Life By Krystal

Golden Gate Park 6-15-13

2013-06-17T14:03:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we decided to go on a little family trip to Golden Gate Park and take a little car ride to the Golden Gate Bridge.

Murphy Windmill

Crissy Field

Golden Gate Bridge

Fort Point

Alcatraz

Looking towards the New Bay Bridge

Graco DuoDiner LX High Chair

2013-06-16T17:56:00.001-07:00

I just turned Madilyn's high chair into a booster seat at the table, I'm thinking Jamison isn't ready yet because he tends to twist and lean out of the his chair. So far, Madilyn's happy with it, she already likes sitting at the table, now she climbs up in the booster seat and can actually sit comfortably at table level

Graco DuoDiner LX High Chair

First kiddie burritos

2013-06-14T08:58:00.000-07:00

We had Soft Taco Tuesday this week and I made the kids some tiny burritos to eat, this is their first time eating burritos, it was pretty cute! Madilyn was all excited!

Garlic Potato Tomato hors d'oeuvres

2013-06-13T10:47:00.003-07:00

This weekend I have rediscovered red potatoes and randomly created these little bite appetizers. They were amazingly addictive! The potatoes were meaty and the tomatoes were juicy, the seasoning includes some garlic powder and parsley - aw so delicious! I thought I'd jot down the recipe so I don't forget later on when I want to make another batch.

1/4" slices of red potatoes
Begin soaking the potatoes: 1 layer of potato slices, generously dust with dry parsley, sage, garlic powder, black pepper and sea salt. Keep layering the potatoes with seasoning in between, let sit for a 2-3 hours. (don't throw out the liquid seasoning left over)
Butter a large frying pan, place all the potato slices in the pan, no overlapping. Fry on medium heat, flipping as needed.
While the potatoes pan fry, cute 1/4" slices of Roma tomatoes.
Begin soaking the tomatoes in the liquid seasoning left over from the potatoes, let these soak until the potatoes are done frying.
Cut some 1/4" slices of cheddar cheese into squares small enough to match the potato slices. (don't make them too large, they will melt onto the pan and begin to burn)
When the potatoes are a little crispy on the edges and some golden brown spots start showing up, place the tomatoes on top of each potato slice as well as a piece of cheese.
Reduce heat to low for about 10-15 mins until the cheese is completely melted into the tomatoes.
Remove from heat and place the little bites onto a dish, top off with cracked black pepper and sea salt if needed.

Backyard Adventures 6-9-13

2013-06-10T09:56:00.000-07:00

This weekend we had two days of heat and when Sunday came it was breezy and sunny, perfect weather to hang out in our backyard. We don't hang out back there very often because it's always full of wasps and yellow jackets, but when it's breezy out they don't fly around. Here's some photos from our day out:

Insanity Update - Month 1 Week 2

2013-06-04T09:34:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I just finished my second week of Insanity! This week was pretty challenging, we did two days of Cardio Power and Resistance "MAX intensity intervals of strength, resistance, sports drills and plyometrics", one day of Cardio Circuit "explosive cardio intervals" and two days of Pure Cardio "intense and extreme cardio" plus on Friday we also did Cardio Abs "high-intensity ab and core work" on top of Pure Cardio! OH MY GOD! All this cardio work has been tough! On Friday I felt intimidated to do two work out sessions back to back, so I waited a few hours to do the Cardio Abs - turns out it's not as bad as you'd think. It definitely is a work out, but it's also a relaxing work out compared to Pure Cardio ;)

Month 1 Week 2 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- I noticed my body has much more flexibility now, when doing the stretch where you stand with straight legs and drop your arms and place your hands on the floor - I couldn't do this before. I could only go as far as top shin level. Now, I am an inch above the floor, so I'm hoping by next week's update I can boast about touching the floor haha!
- I've increased my pace to about 70% for each session, I'm able to keep it steady as well. So, when the exercise has you bump up the speed, I'm able to increase my speed as well - not as fast as the dvd people, but faster than I thought I could.
- My thighs feel powerful! Squats and Lunges have become so much easier, I feel the burn when exercising, but it never makes me feel like quitting or collapsing.
- This one is a real life improvement, I can now clean up toys in the living room and kids room without needing a break. Usually all the bending and crawling and crouching has my back and legs aching. Yay for mommy upgrades!

