Can you tell me how to get.....

How to get to Sesame Street? ;)

Now that school is over, I have time to catch up on things I've neglected these past couple of months. My blog being one of them. :) 

I took John to see Sesame Street earlier this month. It was sooooo much fun! I figured since it was just the two of us, I paid a little extra and got the backstage pass and front row seat combo. We had a nice meet and greet with Elmo and Grover! :) 

Here's a fun picture of us both. John loved sitting on Elmo's lap. 

 Look at how close we are!!! It was great because the characters would come out into the audience, and with us being right in the front, John got to say hi to almost all of them. :)

He was mesmerized with the show. 

He also made friends with the little girl sitting next to him. She was almost exactly the same age as John. :) 

 Cooookie Monster!!!!

Elmo's World!

Mr. Noodle was quite energetic, so getting a picture that wasn't blurry was very challenging. As you can see, it didn't happen. 

He brought lots of laughs to the audience. :)

 Big Bird!

Scram!

 After the show they shot confetti into the air. Oh, the kids thought this was the best part. 

It was such a nice day with my sweet little boy. It's nice to spend special time with him, then with Seren, at separate moments. I'm enjoying the age difference between them. :)

Anniversary

Today would have been Seren's dad and myself's wedding anniversary. Um, let's see, we got married in 99? Time is kind of a blur now a days. Anyway, we got divorced 6 years ago? Again, time, blur, you know. I usually never think about our wedding date, as well, it didn't work out. But, for some reason this year the date was there, in my face. Maybe because I went to a party where there were lots of married couples. Maybe because he's no longer here. Maybe I don't have a reason. At any rate, here's our story....

We didn't have a big wedding. In fact, only the two of us were there. We went to the courthouse, down in Oceanside. After that we spent the holiday weekend at the beach. The only exciting thing I remember was that we told one restaurant we had just gotten married, and they then treated us to tuna. That was the first time I discovered that tuna didn't always come in a can. Yeah, I was young. So young that I couldn't even drink. I think I was 19 or 20. I met Dean at a gas station up in Redding, where I went to go away to college. I met him when I was just barely 18. (So I must have been 20 when we got married.) We worked at the gas station together. He worked the car wash part of it, and I was the cashier, inside. We were friendly for a long time, only ever saying hi to one another. He was a bit of a trouble maker, and I really tried to steer clear of him. Well, one day he started flirting with me, and I took the bait. Hook, line and sinker. There were a lot of red flags, from the very beginning, but I'm an optimist (much to my detriment) and I really thought it would work out. Sadly, it didn't. I look back at that younger, more naive version of me, and boy was I different-yet the same. I feel like I have more of a voice now. I feel stronger and a tad bit wiser.

Even though our marriage ended in divorce, I'm thankful to him. My darling Serensita was a result of our marriage. I've learned a lot about myself thanks to him. We were not a good fit as a married couple, but we were pretty good at parenting Seren together. We got along much, much better after we divorced (after the initial rough year or two). Kind of sad that now he's no longer living, as I think we'd still be friendly to one another. So, I suppose it's only natural I remember this day fondly, as our relationship in his last years were pretty cordial. And boy, am I thankful for that.

So much time, so little to do....

Wait, strike that, reverse. ;)

I have 4 weeks left of school before summer. Next semester will be my last one...Finally!!! But let's not get ahead of ourselves. I still have so much work to do before my last class. Not to mention, I'm helping throw one of my bestie's a babyshower (which is the weekend right before my final class). This week coming up there is work, school, housework, kid stuff, shopping, errands, lunches, birthdays, Sesame Street and.....Whew.....Breathe, Tiffiny, Breathe! Do you ever have so much to do that you don't know where to start? That's how I feel for the next couple of weeks ahead. 

So, one little baby step at a time. For tonight, I'm going to enjoy my glass of tea and some TV shows I've DVR'd from the last week. Happy Saturday to me! :)

Zebra Cake!

My friend bought this cake mix for me a while back. She knows how much I love Duff, and Ace of Cakes (made me sad when the show ended). Well, I was having her family over for dinner last week, and decided to make the cake for her! It had an interesting texture, and I think the next time I make a zebra cake, I'll use a regular recipe. I think the next Duff cake I have will be made from him personally! ;) 

 Here are the two mixes, separately. 

 Now, time for the fun part! To get the zebra look, you have to layer one mix after the other. First do a scoop of white batter. Then.......

 Put a scoop of chocolate batter on top. Do not shake the pan, or try to spread it out unnaturally. Simply layer the batter, alternating mixes. 

 Here is what it will look like after all the batter is used. 

Follow the cooking instructions on the box, and when done, viola, two pretty zebra cakes! 

