31 Things I'll Do While I'm 31

I can't believe we are already approaching the end of July! It's been a whirlwind of a summer. I haven't had a chance to blog about what a fun "Full House" we've had, so here's a quick update...

My brother got an internship in Boulder back in June and moved into our basement. The boys love to climb all over him and he likes to tease them, so I refer to him as our resident Joey Gladstone. Aunt Becky (really Uncle Eric) got a new job at 'Wake Up Nashville' (or ABC), so he and Uncle Jesse (er, Auntie Tricia) moved in with us after packing up their pad in downtown Denver. We don't have any troll-like twin swaps or a Kimmy Gibbler and our Danny Tanner isn't a single dad, but there's enough of us that we don't fit at the kitchen table without the leaves in place.* 

Anyhow, Eric made the trek eastward at the beginning of July and Tricia settled into our spare bedroom for a few months to finish up some flowers for weddings she had already booked before planning their move. The boys adore her, I love having a girlfriend around to talk to, and we all appreciate her cooking. I'll miss them both so much when Mike heads back to school in a month and Tricia moves on to her new life in Nashville, but I'm cherishing this unique opportunity to live together as adults.

Speaking of adulthood, my brother and I had a birthday yesterday.

He could have went out and had a wild night on the town, but he chose to join us for a different kind of wild dinner - the Noah and Benjamin kind. 

During dinner we had a chat about goals for the next year. Tricia hopes to buy a house, Mikie wants to climb a fourteener, and Ryan plans to eat good food. Tricia came up with the idea that I make a list of 31 things I want to do before I'm 32. So here they are... you can hold me accountable.

1. Run a half marathon
2. Visit an apple orchard
3. Take a class at the gym that intimidates me
4. Write a handwritten note to someone for no reason at all once a month
5. Eat more berries, less brownies
6. Play in the rain with the boys
7. Get dressed up and serve dinner on fine china
8. Play basketball
9. Read a Tolstoy novel
10. Wear more lingerie to bed and less of what I am currently wearing to bed in public 
11. Take a hike
12. Go to at least one activity in the Mom Group that I signed up for three years ago
13. Finish the boys baby books
14. Find enough quiet time to hear God and leave enough spare time to carry out His plans 
15. Swim across Long Lake, then back
16. Finally hang all of my photos in the house
17. Get in front of the camera with the boys more often (do not crop self out after)
18. Watch a season of a TV series that isn't geared towards toddlers
19. Create a calendar with my family & friends birthdays on it
20. Plan a night away with Ryan (surprise him)
21. Finish a rough draft of my novel
22. Volunteer at Children's Hospital
23. Give a review, complete a survey, or let a manager know when I receive great retail service
24. Build a snowman
25. Attend a wine tasting
26. Snuggle my boys whenever they will let me
27. Play a board game
28. Leave my phone at home (on purpose) more often
29. Go to a tailgate
30. Learn to make an old family recipe
31. Take less naps

I am heading up to the mountains this weekend and I plan to knock out #11, so I'll try to get a quick post up while I'm on the trip. In the meantime, thanks for reading and I'd love to hear any ideas you have for next years list.

*Apologies to anyone reading this that did not grow up in the 80's and 90's, I realize my "Full House" reference makes zero sense.

5 Free Father's Day Gift Ideas

I remember when my parents used to tell me their favorite gifts were the homemade variety. I thought they were just being nice. I knew what they really wanted was a coffee mug, jewelry box or water weenie from the Santa Secret Gift Shop at school. It only took me twenty plus years and two kids to realize they were actually telling the truth - homemade gifts are the best! The countdown clock is on for Dad's Day, so here's a list of five free father's day gift ideas you can get cracking on right now (or during nap time).

Favorite Tie Photo
I took a few silly ones with Ryan's tie on Benny today (even knotted it myself):

I used a different tie and went the photographer route a couple of years ago - came out with a few of my all-time favorite Noah photos.

