Rusted Root!

My friend Jenelle asked me if I liked Rusted Root and it brought back memories at UT when we used to listen to their songs like "Ecstasy" and "Send me on my way."  You've got to google those songs they are great! She told me the lead singer was coming to a local bar in Grandview (5 minutes from me) on a Thursday - which is my Moms Night Out day. So I said Heck ya, I'll go! It was perfect!  My friend Kara, on the left, was just on TV this past week on Lifetime for the show One Born Every Minute.  Her episode was so cute!

Kara, Jenelle, Me & Kelly

Even though I was very excited to go, It's been a while since I've been to a bar with a band so I was a little apprehensive. I was expecting a large crowd, younger drunk obnoxious people but I was wrong, there were actually a lot of older people and A LOT of hippies which they were just high, happy and dancing!  They were harmless!  I was so excited that we got to take a picture with, Michael Glabicki, the lead singer.  I had a great time.

We should've just asked a hippy to take a pic of all of us, but I think we were so excited none of us weren't thinking! Oh, here's a fun new thing I learned at the bar yesterday.  Some guy order a shot called "The Lindsey Lohan."  The bartender asked him what was in it and he said "It's a red headed slut with a shot of coke!"  Made me laugh.

Galaxy Games!

I've had the kids in the house for over a week and I think it's time for them to play! They are feeling much better and I was a little skeptical of taking them out of the house because I don't want them to get sick again but I guess I can't keep them in a bubble all of their life.

This place was fun for the kids - they both loved it.  I can't believe I haven't taken the kids here, it's only a few minutes away from our house.

I even took the kids to McDonalds for lunch which is very rare for me to do because I'm not a fan of the ingredients, even though I love a Big Mac and fries every once in a while and it's been a while.    They were so excited about their "surprise" (their kids meal toy) after they ate their meal.  I think they still love Chipotle much better which makes me happy.

He's focused and determined!

Griffin, the little boy throwing the ball, is moving to Indianapolis.  We will miss his mom, Kim, and his sister Delaney who were in our playgroup.

Can you find the kids?

I bought the kids slippers since Corey and I walk around the house with slippers on, they were pretty excited to have their own pair, too. Plus, they were only $1.98 each at my favorite store - Target!

Olivia's two front teeth on top are coming in. She woke up from her nap today and pointed to her teeth and said "medicine." I guess that's one benefit of her getting her teeth so late is that she can tell us they hurt. I'm not sure if it's the teething or just her age, but she's been having a lot of tantrums for no reason. She'll just lay on the floor and start crying for no reason. I'll even ask her "Do you want...your milk, to eat, your baby? She will just continue to cry so it could be her teeth or just the start of the terrific two's coming early.

$5 Pictures!

So I caved in and spent the $5 for up to 1,000 pics on my blog! That should be plenty for a year, right? Since the kids are sick the only fun thing they can do is take a bubble bath. So here it is...

They love bubble baths!

You would never be able to tell by this picture that they both have strep throat!

And that Olivia has an ear infection.

Seriously, they are the happiest sick babies I know!

The blue little thing they are holding is what we used when we brought them home from the hospital to give them spongebaths.  Now they like to use them as hats in the bath and I like to use it to rinse their hair!  And I swear I feed Luca - he's all bones in this picture!

Storytime and bedtime!  Now let's hope they will feel better soon!

Good night! :)

Strep, AGAIN!

My poor kids have been hit with strep throat, again!  They've had really bad runny noses all week that wasn't going away, then this weekend they started to get a cough.  I took them to the doctors this morning and they were tested postive for strep AND Olivia had an ear infection, too.  Poor girl was so miserable all morning because in addition to strep and an ear infection she's getting two more teeth.  She took a 5 hour nap!  Now that's a record breaker - I kept going in her room to check on her but I didn't want to wake her up because I knew she wasn't feeling well so I just let her sleep.  I'm shocked that they got it again.  The last time we all got strep we made sure to clean the entire house, changed sheets, toothbrushes, sanitize everything we could but somehow they must have caught it at the gym or Luca's dance class which is the only two places we took them last week. 

Luca did great again at the doctors office, he really likes Dr. Rob.  He was chatting away with him telling him about his "boo-boo" on his finger and even telling Olivia "it's going to be ok."  Which was so cute!  Let's hope they stay healthy because it's so sad to see your kids so sick and miserable. 

