Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Cheeseburgers on China… My Blog Name, Explained!

I've been asked many times over the years how this little blog got its name. I recently realized that I have never shared it here. Well, besides my blog banner that makes me hungry every time I see it! (Am I right?!)

As much as I hate to admit it, Kyle named the blog. He's been bugging me to fess up to that for a lonnnnng time now. (You're welcome.) It has nothing to do with the country of China and not a whole lot to do with cheeseburgers. Sorry to disappoint those of you who come looking for a great Chinese-style cheeseburger recipe!

I had been toying with the idea of starting a blog ever since Cooper was born and finally got serious about it when he was around 18 months old. I wanted a name that encompassed all aspects of my life… the ones that are beautiful and the ones that are messy, too.

A lot of the time, those moments are all one in the same.

Just like planning a perfect dinner party, laying out your best china but only having enough time/talent/patience/what-have-you to muster up cheeseburgers for dinner.

BUT, here's the deal, people love cheeseburgers and the ones that really matter love your "cheeseburgers on china" moments. Good news for me indeed!

On that note, I was going through my photo stream the other day and realized that my favorite pictures are usually NOT the ones that are perfectly edited out of a photographer's lens. How many of these do you have on your phone right now? In my mind, the most perfect pictures are usually not "framers". I'm actually going to start tagging all of mine #notaframer on social media. Join me if you want!

#notaframer

#notaframer (So very, very much #notaframer.)

#notaframer

Here's to life's less than perfect moments!

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Cooperisms, Fourth Edition

It's been a long time since I've updated you on the current Cooperisms. So for fun (and documentation), here are the things that have us rolling as of late! Here are my previous Cooperism posts if you're just catching up! (Man Meat and other Cooperisms, More Cooperisms and Cooperisms, Third Edition)

"Grandpa! Hush!" - I told you before that every time Cooper hears someone over the loud speaker (at a grocery store, for example) he thinks its my Mom and talks back to her. Now he has suddenly distinguished male and female voices. We were at the grocery store the other day when a man's voice came over the loud speaker: "Clean-up on aisle 2", to which Cooper replied: "GRANDPA! HUSH!" That turkey.

"We Didn't Start the Fire" - This Billy Joel classic is hands down Cooper's all time favorite song. He requests it in the car, on my phone, over the TV and always ON REPEAT! While I appreciate that his taste in music definitely strays from your typical kid bop, I'm wondering if I should be concerned that my three year old is yelling out: "Birth control! Ho Chi Minh!"?

"I've got a package. I've got a package in my pants." - This one really threw us for a loop. Apparently, in Cooper language, package and tag are of similar meaning. Yowza.

"I'm angry." - Cooper tells us all the time that he is "angry" or "mean" or "mad". We always ask him why and every time his response is a long, drawn out: "BECAUSE. I. AM." OK, we are getting there on expressing those feelings, ha!

"I love you all the time." - Cooper rarely just tells me that he loves me. It's usually "Mommy, I love you all the time." I'm pretty sure he got it from this book, but I'm going to go ahead and highly recommend it to all of you parents out there because it's the biggest ego boost…original thought or not!

"Man, I really messed up this time." - The other day I laid down the law about yelling in the house. After reprimanding him for this offense and making him apologize to me he turned around, dramatically slapped his forehead and said, "Man, I really messed up this time." I died.

Who's the boss?! - I am CONSTANTLY reminding Cooper that I am the Mom and I don't need his help parenting Carrington. He is all over her for her missteps (real or imagined). In fact, if he catches her playing with a toy of his, she is usually handing it back to him before he can march his little bossy tush across the room to retrieve it. Hmmm, maybe I should take note!

"We can't do things we can't control." - If you know my cautious, Type A first-born you'll know exactly why this is so fitting. He tells me this when he's scared to try something new. This is sooooo Cooper, but when did he start talking like an adult?

"Dad! You've got a mosquito on your arm!" - This statement is always followed but a big SLAP (of the imaginary mosquito)! He thinks he's so clever and I love his budding little sense of humor. It's too funny to call him out over, especially since Kyle is almost always on the receiving end of that one. BOYS!

This kid.

And, just for fun, here are all of the pictures that I had to take to capture this winning grin. (He only smiles for selflies!)

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Affordable Kid Things to do in Houston this Summer

My life as a stay-at-home-mom started off with a bang. In the beginning, I spared no expense toting the kids all around the city to a different place every day…making up for lost time, I suppose. We had a plan for every day of the week and I really enjoyed all of these new experiences with my kids.

Well, my working-mom ways haven't completely left me…I still thrive on having something planned every day! However, I quickly realized that on my no-salary salary, upwards of $30 a day in admission fees alone to do all of these things wasn't going to cut it! I wanted to share some of the free and more affordable places that I've found and would love your feedback on the same. Yes, I realize summer is coming to an end (maybe?!) but it's going to be boiling in Houston through September so you still have plenty of time to give these a whirl!

My HOT Houston Summer Kid Picks!

