Our Super Summer Vacay, Part III

{Read Part I here and Part II here}

Things immediately got better once we arrived at Aunt Kathy and Uncle Joe's house in Elmwood Park. Tucker was there, chillin' and it was SO good to finally squeeze his little cheeks. Sassy was over-the-moon thrilled to meet her new baby cousin, and I was equally as thrilled for her, as I had spent the past 6 weeks hearing about how excited she was to meet him. I knew she was looking forward to it, but her little smile lit up like sunshine. It was adorable!



Little A was pretty amazed, too. She spent the first few days of our trip saying baaay-beee, baaay-beee over and over and over.



The girls wanted to hold Tucker and play with Tucker and feed Tucker every moment of every day, and I was prepared for that. That's not to say it didn't get a bit wearing after two weeks, but I am glad they had such a great time getting to know him.

After getting in some good visiting, we shuttled over to Kelli and Randy's new place in Forest Park. They have the lower level of a pretty cool old building, and it was really open and spacious. The downside... no A/C. I about died on the spot. It took some getting used to (and some industrial sized fans blowing in my face while I slept), but all ended up well.

Kelli had training for work Monday-Wednesday of that first week, so we all packed up and spent the day at Aunt Kathy's with Uncle Rick and Kaitlin. The girls had a ball terrorizing bonding with tucker and swimming in the pool. Here are a few shots from Monday...

Sweet Baby T:



Little A sampling Uncle Rick's brownies... see how happy she is when she eats??



Randy & Baby T. Randy had active duty while we were visiting... you didn't think I could possibly pass up the money "man in uniform" shots, now did you?



Tuesday, we did a bit more of the same. Hung out at Aunt Kathy's house. Swam in the pool. Played in the backyard. Ooh'd and aah's over Tucker. Took a trip with Kait to Target. The usual.

Sassy did a lot of this which made her this...



Little A and Tucker were like this...



Wednesday, Tucker went to "daycare" while the girls and I stayed back at Kelli's house. We waited for Kaitlin to pick us up, and the morning looked a little something like this...



Once we were able to convince Morty that his cage was a nice place to be, we set off for a day of lunch and shopping at Woodfield. Ah, Woodfield, how I love thee. How my wallet loathes thee.

Macy's, Sephora, C.O. Bigelow, H&M, The Disney Store, Janie & Jack, Hanna Andersson... 'nuff said.

By Thursday morning, Kelli was finished with her training, and we had a big plan. our goal was to get a decent picture taken at Portrait Innovations of all 3 cousins to give Aunt Kath for the 4th. It is her holiday, after all. We went to The Glen, did PI, had lunch at noodles & Co (when are we getting one of these?) and hit Carter's. All in all, a success.

Some adorable pics of Tucker pre PI photo shoot at Kelli's house...



We spent the majority of Thursday night playing with Morty in the backyard. Sassy was a bit whiny when it came to being knocked down all the time by the dog, but Little A devised a system... as soon as Morty would approach her from behind, she would squat down low to avoid being knocked over. It was seriously the funniest thing to watch!



The awesome foursome:



Sassy and auntie Kelli playing "supermodel"...



Auntie Kelli & the girls:



Strange, silly, sweet Sassy:



The 5 of us spent most of Friday running errands and getting things ready for the 4th of July party the following day. We visited briefly with Ty and my Mom, who arrived from Kansas around 6:00 PM before heading back to Kelli's to start our cooking marathon. Once we were finished, and all the tupperware and bowls and containers were packed in the fridge and ready to go, Kelli and I sat outside ALONE and had a couple of nice cold beverages. By the time we turned in, we knew any sleep we could manage would be beneficial.

After all, the following day was to be the party of the year...

Our (Not So) Super Summer Vacay, Part II

{Read Part I here}

When Lynzee dropped the three of us off at the airport in Kansas City Sunday morning, I knew I was in for it. For some reason, I had it in my head that transporting myself, a 4-year-old, an almost-2-year-old in a car seat attached to a Go-Go Travelmate, a Canon backpack, a Zag bag beach bag stuffed to the gills, a roller carry-on barely small enough to be considered a carry-on, and a backpack that was too heavy for said 4-year-old to carry was going to be a breeze.

How ridiculous the corners of our mind can prove to be.

I was able to move about 9 inches per minute. For those of you dying to know, that is approximately 0.009 mph. In other words, not very fast.

Then, there's the tricky issue of maneuvering around the airport. Common sense tells me to find the nearest empty bay of chairs, lose all my gear, and wander with the girls. However, if I chose to do that, I'd promptly be tackled by an army of security specialists, handcuffed, and coined the next Jihad Jane. For reals.

