Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful moms out there, and most of all, mine!

I LOVE YOU MOM!

As for me, I'm having a decent day. Jordan's being a crab, but that's kinda typical, and my Hubby? Welllll....

"He went to Jared."

A month or two ago, I actually gave him a hint card for a "mother's ring" that I wanted. It's a trillion-cut green amethyst (Jordan's a February baby) and it has a small diamond on each side (Logan's an April baby.)

Well, he took the hint! It's sooooooo pretty and sparkly! I can't stop looking at it.





*Sigh*

Happy Mother's Day. May you enjoy your day, even if your kids are being crabs.

XOXO

The coveted Michigan morel

Every year about this time, I take a drive down the road to the State Game Area to see if I can find any morels.

Unlike most morel hunters, I don't get out of the car to look (unless I spot one and want to photograph it) and unlike most morel hunters I don't pick the mushrooms because I don't want to eat them.

Gasp!

Morels are supposedly a delicacy. I've tried them and they just taste mushroomy to me. I am not a huge fan of mushrooms. I don't completely hate them, but I don't eat them a lot, either. There was even an episode of Cash and Treasures about them. (I love that show!)

Anyway, morels are highly prized and can bring in a pretty penny if one sells them, but I prefer to just hunt them, enjoy them in their natural setting, snap a photo or two and leave them to hopefully spread their spores so more morels will grow the following year.

I went for a quick drive-by yesterday and spotted four. The first was this one that was growing under a tree root on the side of a bank.



Then, immediately across the road, I spotted this trio nestled in the oak leaves.



So, I found my morels for the year.

One day I'd like to actually park and go INTO the woods and look for "the mother lode," just to know it's there. And then I won't tell anyone.

Because that's what you do. When you find morels, you brag about them and then adamantly refuse to tell anyone your secret spot.

*Giggle*

Spaghetti wrestling

And now, direct from winning the Spaghetti Wrestling Championship, I present...

JORDAN!





Oh, wait. It was actually just dinner. I got to clean up the baby and Hubby got to clean up the high chair and floor. Pretty equal division, I think.

But what do you DO with a mess like this? A bath clearly wouldn't work. He'd be soaking in red sauce. So, I just stuck him under the shower.



Now that I think about it, Hubby's job was probably a lot harder. He couldn't just hose off the kitchen.

So, there's your glimpse into the mealtime aftermath at the Johns household.

Have a great day!

P.S. Spaghetti on Cinco de Mayo? What were we thinking?!

One pound at a time: Week 1

Ack!

So, the Losing 1 Pound at a Time challenge officially started on May 1. That was Saturday.

Yeah.

With Logan's birthday, birthday party and preschool graduation, I most certainly didn't start dieting this weekend. Nor Monday, nor Tuesday. Hello! There was leftover cake, beer, cookies, cole slaw, and the wonderful dark chocolate bars my mom gave me. (Actually, two of those chocolate bars remain unopened.)

Today, I was great until around 3 p.m.

I got up at 5, ate a banana, went to the gym for full-body weights, came home, had some green tea with a touch of honey, then for breakfast I had steel-cut oats with walnuts, strawberries and a glass of milk. Lunch was some extra lean ground beef with onions and mushrooms, an apple and a small Greek yogurt. After Jordan and I went for an afternoon walk, we came home and I was bored and tired and ready for dinner, but Hubby was still 3 hours from getting home and I ate some carrots and celery with hummus but then started hitting the trail mix and ate about 3/4 of a large dark chocolate bar (with cherries and almonds in it. Yum!) and then had baked spaghetti for dinner. Then I just split the rest of the chocolate bar with Hubby.

So.

Afternoon boredom plus exhaustion from a non-night-sleeping baby always leads to bad decisions for me. I will just peck and peck in my quest for energy. I tried going for a walk today but it didn't work. At least it was more activity. I walked for 35 minutes with the baby in the backpack.