Out of Storage!

Well, looks like these are the last pics I can post unless I buy some storage space! Has anyone else run into this problem? Ugh!

Olivia's teeth!  Can you see the bottom two?  I was trying to post a few other pictures with Luca and it would only let me put 2 pictures due to storage space. :(  What a bummer.  What am I going to do?  Any bloggers out there that have any advice?

Happy HEART Day!

I wanted to show the kids and Corey how much I loved them and I did it through FOOD and of course lots of hugs and kisses!

They loved their heart shaped pancakes.

And their heart shaped sandwiches for lunch!

I bought some sushi for lunch for myself - yum!

Luca helped me make brownies for Corey!

He seems to like to help me bake and cook which I love. I need to make him an apron!

Waiting patiently for it to be mixed.

Spraying Pam on the pan.

End result~ heart shaped brownies and I also made chocolate covered strawberries and had some extra chocolate so I got out the marshmallows and covered them in chocolate, too.  YUM!

And for dinner....steak, lobster, baked potato, and spring mix salad with strawberry & gorganzola. Delish and I'm exhausted & so full!  Happy Valentine's Day!

Voluminous Hair

We were vacuuming today and Corey thought it would be fun to vacuum Olivia's hair! It was so funny and she didn't mind it at all, she liked it! If only she knew what it did to her hair! Corey thought he should open up a salon. Here are his steps to how to give your hair some volume.

Step 1 to Voluminous Hair: Begin Vacuum of Clients Hair

Step 2:Maintain vacuum suction for 3 seconds

80's Rocker hair-do complete!  OMG her hair just cracks me up! 

Whenever Corey does push-ups the kids think it's fun to go on his back, they have no clue that this only makes it harder for him.

Look at this impressive artwork by Olivia.  Corey and I went to the gym and the kids zone workers were so impressed that Olivia could draw circles.  It was like she was trying to write her name - there are 6 circles just like there are 6 letters in her name.  They were very impressed by her fine motor skills at such a young age.

Picky Eater Day #3

Eating their banana pancakes.

 I like him when he's happy which is usually when he eats! :)

 Olivia played with both of her babies today.  Maybe Santa should've brought her a double stroller?

 She kept saying "2 babies!"  She does have a favorite one that she has to take a nap with. 

Breakfast:  This morning I really didn't feel like battling with the kids so I just gave them their banana pancakes which is something I know they will eat.  They each both ate 3 pancakes and some milk.  I took them to the gym with me and afterward I needed to go to Target to return a couple of things.  Olivia had a meltdown the entire car ride from the gym to Target (because I didn't give her goldfish).  Once we got to Target I just really needed to return the items and she was still screaming on top of her lungs.  She wouldn't even sit in the cart, I was carrying her - so I was exhausted b/c I just got done working out and I carried her while pushing a cart with Luca in it (which is not easy to do).  Everyone in Target was staring at us because Olivia was screaming so loud.  I gave her goldfish - I gave in!  I was tired, embarrassed & I just wanted her to not scream anymore.  Since they both were eating their goldfish it gave me some time to walk around Target - they really didn't eat a lot of goldfish (they split half of  cup) and they ate them all so I bought raisins and let them eat it in the store.   They each had three little boxes of it.

For lunch, I made my Italian version of mac and cheese - orzo, with chicken bouillan, a wedge of laughing cow cheese & some Parmesan.  They ate it all and ate their yogurt.  So far, today was a good eating day, but I also gave them the things I know they will eat.

Snack:  I offered the kids a snack, after their "nap"( that they both did not take), clementines.  Luca didn't want any and Olivia ate 2!  


Dinner:  I made chicken quesadillas.  I personally like green peppers and onions in mine and Luca and Corey don't like it so I just made theirs with just cheese and chicken.  Olivia ate most of hers and Luca opened his quesadilla and ate some of the cheese and that was it.  We offered them some fruit and they had 3 small boxes of raisins which is equal to one serving of fruit. I guess after writing this down for 3 days I realize that they'll have some good days and some not so good days.  I need to stop stressing and if they are hungry they'll eat what I give them.  So no more picky eater postings for me.  Sorry if I bored you all with that but it was helpful for me to write it down and realize maybe their not as bad as I think?

