random ramblings

The Inland Empire has a great chain of stores called "Clark's Nutrition & Natural Foods Market." Check them out here.
While some of their stuff is on the pricey side, if you know what you are looking for, they are a great place to find items like I have pictured above.

Check out this link: 10 uses for apple cider vinegar ...

I've also been using coconut oil in most of my cooking. It has no taste and is much better for you than your average cooking oil... and like the vingegar also has a bunch of different uses.

Like I mentioned earlier I am doing my best to stick to my paleo plan for the second week. No flour (wheat) is allowed & coconut and almond flour are perfect alternitives.

If you are interested in Paleo recipes this is a great link.

I spent more time than usual in Clark's today since I was waiting for my new brakes to be put on next door at Firestone ...which by the way was completely funded by my sales from the Kissui cloth diaper/baby carrier garage sale where I made over $250! (which is almost exactly how much my new rotars and brakes cost... wish I could have used that on something a little more fun!)

... and speaking of Kissui events, we have another one this weekend that I will also be working.

cutest flyer ever...  currently obsessing over ALL things "chevron striped"

Tomorrow Im taking the day off to head down to north San Diego (Encinitas) with my brother and Kenley to just hang at the beach for the day and shop around while Gavin is at school/working summer baseball camps.

Im requesting that we leave nice and early so I can hit up the most AMAZING breakfast/coffee/tea place ever, Pannikin (introduced to me by my best friend Torrey who has family from her mom's side that live right by there in Escondido.)

you must check out their site.
Im not sure what I love most: the location, decor, art, coffee or food.

I cant believe we will have a two year old on Friday... who has been having a little trouble sleeping lately but slept for 11 hours straight in her crib last night... MUCH needed for all of us.
Thanks Kenley!

Im having fun keeping track on here lately.

I feel like these last weeks in so cal are going to be ones that I will want to remember. I love that this blog has been a way to do that.

as always thanks for keeping us with us as well.

❤

more party pics!

...as promised I am attaching a few more party pics... (thank you Lynn!)

AND just had to share some super sweet tutorial links of course.

I made a few "tulle pom poms" (courtesy of Pinterest) that you can find at this link here:

SO CUTE & EASY!

also.. the big hit.. the "bacon and egss"

They were so much fun to make and went perfectly with our breakfast theme :)

All it requires: white melting chocolate (find at local craft stores), pretzel sticks and yellow m&ms!... melt the chocolate and put little blobs onto wax paper... add  your "yolk" and "bacon" and you are done! I sent them home it little blue Chinese to-go boxes :)

In the left corner is a danish wheel from a bakery in Costa Mesa courtesy of the Boudeaus... it was amazing... along with the monkey bread and breakfast casserole made by sweet Lynn Andriese who can COOK/BAKE!

On the far right are the pancake kabobs Gavins mom and I made. The night before the party I made over 100 mini pancakes. In between them are whipped cream and strawberries. YUM.

Gavins Dad, Grandma Grandpa and Mom... so glad I had their help!

the beautiful Kayla and Kelly

loved opening presents... she is loved!

If you look closely Kenleys candles are lit here and we are singing happy birthday... she kept her eye on me the whole time with a big smile on her face. A whole week later and she is still singing "happy birt-day to Kenweee!"

Joie, Kyle and David... cutie pies.

cant believe I will actually have a 2 year old this Friday... love you baby girl!

3 ingredient healthy-ish ice cream

For this week, I am juicing before noon (only raw fruits and veggies in the juicer) and the rest of day I am going "paleo" (no dairy, grains or legumes)... I felt so good after I did this last time and on day three I feel like a million bucks.

This morning I am making this three ingredient "ice-cream"... cant wait to see how it turns out!

Almond Butter & Honey Banana Ice Cream

makes 2 servings
1 1/2 peeled medium bananas, sliced into coins and frozen until solid
3 tablespoons almond butter
2 teaspoons honey
Blend bananas in food processor until they are the consistency of soft serve ice cream. Blend in almond butter and honey, and transfer to a freezer container and freeze until solid.

birthday breakfast

I cant wait to do a longer post about Kenley's party when I have a little more time but I couldnt resist posting the video of everyone singing happy birthday. We hadnt even practiced blowing out candles but she totally did it all on her own!

lucky for me, I wasnt the one behind the camera today (shocker!) so I am also waiting on a couple different people to send me pics before I do a real post. I definitely have to share a couple DIY tutorials that helped make the party a little cuter.