My Favorite Exercises
Suicide Jumps, Power Jacks

In last week's update I complained of cramping arches, well my feet still hurt, but I haven't felt like I couldn't keep going. I'm wondering if the muscles in my feet needed this exercise more than I thought.

Off My Chest - Am I a bad mother?

2013-06-01T08:22:00.002-07:00

Day to day, I'm a strong individual that problem solves on the whim and lives a very happy and positive lifestyle. I work hard to understand my boyfriend and kids, how to communicate with them on an understanding and encouraging level. We do not bicker, argue, fight or yell. We do not put each other down - only in sarcastic play with Michael - never ever to the children, of course. I grew up in a hostile house, very sad, very painful, very hard to live. Now that I have my own family, I want my home to be what it always should have been. Fun, loving, creative, laughing, comfortable, easy going, honest, sober... dam near perfect ;)

This May, my brother moved in with us after living in my grandmother's shed for nearly 3 years - my grama is a cruel woman, she's conniving, hateful, void of love for her own off spring - an overall deranged bitch. My mother, as some of you already know, is a crazy bitch too... but after a few years of break downs, psycho rants and medication, she's in a milder state. I still don't trust her though, even if she doesn't have the power to ruin our lives, the sheer thought of her makes me boil in anger and resentment.

Anywho... My brother is going through a lot of hardships, and after seeing how he has matured and is wanting to live a better life and make changes to help himself, Michael and I invited him to live with us so we can assist in guiding him through school and work and living a good life. It's something to definitely get used. He's dealt with the same shit as me, but our personalities are so different that his decisions and reactions have brought him down a road that I have never seen. He's more sensitive than me, easier to rile up than me and he festers in emotions much longer than me.

For instance, you'll always hear me say "I'm over it." and I truly am, I move on. I don't think he's ever said that or felt that about any issue that has arisen in his life. He always has the ability to revisit a negative event and rehash those emotions.

Yesterday my brother and I got into a heated argument about nothing - seriously - nothing!

I now know that I cannot simply talk to him about an issue. He immediately changed in front of me. The second he assumed I was saying he did something wrong, he blew up! He showed very cocky body language, raising his voice in excited anger, yelling if I tried to speak or talk over his volume, screaming for me to "just stop just stop just stop" in response to me talking. What I saw scared me and brought me back to the younger years living under my mother's roof.

LIGHT BULB apparently I have the ability to move on and learn from my experiences. He can't do that just yet. He reacted the same way he would when my mother would argue with him, or my grama would accuse him of things. No matter how many times I told him to just listen to me, just calm down, just LISTEN... he was trapped in his head of feeling attacked.

Did I mention this happened right in front of my children? This 20 minute session of losing mental control and hostile vibes was right in front of the innocent minds and eyes of my children.

The children were silent because they didn't understand what was happening. They have never seen anger or yelling or pacing around the living room repeating words or crying with enraged eyes.

Ever since the second we terminated the argument, I'm feeling like a piece of shit mother for allowing that argument to even happen. WHAT I SHOULD HAVE DONE, the moment my brother arched his brow in that "I can't believe this" attitude, I should have let it go. BUT OF COURSE my initial reaction to every conflict is to talk it out - resolve the issue at the moment it happens. This is how Michael and I communicate, we talk. We don't point fingers or yell or assume or accuse. We talk like adults and fix the issue before it gets a chance to fester in our minds and create false stories, making problems bigger than they need to be.

That type of communication is foreign to my brother, and now I know.

I have to learn to communicate with a broken spirit. Maybe the best way is to let it go and revisit in a few hours when he is calm and rational. I don't know.

I do know this, there will never be negativity around my children ever again. I will not allow that to happen any more. They mean more to me than anyone else and I will protect their loving qualities and sweet demeanor. I fucked up by letting this argument begin, by letting it escalate, by letting it turn crazy and emotional for no good reason. I know my children didn't understand what happened, they seemed concerned but definitely not scared or upset. I'm hoping that it hasn't altered them in any way, hoping if they never see that again it won't become an issue.

Having lived a sad life for the first 24 years of my existence, I know how a hostile house can break good children. This is why I cry for making my first big mommy mistake.

