Members' Nights at the Missouri Botanical Garden

I just discovered something HUGE at the Missouri Botanical Garden - Members' Nights!  On Tuesday nights through August 27, 2013 the Garden is open from 5–8 pm for members only.  The best part is that the Children's Garden is open from 5-7 pm and it's FREE!  Even better - there were only 5 families in the entire Children's Garden.  We felt like we had the whole place to ourselves.  Apparently, very few people have discovered this little gem!

There is usually a line at this slide.

Crossing the rope bridge

 The best part was the spray ground - perfect on a hot night.

 Next time we'll bring a swimsuit or a change of clothes.

Sidney thinks she's got it all figured out...

 Whoops!

 Surprise!

Cafe Flora Wine Bar is also serving small plates, drinks and desserts.  And the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis will be on Linnean Plaza ready to provide chess instruction for anyone wanting to learn.

I wish we had discovered this earlier in the summer.  There are only 4 Tuesday's left.  If you're a member of the Garden, be sure to check it out!

How To Stop Nursing

I hope I'm not sharing too much personal information, but I recently stopped nursing.  I don't know how, but somehow I forgot how painful it is to dry up your milk supply.  It was bad - just ask Tim.  For a couple of days I was MEAN.  I had read that I'd be in pain for about 48 hours (which was pretty accurate) so I chose a Saturday and Sunday when I knew Tim would be around to help with the girls, especially Clara.  It was very painful to hold her.  

On Monday, I was feeling much better (not 100% but well enough) so I took the girls to the History Museum for arts and crafts.  Afterwards we went to Ted Drewes and I brought some home for Tim.  He asked if I bought it for him because I'd been so mean to him the past couple of days!  Next time I looked in the freezer I saw this:

That is not my handwriting.  Tim calls this his "Apology Cream".

Anyway, I thought I'd share some tips with you to help ease the pain of drying up your milk supply.  I'm not going to lie to you ladies, it hurts and there's not much you can do about it. You'll likely be in pain for about 48 hours assuming there are no complications.  Here you go:

1.  Ween - Don't just stop cold turkey.  This can lead to complications (see below).
2.  Wear a comfy bra and nursing pads even when sleeping.  You don't want to bind your breasts.  This can also lead to complications (see below).  I wore this nursing bra that I bought at Mimi Maternity through all three of my kids.  I know it's not at all sexy but it's very comfy, especially at night.

3.  Motrin and lots of it.
4.  Warm shower but don't stimulate your milk to let down.  Sometimes I wore my bra in the shower to avoid a let down.
5.  Use a cold compress or frozen vegetables
6.  Drink lots of water. If you become dehydrated, you will actually start producing more milk, and your discomfort will increase.
7.  Sleep with pillow support.  Sleeping is the hardest because no position feels comfortable.  If you use a pillow (or several) you can get some relief.

And these are a couple of unverified home remedies:
1.  Apply cold cabbage leaves to your breast.
2.  Drink sage tea

Possible Complications:
If you start running a fever or have flu-like symptoms, contact your doctor as it may be mastitis or plugged ducts. Mastitis and plugged ducts can be caused by:
- Binding your breasts (wear a comfortable bra)
- Not weaning properly
- Breast infection

Hang in there ladies!

Weekend Wish List: July 26-28, 2013

I'm so sad that July is almost over.  This summer is going by way too fast.  I hope you can find something fun to do this weekend.  If you have older kids (10+), Go Ape just opened in Creve Coeur Park.

FRIDAY, JULY 26th
St. Louis International Children’s Film Festival - See website for showtimes and locations