Father's Day Questionnaire
Pre-made questionnaires are available online, or you can get crafty and make your own. The answers you'll get are priceless. 

I mean, "really good at... hammering"? Why do I have so many frames waiting to be hung around here?

Home Movie Highlight Reel
I made one for Noah's first year and I'm just putting the finishing touches on Benjamin's this week. I'll post Noah's for now so we can keep Benny's a surprise.

Scavenger Hunt
I'm a little embarrassed to admit that the idea for a scavenger hunt came last week while I was reading Gone Girl (if you've read the book, you'll understand why it's a crazy place for inspiration), but Noah loves searching for treasures so I thought he'd love to take Daddy on a hunt. Here are a few of our clues:

Hand Decorated Cookies
I don't really know why ties seem to be the universal symbol for Father's Day. It's kind of the equivalent of Mother's Day being represented by handbags or heels. I don't think we'd stand for that! But tie cookies are easier than these (or so I thought):

So I decided not to fight the tie theme when I came across these dapper delicacies online:

Easy enough, right? Well, when Noah and I tried to make them and ours turned out like this:

Colorful keyhole? Baseball bat? Not quite the paisley tie I had envisioned. I guess I should have learned from my previous Pinterest Mom post. We gave up and resorted to making these:

Mustaches mean "Dad" too right? Even if they're on little blue faces with four eyes?

Ryan didn't seem to mind our early gift fail - he ate about three when he got home from work.

Let me know if you have any other good ones to add to the list!

Thanks Mom!

"Suddenly all my ancestors are behind me. Be still, they say. Watch and listen. You are the result of the love of thousands."

- Linda Hogan

I find this quote to elicit one of the most beautiful images I can imagine and today it seems to be playing over and over in my mind. Like many people, I've spent today, Mother's Day, thinking about my amazing Mom. This year, more than ever though, I've also been thinking about all the Moms that brought us here. There are so many things that have changed in the last hundred years, but as I rocked Benjamin to sleep for his nap today, I couldn't help but think that even over the course of a thousand years, the intense love that a Mom feels for her babies has not been touched. Tonight, I'm thankful for those mothers that snuggled cold babies to sleep before electricity and sung seasick babies lullabies aboard ships to a strange land - in short, every mother that rocked and raised a mother leading up the rocking and raising of my Mother. There is no doubt that their love has been passed down through the generations. 

I could blog for days about all the wonderful things I love about my Mom, but instead I've decided to list just five of the many things that she has taught me that I hope to pass down to my own children one day:

1) Family meals are a must.

2) Always try to make sure no one gets left out.

3) Handwritten thank you notes are not old-fashioned.*

4) True beauty has nothing to do with makeup, clothes or the numbers on your scale.

5) If you can find a career you love, it won't always feel like work.

*sorry I haven't been very prompt with this lately

Thank you, Mom, for making every one of your four kids feel special all of the time. We know you don't always have the time to talk to each of us three times a day, but that doesn't keep us from calling (or you from pretending that you do have the time). I don't know what I'd do without you. xo 

Do These Lashes Make Tummy Look Flat?

I'm leaving for Mexico tomorrow! If you could imagine me simultaneously jumping up and down while weeping, you would have a good picture about how I feel right now. I'm really, really excited for a few relaxing days away, laying on the beach, and sleeping through the night. But saying goodbye to the boys is going to be really, really tough. Ryan's parents have kindly offered to come and watch them, so I know they will be having an amazing time with Mimi and Grandpa while we're away, but I'm still going to miss the heck out of them. 

   

So about the trip... I know what most women worry about when they're headed on a beach trip.

Eyelashes, right?

Think of it as a really vain version of the Serenity Prayer. There are things we can change - without too much effort, money or pain - (i.e. eyelashes) and things that we cannot (i.e. oh, I don't know, stretch marks?) 

I know the difference and I've chosen to focus all of my energies on the former. 