Please tell me I'm not the only one who has fucked up like this?

Please comfort me that it hasn't ruined my children.

UGH life is so much work when someone is unhappy.

~ deep breaths ~

Insanity Update - Month 1 Week 1

2013-05-30T10:52:00.000-07:00

Day 2

Last month I started Insanity, but due to having very weak hips and never being active, I had to quit for a couple weeks and figure out how to proceed with caution. After thinking long and hard and doing regular morning stretches, I came to the conclusion that I can keep my own pace while following along the exercises. I decided to start off working hard and only allowing myself to go as far as I can, when my body begins to feel that burn, I back off until the next exercise comes up. Let's say we're doing warm ups and beginning jogging, I will back off 5-10 seconds before they finish, I'll usually step in place to keep moving, and then when jumping jacks come, I start that exercise and again, back off 5-10 seconds before they do. It's helps that the leader announces "10 more seconds" "5 more seconds", it helps keep my personal pace and prevents my legs and feet from cramping up if I push too far.

Day 1 Fit Test

I love doing the Fit Test, I like seeing my numbers and how much I can actually do. Here's a screen shot of week 1's fit test:

The first week was regular cardio, a lot of breathing hard and jumping. The difference my body performed from Tuesday's Plyometric Cardio Circuit to Saturday's session was an amazing improvement! In one week, my body feels more flexible, my muscles feel stretchier and my stamina is much higher. Although I maintain a 50%-80% pace with the group, I am able to finish each day's exercise session without feeling exhausted or wanting to quit. I'm not able to push as hard as the video people, I definitely don't amp up my speed and look like a machine, but I get my sweat on!

Month 1 Week 1 ACCOMPLISHMENTS

- I can actually do really push ups now, on my toes - before, I always did them on my knees "the girl way"

- I'm most proud of doing high knees. I used to struggle to get my knees up, now I can get them up to waist level with no problem.

- My breathing has improved, I feel that I can take deeper and longer breaths during exercises. At first my lungs burned during and after each exercise, now I just feel "normal" while working out, I never need to take a breather.

- When doing the stretches, I can feel my muscles stretching farther and warming up easier. My hips are actually less "cracking" than they used to be - even when doing jumping jacks, you can hear my hips popping anymore :)

My Favorite Exercises

High knees, power squats, ski jumps

My only complaint is my dam cramping arches! I have naturally flat feet, so I can't wear shoes with too much of an arch - but at the same time, I can't be on my toes or impact jumping on them too hard. Even when doing stretches, they burn on the verge of cramping and I have to sit down before they really cramp up. It's a very frustrating battle because my body feels like it can keep going but my feet are cramping and preventing me from pushing. I am currently switching between a pair of biking Skechers and a pair of running Saucony shoes.

Day 6

I have yet to weigh myself, I'm not even sure if I'm losing weight, lol, but I feel a whole lot better and I have way more energy than I used to - now a days I only have one cup of coffee!

Oh, and my legs have toned up a lot more than they used to be, I can see some muscle definition in my calves and my thighs are tightening up some.

Kiddy VLOG April 2013

2013-05-28T11:26:00.001-07:00

I took a while to find all the photos and video clips from April, I think there's still some missing somewhere, but we had a lot of fun on our Disneyland trip! There won't be a May vlog of the kids though, my camera hasn't been working properly and I haven't been able to record them :(

B2G1 FREE on Melissa & Doug Art Supplies!

2013-05-23T08:51:00.001-07:00

purchased | press sample | sponsored | affiliated | advertisement

Buy 2, Get 1 Free ALL Arts & Crafts

Code: MDART, Valid May 22 - 28, 2013

Perfect time for us to stock up on more paint and paper!

Honest Family Essentials Bundle - April 2013

2013-05-08T12:02:00.002-07:00

Our April bundle is not as exciting as our past ones, I did some re-selections, but I also added a couple of their newest additions. I didn't save much on this month's bundle, but I'm thinking of bumping up my bundle next month to include more of their "add on only" items ;)

The Honest Company is a brand created by Jessica Alba and Christopher Gavigan, supplying families with safer and more organic baby products from diapers and wipes to laundry detergent and dishwasher soap. They have quickly become a favorite of mine, and I definitely prefer their performance over the "cheaper" store bought brands.

