While You Are Resting, Someone Else is Progressing

I heard that in an Alex Olson poem when I was in high school. I was super motivated today. I feel I accomplished exactly what I set out for. Which is good because I didn't do a darn thing yesterday! Here are two paintings for today

Free Hugs in Sondrio, Italy

Spring Break Blues . . .

I'm not really sad, just a little homesick.

Today is the second day of my Spring Break. I get two weeks! I haven't had two weeks off from anything since I was unemployed. So . . .it's been about a decade! The boys are in Florida and I am so happy for them. I hope they are writing in their journals and finding cool dead things on the beach.

I actually miss work. I am so blessed to be able to say that. They are like my little brothers. I spend more waking time at their house than anywhere else. And it's so relaxed and comfortable there.

Yesterday I found myself listing off things I missed about them to Dylan and just catching him up on all the cute things Baby V does. Just a little while ago I ate a grape that looked like a tiny rear end and heard Brother C's little voice in my head say "Butt-cheeks!" and I missed him. I saw the caricature of Brother B and I missed him. On my phone, Big Brother A must have snapped a photo of himself and the baby and I missed them.

But I am keeping busy. These next two weeks are allllllllll about me. I've started my Spring Break Challenge and made two tiny paintings yesterday . Here they are . . .

I am off to a great start, but I must be more productive! I want to finish my cousin's portrait by mid-April at the latest, and I want to finish Dylan's portrait. Here is the start of Dylan's portrait. It's a big one 2' x 3'. It will be my masterpiece (when I finish it . . . ).

Found 'Em!

Yay! Aren't those the cutest pair of shoes on the cutest pair of tiny feet you have ever seen??

These Shoes Are Made For Walking . . .

 . . . And that's just what they'll do . . . If they can find any! Today we went to the mall in search of baby's first walking shoes. No luck. Apparently, Striderite is no longer at the mall. Can you believe out of the whole mall that sells tons of baby clothes, there are no good shoes for babies and toddlers? Incredible. That baby's gonna be doing a lot of walking in Florida. I hope they find some good ones.

On another note, Big Brother B had try-outs for minor league baseball. He should find out tomorrow if he made it. Good luck B! We know you're an All-Star.

Also, Big Brother A is submitting t-shirt designs for his school's Run For Fun. I hope he gets it. It sounds like girls' submissions always win. Let's give it to the boys this time. 

Raaaaaaaaaar! Monster Sauce!

What are you feeding yourself? Is it healthy? That's good, but what are you feeding your kids? That's even more important. We all know that kids today are the unhealthiest they have ever been (in the U.S. at least) so I'm not going to bore you with stats. And unfortunately, the busier we get, the harder it is to create fresh, healthy meals. Luckily, these boys are healthy eaters and VERY active.

It's sooooo hard to get kids to eat vegetables. Especially raw vegetables, when the quality of nutrition is the highest and they are the least tastey. I'm trying to get Baby V off to a great start, and continue feeding his brothers well. I haven't read this book, but it has inspired me. Check out Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food. Basically, she sneaks veggies into food. Even into brownies!

Here are a few of my tricks. When I make meatballs or meatloaf, I grate a small zucchini into the mix. It makes the meat super tender and flavorful and no one's the wiser. You can also puree spinach or other veggies into the sauce.

Baby V's favorite lunchtime treat is Raaaaaaaaaaar! Monster sauce! I puree fresh spinach with apple sauce. Sometimes I add banana. He loves it.

Spinach is the best. When it's fresh, it really doesn't have a strong taste. Check out the website for Worlds Healthiest Foods. This site can tell you everything you need to know about the food you are eating (or should be eating) as well as recipes for how to enjoy the food. Here are some nutrition facts from the site:

Spinach is an excellent source of bone-healthy vitamin K, magnesium, manganese, and calcium; heart-healthy folate, potassium, and vitamin B6; energy-producing iron and vitamin B2; and free radical-scavenging vitamin A (through its concentration of beta-carotene) and vitamin C. It is a very good source of digestion-supportive dietary fiber, muscle-building protein, energy-producing phosphorus, and the antioxidants copper, zinc and vitamin E. In addition, it is a good source of anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids, and heart-healthy niacin and selenium. While this mixture of conventional nutrients gives spinach a unique status in the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory department, it is the unusual mixture of phytonutrients in spinach that "seals the deal" in terms of its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory components.

Happy Eating!

Happy Birthday Momma!

Today is Mommy's birthday!!! Not my mommy, but the boys' mommy. She is a super mommy too. She is a hardworking business woman, looks great, and always outdoes herself when it comes to party planning, making the house festive with the seasons, and creating and maintaining traditions for her family.

She makes sure the boys have everything they need and want. She raised 'em up to be sweet, thoughtful, and polite (I know Daddy helped, but it's mom's day today!).

To show their love and appreciation, the boys decorated the kitchen with streamers, baked her cookies, made her cards, gave presents and lots of hugs and love. I'm told Baby V wore a party hat to breakfast to help celebrate!