Anyway, my goals for this challenge are to eat healthy and be active. I want to, as always, drink more (enough) water and take my vitamins daily. What I am hoping to achieve is to have more energy to play with my boys (I'm sick of feeling lethargic. I want to WANT to run around!) and, of course, I want to lose this baby weight. I've been stuck at the same point for a very very long time. I am no longer nursing. I have no more excuses. I just don't know what I have to do to lose it. I work out very regularly. Like, nearly every day, with a full day of rest every week or so. I take the boys out and about. I don't (like, ever) sit and veg on the couch. I TRY to get enough sleep, even though that means going to bed at 8:30 sometimes, which sucks (and takes away from any Hubby time I might enjoy). I guess it's just food. I eat mostly healthy, but I guess I eat too much. Or something.

But I hate counting calories. Or points. Or macronutrients.

So, not sure how I'm going to go about this whole thing.

Anyway.

Lisa posed a question of the week: "What is the one thing that you find makes you feel good/beautiful about yourself, and why?"

I've thought about this all day and I don't know.

I know that if my Hubby tells me I'm pretty or looks at me like he thinks I'm pretty, that makes me feel really good. The problem is, he doesn't do that anymore. Like, ever. I couldn't tell you the last time he said anything like that to me. That makes me sad. I don't think he sees me as pretty anymore. I'm just the tired, crabby wife he comes home to every day.

Truth be told, I feel pretty ugly and frumpy most of the time. I'd like to change that.

Not sure how to go about that one, either!

Well. This turned out to be kind of a negative, whiny post. Sorry about that. But I'm not going to go back and edit. It is what it is.

Maybe focusing on making healthier choices will improve all this. And maybe I'm just tired and cranky right now.

Anyway, it's week one, and there you have it. I'm only five days late getting started.

Oh, and I DO feel better about myself when I have painted fingernails and fixed hair and I'm not wearing the same sweaty gym clothes I've had on since 5 a.m.! And when the house is clean.

So please send a stylist and maid! Or at least an extra 5 hours in every day.

Onward and upward, right?

Amber teething necklace review

Jordan is a hard teether. A few weeks back, he was having a really rough time with molars. Someone on Twitter suggested amber teething necklaces, so I looked into it.

I browsed on etsy and sent some questions to one of the sellers, Emma from the Amberforsale shop, and she agreed to send me, free of charge, one of her Baltic amber necklaces to try out on Jordan and review here.

There are many different, lovely colors of amber offered in Emma's shop, and I had a difficult time choosing. Finally, I settled on this green amber nugget necklace. (Photo courtesy of the amberforsale etsy shop).



I received the necklace in the mail and put it on Jordan. I was fully expecting him to go crazy trying to pull it off himself or get it in his mouth, but shockingly, he has left it alone. That is totally uncharacteristic for Jordan, but it speaks volumes of the comfort of the necklace on him. He might reach up and touch it as I put it on him, but that's it.

At first, I thought the necklaces were for the baby to actually TEETHE on, as in chew. Not the case. Rather, it's the oils from the amber that are supposed to soothe the baby through the skin.

Here is some information about amber from Emma:

"Amber is the ancient resin of trees. The resin has gone through a number of changes over millions of years. The result of this metamorphosis is an exceptional gem with extraordinary properties. It is exploited and used by both craftsmen and scientist. Amber, which is in fact a fossil, is often held in the same class as semi-precious stones such as turquoise and jade because of its ornamental uses. Unlike these stones, amber is not mineralized. Rather, it is simply the fossil of resin, or tree sap. We use Baltic amber which is mined in the Baltic sea. This small Baltic region holds 90% of all world deposits of high quality amber."

More about the actual teething necklaces:

"Firstly it’s important to remember that they are NOT for the child to chew on, they work by being worn against the skin, the heat of which releases microscopic amounts of oil, which is then absorbed into the skin. These amber teething necklaces are made of Baltic amber which is distinct from other types of amber as it contains succinic acid and it is this compound which gives amber teething necklaces their therapeutic quality. Succinic acid is naturally occurring in every cell of the human body and has many functions; analgesic (for pain relief), expectorant (to decrease mucous in the nose and chest), anti pyrectic (anti fever), antispasmodic (reduces the diarrhoea from an over active bowel) and anti inflammatory (reduces the red cheeks and dribbling).