Instead, I am glued to my belongings in addition to my children. Little A decided it would be a scream (I almost wrote pun intended but then I read this. Warning- not for the faint of heart or vernacular. Did I mention I ♥ DMB?)... Anyway, Little A thought it would be a scream to spend the entire time we sat waiting to board, well, screaming at the top of her lungs.

Fun times.

They announced that our flight would be delayed about 45 minutes. Fine. After what felt like an eternity, they called us by name to pre-board. I suppose everyone in the terminal was sick of hearing our sh*t. I hobbled on over, up the runway, down the extraordinarily narrow aisle with two appendages children to our seats. Once there, I was forced to unpack and repack our rolling carry-on so as to make it fit in the overhead compartment. We finally sit, I get the kids situated, and find it fit to exhale.

Then, Mr. flight attendant comes up and informs me that they just received word the plane would be delayed another hour or so, and we had to deplane... with every.single.belonging.

Thanks, American Airlines.

I finally found a nice couple who offered to "watch" our bay of luggage so that I could take the girls to the restroom and for a snack. A bottle of water, some apple slices and cheese, a small melon cup, and $17 later, we were set. Until it was time to board again.

At this point, I am secretly wishing that the flight attendants stocked White Dog. Just kidding... I didn't even know what White Dog was until the 4th of July party, but who's keeping track?

Being a prepared Mama, I had searched Lawrence high and low for some sort of long-lasting candy that was sans red dye. No red dye for us, remember? Low and behold, watermelon (green) and blue raspberry ring pops have none of the stuff. So, I sacrificed our cleanliness and gave each of the girls a ring pop to slobber over for the flight. Worked wonders...

Until we landed, the ring pops were nothing more than puddles of colored drool, and we were stuck on the tarmac for an hour waiting for a free gate. At this point, the 12+ hour drive to Chicago sounded awfully manageable.

Once we hobbled off the plane (last, I might add), we began crawling to the baggage claim area at O'Hare. I won't go into the gory details for fear of SRS showing up at my door, but I most certainly did not exit security with one of my children, leaving the other one stranded on the other side of the ridiculously fast revolving doors with an attendant yelling at me that there was absolutely no re-entry. Nor did I practically burst into tears when a nice older gentleman brought my other child through and stated that he's been there, done that (way to make me feel better), but not before turning to the attendant and ripping her a new, well, we won't go there...

There's logic behind my opinion of the ridiculousness of the entire security set-up at that airport, but I just don't have the energy to go there.

We were finally greeted by Auntie Kelli and Uncle Randy, and it was due time for our SSV to find course on the upwards path.

After all, Baby Tucker awaited us at our next destination...

Our Super Summer Vacay, Part I

So, back a million weeks ago at the end of June, Sassy, Little A and I set out on the first leg of our Super Summer Vacay (SSV). I'll attempt to recap as best I can, but truth be told, it has all become a bit of a blur.

We rode to Lawrence with Lynzee, LMB, and LuLu and we stayed 2 nights at Lynzee's parents. As soon as we hit town, he had some Mexican food for lunch and headed straight to the "seal pool", affectionately named by the girls for the seal statues located inside the gates.

The kids had a blast- and the pool goes from zero-depth to a max of 24 inches, so it's less stress-inducing than the bigger pools (not that we let the kids out of our supervision for a split second... it's still a water environment). Little a spent most of her time trying to steal other kids toys (ick) and drink the pool water (double ick).



It was SUPER hot. While the girls were playing, Lynzee went on a hunt to find us a cold drink, and all they had stocked was sugary pop. No water. No diet. (triple ick). Of course, the kids couldn't have cared less that it felt like 127 degrees outside... in the shade.



When we had finally had enough, we attempted to re-dress in the extremely icky pool bathroom (quadruple ick).



We were finally able to head to Lynzee's parent's house and allow the girls to rest and nap. Lynzee and I caught an hour or so of peace and quiet. It was divine!

After naps, we did dinner at Freestate, baths, and bed. And, a Target run for Lynzee and I, of course!

Saturday morning, Lynzee and I went to have our hair and eyebrows done while Nana and Ma so graciously watched the girls. It felt fantastic to get highlights again! I don't know what it is... I like having my hair dark and chocolaty, but highlights make me feel fresh and young and, well, good. Afterwards, Lynzee and I may or may not have taken advantage of our baby-sitters and ran to the big Old Navy sale for a minute an hour. I think I finally found a dress to wear to Dawn & Keith's wedding, too. Exciting stuff, I tell you.