Farmers Markets

Prairie Farms Summer Zoo Weekends: Friday - Sunday @ 8am - 7pm

Picture Book Walk at Quail Ridge Park @ 8am - Dusk

The Stork Lady Baby & Kids Consignment Sale at 125 Kenrick Plaza @ 9am - 7pm

National Zookeeper Week at the St. Louis Zoo @ 9:30am - 12pm

St. Charles County Fair at Rotary Park in Wentzville, MO @ 10am

Pick Your Own Peaches & Blackberries at Eckert's Belleville Farm @ 8am - 7pm

Pick Your Own Peaches & Blackberries at Eckert's Grafton Farm @ 9am - 5pm

Marvin's Musical Revue at Bob Kramer's Marionnette Theatre @ 10am and 1pm

Storytelling and Crafts at the Missouri History Museum @ 10:30am

Hot Dog Days in Kirkwood at Meacham Memorial Park @ 11:30am -  1:00pm

Jungle Boogie Friday Night Concert Series at the Zoo @ 5pm - 8pm

Sunset Fridays Concert Series at Lakeside Park in St. Peters @ 6:30pm

Family Night Hike Adventure at Shaw Nature Reserve @ 6:30pm - 9pm

Hula-pool-ooza at The Heights @ 7pm - 9pm

Outdoor Film Series on Art Hill Plaza @ 7pm

Live Music at the Boathouse @ 7pm - 11pm

Summer Concert Fest at Eckert's (Belleville) @ 7pm - 9pm

Citywalk Concert Series at Ferguson Citywalk @ 7pm - 9pm

The Music Man at the Alton Little Theater @ 7:30pm

Starlight Movie Series at Eureka City Hall @ 7:45pm

The Wiz at the St Louis Black Repertory @ 8pm

Oklahoma! at The Ivory Theater @ 8pm

Mary Poppins at The Muny @ 8:15pm

Skyview Drive-In Movie Theater

SATURDAY, JULY 27th
St. Louis International Children’s Film Festival - See website for showtimes and locations

Farmers Markets

Prairie Farms Summer Zoo Weekends: Friday - Sunday @ 8am - 7pm

Picture Book Walk at Quail Ridge Park @ 8am - Dusk

Pick Your Own Peaches & Blackberries at Eckert's Belleville Farm @ 8am - 7pm

Pick Your Own Peaches & Blackberries at Eckert's Grafton Farm @ 9am - 5pm

St. Charles County Fair at Rotary Park in Wentzville, MO @ 9am

Family Food Saturdays at the MO Botanical Garden @ 9am - 4pm

National Zookeeper Week at the St. Louis Zoo @ 9:30am - 12pm

Purina Farms Summer Sieger International Dog Show at The Great Hall at Purina Farms @ 9:30am - 4pm

Lowe's Build & Grow Kids Workshop @ 10am

Marvin's Musical Revue at Bob Kramer's Marionnette Theatre @ 10am and 1pm

The Stork Lady Baby & Kids Consignment Sale at 125 Kenrick Plaza @ 10am - 3pm

Delta Dental Health Theatre Summer Fun Health Series @ 11am - 1:30pm

Shiver Me Timbers Towboat Festival at the Grafton Harbor @ 11am - 4pm

Professional Bull Riding Family Event at Bass Pro Shop @ 12pm - 4pm

Live Music at Missouri Wineries in Augusta @ 1pm - 5pm

The Wiz at the St Louis Black Repertory @ 2pm and 8pm

Making Music Series in Kirkwood Park @ 7pm

Summer Concert Fest at Eckert's (Belleville) @ 7pm - 9pm

The Music Man at the Alton Little Theater @ 7:30pm

Oklahoma! at The Ivory Theater @ 8pm

Mary Poppins at The Muny @ 8:15pm

Movies in the Park at Edwardsville City Park @ 8:25pm

Skyview Drive-In Movie Theater

SUNDAY, JULY 28th
St. Louis International Children’s Film Festival - See website for showtimes and locations

Farmers Markets

Prairie Farms Summer Zoo Weekends: Friday - Sunday @ 8am - 7pm

Picture Book Walk at Quail Ridge Park @ 8am - Dusk

Pick Your Own Peaches & Blackberries at Eckert's Belleville Farm @ 8am - 7pm

Pick Your Own Peaches & Blackberries at Eckert's Grafton Farm @ 9am - 5pm

Purina Farms Summer Sieger International Dog Show at The Great Hall at Purina Farms @ 9:30am - 4pm