Here's what we received in our Family Essential Bundle:

Scrubber Sponge (2) | $3.95

Hand Sanitizer (8oz) | $6.95

Shampoo & Body Wash (8.5floz) | $9.95

Dish Soap (16floz) | $5.95

Sunscreen SPF 30 (3oz) | $13.95

Family Essentials Bundle: $35.95

This months bundle value: $40.75

TOTAL SAVINGS: $4.80

My referral link to join: Join Honest!

Seasoned Hard Boiled Eggs

2013-05-02T12:57:00.000-07:00

Our family favorite snack is hard boiled eggs, we have been trying out different seasonings with each batch. Our most recent batch of hard boiled eggs were seasoned as Sea Salt & Black Pepper, Sea Salt & Paprika, Sea Salt & Jerk Spice (our favorite!).

Sea Salt & Black Pepper

Sea Salt & Paprika

Sea Salt & Jerk Spice

Measuring Spoons Holder

2013-04-26T16:52:00.000-07:00

Every time I need a measuring spoon, I have to fish through our drawer of small utensils trying to find the size I need. I finally got fed up with the mess one day and collected all my spoons and put them in a tiny glass bowl that I have been holding on to for years. Ah, now my spoons have a home and can you believe I don't stress over finding my 1/2 tsp anymore? ;)

Shari's Berries for Mother's Day

2013-04-25T09:52:00.004-07:00

purchased | press sample | sponsored | affiliated | advertisement

I recently had the opportunity to choose a Mother's Day gift from Shari's Berries, although I don't have a mother to gift to, I thought it'd be nice to choose a gift that Michael and I could enjoy together to celebrate us both being awesome parents :) Since we are healthier eaters, we didn't want to pick anything sugary, so when we saw the Snack Attack we were instantly sold. This woven basket holds 10 snack packs in Hollywood Trail Mix (3 oz.), Cinnamon Almonds (3 oz.), Colossal Pistachios (3 oz.), Corn Nuts (3 oz.), Honey Roasted Peanuts (3 oz.), Honey Sesame Sticks (3 oz.), Butter Toffee Peanuts (3 oz.), Rice Cracker Mix (3 oz.), Roasted Salted Cashews (3 oz.), Smokehouse Almonds (3 oz.).

We loved the cinnamon almonds, pistachios, and rice cracker mix - those were the first to go ;)

Kiddie VLOG - March 2013

2013-04-05T17:59:00.002-07:00

March was a fun month! Jamison has started dancing along with music and Madilyn has developed a unique way of singing along with her favorite song and movies.

Easter 2013

2013-04-05T09:42:00.002-07:00

This Easter was so much fun, we drove down to Salinas to spend the holiday with Michael's family. Madilyn and Jamison had a blast running around and eating snacks. They had Easter baskets filled with healthy snacks; granola bars, fruit chews, dried fruits, raisins, and some goldfish crackers.

Recycled Lego Holder

2013-03-25T22:39:00.001-07:00

I spotted a giant plastic teddy bear container full of animal crackers at Target a while back, we love animal crackers and I had a vision for reusing the bear when he was empty. We finally ate all the crackers inside, I washed it out and threw in all our individual Lego pieces from Madilyn's princess Lego sets. The kids love the bear, Jamison likes to carry him around the house. The best part is that Madilyn doesn't know how to unscrew tops yet so they can't dump out the Lego's without asking someone to open him up first ;)

Not New Camera and Madilyn's Photography

2013-03-24T15:01:00.001-07:00

I recently bought a Polaroid i633 camera off my brother, in hopes of upgrading my blog photography. After playing around with photos, lighting and editing today, turns out this camera won't be replacing my cell phone camera (Samsung Fascinate). I put together a little collage of how I determined it didn't work out for me, the first column are original unedited photos, second column were edited with Windows Live Photo Gallery, third column were edited with the GIMP image editing program that I recently downloaded for free and have been really enjoying! I strive to get the right natural lighting as well as tweaking the color and exposure to get the photos to look true to color and life like. Seemed like the Polaroid is a simple point and shoot with very minimal setting, the coloring is very blue/green, so it's best quality comes into play with outdoor photos or photos taken at night or indoors using the flash.

