Labor Day and Beyond

My blogging has really just become pathetic.  I have a perfectly good post just sitting in drafts that's now completely irrelevant because it's almost a week old.  I just can't keep up!

But now I have my photos on and a moment to spare while the girls wake up slowly and Felix naps (because I forced him to at 6:20 when he woke up at 5 and screamed at me for an hour).  Mmm coffee and early morning time.

We had an awesome labor day.  It was a calm slow weekend.  Ian took the girls to the last days of the pool.  They had so much fun.  We had neighbors over on Monday morning for cinnamon rolls (I've made a LOT of cinnamon rolls, these are the easiest and the BEST).  Warm easy breakfast, lots of coffee, 6 awesome adults and 8 happy rambunctious kids is a great way to start the day (no really, it was).

Last week was good but tricky in ways.  Louise started school on Tuesday but her days were short so our mornings felt very broken up.  Louise is loving her new class (the same teacher and room Ainsley had her first year of preschool!).  I enjoyed my hour a day alone with Felix.  We mostly chatted with other parents and one day walked what felt like the entirety of north oak park.  It's going to be interesting to see how to best spend that two and half hours with my little guy.  Errands?  Exercise? Crafts? Naps?  Perhaps a bit of each throughout the week.  I'm excited for some one on one time with my little guy but goodness he still needs his naps in a day.  We'll see what happens!

Ainsley is still loving kindergarten but getting her out the door in the mornings is tough.  She is nervous about little things during the day (recess, fire drills) and lets those fears overwhelm her. We decided the best way to combat this is to switch up a few things.  Ian is walking her to school just the two of them (I'm so thankful for this!).  He's found some fun games they like to play on their way.  I'm packing a bag for my trip and I'm bringing..., and a word game where you have to say a word that starts with the last letter of the word that was just said.  It's a good distraction and they're having fun! This morning was the best yet even with a tidge of resistance so we're hopeful, and really, I'm not worried because when I pick her up she's always BOUNDING out the door bursting with excitement. She's just not good with transitions (gets that from me I'm afraid).

It really helps that she feels so grown up getting ready with Ian.  They make lunch, get dressed, brush teeth.  It's a sweet daddy daughter time.

This past weekend both Ian and Louise were sick.  There is some fevery cold ripping through our neighborhood so I'm hoping Ainsley and I hold out! (Felix was sick for a day last week so I'm hoping he's immune now!)  Despite them being sick I had an awesome weekend.  The weather was perfect and I got so much done around the house.  I love weekends like that.

I'm on day 5 of a 7 day juice "cleanse".  Basically I'm just juicing fruits and veggies and herbs for all of my meals and drinking tons of water.  I've been feeling SO tired and foggy and sluggish for so long that I decided to try and do something about it.  Juicing is an easy efficient way for me to completely rehaul my diet for a bit and hopefully shock my body into a bit of change (especially since we already have this juicer courtesy of an awesome birthday gift from my parents to Ian a few years ago).  I will say the first 3.5 days weren't the easiest. It's tough cooking yummy food for my family and not eating any of it.  At the same time it's been easier than I thought.  I guess my body must have needed this because my cravings and hunger have not been nearly as big of an issue as I thought.

And for those interested, my favorite juices so far are...

2 apples, 1 cucumber, 1 cup blueberries, 2 cups grapes, 2 kale leaves, 1" knob ginger

1 orange, 1/4 watermelon, mint

1/4 cantaloupe, 1 orange, dash of cinnamon

I cucumber, 2 apples, 2 celery stalks, big bunch of kale or spinach or chard, 1/2 a lemon, small knob of ginger

I definitely miss chewing but am thankful for the energy and simplicity it's giving me.  Three more days!!!

I kept Louise home from school today to recoup from her all day fever yesterday.  So far we've made blueberry and chocolate chip pancakes, colored stained glass, sung along to Chirstmas pandora (why not?) and are now happily resting for a bit while Felix naps (again! this is going to be an interesting day).  

This week I am excited for our normal fall routine, eating regular food on Thursday (I can taste those cod cakes I plan to make already!), and all those knitting projects on the horizon. Sweater, sweater, sweater, sweater, hat, hat, hooded coat.

I hope you all have a great start to your week.  Happy Monday!