Soccer Coach

I signed Athena up for soccer again...we were waiting to hear from our coach, and waiting, and waiting. Finally we got an email that her team still needed a coach. Being the "sucker" that I am, I volunteered. Athena is super excited to have me as her coach and our first practice went great. The time went by fairly slowly so I need some more fun drills to add to my list, but the kids weren't difficult to manage or anything. Luckily, there are just 7 on a team, we have 5 boys and 2 girls. The kids voted on the team name and I think it is pretty funny. We will be known as "The Green Meerkats". Pictures to follow...

Birthday/Anniversay Stay-cation

Last weekend we celebrated my birthday and our wedding anniversary. Chris took a couple of days off work which gave us time to take a long weekend. We spent the weekend at the Bahia Hotel on the bay here in San Diego. It mostly seems to appeal to tourists, but we were attempting to be tourists in our own city for the weekend so it worked out just perfectly. The hotel had a nice pool that the kids begged to visit everyday. It had a nice big shallow area that even Rowan could walk all around. The bay was just a walk outside the door and across a little parking lot. We went out on a pedal boat one day which was fun. I have a rule where if you ever have an opportunity to rent a pedal boat that you have to. I've pedaled those boats in random cities all over the world. The hotel also gives you free tickets to ride on the "Bahia Belle" a steamboat that cruises the bay. That was pretty fun as well. I also tried out my new roller blades down on the boardwalk while Chris ran with the kids in the stroller. All in all, it was a great weekend. The kids behaved so well and were all tuckered out by the end of the day. They slept great! The hotel room had 2 double beds and a couch bed so Athena took the couch, Chris had his own bed, and Rowan slept with me. That arrangement was great because the beds were pretty small. I was worried about Rowan rolling off the bed, but he never did. So, here are some photos from our adventure.

Dinner in our hotel room.
On the bay.
The kids lounging on the bay. I loved these little spots.
Ready to pedal.
Cruising our "private" beach.
In the pool.

These seals live at the Bahia. I felt a little sorry for them but they were rescued and are blind, so life could be worse for these two. The kids loved them as they were super cute.
We NEVER get photos of the 4 of us, so I asked some stranger to snap this one.
Ready for the blading/run.
Athena on her blades.
Night park. The hotel has a tiny playground on the bay that the kids just loved!

kayaking

A month ago we met some friends at the bay and borrowed their kayak for some fun trips in the water. The kids absolutely loved it! This weekend we are staying at a hotel for 2 nights on the bay. We may just have to rent a couple of kayaks so the kids can put their new life jackets to use. I decided to buy them life jackets so I could stop having an anxiety attack every time Chris took them out in the water, or I took them to the bay (Rowan always charges out and all of the sudden is chest deep and practically drowning).

Daiya vegan cheese review

I'd been hearing a lot about this new vegan cheese called Daiya. It is soy free, dairy free, corn free, gluten free. Whole Foods is using it in their vegan pizza now, and I tried some and it was pretty good. It tastes a lot like the Follow Your Heart cheese to me, but I like that it is soy free since my nephew is sensitive to soy, I try to find alternatives whenever I can. So, it wasn't as awesome as I thought it was going to be, but it passes. My kids love the whole foods pizza and I brought home a container of the cheddar and tried it tonight in burritos. The kids said they don't like orange cheese, but they still ate their dinner. The cheddar and italian (white) cheese taste about the same to me but I probably won't buy the cheddar again since the kids didn't really like it. The Italian will be our go to pizza topping, oh, and I tried some melted on my pasta today and I liked it. So that is my review.
Also, good news to me was that the pizza chain zpizza will be using daiya cheese now. I heard by the end of the summer all of the stores would be converted. This came as good news to me as I ate there twice under the impression that their cheese was vegan and then found out it was soy cheese but contained casein. I was really frustrated, especially since their employee said it was complete dairy free! I'm glad a vegan pizza will be more available to people now. I prefer to make pizza myself, but sometimes I like my kids to get the experience of going out for pizza as it was such a big part of my childhood, and I still enjoy it!
I leave you with a couple of unrelated pictures. My nephew was born at home on Sunday at 12:47 am, 9 lbs 6 oz, 20 inches. He is cute as a button and my kids beg me every day to take them to see their cousins so they can hold the baby. Lucky for them, we will visit them tomorrow!