Oh, and Madilyn performed her own tests with the Polaroid camera, her and my brother were taking some photos with it and they turned out pretty good given they are a bit blurry

Kid Checkups & Mama Two Cents

2013-03-22T10:48:00.002-07:00

Yesterday we took the kids to Kaiser for Jamison's 1st birthday group/class and then they both had checkups right afterwards. Let's chat about the checkups first. Madilyn is now 2y5m 36.5" 32lbs and Jamison is now 13m 32" 26.5lbs. Madilyn's averaging in the 75 percentile and Jamison is in the 90 percentile. Jamison had a few shots yesterday, and while he was upset and crying through them, Madilyn was nearby worried with "Oh no!"s and kisses for her brother. He toughed through, but since it was about 2pm, the kids had missed their naptime as well as lunch, they were very fussy. To be honest, they were so well behaved for being tired and hungry, we were so proud of them.

Backtracking to the 1st birthday group, it was nice. There was only one other family there, their boy's birthday was a day before Jamison's. It was our first time seeing Jamison next to a fellow 13mon old, the differences were vast! We talked about eating habits, temperament, preferred toys and milestones. I found it interesting that the other boy was the same age, but significantly smaller than Jamison, I feel like our little boy is a giant for his age (we later found out he's in the 90th percentile, so ya! haha). I also found it odd that the other boy wasn't walking yet, he just started to stand up with support, he still eats baby food, BF's and they have him forward facing in their car because "he doesn't like to rear face". I understand everyone has their different parenting preferences, but I nearly had a heart attack when I heard them talking about the car seat situation.

OH! The group leader also talked about food and drink recommendations and portion sizes. If you follow my Instagram, you've seen photos of my daily mama duties, as well as the foods and drinks they consume.

They eat fresh fruits and veggies every day, they drink a full sippy cup of whole milk in the morning and at bedtime. They only drink juice that is organic or natural or that I juice myself with veggies and apples. They do not eat processed foods, no unnatural sugars and rarely any filler-snacks like puffs or crackers. I'm very adamant about them eating healthy. It's taken me all my life to rid of bad eating habits that I never knew were bad until I was mature enough to understand it myself.

Apparently Kaiser recommends milk only once a day, at 8 oz. They suggest no juice (they did not specify what type of juices, but the leader showed a Motts juice container as an example) and only water for when they are thirsty. They also suggest breakfast, lunch, dinner and 1-2 snacks in the day.

Like I mentioned earlier, I juice veggies and apples for the kids juices, or we buy organic apple juice if we're lazy. Any time they drink juice, it is cut with water 50/50. Also, our kids always want warm milk in the morning and night, but they still drink a cup of watery juice and a cup or two of water throughout the day. They also each 3 meals and ~2 snacks every day.

I feel that our eating habits are healthy, but I for sure won't cut back on their milk and juice portions, they understand how to drink when thirsty, so most of the time they don't even finish their juice cups. I love that their juices are pure, I'd rather them drink healthy than snack unhealthy when out-n-about.

Okay, so that's the gist of yesterday's Kaiser visit. I'm feeling pretty rebellious about the whole juice thing, but we both agree on the kids eating habits, and ultimately our children are still much healthier than the majority of the kids in the world, so I'm not going to make a big deal about it.

oxo

Krystal

Honest Family Essentials Bundle - February 2013

2013-03-16T10:56:00.001-07:00

I didn't get around to opening our February Honest Company bundle until early March because we all got sick and lazy in a whole week. So, after I let the box sit for a while, I finally had a chance to sit and film an unboxing video. This bundle was so exciting because they had 3 new items available to select, and I love to try everything they have to offer!

Here's what we received in our Family Essential Bundle:

Suds Up (dish brush & dish) | $12.95

Aromatic Soy Candle (Sweet Orange Vanilla) | $19.95*

Dish Towels (2 towels) | $7.95

Conditioning Mist | $5.95

Multi-Surface Cleaner | $5.95

Oxy Boost | $7.95

Family Essentials Bundle: $35.95

*candle was an add-on, got 25% off, came to $14.95

This months bundle value: $60.70

TOTAL SAVINGS: $14.75 (includes the 25% off add-on)

My referral link to join: Join Honest!

Easter Baskets for the kids!