Wabash Frisco and Pacific Railroad @ 11am - 4:15pm

Shiver Me Timbers Towboat Festival at the Grafton Harbor @ 11am - 4pm

Professional Bull Riding Family Event at Bass Pro Shop @ 12pm - 4pm

Family Sundays at St. Louis Art Museum @ 1pm - 4pm

Marvin's Musical Revue at Bob Kramer's Marionnette Theatre @ 1pm

Live Music at Missouri Wineries in Augusta @ 1pm - 5pm

Lowe's Build & Grow Kids Workshop @ 2pm

The Wiz at the St Louis Black Repertory @ 2pm

The Music Man at the Alton Little Theater @ 2pm

Oklahoma! at The Ivory Theater @ 2pm

Musical Nights in Oak Knoll Park @ 5pm - 7pm

River City Rascals vs. Slammers @ 6:05pm

Gateway Grizzlies vs. Frontier Greys @ 6:05pm

Mary Poppins at The Muny @ 8:15pm

Skyview Drive-In Movie Theater

Chandler Hill Vineyards

The girls are finally getting to an age where we can take them to restaurants.  Don't be confused - Tim and I aren't kicked back enjoying a meaningful conversation and an adult beverage while our kids eat their food and color quietly on a paper table cloth.  It's a lot of work.  There are coloring books, crayons and stickers strewn all over the table requiring us to sit a table much larger than necessary for a family of five.  The floor surrounding our table is covered with food and it's not uncommon for a cup of water to be spilled.  Tim and I usually eat at separate times while the other is feeding/holding Clara.  I'm sure the servers LOVE us.  We are sure to leave a good tip.

For the longest time we never took the girls to restaurants because it was just such a spectacle and so much work.  But now, my desire to not cook trumps almost everything.

Recently, we ate lunch with the girls at Chandler Hill Vineyards.  They have live music on their patio on the weekends and a small farmer's market on Sundays.

The live music was a lot of fun for the girls.  I love that kids are totally uninhibited in public (except when they're throwing a temper tantrum in public - I don't love that).  Even Clara sat in her stroller and listened to the band.  And I should add that the food is amazing!  

After lunch we walked to the farmer's market which is next to the vineyard.  After bee-lining for the fresh-baked cookie booth, the girls headed to the vineyards and took off running.

It was a really fun afternoon that I highly recommend!  Missouri Wine Country is a great website for searching the wineries near you.

Grilled Goat Cheese & Cucumber Sandwich

We have had a lot of rain this summer.  We planted our garden at the end of May - eggplant, cucumber, tomatoes, basil, cilantro and sage - and it has grown amazingly well without much help from us!

This is what it looked like right after we planted everything:

We barely watered it because it rained so much:

Then on July 4th we came back to check on it and this is what it looked like:

!!!!!!

There were already FIVE full grown cucumbers ready to be picked:

The easiest yummy thing to do with cucumber is add it to ice water.  It makes it so much easier to drink water throughout the day when it tastes so good.

I could never drink enough cucumber water before they all went bad so I found some new recipes to try out.  My favorite was the Grilled Goat Cheese & Cucumber Sandwich.

Ingredients:
Sourdough bread (or your bread of choice)
1 small package plain goat cheese — leave this out for an hour or so to reach room temperature
1 cucumber
Olive oil

Instructions:
1.  Slice the bread about 1/2" thick.

2.  Cut the cucumber into 1/8" slices.

3.  Heat a skillet over the stove — first at high heat to get the pan very hot, but then reduce the flame all the way to low.
4.  Using a pastry brush, lightly coat one side of each slice of bread.

5.  Spread a healthy layer of goat cheese on the dry side of the bottom slice and a thin layer on the dry side of the top slice.

6.  Arrange your cucumber slices on top of the goat cheese on one slice of bread.

7.  Place the first half of your sandwich on the skillet, and sprinkle with salt and pepper, if you like.  Our cheese was a "three pepper blend" so I didn't add any additional.

8.  Place the top slice of bread on top (cheese side down) and let it sit on the stove for about five minutes — make sure your heat is LOW.
9.  Use a spatula to lift the bottom slice — if it’s nice and golden, go ahead and flip your sandwich.

10.  Let that side sit for four to five minutes.  When the second side is just as golden, go ahead and remove the sandwich from the pan. 
11.  Slice and serve!

This makes a great summer sandwich!

Weekend Wish List: July 19-21, 2013

Hope you all have a great weekend!  There is plenty of fun things to pick from.  It is supposed to be hot and sunny on Friday but there is a chance of rain on Saturday and maybe Sunday too.  At least the clouds will give us a break from the heat!