We did lunch at home (Papa Murphy's) and let the girls play outside in the sprinklers and slip'n'slide while Lynzee and I roasted in the scorching sun. Try not to be too confused by the bathing suits- Sassy swapped with LuLu. LuLu resembled the Saggy Baggy Elephant in hers, and Sassy had a perma-wedge in hers. Then, Lynzee found a cute bikini at ON for LuLu, and Sassy now resembled a cross between the Saggy Baggy Elephant and Skeletor. What can I say, really?!?





Lynzee and I helped make chicken parm and squash casserole for dinner. Sassy began to not feel well, so I laid her down in bed for a while and the rest of us ate dinner. Naturally, she felt much better when it was time to go to LMB's favorite park, so we all went. Unfortunately, our trip was short lived when LMB realized she had to go potty, and there were no bathrooms in sight. A small meltdown ensued as we ushered the kids back into the van, but really, it was a day in the life...



After the kids were in bed, I transferred things from bag to suitcase, suitcase to bag, bag to purse, etc. so that we would be ready for our flight to Chicago Sunday morning. Leg II of SSV was about to commence!

That Food Thing Again, Part II

{Hop on over here to read part I and get all caught up!}

I'll start off by saying that this post does not contain a top-secret formula for creating the perfect family mealtime atmosphere. I wish it did. What it does contain is a philosophy that I recently learned about, and have had the chance to put into practice for about a month. We're still working out the kinks, but I am pleased so far. So, here goes...

Clearly at my wits end, I had sunk down from my food-strike platform and resumed the daily grind- still having no clear plan, no real solutions in mind. My husband was angry, my kids were hungry, and we were all sick of eating granola bars for dinner.

Not too many days later, I received an email from Debbie stating that there as a training opportunity she wanted us to attend through the KPATA, and she shared that it was about childhood nutrition, something I feel passionate about. I was excited.

As it turns out, the seminar was entitled "The Feeding Relationship, An Introduction to the Possibilities" and presented by Pam Estes and Katya Rowell of the Ellyn Satter Institute. I felt like I had just experienced a small miracle, sitting there ready to sponge any and all information presented to me.

The concept is ridiculously simple. Ellyn Satter teaches on the basis of what she calls The Division of Responsibility in Feeding (DOR). In simplified terms, this is how it breaks down:

At mealtimes and snack times, parents are responsible for the what, the when, and the where. Children are responsible for the whether and the how much.

Period.

Again, we as parents are responsible for deciding what foods will be offered, when meals and snacks will be offered, and where these meals and snacks will take place. Our children are then responsible for deciding whether or not to eat these foods, and if so, the quantity.

A vital component to this philosophy is the "family meal", which in its simplest form can be described as a consistent, reliable, and predictable meal & snack schedule at the family table {whenever possible}.

They way this pans out in my brain is this- you have to beat 'em to it. You cannot wait for your kids to be hungry and begging for a snack. It goes against the DOR (the when) when your children ask you for a snack. Let me demonstrate why this becomes important...

In the past, Sassy would refuse to eat at meal time and beg me for a snack five minutes later. Often, I would give in, worried that she would waste away to nothing. Now, it looks a little something like this:

Sassy: I don't like pork chops and veggies. I'm not going to eat this.
Me: You may eat as much or as little as you'd like. Just remember, this is what is for dinner and there will be no opportunities to eat again until it is snack time.

Doesn't that just sound amazingly powerful? And guess what? It was spoken in a calm, even tone. I promise.

Now, with a bit of persistence on your part, this truly does begin to work in time. After days of realizing that there really would be no snacks until "snack time" some hours later, it comes at no surprise that Sassy began to make sure she ate something at meal time.

Which brings me to my next point. You should always try to offer a few options that you know your kids like. That's not to say you have to serve a platter of PB&J's with every dinner. It's been a simple shift, but one I am quite comfortable with at this time. This is an example of what our dinner table looks like:

Instead of pre-serving the food on their plates, we eat family style (empty plates and bowls/platters of everything on the table). The girls choose what they want on their plates. Before, a dinner may have consisted of grilled pork chops, steamed broccoli, and rice. These are things that are healthy and enjoyable for us adults, but all things that Sassy will not typically eat, and I know that. Now this dinner may look something like grilled pork chops, steamed broccoli, rice, yogurt with berries, and whole grain bread and butter.