20 Minutes of Tough Love

I hate that feeling you get when a baby cries in bed. At the end of the nap, its ok. You're glad to get that cue to get him and bring him downstairs back into life. But when he cries at the very beginning, its heartbreaking. Actually, the feeling isn't really in my heart, but my stomach. I feel nauseous. I can't focus on anything. Should I bring him downstairs? Does he need anything? Should I let him cry it out?

Baby V hid all his pacifiers and has been relying on only one. And I can't find it! I know you shouldn't rely on things like bottles, pacifiers, music/sound machines to get a baby to bed, but we can only wrestle one addiction at a time. We are off bottles in the daytime, and only need the sound machine if his brothers are home, but the paci?

We stayed up a little longer today goofing off and playing, but had to stay on schedule. I put him down about 10:00 or 10:15am without his pacifier and he's crying and crying, hoping I hear him. And I hear him. I know he's had everything he needs so I'm trying to ignore him . . . .but wait! Ah  . . . . the silence of sleep . . . .

Walkin' and Talkin'

I know I haven't been keeping up with Nanny News like I'd hoped to, so let me catch ya'll up. Baby V is a toddler now. Through and through. (but he'll always be Baby V to me!)

He walks and talks!!! The walking is wonderful and scary. Wonderful because he's growing and excited about it, and scary because you can't hear him coming and he's got further to fall. He gave me a heart attack a few weeks ago. It was quiet and I was folding laundry in the kitchen when I saw something moving out of the corner of my eye. Something two feet tall was walking up beside me! For a split second it felt like a haunting, but when I turned around it was the sweetest baby walking up with a huge, proud smile on his face!

He started to mimic sounds a few months ago, but now he's really got it down and making words. When he's eating something good at lunch, you'll hear "nyum nyum nyum." He tries to say "vroom vroom" when we play with cars and just 16 minutes ago, when we were heading upstairs for his afternoon nap, he waved goodbye and repeated "nigh nigh, nigh nigh" (night night).

It's time to watch our language folks. No more of Spongebob's "sentence enhancers."

The 5 Love Languages

Currently I'm reading Gary Chapman's The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts. In celebration of Valentine's Day, my mother gave me and my boyfriend three copies of his love books to read, ponder, and practice. She knows that we are quite serious about each other, and wants us to be well prepared in our love before we make any big leaps. I read this book with my Love in mind, but the principles of this book can be applied to any loving relationship in our lives.

Dr. Chapman teaches in his book that people have a basic need to be and feel loved. And to be loved is not necessarily the same thing as feeling loved. According to the Doc, we all speak our own primary love language and may need to learn new ones in order to communicate the love we feel for our spouse/partner according to his/her primary love language. The 5 love languages are as follows:

1. Words of Affirmation
2. Quality Time
3. Receiving Gifts
4. Acts of Service
5. Physical Touch

Doctor Chapman uses a "love tank" analogy. We all have our own love tanks that need filling up from those we love. When our love tanks are empty, we don't feel loved and appreciated and our relationships suffer. When children's love tanks are empty, their emotional development suffers as well as their behavior. As a nanny to four awesome boys, my primary concern is the wellbeing and care of those boys. I wonder "Am I speaking the right love languages of the boys, especially the baby?"

They are at different ages and have different needs. The oldest, probably doesn't want or need any physical attention from me. He's 11 and already shying away from affection from his parents when in public. The 9 year old is the same. Big Brother C is 6 years old and I get a hug before school from time to time. Physical attention is probably most needed by the baby. He needs hugs, he needs to be picked up, held, and danced with from time to time.

I think that the languages most applicable to my position at work would be Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, and Acts of Service. The boys want to hear that they did a good job at whatever sport, their sneakers are cool, and I appreciate their help setting the table and they rocked their reading for the day. They want my full attention when they are talking to me and sharing information about their thoughts and their day. They want to shoot hoops and throw the ball around. And, if I am making dinner, they want interesting delicious meals and treats. When they tell me they like what I made for dinner, my love tank fills instantly.

Having successful relationships is hard work, but it's worth it. Learn the love language of your spouse/partner/child/friend. If they like to talk, listen. If they like little gifts, give. If they just wanna hang out, find time to hang out. Give hugs. Tell them they look great!

You Never Forget Your First Kiss . . .

It's official! That baby loves me. Last Wednesday, I received my very first kiss from Baby V. It was just as awkward as any first kiss. Not that I'm unfamiliar with baby kisses, I just wasn't prepared!

We were sitting on the floor playing catch like any other Wednesday morning, when he inched closer to me. I was prepared for a whine and a hug and getting ready to pick him up. Instead, he opened is little baby mouth and lunged right at my face. He's not really a biter, but I wasn't sure what he was going to do. My eyes got wide, I turned my head and tried to dodge him, and smack! He landed one right on my cheek! I realized immediately that I got a sweet baby kiss. It was wonderful.

I was fortunate to receive another the very next day. Again, we were playing on the floor when the emotion overtook him. He crawled right at me at 100 miles per hour and put another on my cheek. It wasn't elicited;  he gave it of his own free will. I'm so lucky.