FRIDAY, JULY 19th
Farmers Markets

Prairie Farms Summer Zoo Weekends: Friday - Sunday @ 8am - 7pm

Pick Your Own Blackberries at Eckert's Belleville Farm @ 8am - 12pm

Picture Book Walk at Quail Ridge Park @ 8am - Dusk

Pick Your Own Blackberries at Eckert's Grafton Farm @ 9am - 5pm

Marvin's Musical Revue at Bob Kramer's Marionnette Theatre @ 10am and 1pm

Storytelling and Crafts at the Missouri History Museum @ 10:30am

Hot Dog Days in Kirkwood at Fillmore Park @ 11:30am -  1:00pm

Free Summer Concert at Citygarden @ 11:45am - 12:45pm

Jungle Boogie Friday Night Concert Series at the Zoo @ 5pm - 8pm

Emerson Free Family Night at The Magic House @ 5:30pm - 9pm

Summer Party for Kids at the Youth Activity Center in Clayton @ 5:30pm - 8:30pm

Third Friday Free Party at Third Degree Glass Factory @ 6pm - 10pm

Sunset Fridays Concert Series at Lakeside Park in St. Peters @ 6:30pm

Outdoor Film Series on Art Hill Plaza @ 7pm

Charlotte's Web at Nerinx Hall @ 7pm

Live Music at the Boathouse @ 7pm - 11pm

Summer Concert Fest at Eckert's (Belleville) @ 7pm - 9pm

River City Rascals vs. Florence Freedom @ 7:05pm

Gateway Grizzlies vs. Lake Erie Crushers @ 7:05pm

St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Diego Padres @ 7:15pm

The Music Man at the Alton Little Theater @ 7:30pm

Oklahoma! at The Ivory Theater @ 8pm

Celebrate St. Louis Summer Concerts at Soldiers Memorial @ 8pm

Movie Night in the Park in Sykes Field at Wilson Park @ 8pm

Movie Mania at the Lake at Town & Country Crossing @ 8pm

Dive-In Movie at the Lodge of Des Peres @ 8:30pm - 10:30pm

Skyview Drive-In Movie Theater

SATURDAY, JULY 20th
Farmers Markets

Prairie Farms Summer Zoo Weekends: Friday - Sunday @ 8am - 7pm

Picture Book Walk at Quail Ridge Park @ 8am - Dusk

Pick Your Own Peaches at Eckert's Belleville Farm @ 8am - 6:30pm

Pick Your Own Blackberries at Eckert's Grafton Farm @ 9am - 5pm

Family Food Saturdays at the MO Botanical Garden @ 9am - 4pm

Marvin's Musical Revue at Bob Kramer's Marionnette Theatre @ 10am and 1pm

Pet-A-Palooza at Purina Farms @ 10am - 4pm

Bug Hunt at The Butterfly House @ 11am - 2pm

Delta Dental Health Theatre Summer Fun Health Series @ 11am - 1:30pm

Charlotte's Web at Nerinx Hall @ 11am and 2pm

Foodology Family Food Saturdays at the Botanical Garden @ 1pm - 3pm

Live Music at Missouri Wineries in Augusta @ 1pm - 5pm

Alton Block Party in Downtown Alton @ 4pm - 10pm

St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Diego Padres @ 6:15pm

Summer Concert Fest at Eckert's (Belleville) @ 7pm - 9pm

River City Rascals vs. Florence Freedom @ 7:05pm

Gateway Grizzlies vs. Lake Erie Crushers @ 7:05pm

The Music Man at the Alton Little Theater @ 7:30pm

Fenton Flick N' Float Movie at RiverChase @ 7:45pm - 10pm

Oklahoma! at The Ivory Theater @ 8pm

Celebrate St. Louis Summer Concerts at Soldiers Memorial @ 8pm

Chesterfield City Park Amphitheater Concert Series @ 8pm

Skyview Drive-In Movie Theater

SUNDAY, JULY 21st
Farmers Markets

Prairie Farms Summer Zoo Weekends: Friday - Sunday @ 8am - 7pm

Picture Book Walk at Quail Ridge Park @ 8am - Dusk

Pick Your Own Peaches at Eckert's Belleville Farm @ 8am - 6:30pm

Pick Your Own Blackberries at Eckert's Grafton Farm @ 9am - 5pm

Wabash Frisco and Pacific Railroad @ 11am - 4:15pm

Bug Hunt at The Butterfly House @ 11am - 2pm

Charlotte's Web at Nerinx Hall @ 11am and 2pm

Shipwrecked Pirate Day and the 4th Annual Cardboard Boat Race at Alligator's Creek Aquatic Center @ 12pm - 7pm

Family Sundays at St. Louis Art Museum @ 1pm - 4pm

Marvin's Musical Revue at Bob Kramer's Marionnette Theatre @ 1pm

Live Music at Missouri Wineries in Augusta @ 1pm - 5pm

St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Diego Padres @ 1:15pm

The Music Man at the Alton Little Theater @ 2pm

Oklahoma! at The Ivory Theater @ 2pm

River City Rascals vs. Florence Freedom @ 6:05pm

Gateway Grizzlies vs. Lake Erie Crushers @ 6:05pm

Dive-In Movie at Alligator's Creek Aquatic Center @ 8:30pm - 10pm

Skyview Drive-In Movie Theater

Zoo Passport

If you haven't been to the St. Louis Zoo, you're missing out on a great FREE activity.  If you're not a member, you can park for free on the streets around the Zoo (get there early though!).  And if you come on a Friday evening you can see the animals and enjoy a free concert from 5pm - 8pm (concert series ends 8/30/13).  