Apparently, these ladies have gotten eyelash extensions:

livelovehairblog.wordpress.com

And so did Tricia - the trendy, adorable, younger sister I'm always yammering on about. (Side note: I have a trendy, adorable, older sister too - I'll be yammering on about her on here when she visits with my sweet nephew Brady next week!)

Anyhow, Tricia was really good at graciously fielding compliments about her lashes without giving away the secret. I, however, couldn't stop myself from telling anyone that complimented my new look (and probably a few people who said nothing at all): "They're FAKE! Extensions I tell you!"

A few friends have asked me to blog about them, (probably just to shut me up), but for those that are interested, here is a behind-the-scenes look at professional eyelash extensions:

It looks pretty intense, but really the most painful part is laying flat on a table for a really long time - like two hours. 

You can't stop your big sis from taking pics when someone is pointing that thing at your eye.

At first, I thought that sounded kind of amazing, but sleeping isn't easy when your eyes are taped shut and there are sharp tools moving around them. Also, after about an hour and twenty minutes I start to get pretty antsy and my hips begin getting sore, but maybe that's just me. 

These falsies are supposed to last for two to four weeks, which seems like a pretty good trade-off. I'll have to update you if that window is shortened by a few days of salt water and chlorine. 

I'm not sure how long I'll keep them up, but I think they're pretty awesome. I mean, I wake up feeling fancy. Even, my sweatshirts suddenly look dressed up. And since I don't tend to wear makeup on vacations, they seem perfect for a beach trip.

Here are the obligatory before and after shots:

Danielle: Before

Danielle: After

I'm pretty sure Ryan doesn't notice them, but he doesn't seem to notice stretch marks either, so I'm okay with that. 

Tricia: Before

Tricia: After

So what do you think? Another crazy thing to add to the list of what women do for beauty? Or a fun and painless way to dress things up for a special occasion, vacation, or trip to the grocery store?

Zagat Restaurant Guide (Toddler Edition)

I love food. 

I don't consider myself a foodie, because something sounds a little too gourmet about that and I'm no Gwenyth Paltrow (and this is no Goop!), but it is fair to say I don't like to waste my meals on food that doesn't taste good. 

I've been known to spend an absurd amount of time researching restaurants before we go on vacation. (In the meantime, I may have forgotten to book a flight once and possibly left our train tickets from Paris to Arles on the kitchen counter - in America - another time, but that's neither here nor there.) I am no longer trusted with transportation booking, but I've never lead us astray on dining options.

Shortly after I moved to New York City in 2005, I bought a Zagat Restaurant Guide and proceeded to highlight and make notes about nearly every place I ate until the book became outdated - or maybe I ran out of money. I can't remember which it was. 

So for those of you that have never looked at a hard copy of a Zagat, they look like this: 

According to my '06 edition, there is a little formula used to judge nearly every place in the city on a scale of 30 and restaurants are given a score in the categories of "food", "decor", "service" and "cost". The location, website and phone number are provided, then there is an amazing little review, "with suveyor's comments in quotes". Here's an example of the top restaurant from that year:

I never went to per se, but the description of getting a "temporary pass to heaven" for about $201 a person tells me a lot about the place. 

My life has changed a lot since I toted this tattered guide around in my purse. For starters, I generally carry a giant diaper bag instead of a handbag these days. I also don't get quite as much of a say in where I dine (we get some strong opinions from the second row). So for these reasons I decided I could use an updated version for the types of places we now frequent. Below is the roll out of this new edition, using my own surveyor (Noah), whose expert opinion you will find in quotes below.

Costco

Make sure Mom and Dad time their trip to this membership-only warehouse to coincide with "sample time". A tiny person can nearly fill up on the "yogurt, cookies... hummus, cookies, sausage, juice and cookies" lurking on nearly every aisle. "Big carts" and "toys that are too high to play on" are the name of the game at this suburban staple. If the sample sentinels get stingy be sure to beg for a slice of "pizza" and "ice cream too" on your way out the door.