Here's a positive story today.When we were leaving the gym daycare this morning Luca asked me "Can she come home with us?" He was referring to one of the workers in the daycare.  It makes me feel really good that they both enjoy the daycare there and all the women treat them so well.  Everyone knows their names and always comments on how good they are.

Picky Eater Day #2

I told myself this morning that I was going to be strong and not give in to my kids food requests.  They WILL eat what I give them today.  I thought since the kids didn't eat dinner last night that they'd be so hungry they'd eat whatever I gave them this morning for breakfast.  So, I decided to give them Oatmeal.  Luca used to like oatmeal a lot and would even eat 2 packets some days and again this summer he stopped eating oatmeal.  So, I gave them 1/2 packet of Oatmeal with raisins & milk that I warmed up for them and they didn't want it.  Olivia asked for cereal and Luca asked for toast, pancakes, waffles, and french toast.  I told them I would give them toast if they ate all of their oatmeal.  Nope.  After about an hour, Luca said he'd eat his oatmeal but he didn't want the raisins in it.  So, I helped him eat the oatmeal and removed the raisins (something I don't want to do but I felt bad for the kid I was getting desperate for him to eat)  He had three bites and was done.  I offered a snack at around 10:30-  a banana.  Luca asked for fruit snacks and I said he could either have a banana or the oatmeal he didn't finish, he chose the banana.  I sliced one banana and split it between the two of them.  Olivia didn't eat any of it "I don't want it!" is what she said.  Luca had two tiny bites and pushed the plate away from him.  He was done and I ended up eating the banana because I didn't want it to go to waste.  By this point they each drank one full sippy cup full of milk.

Here's Luca taking a half a bite of his banana slice.

Olivia just staring at her banana's. She's probably thinking "there's no way I'm eating that stuff!"

For lunch, I served chicken tetrazzini that I had made a while ago and had extra and froze them in small portions for the kids.  It has pasta, chicken, peas, mushrooms, and onions in a white cream sauce.  Olivia ate her entire bowl and Luca said "I want toast."  I told him he needed to eat his pasta.  He picked out about 3 or 4 noodles and ate it and pushed his plate away.  He asked to get down and I told him he needed to wait until Olivia was done eating.  As he waited, he pulled the plate towards him again and ate a couple more noodles and was done again.  Olivia finished her plate and asked for more.  So I gave her Luca's and she ate half of his plate and I of course praised for her being a good girl and eating all her food!  I gave them an apple afterwards and Luca did eat an entire large apple (about the size of my fist, maybe bigger) and Olivia ate a couple of slices of apples. I guess I would be happy if they ate at least 3/4 of the food I'm serving them?  Maybe that's just not realistic, but it would make me feel better. Crossing my fingers that Luca will eat his dinner tonight!


Olivia being a good girl and eating the entire plate and half of her brothers!

Luca is probably thinking "there are too many things I don't like in this dish!"

I guess Luca ate one good thing for lunch, an apple. 

I could tell the Luca weas hungry because he up crying and really cranky from their naps.   I offered them a clemintine for a snack before dinner and Luca asked for animal crackers.  I told him if he ate his clemintine I would give him some animal crackers.  Olivia ate 2 entire clemintines and asked for more.  Luca just picked at his.  He doesn't like the skin and tries to peel it off.  He maybe ate 2 pieces.  I made cheese ravioli that was and I put pesto sauce on it.  Olivia ate it all and asked for more which I gave her and she ate a total of 3 large ravioli.  Luca just sat there and cried that he didn't want it.  After a while he slowly started to eat some of it.  The ravioli are REALLY big so I gave him 3 and he ate 1 1/2.  Since we ate dinner early and Corey needed to read a case for work I told him I'd take the kids out of the house so Corey could work in peace.  I let the kids play in the play area  of the mall and I did buy them some pretzel sticks from Auntie Anne's that they did eat and were really happy about.  Now that I"m writing this down, it seems like Olivia is doing ok with her eating (other than oatmeal and bananas).  Luca is my picky eater. 

Changing Blog to Private

Hi Everyone,

I learned of a feature that I can make this blog private only to those that I will allow access to my blog.  This blog was intended for family and friends to catch up on what is going on with the kids and us.  A lot of our friends and family are out of town and I thought this blog would be a great way for everyone to see pictures and milestones of the kids.  It will take me about a week to get this set up so please send me an e-mail if you want access. You will just have to go through an extra step of entering a username and password to get into the blog...I know that's a pain, but I think I like that option because there is no need for people in India to see this blog and I'm ready for it to be private.  Just shoot me an e-mail if you'd like access: joanna.andres@yahoo.com. I'm not going to send a mass e-mail to everyone, I'd rather send it to you if you want to read my blog! So let me know.

