Tuesday, January 30, 2018

We Heart Preschool Co-Op


Do any of you have a preschool co-op?  It was a new thing to me - had never heard of it - until we moved to Sioux Center.  Instead of sending Will to three-year-old preschool, we got together with six other families who also had three year olds and chose one morning a week to focus on an alphabet letter together.

Will loved it and really thrived.  It was a perfect introduction to school, following directions, sharing with friends, learning simple rules and everything else good about preschool - all within the comfort of our own homes - with a much less intense schedule.

Each mama took a turn hosting and teaching the lesson, and we threw in a handful of simple field trips to spice things up. 

The teacher in me loved planning themed lessons (which, when you think about it, is almost like a theme party, so hooray) and it was fun to spend a little extra special time with Will as he learned and experienced some new things.


The very first lesson we hosted was on the letter C.  C is for Cookies, Cows + Colors!  If you haven't read The Cow Loves Cookies before, you really should.  And, use it as an excuse to actually eat cookies too, please.  Your preschooler will love you for it.

Charlotte is only a year behind him, so now we are doing another co-op with her and having a similarly great experience.  We look forward to our preschool days together!

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Monday, January 29, 2018

That One Time We Went to San Diego...


Remember that one time we went to San Diego?  Yeah.  It was about a year ago.  Let's see if I remember anything about it.


Mark was already there for a conference so I flew over alone.  I had nightmares of the kids getting sick right before I left and that I'd need to cancel the whole shebang, but what do you know, everything turned out okay.  My layover was in Denver (Hooray, mountains, I love you.) and my flights were fine.  Bam.


Our first task was finding an In + Out, especially since I had never been there before.  Dear Everyone - the stories are true.  It's all true.  Just go there.  Please, just go there. 


We are not fancy vacation people and like to explore a little bit.  Sometimes this means we find awesome hotels and quaint surroundings.  Other times, well...  I'll just mention a few fun facts about our San Diego hotel situation and let you imagine the rest.  1) "Breakfast Buffet" meant stale and slightly burnt coffee with Hostess donuts and a big fat sign that said, "ONLY ONE DONUT."  2) The guy who tried to check in before us left swearing and slamming the lobby door.  3) "Free Wi-Fi" meant no wi-fi.  4) Our neighbor was a heavy smoker who had a couple of vacuums sitting outside her door (just in case I guess).  By the sounds of it, she also had four poorly behaved dogs and a major potty mouth.  I'm not sure I've ever heard the f-word used so creatively.  5) The bed was a little droopy in the middle, but we slept fine and had hot showers, so we had what we needed!  It was an adventure.



We went to tour the Midway aircraft carrier, which was something I was initially doing for Mark and so that I could tell my Dad I went, but, let me tell you, it was so fun and so, so interesting.  Mark had to run out to our car and pay for extra parking time since we ended up spending double the amount of time we had initially anticipated. 


The zoo was great.  Mark made sure we got our money's worth by circling the entire zoo twice on foot and once on a safari tour bus thing.  I'm sure we walked over thirty miles. 



He also made sure to get our money's worth by insisting on taking several pictures of every.single.animal.and.exhibit in the whole place and burning through my camera's SD card.  "For the kids," he said.  I would like to point out that the kids made it through about twelve of the two hundred pictures in our slideshow before they got bored and started to ask if we were done.  Anyway, I decided not to eat gluten free because vacations are not for healthy eating and had one of the best hot dogs of my life in the zoo cafe, so I'm not complaining.  It was a great day.



Speaking of not healthy eating, whenever we vacation, we look up Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives from the Food Network show.  It's always such an adventure finding little holes in the wall with great food, interesting atmospheres and tastes of local culture.  This time around, we stopped at OB Noodle House for Pho and Saigon Fried Rice, HoDads for THE best burger I've ever had in my life, El Indio for some great Mexican, and Crazee Burger for, well, crazy exotic meat burgers.




We went whale watching to fulfill a lifelong dream of mine.  I'll just post my Instagram rants to sum the experience up...  I'd still like to see an orca sometime in the wild.  Add that to my bucket list.


And then...



Old Town was fun.  The food was amazing (I tried Horchata for the first time - yum) and the little street market was great. 



Balboa Gardens was beautiful.