It was such a perfect day with an amazing group of people who are beyond generous ;)

Kenley did so great and had so much fun with all of her little friends. She just went down for a nap and I think she might sleep until tomorrow.

Happy Fathers Day to all you awesome dads out there (especially the ones who spent their morning with us) and most importantly, the one that didnt. Gavin missed Kenleys party all together because he worked at the golf course from 6am-2pm. (We started breakfast around 10).

He makes it all possible.

pics to come!
jess

essentials for a sick baby

Thank goodness Kenley has been a very healthy baby. I cant count the times on one hand that she has been truly sick. This is probably because she is at home with me most of the time (so thankful for that), has a balanced diet, and is on a good schedule.
The worst was her scare with Roseola when she was 6 months... which there is no cure/medication for and then our lovely bout with the stomach flu last summer which the following wouldnt apply to either. But unfortunately the occasional cold is inevitable and right now Kenley has a pretty good one.
We had a ROUGH night sleep Monday night and by the time I got home from work on Tuesday she was a mess... but! luckily I can come home with a couple quick fixes.
I would highly highly reccomend three products (all totally natural solutions) to help with the common baby cold.

The first is the Nose Frida. This thing is AMAZING. Its been my favorite new baby gift to give ever since I was introduced to it at Kissui. It sounds totally disgusting but let me explain. Yes, the suction from mom or dad's mouth IS what gets the snot out... but the snot goes nowhere NEAR your mouth. Even with Kenley's worst cold it has never even gone half way up the little blue tube that stores it. Even if it were to go all the way up there is a little sponge filter to catch anything that should come up. Ever tried a bulb aspirator?? ... they suck. And by that I mean they DONT suck! haha (k, you know thats funny.) But really guys, this thing WORKS! It gets all of the gross stuff out that keeps baby from breathing well and getting a good nights sleep. Now of course it's not Kenleys favorite when I whip out the Nose Frida and she sees it coming. She knows full well  what it is, but its quick and all over with within 30 seconds. During cold season we have customers RUNNING in for this thing... and usually its the parents who initially saw it in the store and commented on how gross it sounds... desperate times call for desperate measures people!

The second neat little Kissui gadget that I would reccomend for a sick babe is the Raz Baby Vapor Clip. This thing is awesome.

The little bear on the left in the above picture has a little slot (that locks and closes so that baby cant open it) that a fingernail sized pad, that is eucalyptus/menthol scented, is inserted into. The same little bear on the left clips onto baby's shirt and the other end is a pacifier clip. (It doesnt come with the little bear on the right, just the clip around it) So even if your baby doesnt take a pacifier you can take the paci-leash off and just leave the scented clip on their shirt. I swear Kenley breathes better with  it on... I wouldnt mind using one myself next time I have a cold.


Lastly, every parent needs a humidifer... especially if you live in the Inland Empire. Even if Kenley isnt sick and the air just seems grosser than usual, I will turn this thing on.

Im sure there are lots of good brands but this is the one we have and I love it. Its called the Crane-USA cold air humidifier.

Hope that helps any of my new mama friends :)


Feel better Kenley!

celebrate good times, c'mon...

Coming at you on a smoggy hot Monday afternoon (a year older!) after a very fun/busy weekend down here in ol' Riverside.

Kenley and Gavin and I just made our decent off of the side of Mt Rubidoux. I wanted to go earlier this morning knowing that it was supposed to be a scortcher today but Kenley let me sleep til NINE this morning... and I took full advantage.