I found these cute Zoo Passports on the Disney Family website.

The PDF file (link above) includes stamps that you can put on the pages when you spot the animals.  I didn't have sticker paper to print on so I bought star stickers instead.  I double-stick taped them to the back of the book so that they wouldn't get lost as we roamed the Zoo.

The girls had fun scouring the Zoo for all the animals and filling up their Passport with stickers.

Also, bring a few crayons and the kids can color in the animals in their Passport book during lunch.

Baby Knee Pads

Clara finally graduated from army crawling to a legitimate crawl!

I noticed that she crawls very slowly across our terra cotta tile floor in the kitchen (not pictured) which made me wonder if it's painful for her.  While I love its appearance and durability, I look forward to the day when I can replace it with something that easier on the joints (wow, I sound like an old lady!).

When I was pregnant with Clara, I had to wear tennis shoes in the kitchen because the floor did a number on my back, ankles and knees.  I actually had to see a physical therapist during my second and third trimester because I could barely walk.  When my parents and Tim's parents come to visit, they always complain about how hard our kitchen floor is on them.  They now keep a spare pair of slippers at our house (we try not to wear shoes in our house to cut down on the dirt and allergens).

In an effort to help Clara avoid knee problems in her old lady days, I found these cute little knee pads from Lil' Melon.  I love them because they're super soft and padded just enough to protect her knees but not too much that it inhibits her ability to crawl easily.  (Get ready for a barrage of pictures of Clara that I couldn't edit down to a reasonable amount).

 The Paper Gate is back up.

 On your mark...

So proud of herself.

They have lots of cute designs for boys and girls.  This is one of my favorites for girls:

This is my favorite for boys:

And the back of the knee pads have little slits for ventilation:

You can purchase them on their website or on Amazon.  If you follow them on Facebook, you will get up to date info on their sales and promotions.  Safe crawling!

Weekend Wish List: July 12-14, 2013

The weather is supposed to be great this weekend.  Have fun!

FRIDAY, JULY 12th
Farmers Markets

Prairie Farms Summer Zoo Weekends: Friday - Sunday @ 8am - 7pm

Storytelling and Crafts at the Missouri History Museum @ 10:30am

Hotdog Days in Kirkwood at Loewnau Park @ 11:30am - 1pm

Free Summer Concert at Citygarden @ 11:45am - 12:45pm

Food Truck Friday at Tower Grove Park @ 5pm - 8pm

Jungle Boogie Friday Night Concert Series at the Zoo @ 5pm - 8pm

Frisco Fun Night at the Frisco Train Store @ 5:30pm

Let Them Eat Art in Downtown Maplewood @ 6pm - 11pm

Sunset Fridays Concert Series at Lakeside Park in St. Peters @ 6:30pm

Hot Summer Nights, Cool Summer Sounds in Des Peres Park @ 7pm - 9:30pm

Live Music at the Boathouse @ 7pm - 11pm

Summer Concert Fest at Eckert's (Belleville) @ 7pm - 9pm

Citywalk Concert Series in Ferguson @ 7pm - 9pm

Movie Under the Stars at Chesterfield Amphitheater @ 8pm

Celebrate St. Louis Summer Concerts at Soldiers Memorial @ 8pm

Manchester Movie in the Pool at the Manchester Aquatic Center in Schroeder Park @ 8:15pm

Skyview Drive-In Movie Theater

SATURDAY, JULY 13th
Prairie Farms Summer Zoo Weekends: Friday - Sunday @ 8am - 7pm

Pick-Your-Own Blackberries at Eckert's (Belleville) Farm @ 8am - 6pm

Kirkwood Farmers' Market Peach Festival @ 8am - 5pm

Family Food Saturdays at the MO Botanical Garden @ 9am - 4pm

AMC Sensory Friendly Films @ 10am

Summer Fun for the Kids at the Sheldon Art Galleries @ 11am - 1pm

Delta Dental Health Theatre Summer Fun Health Series @ 11am - 1:30pm

Pollinator Picnic at The Butterfly House @ 11am - 3pm

St. Louis Brown Stockings vs. St. Louis Unions at Emmenegger Park @ 11am & 12:30pm