2013-03-15T11:24:00.003-07:00

I recently got the opportunity to choose something from PersonalCreations.com for Easter, I decided to go for a pair of baskets for the kids, these are the All In One Easter Baskets, Deluxe Bundle, $24.99. I had been debating on getting them baskets for Easter this year, I've never celebrated Easter before so I had to do some research online about how it's done for the kids. Since Madilyn is 2y4m and Jamison is 13m, I won't be giving them any candy, but I figured these baskets are such great quality that we can save them for the years to come. This year I'm going to keep the stuffed bunnies in the basket and put in some organic fruit/veggie treats and some little cardboard books for fun. I LOVE the personalized touches to these baskets, they are so adorable and I love that you can choose the colors. The candies are super yummy too. Michael and I had to have a taste! I like the variety, since Michael doesn't like peeps and I don't care for chocolates, we have a nice selection to munch on ;)

Disclosure***

Kiddy VLOG - February 2013

2013-03-08T09:43:00.001-08:00

February was a hectic month, Jamison has been teething off and on and acting very emotional and clingy, but he also had his first birthday on the 20th so that was a very exciting day. It's so funny how kids keep you busy 24/7 and then a birthday pops up and makes you stop for a day and reflect back to when they were born, all their first milestones of rolling over, crawling and first steps. For Jamison's birthday we went back to Super Frank's Adventure where we had Madilyn's 2nd birthday too. Madilyn had fun playing, while Jamison and us ladies were at the table eating pizza, rushing to open his gifts and enjoy some homemade cake from our friend Alexandra, Cakes By Alexandra, which was amazingly delicious and not super sugary (since I don't give the kids sugar yet).

Oh, and we measured the kids, Madilyn is 37" (2y4m) and Jamison is 31" (1y) tall, they practically look 10mons apart, March is going to be a relaxing month because we have a big family Disneyland trip coming up in April (I'm feeling a bit terrified of caring for the kids on the road, but it should be fine since they are so well behaved and easy going) hopefully I'm able to get a lot of video and photos of our first Disneyland trip, I haven't been there since I was a little girl. It's strangely emotional thinking my first time back to Dland will be with my own children :)

Toddler shades don't really fit her well

Madilyn colored her face with a washable marker

Wearing mama's shades

Making Lamby dance to the morning radio hip hop!

Strawberry teeth

When Michael comes home from work Madilyn likes to jump into our bed with her books

Being artsy on Grampa's 3yr memorial

Madilyn wears daddy's hat when he's at work

Baby Woody

When Jamison turned one he got his first daddy ride!

DIY Play Dough

2013-03-01T11:32:00.003-08:00

A friend's mother recently shared with me a recipe for homemade play dough and since Madilyn is LOVING it so much, I thought I would share how to make your own non-toxic play dough.

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl:

2 Cups flour

1 Cup Salt

3 tsp. cream of tarter

Mix the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients:

2 cups boiling water

2 Tlbs. oil (wesson, etc.) not olive oil :)

food coloring (add to your desired color)

Cook on top of stove for a few minutes... or until it gets "firm".

Cool slightly, and knead 5 times.

Even let the "little ones" knead after it cools a bit...it's very comforting :)

COOL COMPLETELY before storing in a plastic contain or bag.

Graze LightBox - February 2013 (again?)

2013-02-18T08:45:00.001-08:00

This week we received and devoured our Graze LightBox for February. Here's the snacks we got and our thoughts. (click here to read my introduction to Graze).

UPDATE: Just noticed they added a new feature, you can select to have your box delivered every week, every 2 weeks or every 4 weeks. We just updated our account to every 4 weeks and changed our box from the LightBox to the NibbleBox.

Get your first box free with our invitation!

Our personal invite code: 43599R3

Signup: http://www.graze.com

LOVE! The Mango Chutney was amazing!

LOVED it! The tiny fudge cubes were so delicious!

Like it - didn't really taste like seaweed though

LOVED this, even though Michael doesn't even like coconut, he loved it too!

Kiddy VLOG - January 2013

2013-02-15T10:10:00.000-08:00

It's a small vlog this time, my camera has been working off/on, so most of the footage is from my cell phone - which is also working off/on. Ya, I need to upgrade my electronics sooner than later ;)

Some January photos...