Tee ball

Rowan had a lot of fun playing tee ball at the park Friday. Some kids were there and they let him play, he didn't want to leave when it was time to go home. He talked on and on about wanting to get a tee ball set for himself and how I would take him shopping. I had JUST taken him shopping for a new backyard pool and some diving sticks so it really wasn't in the budget. Plus it seemed like one of those things that my kids REALLY want but then play with for one day. Anyway, after his nap he was crying on and on about wanting a tee ball set and finally I said I would not be able to buy him one but that we could make one. The kids followed me around the house as I set out for my supplies. A wrapping paper tube, a box, and some packing tape (couldn't find the duct tape). They watched in awe as I created my tee and then they tried it out and had a good ole time for about 20 minutes and have not really touched it since!

Rowan-isms

The other day we were eating lentil soup and Rowan started saying, "Remember when we had a lentil car?" We were perplexed, trying to figure out what on earth he could be remembering. Finally, he jogged my memory by talking about when my car got bumped and I realized he was talking about a RENTAL car. That was a funny one.

He also constantly cracks me up by mimicking me. Today when we got back from Athena's splash camp he was asking her if she had the girl teacher or the boy teacher. (This was a big deal to her).

And this morning we were talking about our dreams and Rowan said, "What Daddy dream about?" (he wasn't home). I said I didn't know and Rowan said, "Maybe Daddy dream about work!" For Chris' sake, I hope that wasn't the case!

chris' new toy

He rides his bike to work everyday, so it was a worthy purchase, just weird since neither of us ever spend a lot of money on things for ourselves. I went on a little spending spree myself right after I heard about his new bike, strangely though, I only bought stuff for the kids (new shoes, soccer cleats, and life jackets). My birthday is coming though, so I should figure out something I really have been wanting. A vitamix is big on my list. I already got my iphone, anything else?

doing well

I had a doctor's appointment today and we went over my blood work from a few months back. I am as healthy as can be, cholesterol is 121, no anemia, no diabetes, thyroid is good, blood pressure is 101/60. I am almost at my 15 year veganversary, and am glad to know that my health reflects this. I just need to exercise a bit more.

A rare moment

Athena was really tired yesterday afternoon because she had woken up at 5 am at her camp out with Chris. We argued a bit about her need for a nap and she was convinced she HAD to play first. I left her alone in her room to play and hopefully settle down from our arguing. I heard her playing for awhile and then things got really quiet. I checked on her and found her like this. Strangely, when she woke up an hour later she insisted that she never slept and picked up her argument with me right where she left off. It was too funny. I love that girl!

Big catch up post

I haven't posted in awhile, but summer has been a lot of fun so far. We've spent a lot of time at the beach/bay and spent a lot of time with friends at the park. Athena is really good at riding her bike now, and Rowan is just beginning to pedal his bike. Athena is also swimming really well, her teacher said she is ready for Level 2 which means more practice on the actual strokes, etc. She can swim half way across the pool by herself which is the main task separating a level 1 from a 2. 2 weeks ago, I began a parent/tot swim class with Rowan and 7 of his friends from playgroup. This class has been a lot of fun and I can already see the progress Rowan is making. He is enjoying the pool much more now and even tolerates the teacher putting him under to swim to me (not his favorite activity, but he handles it).

We went ice skating today which was a blast as always. Rowan just LOVES it so much. I think he will play hockey someday or be a figure skater because he is very happy on the ice. Rowan is still a clown. He has a great sense of humor. He has been out of diapers for 3 weeks now, and while he still has accidents, he has more accident free days and is doing awesome with using the potty. At playgroup friday, another mom noticed him wearing underwear and asked him, "Are you going on the potty now?" and he replied with a little smirky rowan face, "No, not in the potty, on the floor." What a little stinker! Today we were talking about my birthday and Rowan asked me, "Mommy, how old you going be? 6 or 5?" It was so funny. Whenever anyone asks how old he is he answers either 3 or 4, and people often believe him. Rowan is super sweet and gives lots of hugs and kisses and will say, "Mommy, I love you." He does it to Athena too.

Chris and Athena had a backyard camp out last night. Rowan decided to sleep inside with me. Rowan and I had a great night sleep and Chris had to wake up at 5 with a wide awake Athena:(

So, as you can see, we've been very busy. Athena is also taking a summer dance class and she really enjoys it. We won't continue that class in the fall though because soccer season is starting soon! That and she'll be starting kindergarten in September. I'm still deciding on what school to send her too. There is a brand new schools starting that I'm leaning towards, but they have a lot of work to do this month to get the school off on the right foot. I have a good back up plan if that doesn't work out so I'm not too worried, just don't want to regret making the "wrong" decision.