7 Quickidy Takes

Joining the troops with Jen@ Conversion Diaries for another shot at 7 quick takes.

Before I begin, my typing fingers are insisting that I mention without hopefully sounding too, uh I don't know, weird that I was SO excited that Jen- the superstar blogger, speaker and tv star, made a comment right here at Team Boda. When I saw it in my yahoooo inbox, I nearly squealed that she would take the time to read my blog!!

And really for all you who make comments, there really is nothing better and they make me smile from ear to ear!

1. So, without further ado, I must start this here Quick Takes with one that I THINK ALL SHOULD READ, because I feel as if I have hit some sort of epiphany, which most of you probably hit eons ago, but still I must share.

Matt and I always thought that we would NEVER be one of those parents who would turn on movies every. single. time. we got in our car. Ridiculous, we thought! Our kids will read books, look out the window, talk to us and each other. Well, for the last 3 years we have done the exact opposite of what we thought we would do.

I was out with a group of moms a week ago for dinner and what did we talk about when we were kidless and carefree-- OUR KIDS, of course. So, one mom was sharing that although she has a dvd player in her car she never uses it unless they have been in the car for over an hour. When I heard this the lights went on and the bells started ringing and Mariah Carey's song All I Want for Christmas is Youuuuuuu Baby started playing in this lil' old brain of mine. Why Mariah's All I Want for Christmas? Because it is my favorite song in the whole wide world, of course!

And then I wanted to throw my hands up and scream right there in the restaurant: "Oh my gosh, I am so sick of my kids yelling at me from the back seat to put a movie on, whining for me to change the movie that is currently playing, and fighting over the movie that they want to put in next!" Thankfully, due to my pride, I did contain myself and only screamed this in my head.

So, what did I do the very next morning as soon as the kids woke up? We had a team meeting and I told them no more dvd player unless we were in the car for over an hour. One child immediately started crying and stomping his foot, the other two looked at me dumbfounded.

Verdict after NO tv in the car for a week= Peace!!
And, I am loving it. We listen to music and half the whining that use to take place is gone.

So, I just had to share this gold mine that I have discovered, which again I am sure most of you learned long before going into 7 years of parenting.

2. The other day the boys and I were cleaning out their room and closet, getting rid of toys they no longer used, etc. After we were done they discovered a new secret hide out in upper rungs of their cleaned out closet. They spent the next 3 hours up there reading books, playing and even wanted to be served dinner in their new space. It was the best 3 hours of Matt and my life! (By "best 3 hours"-- I may be exaggerating a little, but not much.)

They let Grace bring her princess (primpress, if using Grace language) and join them.

3. This year I have been cooking and experimenting more than ever, which by most standards simply means cooking dinner every night. I attempted an "easy" strawberry pie, assuming I would post pics and a how to on this blog. But the pie was literally inedible by the kids and I (Matt was out of town, so it was thrown out before he could even try it). How does one mess up a pie with the main ingredients being sugar and strawberries? I really don't know. But I did.

This week Sahmy posted her super simple recipe for pie. And after reading her post, I knew I must take another stab at it, even if it was my final attempt of pie-ing in the kitchen.

Let me just say, it was the best thing EVER and only took me 10 minutes to prepare. As they say, the proof is in the pudding and Matt said: "I can't believe you made this. I will be a happy man if you make this for me on my birthday every year." So, if you like pie, you must GO and try it!

Matt was saying: "This is da bomb."

Am I embarrassed that Matt and I polished off over half of the pie by ourselves? Yes, VERY embarrassed. 

4. Our sweet little Hope has gone from baby to one of the kids in like days and I am really kinda torn up about it. She has become Little Miss Explorer in what seems to be a matter of minutes. She follows the kids on her knees to their rooms and really, really wants to play with them. She is climbing up on anything that is climable and wants to suck on all things not toys.

Look Mom one hand!

Grace and Hope playing together at the Mall playground, real sanitary I bet!

Even though she is super cute discovering all things new, I desperately want to go back to a few months ago to where she was just my little kangaroo and press the pause button.



5. I must show y'all this picture again, even though I posted it on Facebook. My kids have started CrossFitting at my gym.

I signed the boys up for a trial class, expecting Grace to sit with Hope and I, as she (Grace) is too young for the class. Well, what was I thinking! Because of course she wanted to be a part of the action, even though she was dressed in flops and wearing a scarf, pink skirt and big flower headband. The kids LOVED the class and it was so cool to see them learn how to workout.

6. I haven't mentioned this yet on da blog, but we are moving. I can't even believe I am typing those words out. Soon and very soon Naples will be a place that we just visit and Tampa will be our home. It is bitter sweet.

7. Lastly, I shall leave you with the cutest pic of my parents who are still in love after 37 years of marriage. Matt and I have been given such a great example. Love you mom and dad.

Have a great weekend everyone. 

Off to workout, all my love!