 Now time for the filling! Oh. My. Gosh. The filling was like a party in your mouth, seriously. A co-worker of mine told me about a cake recipe on Pinterest that uses marshmallow fluff, cream cheese and Cool Whip. I was asking her what I could do with this new chocolate cream cheese I bought, and she gave me the idea to make it into a filling. I'm so serious, it is the best thing you've ever tasted. I used the whole container of chocolate cream cheese (8oz), a scoop of fluff and a couple scoops of generic Cool Whip. Oh, so yummy! 

For the frosting, I used a regular vanilla frosting. Had I made enough of the filling, I could have used that for frosting too, but I think the way it turned out was just as good. 

Look how pretty!!! :)

The final masterpiece! So beautiful!!!!!

My Secret

I am a believer in extended nursing. Not many people are, and I don't usually announce it to the world. Well, the cat's out of the bag on that one, because I have been nursing my son for 3 years and 4 months. A lot of people would say that it's too long. Many others would say that it's gross or not appropriate for a 3 year old to nurse. Well, good thing I'm the boss of me and I can do what I want. 

Anyway, being an advocate for extended nursing is not the point of this post. The point of this post is to say that our nursing relationship is over. I am no longer nursing John. 

I had a very difficult time nursing John. We had a rough start, to say the least. I remember nursing Seren came so naturally to us both. So when John was about to come along, I didn't even think about reading up on how to nurse a baby. I mean really, I had done it successfully the first time around. I even nursed Seren for 2 years, 2 months. My thought with John was, "I got this." I was confident. 

That confidence flew out the window right away. John didn't have a proper latch from the get go. He hurt me terribly. I bled. I was in pain. I just about gave up. I went to lactation consultants, friends, a chiropractor (for John), and even to my local La Leche League meetings. I tried and tried. At one point I threw in the towel and asked for my (then) mother in law to bring me some formula. I just couldn't go through the pain any longer. (Keep in mind I had a home birth. Yet the pain of nursing was too much....Just to give you an idea.) I think I gave John a handful of bottles that were formula. Sadly, the formula really hurt his little tummy, and it was then I realized that I could not give up on nursing. 

Right around that time was when I went to my first La Leche League meeting. If it weren't for the women there, I would have stopped nursing. They helped me teach John how to latch on properly. I had to retrain the guy from an improper latch, to the proper one that wouldn't hurt me. We soon got the hang of it. At one point he was hurting me so much, I stopped nursing him on my left breast. He was getting all of his nutrients from my right breast, and only my right breast. A couple months in, a friend of mine suggested I try to nurse him on my left breast again. I was healed and he was latching on the right way, so why not try it? And sure enough, it worked! I sat on the couch practically all day and nursed him from my left breast, getting my milk to come in. Simply amazing. 

So now, here we are, 3 years later. I had been wanting to wean John for a while now. At one point I just wanted my breasts back. However, I think it was so difficult for me to wean him because our journey started off so rocky. I cherished the nursing relationship we ended up having, and I don't think I wanted to let it go. We had worked so hard to get here. Not to mention, I'm pretty sure he's my last child, so I don't think I'll have a chance like this again. I really wanted to hold on for as long as possible. However, I just knew the time was now. I night weaned him first, which made nursing through the day infrequent. Then, on February 28th, I nursed John for the last time. There was no last sweet nursing session. There was just a quick snack on the couch, and off he went. When he came to me the next day asking for milk I told him no, it was all gone. He seemed fine. The only time he cried was in the morning, the day after that.  We cuddled instead and all was well. He's with his dad now, and usually when he comes back from being with him he'll want milk, but this time he'll just have to settle with some cuddling time with me. 

Such a bittersweet moment. 

Here he is, my 3 year old nursing. So sweet, and so worth the struggles.

I will miss this time we've had together. I'm thankful to my friends and my La Leche League friends. I'm serious when I say it wouldn't be possible without you. I am forever grateful.  

Love

In just 45 short minutes, it will be Valentine's Day. This year, I will not have a Valentine, and I'm okay with that. I've been thinking about this day for a while now, and I've had all sorts of ideas on what to blog about. While thinking about this day, I was thinking back to my past Valentines. (Wouldn't it be wonderful if my next husband were actually named Valentine?) I'd have to say that over the years, I've been kinda unlucky in love, even when I've had a love. I don't ever really remember celebrating this special day with Seren's dad, and with John's dad, it was mainly all me. Last year was probably the worst, as my then (now ex) husband moved out the day or two after Valentines Day. While thinking about this today, I was thinking how my next relationship will be different. It's funny how I talk about my next relationship, as if there is a chance that I'll be in one soon. However, that's not the case. I'm not looking for anyone at the moment. I would love the occasional date and butterfly feeling in my stomach, but I really don't want anything serious. Which, I think, is why I'm attracted to people at the moment who are unavailable. There is no harm in being attracted to someone who you know will never ask you out, right? I've discovered that this is a wall I've put up, a way to protect myself. I know that one day love will come again. But until then, I'm happy with the love that I currently have in my life, even if it's not the kind of love that leads to a roll in the hay. 