There were lots of critters that were out and about up there this afternoon. Nothing like bounding into a full sprint to avoid a swarm of angry bees.

notice the little lizard (or "din-ah-sore" as Kenley was calling it) in the top left corner??

as for this weekend...
my birthday was so much fun, super low key and spent with some great people. Tuesday night Gavin got a group together to go to taco tuesday... there ended up being 14 of us, I felt so loved!... they even sang to me  :::embarrassing:::
my actual birthday (Friday) I spent with just Gavin and Kenley and got a quick lunch and drinks with my friend Kaley while Gavin was in class. I got some extremely sweet phone calls, cards, flowers and gifts. I feel like this birthday more than ever and the older you get, its so much less about things people do or dont get you and MORE about who takes the time to call instead of text/facebook or send a quick card etc. I try to be really good about that myself so it always means a lot to me when friends do the same. I really do have the best friends in the world... still making me feel so special from 500 miles away.
We ended the day at the drive in movies... SUPER fun and a great alternative to the movies with a two year old.

The rest of the weekend was crazy as usual. Saturday Gavin worked at the golf course from 6am-2pm and had to come right back to take a final at 3 (yes, on a Saturday). As soon as he got back we jetted out the door to get to Mae and Miles (Kissui friends) birthday party. You may remember they are the adorable brother/sister duo that Kenley hangs out with on the occassional Thursday. We honestly all had so much fun, such an awesome group of people that I am going to miss so so much. Kenley slept like a champ that night after chasing around her little friends and bouncing in the bouncy house.

Mae and Kenley

even made some new friends

slightly obsessed with this outfit I thew together :)

Straight from the birthday party we jammed on over to our friend Eddie's going away/"signing" party. For those of you who dont know, Gavin had the opportunity to play with a stellar all-star pictcher at UCR... who will now be taking his talents to the Chicago Cubs organization. Eddie signed with the Cubs on Friday and exactly a week later will be shipping out. It is such a HUGE accomplishment and I really cant think of something so awesome happening to a better person. Eddie and his girlfriend Kaley really have been our closest friends down here and have been such a huge help in so many many ways. We will truly miss them as well. It was a teary/sappy goodbye but we wish him all the very best in the world. Cant wait to see you pitch in the BIGS Eddie!

And speaking of giant accomplishments... GAVIN GRADUATES THIS WEEKEND!!!!

His family, grandparents included, are making the trek down to watch him walk the stage. Most of you know how absolutely huge this is. How fitting that it should be the day before Father's Day :)

Keep him in your thoughts and prayers during finals week!

We will also be celebrating Kenley's 2nd birthday this Sunday with a few close friends and family (since Gavins will already be here). It is a "breakfast" theme and if all goes according to plan, should be very cute.

Love, J

crickets

ahhhemmmm...

I do apologize for the crickets over here.

Blogger switched up their page and I dont even know if I am posting this correctly?? (partially my reason for procrastination.)

Excuses aside- we have been so busy. I know I say that every time I have been in between posts. So this is my best attempt at a little synopsis tonight.

By the time I finish my shift on Saturday I will have worked 5 days this week at Kissui... which may not seem like a TON but if you consider the fact that I have had Kenley every day besides tomorrow then yes... yes it is.

Regardless of how little or how much I am there, I love that place so much. While we were home for three weeks they were super short on girls and I felt extremely guilty. If I didnt have a million things to do and take care of while I was there, I would have been on a flight home early. So since I missed out on all the action Im doing my best to make up for it since Ive been back. I dont know what I will do with myself after we move and I no longer have Kissui.



 Actually,thats not entirely true... I do know what I will be doing with myself...

Our first week at home was dedicated to getting all of my ducks in a row at Sonoma State. It was stressful to say the least. I went to orientation as scheduled and left completely devastated. It was truly a sign of the times in the CSU system. There were no classes. The classes that were offered in the fall that I NEEDED to take each had 30 person wait lists. My options? Take one of them in summer school, costing me $1,300, missing Gavins graduation and being away from him all summer... along with being in the class all day every day for a month with the expectations of all the grandparents chipping in to watch Kenley. Sounds horrible right?... So I didnt do it. Instead I came home... and thought things over. I reminded myself just how badly I wanted this, how hard I worked to get to this point and the fact that I couldnt just give up now. I decided to sit down and shoot an email to the department chair who I had seen at orientation and clearly remembered me from the two classes I took with her before. I was able to quickly catch her up on my life when I saw her and where I had been (she "wondered what had happened to me" haha). She quickly repsonded to my email saying she would talk to some instructors for me and would at least get me into the class that SHE teaches and suggested that this would be a good semester for my internship. So worse case scenario she had gotten me into her class and I would do my internship.