If I remember right, we spent our last day on Coronado Beach (the sand really does glitter) and snuck into the Hotel Del Coronado to take a peek.  I'm surprised they didn't kick us out immediately because our grubby clothes and backpacks stuck out pretty badly in such a fancy place.  It was beautiful.  I finished reading The Shack and ugly crying on that same beach.  I know the book is controversial, but it's my all time favorite.  I can't help it.  Call the theology police on me.


We spent a good chunk of our time in San Diego driving around and exploring little neighborhoods.  I just love the Spanish architecture, the tiny houses, colorful doors, and hippies camping on the beach with Mexican blankets and VW Vans.  Everything was a messy and creative hodge podge that felt carefree and relaxing - especially compared to our everything-needs-to-match-and-be-just-so Dutch culture. 


Anyway, this getaway wouldn't have been possible with the help of our family who wrangled our kiddos and flushed a dead fish for us while we were gone.  <3 familia.="" gracias="" muchas="" nbsp="" span="">

And, you stay classy San Diego. 

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Naps with Will


Will and I share the same innate rhythm in life. 

Left to ourselves and without bothersome things like schedules and school, we would stay up until 1AM - after everyone else has gone to sleep, enjoying the quiet with time to think and tinker and read.  


Then, we'd sleep in until around 9:30 - slow to wake up and get our bearings.  We'd be ready to deal with the world around noon.  

We'd be overwhelmed with the world by 3 and want to go home to take a nap until 4, which would totally enable us to stay up until 1 again.  


In total, I am at my best with about 10 hours of sleep.  Will is too.  

I'm just waiting for the world and our culture to catch up (or should I say "slow down?") to our style of living.   
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Friday, January 26, 2018

Stay-At-Home Fun


Do you have the flu?!  Just about everyone and their dog does around here.  Because of the rampant sickness and a timely blizzard, we've spent most of this week and the last at home.

Okay, I'll be honest...  Because of the rampant sickness and a blizzard AND mostly because I just really like staying home and now I have a good excuse, we've been hermits.  It's been the best.


Although I've enjoyed the homebody time, the kids have been getting a little stir crazy.  We've been digging out all of the toys that haven't been played with in forever and reinventing new activities to keep us busy.


I think I am blogging about this, mostly, because I want to remember what our stay-at-home life was like in this season.  I'm dreading the big kid season with all of its soccer games, band concerts and crazy schedules that will force us to, like, go places and talk to people.  Ugh.  #introvertproblems  Anyway, I'll savor these little moments and lazy afternoons while they last, I think.


Our favorite staying-in activities these days include...
  • These spikey blocks.  What are they actually called?
  • Dollar store dish tubs with bubbles and toys that "need" to be washed.
  • Color books + markers
  • Dr. Seuss books
  • Forts, nests + slumber parties (don't ask me to distinguish between the three) using ALL the blankets and pillows and stuffed animals in our house.
  • Play-doh + kinetic sand kits, especially the snow ones!
  • Princess + superhero dress up
  • Wrestling with Daddy and playing "Kung Fu Panda"
And, just for fun, I'll leave you with this very informative infographic, courtesy of a fun Facebook friend.  :)

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Easy Meal-Giving


When I was sicker than a dog the first trimester of this pregnancy, we received so many warm + yummy meals from friends and acquaintances.  They were such a gift.


I've always wanted to be the kind of person that drops meals off at peoples' houses often, returning the favor, but that act of service has never been a natural one for me.  I'm giving myself a little grace these days and making meal-giving as easy as possible.


My favorite dish to give is Shauna Niequist's Enchilada Bake.  Have you heard of it?  It's easy to make, totally freezable, delicious, and the best part is throwing no-brainer (aka: things I don't have to cook) sorts of sides and accompaniments along.  A can of beans, a jar of salsa, a bag of chips, bottles of Jarritos and some crazy straws, of course.


When we are on the receiving end of meals, I am the worst at returning tupperware and baking dishes.  Someday I will tell you how horrible I am at returning library books.  I swear my house is a black hole for borrowed things.  Anyway, when we give meals, I am sure to include totally disposable things that don't need to be returned.


What are your favorite meals to give?  I would love some new ideas!

I forgot a quick tip - if you DO make the enchilada bake, we substitute greek yogurt for the sour cream and skip the chicken broth tortilla step.  It still turns out great!
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