Even though there is not a special someone in my life at the moment, I still enjoy Valentine's Day. Seriously. There are so many heart shaped things to buy. Chocolate flavored everything. Pink and red decorations fill the stores, and I absolutely love it. I love all things pink. In fact, I just bought a new tea kettle this weekend, and it's pink! :) I love the idea of making valentines for Seren's class. I love that love is all around. I even smiled while driving today, looking at the flower stand on the corner and seeing it FILLED with men. Ha! Poor guys are only trying to make their woman happy. You really have to give them credit when they put up with other men at a flower stand. You know they are all looking around at each other, knowing that it's their duty, and they'd better bring home something pretty and red, and hopefully a dozen of whatever those pretty red things are. Then there is that one guy who is an over achiever and orders 2 dozen. You know the other men hate him. 

Anyway...All this to say, I love Valentine's Day. I always have and always will. While thinking about this day filled with chocolate and flowers, I re-researched the story of how Valentine's Day came about. Then I decided to look up the definition of love. Wikipedia states that love "is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. Love is also a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection; and 'the unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another'. Love may also be described as actions towards others (or oneself) based on compassion, or as actions towards others based on affection." Merriam-Webster also threw in how love is an "attraction based on sexual desire." Well put Merriam-Webster, well put. 

So, let's talk about love. Love is a word most women, well, love to hear from their significant other. I have a plaque on my wall (thanks friend) that restates a quote from the Bible about how love is "patient and kind." I never really understood that, until one time when it hit me. I've read that passage a million times, but I guess I never really listened to what the words were saying. The passage I'm talking about is 1 Corinthians 13. One of my favorite parts is when it's stated that love "believes all things, hopes all things." I have love like that. 

Funny how one word can carry so much weight. It can sometimes mean so much. Yet it often times has no value at all, like so many words in our English Language.  

So now, back to Valentine's Day. You know what I love most about this Valentine's Day? My friends and my daughter and my son. I've already received goodies from 3 of my friends. My friends make my heart happy, they really do. My kiddos make my heart happy as well. I love it when John says to me, "I wub ewe so much." Awww. I could just gobble that little boy up. As for Seren, she is such a quiet girl who has such an open heart. Even though there are days when they both drive me batty, I wouldn't trade it for anything because then I wouldn't have times like these to share. 

I found a cute idea from Pinterest a month or so back, and showed Seren, and we decided to make these for her Valentine's to hand out in school. The idea is to take crayons, chop them up, melt them using a heart shaped mold, and then add a cute message to a card. The process was easy, but quite detailed. I think the hardest part was trying to get the paper off of all the crayons. My fingers still hurt just thinking about it! After that, I chopped them up, and here are Seren and John helping me fill the mold. 

Here's what they looked like, slightly melted. 

And here are all of the hearts, cooled and ready to assemble! 

Here is one valentine, finished, up close. It reads, "Happy Valentine's Day for 'crayon' out loud." 

Too cute. 

 And here are all 34 of them. Hard work, but someone's gotta do it! ;) 

See? All good reasons to love Valentine's Day. As if those were not enough, I have 3 more. Here is a picture of some goodies I bought this weekend. My cute as a button (and aforementioned) tea kettle, chocolate wine and cherry chocolate tea! Yum, yum! 

Alrighty dear friends. I've taken over an hour to write all this, and it's now Valentine's Day. So, happy Valentine's Day to you and yours! May the love that is patient and kind fill your house and your day. :)

Superior Dairy

The kids and I took the train down to Hanford yesterday. We've done this before. Usually it's with our friend Beckie, but this time it was just the 3 of us, which was kind of weird. We walked from the train station to Superior Dairy, which has some very delicious ice cream. It was a small walk, which I worried would be too much for John, but it really wasn't. I mean we walk way more than that around the zoo for cryin out loud! 

Anyway we loved the train ride. John is enamored with trains, and he loved, loved, loved the ride! You can see the amazement in his face. 

  

Here they are waiting for the train to roll in. They were so excited! And you know what I loved best about  this whole day? It was so much fun and different than what we usually do, that they were so happy and there was absolutely no fighting. Mommy win! Now if I can only bottle up this recipe for a day when all they do is fight. 

I digress. Look at my little angels. ;)

Again, happy kiddos passing the time on the train. The train down was much nicer (and better smelling) than the train back home. 

One of my favorite pictures. So sweet. <3

 And now time for the good stuff! We did have lunch first, each of us having a sandwich. Then we were ready for the ice cream! 

Seren stuck with her usual-chocolate. 

John had his favorite-banilla. 

 

I, on the other hand, had something a little more exciting, although my usual. This banana split is so yummy! I have to tell myself over and over that I'm not a quitter, and to finish, but I couldn't this time. I'm sure it was the fact that I had lunch first. Damn me for being a responsible adult and having dessert after the fact! ;)

Anyway, is it wrong of me to want some of this now? 

I think a trip down to Hanford is in order at least once a month! ;)