I did not restructure the entire meal. What I did do is ensure there would be options that Sassy would like. It takes time to accept the terms of a philosophy such as this, but here's what it boils down to: If Sassy walks away from dinner with a belly full of yogurt with fresh berries and whole grain bread and butter, that's OK.

---

This post is growing lengthy, and I feel like I am not doing justice to the feeding philosophy. There is a lot more I would like to share. So, for now, let me implore you to think about it. Hop around on the Ellyn Satter website and learn some more. This is also a wonderful book that goes into much more depth. Throw any possible pitfalls or skepticism into the comments- I will try to address those as I work at sharing some more specifics and challenges in Part III.

Envelope, Please...

Thanks to everyone who participated in "The 5 Days of Giveaways"! It was a super fun way to pass some time during our travels. Here are the list of winners. If you are a winner, please contact me at sweetpeasandsassafras{AT}yahoo{DOT}com with your contact information/mailing address, if I don't already have it! If I have not heard from winners by Friday, July 16th, I will release the prize to another reader. Thanks!

Winner of Day 1, $10 Starbucks gift card:

#29, Rachel

"Love their decaf Java Chip Fraps! Glad to have found your super cute blog through Mom Loop's follow Friday!"

Winner of Day 2, $15 store credit to Flapper Fashions:

# 12, Shannon

"I already follow you... (that sounded creepier than I intended!)"

Winner of Day 3, Owl Ouch Pouch

#1, Tim, Allyson, and kids

"Luckily our children haven't had an extremely memorable ouchie yet. Mine was falling off the monkey bar during a fire drill on the 3rd day of Kindergarden. 10 stitches and a nice chin scar :)"

Winner of Day 4, Custom Clock:

#4, Renee

"Posting this on Facebook!!!"

Winner of Day 5, Scentsy Plug-In Package:

#13, Kendra

"OOh....I have never attended a Scentsy anything! I have heard of them though.
I would probably choose your favorite, because I would need a recommendation since I have never smelled any of the others before..."

Congrats, ladies! Isn't it fun to win???

Instead.

My plan for today was to type out ans share part II of That Food Thing Again...

However, I have been way too busy here enjoying this:



And this:



So, instead, I would like to remind you all there is still time to enter Sweet Peas & Sassafras "5 Days of Giveaways". They will remain open until Sunday evening at 11:59 PM CST. Great chances to win some neat things!

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5

Part II will have to wait until our return next week! ♥

That Food Thing Again...

{WARNING- It's a long one, but stick with me if you've ever had feeding struggles with your kiddos. It might prove to be worthwhile.}

It was getting to be too much. Meal time was something out of a horror movie here at the SPH. Sassy's persistence with the stubbornness and refusal of all food was mounting. Little A was consistently choosing the dinner table to display her very worst behaviors, and I had had enough. You can look back here, here, and here if you need a gentle reminder of what we were going through.

It got so bad, I went on dinner strike for a few days. I gave up. Tyler was really angry with me for making this decision; for giving up on our family. But, between the fits and the fights, I really didn’t know if I could survive another day without going over the deep end. I don’t know how else to describe it besides that it was the culmination of countless parenting frustrations, mixed with some extraneous emotions, coming to a head. And, I felt like I was in over mine.

Not only had Sassy grown more selective about the foods she would agree to eat (i.e. even the staples like peanut butter sandwiches or milk and cereal had become NO's), she had begun to say some very alarming things to me. Things I did NOT want to hear from my 4-year-old, like how her stomach would get too big if she ate this or she might not look pretty in her dress if she ate that. Talk about making a Mama nauseous.

The truth is, I have no concept of where these ideas were coming from. Being an overweight person, I have my share of bad days when it comes to clothing and appearance, but I think I do pretty damn good in general. I do NOT say negative things about my body, especially in front of my daughters. I wear what is comfortable and I don't care what other people think. There are things I would like to change about myself for the benefit of my health, but I am not one of those people that think life will start or become great when I'm thin. I'm.just.not.

I'm not callous enough to say that I've never said an influencing word in these regards to my children. I am human and far from perfect, but I promise you it has not been intentional. I try very hard to be conscience of what comes out of my mouth. I devote time daily to telling each of my girls how beautiful they are... and how smart they are and how funny they are and what enjoyment they bring to our lives. I do.

The wheels started turning for me during a home visit with Debbie, our Parents As Teachers parent educator, who also happens to be my boss. Admitting that I had an epiphany during a PAT meeting makes me chuckle a bit, seeing as it is MY JOB to create these learning opportunities for the families I see. Add it to the list of the many reasons why I feel like a fraud at my job. I am NO parenting expert or model of perfection.