Splash Parks - I was introduced to the wonderful world of splash parks when I went to visit my friend Chelsea in May. I don't know why this was such a novel idea to me but I just envisioned chaos and dirty water. NOT THE CASE. In Houston, there are some great city parks with water features that are FREE FREE FREE! Here are the two that I have visited and loved:

Discovery Green - You can find "Gateway Fountain" towards the corner of McKinney and La Branch downtown. The splash park was big enough for Cooper to get a kick out of it and gradual enough for Carrington to crawl around at the edge and play. As a bonus, there is an awesome playground right next to it that the kids can run back and forth to. Really, it is too dang hot to play on a playground midday in Houston in the summer so the chance to cool off in the water was awesome. Double bonus, at the time we went, Kyle was still working downtown so he picked up some sandwiches and we had a family picnic on the lush lawn!
Jaycee Park - My friend Shelby told us about this place and we love it. The splash area is small enough for me to feel safe letting Carrington loose and she had so much fun. This is a great place for crawlers. Also, they have a really unique playground as well…not your typical slide and swing set. When Cooper tired of the splash area, as three year olds do, he was very content to explore the playground and I was easily able to keep him in sight. Jaycee Park is located right inside the 610 loop and very easy to get to.

Looscan Neighborhood Library - We visited the library for the first time last week. This library has story time every Wednesday. We walked into quite a scene in the second floor meeting room. There were kids EVERYWHERE playing with all sorts of toys on a big colorful carpet. The sight had Cooper immediately running for the hills but I somehow convinced him to say. The storyteller was really enthusiastic and sweet and started the class with a couple of songs before she read books and led craft time. Cooper very enthusiastically told the teacher he would not be participating in crafts (yeah, ok) but I'm sure the other kids had a great time. All in all, this was a great place to spend an hour for free in the air conditioning.
The Little Galleria - A free air-conditioned play area for the win. Located in the Galleria, the Little Galleria is a foam replica of the buildings in the Galleria. Cooper could climb to the top of all of the buildings and there was a little slide small enough for Carrington to scoot around on. While small, this play area held their attention for about 30 minutes. I would definitely bring them back and would use it as a bribe if I ever needed to run a dreaded Galleria errand with kids!
Houston Children's Museum - OK, so this one isn't free but I think the membership is such good value. For $95, you can get a family membership for a year and use of the express entry line. The three of us would burn through $95 in admission fees in just about three visits so the membership was a no brainer. We now go about once a week and love the kinetics room, the science experiments and, of course, the outdoor water park. Let me tell you, enjoying a $1 coconut popsicle outside while your kids happily play independently is such a treat.
Houston Zoo - Again, not free, but the membership is such a steal at $96 for a family for the year. My father-in-law has gifted this to us for the last two years and both of my kids thoroughly enjoy it. The Houston Zoo is one of the rare kid places in town that actually opens before 10am (9am to be exact), so if you go early you can beat the heat and the crowds a little bit. Plus, you can always pop into the reptile house or cruise through a mister if you get too hot. And then there's the ice cream…

The proof is in the pictures!

Carrington at Discovery Green

Cooper at Discovery Green

Jaycee Park

Smiles for Jaycee Park

Waiting for story-time at Looscan

The Little Galleria (and typical blurry Cooper pic)

Of course Sister LOVED the Little Galleria!

Teamwork at the Children's Museum

Zoo Carousel with Cita!

My list of summer recommendations would not be complete without mention of our beloved shark pool. For the days when your activities are confined to the house, this is a no brainer. I bought two from Academy last year when they were on sale for $10. Sorry, the price has now gone up to $12.99, ha! We are still on the original after two summers of play. You can hook up your hose and water shoots out of the tail. Throw in a plastic slide and you are practically at a water park!

Since it would be a disservice just to mention the places I loved, I do have one for the "DO NOT RECOMMEND" list. My friend Lyndsey and I took our kids to the Soto Exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts this morning. As advertised, this exhibit is "intended to be touched, handled, and waded through" and our kids really enjoyed doing just that. However, I did not appreciate the docents hovering around asking our kids not to hold on to the strands or get them tangled every five seconds. "NO RUNNING! NO HOLDING! NOOOOOOOOO TWIRLING!" I have never been more relieved to see a troop of big kids from a summer camp show up to divert the attention!

Here's the thing, either a place is kid-friendly or it isn't. I am not the parent that brings my kids to fancy restaurants or other places that are not age-appropriate and in fact frown upon parents who do. I'M A RULE FOLLOWER PEOPLE!!! However, the MFAH advertising was clearly geared towards kids and the environment was anything but. When Cooper tripped and fell in this tunnel (we were all a little disoriented), the docent came running over not to offer help but to ask the we return to the pathway immediately. Yeah, got it! I think the final straw was when a docent at the park across the street (not even a paid part of the museum) asked Lyndsey's two year old to back away from the bronzed statue she was admiring and sweetly pointing to. Yes, the statue that was outside that birds poop on.

