and stool set that we had for FIVE years and bought from Nebraska Furniture Mart. We only spent $125 on the table and I listed it for $75 on Craigslist and got $75. I should have listed it for more too as I got about 12 emails within the first couple of days after listing it! Can you believe that rate of return though? We were so surprised.

In a search for a good toy box for Drew, I once again turned to Craigslist. I figured if we were going to buy some big Little Tikes or Fisher Price plastic toy box, that it would fine to buy a used one. Then, I pulled up a link to an old wood toy box with this picture and died.

I knew my father was coming into town within a couple weeks and could help clean it up and re-finish it. I immediately contacted the seller and ended up negotiating the price down to a measly $25!! I'm not one for antiques, or old handmade items, but I just really am in love with this box. It's SUPER sturdy, very well made and was enjoyed by another 'Drew' for years.

So I put my dad to work. He cleaned, he sanded and he stained. It would have taken a lot more time and work to strip the old paint and re-paint the entire thing, so our only fast option was a stain. It's now this dark color with a hint of green/blue showing through and looks GREAT!

Derek put on the toy boy hinge so that it doesn't slam down on Drew's fingers and it's done!