Some parents of children with amber teething necklaces report that they don’t even know when new teeth break through as the child is no different to their normal contented self. Obviously safety is paramount and there are a few things to consider; Baltic sea amber teething necklaces should be worn only under supervision, and should be worn under the clothing against the skin. They are short to reduce the risk of getting caught on anything and the child will become desensitised to its presence around their neck. Amber teething necklaces should be removed during naps or night time. Each bead is rounded to prevent sharp edges damaging the child’s skin, and is individually knotted onto cotton so that if a breakage were to occur only one bead would come off the necklace, and their small size makes them much less likely to cause choking should they then be swallowed.

The screw-on clasp is made of plastic and not silver, and if a great strain is put on the necklace, this clasp will give way and allow the necklace to break open."

Here's a photo of the clasp on Jordan



Soooo.... Did it work? Well, the short answer is I'm not sure. The reason I don't know is that as soon as I got the necklace and he started wearing it, he got sick. We've been through two back-to-back bouts of croup as well as a diaper rash situation caused by the doses of antibiotics. Yuck. That means I've had a crabby baby!

He did pop another molar through a few days after wearing the necklace, and I don't know if it was just me, but there WERE a couple days in there before he got sick that he would become calmer shortly after I put the necklace on him.

I just wish I'd had more opportunity to observe him in teething action, but not sick and cranky, to have a better idea if it was the necklace or not.

BUT, I have absolutely not discounted the amber teething necklace, and I will continue to put it on him. If it can give him some comfort, even unseen or unnoticed by me, then I want that for him.

PLUS, it looks incredibly adorable on him. I have had many, many comments on it. Neither Hubby nor I have ever been "jewelry on guys" kind of people, but even Hubby thinks it looks cute on Jordan.



If you have a hard teether, I would recommend trying a teething necklace. There are a lot of people out there that swear by them. The Amberforsale etsy shop has a fantastic selection. Emma also has a website for her amber products. Check it out!

Thanks, Emma, for allowing Jordan to try the amber teething necklace!

Mother's Day wishes

You know what I want for Mother's Day?

Wine.



You know what I'll probably get for Mother's Day?

Whine.





Such is life! I love 'em anyway!

Not much time to blog this week, by the way. Jordan's being a handful. Screaming all night and whining all day. I wish I knew what was going on with him. It's very frustrating.

Logan's big weekend

Hey everyone!

What a wild weekend it was, especially for Logan.

On Friday he turned five. It was also his last day of preschool. It was my volunteer day in the classroom and I spent half of it in tears. I cried when they practiced their graduation ceremony, I cried when they sang their good-bye song for the last time, I cried on the way home after the end-of-school picnic.

But, Logan had a good last day. The teacher covered the floor in bubble wrap and it sounded like the Fourth of July. The kids had a blast jumping on it!



Then they sang Happy Birthday at snack time to Logan, and also to the kids whose birthdays are in the summer.



Saturday was Logan's roller-skating birthday party. It was a lot of fun.

Here are the roller skate cakes I made (Lemon cake with lemon frosting and mini donut wheels. Mmmmm!)



Logan in the Birthday Party Money Machine



Blowing out his candle (I get grossed out when kids blow out their birthday candles on the whole cake. I envision spit flying all over the cake, so I always just put a candle on Logan's piece.)



Then Sunday was his preschool graduation. More tears on my part. Logan did really well and had fun saying good-bye to his friends.











But, he was ready to get out of town! After the reception, he and my mom took off for up north, where he's spending the week. I spoke to Mom this morning and she said last night Logan walked into their house and said "I'm so glad I'm here! My mom and Dad are no fun!"
Gee, thanks kid!

Anyway, I miss him but he doesn't miss us at all. I remember how much fun I had up north with my grandparents when I was his age and I am excited that he gets to experience that too. It's so special for him. I'm going to suck up some one-on-one baby time with Jordan this week. Well, except today, we're going to meet my friend Angie and go to lunch. Should be fun!

Hope you all had a great weekend too!