Our week–er two weeks–in five

// ONE //

Goodness the last two weeks have been busy! We had a little preview to what it will be like when school starts back up in August. Little L started swim lessons and goes every day from 8:30 until 9am. I’d like to say it’s sooooo hard getting up early now that it’s summer, but no–I’m still up by 6am and the kids wake up thirty minutes later. But somehow 2.5 hours is not enough time to get two kids fed, dressed in swim clothes and out the door. We have rolled in at 8:30 on the dot every single day, which completely stresses me out because I’m a 15 minutes early kind of girl.

The swim lessons are going as well as can be expected with one instructor trying to wrangle three kids under three, except we did run into a slight hiccup the first day. It involved this:

To keep my three-year-old slightly incognito, I call him “Little L.” But that’s not his actual name. His name is Lamborghini. At least that’s what he told me while tears were running down his face in the pool.

This is not the first time Lamborghini has made an appearance. It all started when a dear friend brought Little L Lamborghini a multi-pack of Hot Wheels cars. Until that day, Lamborghini had never had a Hot Wheels car, so it was a big deal. His favorite color at the time was yellow, so he naturally latched on to the most expensive car in the batch–the Lamborghini Huracán LP 610-4.  For any Hot Wheels aficionados out there, I’m going to take a moment to note that the Lamborghini is not to be confused with the yellow Mazda RX-7, which was also in the pack and–to me at least–looked very similar. Up close, you can tell there’s a difference. I’m sure it’s like that in real life. Lol.

So anyway, swim lessons were not going so well at first, but now that we have the Lamborghini thing resolved, he is back on track and will hopefully be swimming soon. Now if I can just get us there on time, life will be perfect.

// TWO //

One thing that has helped speed things along with breakfast are these:

Chocolate chip pancakes. Admittedly they are not the healthiest of breakfast foods, but on the scale of egg whites to donuts, I feel like they fall somewhere in-between. The selling point for me is that they can be heated in the microwave for thirty seconds. And when I tell Lamborghini that pancakes are on the breakfast menu, I get full cooperation. Plus, he eats a few bites of fruit and eggs as well, so he’s getting his protein along with the sugar.

One day, I hope just make my own silver-dollar sized pancakes and then freeze them for reheating, but these days are not that day.

// THREE //

My mom gave me my grandfather’s collection of Life magazines to go through. I’m on the hunt for cool ads to frame for Lamborghini’s room, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the blast to the past. Here are a few gems:

This one fascinates me. I had no idea this even existed or how Bell did it in 1964, but apparently camera phones are not a new thing. Who knew!

I thought this “Diamonds are for Everyone” ad was a clever take on “Diamonds are Forever” slogan, but I’d say they missed the mark by comparing diamonds to hot dogs. And what is going on with that boy (man?) in the middle??? Seriously the strangest diamond ad ever.

And finally, this good ol’ Goodyear ad. Not PC at all anymore, but I know it’s what we are all thinking. Mr. L will probably be the first person I call if I ever get a flat tire. Then AAA.

// FOUR //

I just made up a batch of this Turkey Picadillo and wanted to share the recipe. It is the strangest combination of ingredients, but it truly tastes amazing. Plus it’s fairly low calorie if you eat it by itself (read: no rice).

// FIVE //

Even tough the temperatures were sky-high this week, I’ve tried to take the kids outside as much as possible.

Rival Ice Shaver (on clearance for $15 at Walmart, but really any ice shaver would work)

This ice shaver has saved us. Before we go anywhere–whether it be a car ride to the grocery store or a walk to the park or pool–I make the kids snow cones in their little insulated cups. And by snow cones, I mean shaved ice. The kids don’t know any different, and I hope it stays that way for another five years.

They get so excited about the prospect of eating snow cones that they go along with everything I say. And they stay cool the whole time we are outside. Win-win.

That’s all!