Doing a couple classes at a time wasnt exactly what I had pictured though. I was ready to get all of my eight classes over with in two semesters and graduate a year from now. So this busy lady was at Sonoma State not one, not two, but three days in a row... bugging teachers and trying to squeeze my way into two more classes... and Im ecstatic to say that it worked. Persistence does pay off, people!

 SO...I am taking Physiology of Exercise (scared for my life about this class)... Biomechanics (also worried about this) Individualized Assesment and Programing (the department chairs class) and my internship as the assistant strength and conditioning coach for the mens and womens golf team (SOOOO excited about this one!!!!) My coach, who just so happens to be one of my favorite people on the planet, was nice enough to let me in on this awesome opportunity. Thats 15 units of crazy busy... but I am beyond ready. Just missing a few ducks for that row I mentioned...

As we prepare for the big move, we are faced with a couple daunting realities. With me in school full time, Gavin working full time and all of Kenleys grandparents working full time it doesnt leave many options for her care during the day. I hate the very thought of being away from her so much to begin with, but trusting her in the care of someone else causes me concern to say the least. She is on two different wait lists for preschools but we havent been promised anything. Tuesdays and Thursdays I am in school from 8am to 8pm. I dont know how that will work...  missing her dinner time? bath time? bed time? Especially after a whole day of being away from her to being with????? I know all of these things should and will fall into place but for now its looking slightly hectic.

Next on the list is finding a place for us to live. Both Gavins parents and mine have been nice enough to open their homes to us but we all know its best for our family of three to stay that way. We will definitely be taking them up on their offer until we can find something for ourselves and figure out a realistic budget. As of right now Gavin is looking at a UPS job in Napa until the Fish and Game academy starts in January and then who knows?? Petaluma is an ideal place right in the middle (plus I just so happen to love hippy little Petaluma.) We are going to need to get REAL creative. And by WE I mean ME since I will be the one in Northern California an entire month before Gavin. (Gavin walks the graduation stage June 16 but doesnt actually complete his degree until summer school ends on September 1st... I start school August 21st, you do the math.) We are giving up our place down here as of August 1st so we can get around paying an entire months rent/utilities and Gavin will be staying with teammates for the remaining month of summer school.

blah blah blah blah... this is all really boring but I think I might just be typing it out so I dont forget anything haha ;)

Anyway... our three weeks at home were so amazing that it took me an entire week to mentally adjust to reality down here. Pretty sure I mentally checked out of Riverside about three months ago.

We have a very busy month of June coming up as well and July will consist of Gavin and I just working like crazy and trying to save our every penny. Any tips on saving??? Im open to any and all suggestions.

Lastly let me just say how weird it is having Gavin done with baseball. He is really done and it is really... weird.

Im so proud of him. UC Riverside may not have ended up being the ideal place for him to play but he definitley made the most of it. To even make it to Division I baseball in college (especially in THIS league) is something that most kids in Little League just dream about. Very few understand the ligistics of college baseball and baseball beyond that is a whole other story... but what Gavin accomplished is amazing... and paid for his education! and to be a full-time student, graduate on time AND with good grades, work part time and be a father?!?....... no words.

There is FINALLY a light at the end of the tunnel.



And in three short weeks we will have a TWO year old. I cant believe it. Every day she still continues to amaze us with something new. It seems like her little vocabulary just develops over night. She is speaking in sentances, asks questions and knows her colors and abc's perfectly. She is working on her sharing and has been getting better about it the more time she has spent at Kissui with the other babies and at my friend Jills where she still goes on Thursdays to hang out with her two littles, Mae and Miles (below)

(Jill also sent me this hilarious/cute picture of Kenley)

Well, as usual Ive ended up writing an epic novel after not blogging for a while.

Like I said it will be a busy, but fun June... So Ill do my best to post even a LITTLE more than I have been.

On Friday I turn 24... yikes! Then Gavins whole fam will be here for his graduation... the following day we are having a birthday breakfast for Kenley (on fathers day) and then the week after that she will really be 2!!!

:::Did I mention that Uncle Mike will be staying with us for July??::::

Let the good times roll.

Love, Jess