Anyway, Tyler and I were sharing with Debbie how frustrating meal time had become. How Little A chose that time to act out, throw things, and scream at the top of her lungs if all eyes (the four sets of adult eyes that are typically at out dinner table) weren't on her. I mean, to the point of ridiculousness.

Debbie, full knowing the struggles we face getting Sassy to eat, brought up a simple, poignant point to ponder. Do you think her behavior is manifesting as a cry for attention that she feels Sassy is getting the majority of at the dinner table?

"Excellent! I cried. "Elementary," said she.

So, it became clear that our focus on Sassy's eating issues were affecting every one's ability to enjoy a meal. And, that is after all, the point. We purposefully sit down as many nights as we are able and have a family meal. We know what the research says. That's why we do it.

So, how is it that we are intelligent enough to support and implement the family table concept, yet ignorant enough to not see the error of our ways at meal time? I mean, what good lies in spending 45 minutes at a table lecturing, scolding, fighting, sulking, and bartering? Shouldn't we be smiling, sharing about our day, learning from each other, and laughing together? I'm pretty sure the research evidence supports the benefits of the family table in an atmosphere such as this, and not the former...

So, it was established. Something's got to give. But there was a giant missing piece to the puzzle... HOW?

To be continued...

4th of July Eye Candy...

Happy 4th of July!!

♥ Heather, Kelli, Sassy, Little A, and Baby T

On the Fifth Final Day of Giveaways...

It's late. I am exhausted. I won't even tell you what time it is, here on the day before we leave for our 2 week vacation. Oh, OK... it's 1:26 AM. And, I am trying to pre-post these giveaways. HA HA... pre-post. Now there's an oxymoron. I told you I was tired... So, let's make this one short & sweet.

I ♥ Scentsy.

I ♥ my readers.

Therefore, one of you lovelies is going to win a Scentsy Plug-in System- a plug-in warmer of your choice with 3 Scentsy bars.

These are the plug-in warmers I own:

Dandy Lime


Taro


My favorite scents: Perfectly Pomegranate and Skinny Dippin'

To enter- go here and tell me which warmer and which Scentsy bars tickle your fancy... If you win, you can always change your mind later.

Want extra entries? Become a follower, tweet, and/or share this giveaway through facebook… be sure to leave me an additional comment for each!

You must leave comments on my BLOG… facebook comments will not be counted, so hop on over. The giveaway will close at 11:59 PM CST on Sunday, July 11th and winners will be announced the following day. Random.org will be utilized for selection of winner!

Good luck!

{I was not compensated by Scentsy to host this giveaway.}

On the Fourth Day of Giveaways...

Welcome to day 4 of "The 5 Days of Giveaways" here at Sweet Peas & Sassafras! So, here's the deal... I consider myself to be relatively crafty. But, I don't hold a candle to the many, many wonderfully creative ladies out there in the blogosphere. Seeing some of these ladies work knocks my socks off, for real!

One of the sites I really enjoy is called Make It and Love It. If you all don't follow this one, you should. Talk about a platform for inspiration!

A while back, I saw a post about "fancying up" a clock, and I about dropped dead. LOVED IT! I was pretty intimidated by the whole thing, but I knew it would be something I had to try. And, I did. I made it. I loved it!

Now, my work is not perfect. I am not a professional clock refurbisher, nor decoupager, nor rosette twister. But, I am pretty darn pleased with the results. Especially when they are hanging on the wall...

So, I feel a little indulgent doing this, but I have an extra clock creation for one of you lucky readers... I hope that you will find the beauty in like I do.

I have two versions, not sure which one I will be giving away... it will just be a surprise! Here are the sneak peeks... sorry about the quality of the pictures... low light + not-normal camera... ugh.









To enter, leave a comment telling me what your "dream clock" would look like!

Want extra entries? Become a follower, tweet, and/or share this giveaway through facebook… be sure to leave me an additional comment for each!

You must leave comments on my BLOG… facebook comments will not be counted, so hop on over. The giveaway will close at 11:59 PM CST on Sunday, July 11th and winners will be announced the following day. Random.org will be utilized for selection of winner!

Good luck!

Oh, and if your name happens to be Sherry or Monica, I hope you like these clocks! There is one sitting here for each of you, made assisted by our very own Sassy! Mod Podge + toddler = FUN! Congrats again on winning her giveaway! Oh, and, did I say a couple of weeks?? Because, clearly I meant months. Not weeks. Months.

{I was not compensated by Make It and Love It to host this giveaway.}