The kids had fun nonetheless but I will NOT take them back until they are at least 25!

Clearly these kids were about to tear the place down:

Admiring the exhibit from the safety of my arms!

Big kids had no time for photos!

That's a happy boy!

Sister was not sure what to think!

Yeah, we got it.

Criminals.

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Are we there yet?

We have been road tripping the heck out of this summer!

Cooper is at that glorious age where he thinks road trips are awesome. For the simple task of sitting in a car seat he is awarded the highly coveted and rare occasion daytime movie and a fast-food fix: "Orange W Store" (a.k.a Whataburger). Although, after the amount of time we've spent in the car this summer, when we pull up to the window he is quick to spout off: "I need a hamburger with extra pickles and only one dip-it, KETCHUP!" Yikes.

Sister, at 12 months old, is an entirely different story. The things we do to keep that girl happy in the car are so outrageous that I finally got Kyle to admit it is easier to drive the entire way than to scramble around entertaining her.

Here's my list of all of the crazy things that go on in our car...

Roadtrippin' Baby Craziness:

*** In order of escalation.

The Inaudible Adult Conversation - All babies sleep in the car, right? Cooper did. It used to be so easy. If you started driving during his normal nap time we were always blessed with 2-3 hours of peaceful baby sleep. With Sister, car sleep is elusive and unpredictable. She may fall asleep right away, sleep for 30 minutes and be done or not sleep the entire trip and fall asleep right as we meet our destination. So, when sleep DOES happen and we get the rare moment for an uninterrupted adult conversation, you better believe we are talking at a volume so low only our dog can hear us. In fact, to actually understand the other person, you have to turn your head towards them and read lips while the non-driver leans over the middle console. Kyle always remarks on how crazy we would seem if we were somehow caught on hidden camera. #truth
Snack after snack after snack - I worry about this one. "Oh, you're upset? Here's a cookie! Raisins! Yogurt! The rest of my hamburger!" Oh well. A chewing mouth is a happy one when in the car. We'll undo the "eat to feel better" thing another day, because right now it makes us all better. And calms the urge to jump out of the window. Really, it's for our safety.
Toys and non-toy toys - At some point the snacks run out or Sister gets full, usually the former. I start frantically digging through my diaper bag in search of all toys. Music playing toys! Squeaky toys! Squishy toys! Big brother's toys that suddenly become fair game! You name it, I've pulled it out. And, since every toy we own seems to entertain for a maximum of 30 seconds, we also pull out the non-toy toys. "Here's an empty water bottle! A box of wipes! Oh lawduhmercy, please do not strangle yourself with my iPhone charger!"
Family Sing-a-long - When we are out of toys I usually start singing, Kyle's favorite. There are the classics, which usually have Kyle saying "IF YOU SING PATTY-CAKE AGAIN I'M GOING TO CRY" and "PLEASE SING PATTY-CAKE AGAIN OR I'M GOING TO CRY", all in the same breath. There are also the made up songs like "Sister, Sister" and "Please Stop Crying", all to the tune of "Are you Sleeping" (oh, the irony). If you find me in the loony bin one day humming this tune quietly to myself you'll know why!
That's it. I'm coming back there. - Despite the fact that our car has bucket seats in back this is a common practice. In a final act of desperation you can find me crawling around in the back seat hand holding, tear wiping and ear shushing. When Sister was younger, I may or may not have mastered the trick of nursing her while she was strapped into her car seat. Sorry, I'm not sorry.

And yet we still manage to get back on the road! The journey is worth the trip, or something like that. Please tell me this happens in your car, too. And, better yet, please tell me your magic tricks to avoid this happening in your car!

“Let her sleep

For when she wakes,

She will move mountains.”

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Rocky Mountain High

Rocky mountain highhhhhhhhhh (high), Colorado.

(Sorry, can't help but sing John Denver when talking Colorado. You're welcome, this will be stuck in your head for the next week!)

Last week we packed up for a trip out to good ol' Colorado to spend some time with friends who were also attempting to beat the summer heat. All Houstonites, this trip had us wondering why in the world we live in Houston. We all had total vacation depression upon returning but I suppose that's the sign of a great trip!

I mean, really?! So beautiful.

Side note… We totally left Sister at home. I'm hoping this is not something she is in therapy later for later on in life about but let me tell you that she had a better time at home with her grandmother and we had a much easier (can't bring myself to actually type "better") time without her. The joys of traveling solo with a 3 year old is that there is no "gear" to pack. No pack-n-play, no stroller, no diapers, no sippy cups…heaven. We did activities when we wanted, since it was ok to fudge a nap by a few minutes (or 30) and Kyle and I both snoozed on the plane ride home while the boy happily watched a movie. Imagine that!

He even carried his own bag through the airport!

We love you Sis. You'll get there one day!

It was a whirlwind trip and we had a wonderful time! We rode horses, swam (heated pool!!!), had some great dinners, drank AMAZING wine, went on a hike and wrapped up the long weekend with a lights out round of bowling.