Life

I found this image and loved it. As I continued clicking around, I found the wonderful blog post it came from on Sacramento Street; it was just a fun read with gorgeous images. I hope you enjoy it! Happy Wednesday! :)

Obsessed

It's official. I'm obsessed with cloth diapering. I switched Liam over to cloth a few weeks ago and we are absolutely in love with the gDiapers system. YES! I said, WE!!! Shawn is happy with it, too, and loves how easy it is. We had been toying with the idea since Liam was born and our biggest fear was the difficulty. We've managed to develop a system for ourselves for while at home, and while on-the-go (which is so important for us because we are always on-the-go), and both have been working like a charm! Not to mention, I am in love with Liam's cute little bum in cloth dipes! :)The gDiapers system is great because it really is "the best of cloth and disposable". The cloth diaper has a snap-in liner that can be stuffed with either a cloth diaper or a disposable gRefill. The gRefills are super cool because you have the choice of flushing it, composting it (in your garden or whatever), or just tossing it into the garbage. Even if you toss it into the garbage, there's no guilt since it's biodegradable and breaks down in about 60 days in the landfills, versus the years and years it takes for regular disposable diapers to break down. I keep a stash of the disposable gRefills handy, but I've mostly been using the cloth inserts.

I even went and found some washable night-time underpants for Mikey, since he is potty-trained by day but still bed-wetting at night. Instead of buying and throwing away more pull-ups, these washable underpants from One Step Ahead were a much better alternative. But, I knew I was obsessed when I threw a regular disposable diaper into the garbage and suddenly felt a surge of guilt! lol Sound ridiculous, I know. But once I started doing this, and really putting into perspective the amount of diapers we consumed, and all of sudden, aren't anymore....it's huge. Not only waste-wise, but also money-wise; it's a huge savings from having to spend $50-75/week on disposable dipes. And I told Shawn, we're not the only ones using throwing that many diapers in the garbage. Probably every house on our block is doing the same. So if we can reduce the hit on the planet by just one household....we've done our part in saving some of this beautiful earth for the kids!

Mikey + Gymnastics = SUPER FUN!!!

Shawn has been itching to start Mikey in jiu-jitsu with Izzy at the Gracie Academy. I can't say I'm completely for that yet since the jiu-jistu class Mikey would be in is strictly structured with kids up to age 6, so the kids are expected to stay put, wait their turn, and stay quiet and focused. I don't think Mikey is ready for that yet, especially the stay quiet and focused part. I suggested placing Mikey in a gymnastics class with other boys his age to let him learn to stay focused in a structured class, but also prepare his muscles for jiu-jitsu, which he will inevitably begin at 4yo.

He had his first class at Classic Gymnastics this morning and absolutely loved it. He definitely proved to me that we have not been imagining his great coordination and balance and did pretty well in the setting considering it was his first time. But, his short attention span was very obvious. lol He was a boy full of curiosity: Can we swing on the rope? What is that? Can we swing on the rope? Can we turn the fan on? Can we swing on the rope? I'm strong like my Papa and I can tumble really good. Can we swing on the rope now?

So excited to start class!
Who doesn't love jumping on a trampoline?
Practicing his somersaults.
Bear walk on the balance beams.
This was amazing to me. He did a flip on the rings, NO PROBLEM!
Walking on the high balance beam.
Finally, he got to swing on the rope. lol

First days are the worst days....

...for Mom, at least! Isaiah and Mikey were both sooo over summer and ready to go back to school. I try not to think it's because they're sick of my constant company since I know I was loving every moment of it! (Well...most moments of it, anyway.) :)

The boys' first days are always pretty sad days for me. My heart is happy and excited for them, as I send them off on the next year of their educational journey. I also take comfort in that they are ready and excited to go and I can only hope I have prepared them well. But I can't help but be a little sad that they are growing up...and so much more quickly that I ever imagined. Although, I did find solace in a friend's post on Facebook today about her daughter's first day of 11th grade. Whew! Thank goodness I have 10 more years to prepare myself for that one! lol That's a whole different realm of college visits and applications...but, I must say I am secretly looking forward to helping the boys with their Calculus homework. Math classes are the one thing I miss most about school!!!

Mikey started last week at a new preschool, Bella Vista Christian Academy. I think he eased into the transition well since he had two of his buddies in his class. Not an ounce of hesitation from this big boy!!!Isaiah started 1st grade today at the same school as last year, Anthony Traina Elementary, which is just a walk around the block from our home. He was also very eager to start a new school year. I hope it's because he's excited to learn and not because he gets to wear all of his new clothes, shoes and backpack. lolAs for me, I get lots of quality time with my little Liam. And on the days that Mikey doesn't have preschool, I get to spend some time with him as well. This morning, we are off to Mikey's first gymnastics class. :)

A Dad and his boys

Each evening, I hand the reins over the Shawn and I try to just sit back and enjoy the interaction between him and his boys. The wrestling, the armpit farting, the "OOhh...Made you look!" moments, the way all four of them are sucked into recorded episodes of Ninja Warrior....I can't help but wonder how this dynamic would change if a girl was thrown into the mix. But, I definitely do know that another boy in the mix will make every moment even more enjoyable than they are now.

The division of labor between us is pretty defined: he does things with them to help them get boo-boos and I kiss the boo-boos to make them better. He is very hands-on with the boys and takes them out to get dirty and do, well, boy things. And it never fails that each time we do something new, some moment during the drive to wherever our destination may be, he will say something like, "I used to do this with my Dad all the time." Camping, fishing, swimming in the river, digging for worms in the dirt....all of which are now things that our boys love to do with him. I guess there really is something to say about a Dad and his boys.

He made Liam's 1st birthday cake. Yes, HE did it all...with that cute, pink spatula.

The finished product.

He also made Isaiah's 6th birthday cake. So awesome!

Snowmobiling in North Tahoe.

Exploring Golden Gate Park in SF.

An Easter hike at Mission Peak in Fremont.

Playing in the Stanislaus River at Caswell State Park.

Picnic at Caswell.

Pee-ing in the trees.