Thanks,
Joanna

Help! I have picky eaters!

I love being a mom and I don't want this post to think I'm complaining about being a mom because I'm not, I guess I just need help or advice!  So all of you mommies out there reading this please let me know any suggestions on how to help me!

It's extremely frustering when you cook/prepare meals three times a day and you spend a lot of time in the kitchen cooking, cleaning and doing it over and over again and then your kids don't eat all the hard work you made. Here's an example of what I made today...marinated pork tenderloin, baked sliced potatoes, and brocolli drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice.

Here's how it looks like on the kids plate....I even gave them ketchup to dip the pork into since they like to dip things.

Olivia, bless her heart, loves broccoli!  She had 3 helpings of broccoli but didn't touch her pork or potatoes so I'm happy that she ate the broccoli but not happy that she didn't eat any pork or potatoes. BTW I love how she's holding a fork in one hand and feeding herself with the other hand.  She can use a fork.

Luca, on the other hand, has been my very PICKY eater.  He ate all the ketchup, yep, all the ketchup...that's it!  He took a bite of pork and spit it out.  He didn't touch the potatoes or the broccoli.  So here's my dilemma...what do you do?  Do you cook them something separate that they like?  Then I feel like a restaurant!  Their pediatrician told me that if they are hungry they will eat.  He told me not to make them anything else or offer them anything else.  He told me before bedtime I can offer a fruit or vegetable as a snack.  One thing that we do, is that if we feel he ate most of his meal, we'll give him an incentive, a cookie or something they like.  Sometimes it works and sometimes, like today, it doesn't. 

Luca used to be a GREAT eater.  He would eat almost anything and everything.  He used to love fruit - he would eat a banana EVERY morning for the longest time.  Since this summer he hasn't eaten a banana.  So, I've been making their pancakes with mashed bananas.  He also doesn't eat veggies so I'll make their french toast and waffles with sweet potatoes in it.  I'll also make homemade mac n cheese with sweet potatoes in it, too.  He used to eat peas that I would put in my spaghetti sauce now he'll pick them all out.  It's really frusterating. I only give them snacks between breakfast and lunch which I usually give them goldfish, crackers or fruit snacks.  (I'm thinking maybe I need to stop with that and they'll be more hungry and I'll have a better chance they'll eat more?)  Anyway, any suggestions on how I can succesfully get my kids to eat a healthy meal will be much appreciated! :)

I'll end this post on a postive and cute story.  Luca normally wakes up first and will crawl in bed with me in the morning and watch cartoons, then Olivia will wake up about a half hour later and we'll go downstairs and eat breakfast.  Lately, Olivia has been waking up shortly after Luca, so she joins us in bed and will watch some cartoons.  Today, she said to Luca "I love you" and he said back to her "I love you, too!"  I wanted to cry especially when they gave eachother a kiss right after that!  Even though I have picky eaters, I have the sweetest kids ever! :)

Chiara's 1st Birthday!

Today we celebrated Chiara's 1st Birthday today at Playgroup. Amy, Chiara's mom, got each kid a HUGE cupcake to decorate. Luca LOVED it!

The kids are all lined up to play 'Pin the tail on the Donkey' Luca won!

This age is so much fun because they are able to play games, it's so great!

This was a really neat game. The kids all sat in a circle and passed around a gift. Whenever the music would stop, the kid who was holding the gift got to unwrap it. (The gift was wrapped about 10 times) Each kid got to unwrap it, and the last person to unwrap the gift got it! The kids loved it!

Here's the Bday girl digging into her cake! What a fun party!  Happy 1st Bday Chiara!

Poor Olivia's head. On Friday, we literally walked into the mudroom and she started to run and fell and hit her head on the corner of the wall. I've never seen a bump on the head get so big in front of my eyes. I was so nervous because I was by myself and wasn't sure if it was a serious bump. Olivia stopped crying within 2 minutes of hitting her head. I tried putting ice on it and she didn't want anything to do with the ice so I had to force hold her down to make sure I at least put it on for a minute. I know she'll have many more of these but it's such a scary thing when they get hurt. My poor baby.