Chick-Fil-A 

The "cow place" is not just for southerners these days. Often requested under the guise of "chicken" cravings, but probably loved most for their "play place" and "ice cream with sprinkles". The friendliest fast-food workers on earth will slap a disposable placemat down on your table after they carry a high chair over for your little one. They'll also move you through a line in just five minutes that would take all day at the DMV. Don't forget to check for your "surprise" (spoiler: it's usually a book) in the kid's bag.

P.F. Changs

A toddler fan favorite for their "cookies with notes" this upscale chain welcomes you with "pretend statues of one, two horses" by the front door and a memorable "waving white cat" inside. They will give you "one, two, three, four crayons" but it's "too dark to see what color" they are. The egg drop soup tastes a little "like the soup with white jello squares and seaweed from the sushi restaurant" and may require an "ice cube" upon arrival. Children's menu is limited, so you may end up paying in the mid-teens for "steak and broccoli" for your three-year-old.

Sweet Cow

Affectionately referred to as "Lucky Cow" because it's attached to one of our favorite pizza places, Luckie Pie, this local treasure has become a go-to for sugaring up kiddos so they can run around the front "lawn" (it's really astroturf) and "bounce on cows" of the inflatable variety. Mom and Dad have been known to suggest a trip after dinner and pretend it's for the kids.

My favorite surveyor is busy napping off his calories (I promise he doesn't eat ice cream every day), but he will be updating me on additions for the guide as he continues to explore various cuisines in the Denver-Boulder area over the coming months. 

We Now Have a Milkman

Ryan went out of town for a work trip a couple weeks ago. I didn't manage to shower or cook when he was gone, but when he got home he found this in our our fridge:

I hired a milkman.

Louie from Longmont Dairy Farms stopped by and I couldn't resist his sales pitch - or the frothy chocolate milk he let us sample. Now, we have a cooler on our porch for weekly morning drop offs. 

I asked Louie if I could bring my boys over to tour the farm (figured they'd find it interesting and I could write about it on here), but he said that visitors make the cows skittish, so sadly, I'm not going to be able to introduce you to the cows our milk is coming from. 

However, I did find a YouTube video on their website, so I can tell you that "the best cows give over 25 gallons of milk each day, enough for 400 glasses of milk". There were plenty of other interesting facts, but truth be told, I couldn't watch the whole thing. Benjamin turned one last week and I've just begun the process of weaning him from nursing to whole milk. Images like the one below are hitting a little too close to home.

On that awkward note, I'll see you next week with the first installment of a new project I've been working on that involves food musings from a three-year-old.

P.S. Did I mention the milkman can bring eggs, cheese and Noosa yoghurt too?  Have you tried this stuff? It's made in Colorado and it's about the only yogurt that doesn't make me scrunch my nose and smack my tongue against the roof of my mouth while I eat it. 

From Heap to Steep: Facing My Fears Near 10,000 Feet

I'm a little behind on my posts this month, but I'm giving myself a pass because another Kowalski kid carried the torch while I was out of town this week. My baby brother (he's twenty and 6'6" but I still call him Mikie) shocked the heck out of us all when he announced that he would be blogging his way across the country on a road trip with my Dad: Father and Son Bring Back Father's Father's Belongings from Farther. He retired his blog at the end of his trip, but I'm hoping he keeps writing because it was amazing and he has lots to say, but generally keeps very quiet. I suggest we all go follow his blog now and leave him a message pestering him to keep it up. While we're on the subject of following blogs, why don't you follow mine? I currently only have one devoted follower signed up - thanks Dallen. 