Artz Performance at the Magic House @ 12pm - 2pm

Family Summer Camp at Bass Pro @ 12pm - 6pm

Americana Night at the Richmond Heights Community Center @ 4pm - 8pm

Country Sounds by the Barn at Suson Park @ 7pm - 9pm

Making Music Series in Kirkwood Park @ 7pm

Summer Concert Fest at Eckert's (Belleville) @ 7pm - 9pm

Splash Bash at RiverChase @ 8pm - 10pm

Skyview Drive-In Movie Theater

SUNDAY, JULY 14th
Farmers Markets

Prairie Farms Summer Zoo Weekends: Friday - Sunday @ 8am - 7pm

Pick-Your-Own Blackberries at Eckert's (Belleville) Farm @ 8:30am - 6pm

Wabash Frisco and Pacific Railroad @ 11am - 4:15pm

Artz Performance at the Magic House @ 12pm - 2pm

Family Summer Camp at Bass Pro @ 12pm - 5pm

Family Sundays at St. Louis Art Museum @ 1pm - 4pm

Skyview Drive-In Movie Theater

Summer Family Fun Series at the Missouri History Museum

The Summer Family Fun Series at the Missouri History Museum is one of our favorite things to do during the summer.  On Mondays and Fridays they have activities from 10am - 1:30pm (visit their Family Garden, Storytelling with a craft, Make-and-Take activities in the Schnucks Learning Center).  On Tuesdays they have special events starting at 10:30am.  The best part is that it is all FREE!

It's very low key and kid-focused.  You never need to worry about your kids acting up or being too loud or crying.  You'll just blend in with the scene!  I show up with my three kids and our double stroller and many bags every Monday.  Ava wants to do every art project they offer.  She is frantically hoarding all the stickers and crayons and "sparkles" she can get her hands on.  Sidney just wants to glue stuff together and eat crackers.  And I have to hold Clara off with a Baby Mum Mum or else she will eat all the craft materials.  It's pure chaos but we love it and no one there seems to mind.

Here are some of the fun projects we've made over the past few weeks.

 Football-themed crafts

 Football-themed crafts

 "Bug Out" week

 "Bug Out" week

 Fourth of July crafts

 Fourth of July crafts

Fourth of July crafts

Afterwards, the girls love to walk around to the fountain and trolley car.  Sometimes we eat lunch outside, other times we just run around.  One day there was a duck cooling off in the fountain!

Also, there is a playground connected to the Missouri Department of Conservation which is right behind the Missouri History Museum (a very short walk).  It's open to the public year-round.

We have a tradition of going to Ted Drewes for Oreo Concrete afterward!

 Sidney can't have frozen custard so I bring her a treat.

YUM!

Side Story:

This past week when we were at the History Museum someone stopped me in the parking lot and asked if my daughter's name was Ava.  She recognized Ava from my blog!  She said lots of nice things about my kids and my blog and then she said that I'm such a great mom.  That just made my day and I wanted to tell her THANK YOU!  I love little random acts of kindness like that.  

It may seem like things are always rosy over here because I only blog about the good stuff.  I don't want to be misleading though.  My kids are no different than your kids.  They fight and cry and complain and talk back and all the other frustrating things that kids do to drive us crazy.  And while I try to be a good mom, I have many shortcomings and often worry that I'm screwing my kids up.  

We had a "family meeting" with Ava last night (We'd planned to have Family Meeting night with Ava on Friday nights to give her some one-on-one time with Tim and me to talk about things that were on her mind - so far we've had 2 meetings...).  We talk about the things that we do well and the things that we need to work on.  I let Ava tell me the things that I needed to work on.  First on her list (yes, there was a list) was that I needed to be more patient.  She's right about that.  I'm starting to worry that I'll never be good at it.  Second was that I needed to stop saying "Oh my God".  I don't let the kids say that because I just don't like the way it sounds coming out of their mouths.  But yesterday it slipped out of my mouth when I was upset.  Ava recommended that I say "Oh my gosh" or "Oh my goodness" or "Holy Cow"!  That cracked me up!  Anyway, the moral of the story here is that I have a lot of things to work on.  Nobody's perfect.