How did your family spend Memorial Day this year? We did something new and different; we actually went to a Memorial Day service! As I added it to the Events Calendar of activities for My Busy Days , I thought, that sure would be a great thing to do - but never imagined we would follow through. Upon arrival, we were immediately glad we made it. The service was set up to honor the fallen soldiers of Irvine. They had posters with each soldier’s story on it for everyone to read. They described their career paths, their families, their hopes and dreams and even how they were tragically killed. Just reading through how each of these brave men died for us made my normal Memorial Day activities (pool, bbq) seem silly and trivial. Some of the men were only 20 years old.
Do you have a great Podcast you listen to? I held onto my old portable cd player with a fierce, old-man like stubbornness. As I’m running holding this clunker in my hand at the gym (because if I set it down, the cd skips), I notice others jogging with their iPods lying docilely in the treadmill pocket. Then, of course there is the obvious benefit of multiple albums, artists etc. for your listening pleasure.
If you don’t already have regular date nights, what are you waiting for???? Nothing breathes much needed fresh air back into your marriage than getting out as adults. My husband and I have hired a babysitter to come every other Saturday night (thanks to my friend Jenn who hires a sitter every Saturday night..thank you Jenn!) so we’ve had a good time exploring date night spots. Our very favorite idea is to take our sand chairs down to Laguna beach and sit for a couple of hours with good books, Ipods and/or a bottle of wine as the sun sets. We even boldly took an hour long walk one time! We begin almost every date night in this manner. There are plenty of restaurants there in Laguna to eat at afterwards (we change clothes in our car). Here are a few we’ve found in Laguna as well as around OC:
My 2.5 year old is by definition a Picky Eater. While he seems to be finally branching out some, (if his sister eats it, he will consider it whereas before I could not even force a small bit of something new into his mouth) I still struggle on a daily basis to provide healthfulness and variety while averting unpleasantness (ie tantrums) during mealtime. I’ve compiled a list of foods and put it on my refrigerator to help me and would love to hear your ideas if you have had success with certain foods. Moms unite against picky eaters!!!
This concept intrigued me as I grew up frequenting farmers market stands and truly knowing the difference in fresh fruits & veggies (as well as knowing the farmers themselves!). My mom even went so far as to bring her own tomatoes (from her steadfast farmer) to restaurants. As a child I thought, yum, we get to have fresh tomatoes in our salads no matter where we eat. As a college student I thought, my God this is embarrassing!!! (but still delicious).
My Blog