Soooo, guess what I did this week? I went skiing. This might not seem very exciting because I live in Colorado, where skiing or snowboarding is kind of required for residency, but before this weekend, I had only been skiing on a mountain twice as an adult. I got my first taste of powder back in Riverview, Michigan, as a child. The state is fairly flat, but people piled up a bunch of trash so that we could ski down it. Don't believe me? I have solid proof from a man named John Stossel and little show called 20/20: 

20/20: The Town That Loves Garbage (video link)

I hope you just watched that (it may require a real PC and not your phone), but I have looked for it for years, and previously could only find it for purchase on Amazon or buried deep in the tape library at ABC.  I just re-watched it for the first time since it aired in 1992. I'll admit that at that time, I only knew 20/20 as a boring show that came on after TGIF. I recall feeling pretty excited that they were doing a story about our city, then cringing when they teased ahead with the title. Watching now, with a few years as a TV producer under my belt, I couldn't help but notice the distracting use of Phil Collins music in the middle (it's so bad that I wondered if my iTunes accidentally kicked in halfway through). It also reminded me how wonderful Stossel's mustache was and how long Barbara Walters has been working. Most of all, though, it made me homesick for Mount Trashmore. It was a great place to grow up. My first kiss was at the base of that heap. 

Anyhow, back to my most recent skiing endeavor. I usually find other fun mountain-y things to do while everyone hits the slopes because on my first ski trip in Colorado I learned that my gauge for what makes a run black, blue or green was a little skewed. Pregnancy makes for a good excuse to hang back, but I'm taking a break from that for a while, so this time I decided I would have to face my fears. I know it sounds ridiculous, but this is what I usually think about when I'm "enjoying" a day of skiing:

-falling off the chairlift

-falling while exiting the chairlift and being decapitated by the moving chair

-blowing out my knee

-hitting a tree

-hitting another skier (particularly one of the tiny ones)

-getting hit by another skier (particularly one of the tiny ones)

-going under the orange fence

-going over the orange fence

-careening off a cliff

-getting buried in an avalanche (Ryan tells me this does not happen with groomed snow)

-getting lost and left on the mountain overnight (before you laugh, there is an actual trail at Vail called "Lost Boy" named after a boy who got lost)

I could go on, but you get the point.

Back to the trip. Ryan was really, really wanting to go snowboarding this year so I agreed to a family trip in Park City, Utah, but truth be told, I wasn't very excited about it. If I'm being totally honest, I was in a pretty bad mood about the whole thing. I nearly decided not to go because I was worried I would end up trying to keep one of the boys quiet and entertained in a tiny hotel room while the other one napped in the pack 'n play in the bathroom - then alternating children - while everyone else had a blast playing on the mountain. 

However, it turned out to be one of the most enjoyable family trips we have ever taken. This required an attitude adjustment on my part, Ryan sacrificing his snowboard for a set of skis and a little of what I believe was probably intervention from above. You see, on our very first trip up the hill on our first morning there, Ryan and I serendipitously got on the chair lift with an instructor who was skiing on his day off. Ryan has been knuckle dragging (aka snowboarding) for the past twenty plus years, but he hadn't been on skis since he was twelve. When we explained our situation to Ben, the instructor, and asked for pointers, he offered to stick with us. He skied with us the whole morning, giving me helpful advice, encouraging me, and leading me to terrain that I could handle. I'm still not very good, but when I got myself to the point where I was only worrying about half of the things on the list above, I started to see how one could easily fall in love with the sport. The fifty degree weather and sunshine might have helped too.

 

Beyond skiing, which I know I will never love as much as the hot chocolate that accompanies it, we got to spend time with extended family and eat really good food. We also got to sit in a warm pool with the boys and make friends with complete strangers while snowflakes melted on our noses and tongues. Mostly though, we got to make memories.

 

Also, Benny napped fine in the pack 'n play without me having to put it in the bathroom.

Which leads me to a sort of moral to this long and rambling story: try new things once in a while, even if they scare you. For the first time ever I can actually say I'm looking forward to skiing on our next trip to higher altitude. If I had stayed home I know that would not be the case. And if you don't believe me about trying new stuff, just ask Noah, who fell in love with mussels bathed in curry on the same trip (thank you Aabir - I never thought my three-year-old would be willing to trade a chicken finger for a handful of spicy shellfish).