Tonight I was feeling extra lazy....I ran some unsuccessful errands in Hutch, it was not very pleasant outside all day, and I really just felt blah. However, at 7:15pm, I laced up my good old' Brooks running shoes, and headed out the door with Ryder close behind me. He hopped on his bike and I set out for a run. I didn't want to, but I did it anyway.
And I'm so glad I did :) Runner's high is the best feeling in the world. Hands down. If I'm in a bad mood, I know the cure is to lace up and go running. Sometimes when I run I process my day at work, work through my frustrations, make mental lists in my head, or more often than not, put on some damn good workout music on pandora, put the headphones in my ears and just jam out to pass the time.
This weekend is the "Empower Race for the Future" around Lake Ripley. Proudly, I can say that since I started running again after Piper was born, I have ran either a 5K or a 7K every month! In February I ran the Frozen 5K in Spicer with my sister-in-law, Amy. March was the St.Patty's Day "Get Lucky 7K" with friends and family in the cities. April was an early Earth Day 5K in Key West with Kristin, and of course this weekend is the Empower race in Litchfield. I was hoping to do the Fitgers 5K in Duluth when Max runs his half marathon, but sadly it is already full, so looks like I will need to find a new race in June!
So my goal? One a month until..... well, who knows when!? Minnesota winters are tricky - but I'm shooting for November ---wish me luck! :)
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Saturday, May 5, 2012
1/2
Okay, so this post is about a month late... Today is actually miss Piper's 7 month old birthday, meaning exactly a month ago, my little one turned half a year old.
How does that even happen?? It doesn't feel like it was that long ago when I was crying to my husband in bed after yet another month went by leaving us not pregnant. We had wanted a baby so badly, and there were times we just didn't understand why it wasn't happening, and we had even began to fear that it wouldn't happen at all. To this day, I have no idea why it did take us a full year to get pregnant, but I do know that for this sweet little girl, it was worth the wait :)
Clearly, God had a plan for us and on October 5, 2011 we welcomed P into our little family. She has brought us so much joy, that I can't even imagine our lives without her! Here is what I know about Piper Grace thus far:
*She looks like her mommy! :) This is so fun for me, because Ryder is a spitting image of his dad. Literally, spitting image. The only thing on that child that I claim as my own would be the adorable little freckles that are scattered across his upper cheeks/nose... So, at random moments when I am picking Piper up out of the crib, or if we are just playing on the floor and she does something that reminds me of me, it is a pretty incredible feeling...I love her dark hair and her sweet blue eyes.
*Although she looks like her mom, she has her dad's pouty lips and likes to show them off when she is upset. It is adorable...
*She has a mind of her own and is very strong willed. She wants what she wants, and you will not be able to persuade her otherwise. For instance, from very early on we have tried just about every pacifier on the market, because they make lives easier on parents, right? Well, P has her own thoughts about pacifiers/nuks/whatever you want to call them, and she has refused them time and time again.We no longer try. In the battle of the nukie, Piper=1, Mom and dad= 0 :(
*She loves to chit-chat.... She is quite the babbler, and likes to hear her own voice. Currently she spends the majority of her day saying "ba-ba-ba-ba!!!" with enthusiasm, and within the last week or so she has really been working on her "p" sounds. She also likes to make 'mmmm' noises when she is upset or frustrated, and she likes to imitate whatever you are doing/saying with her lips. She is quite observant...
*When she sleeps, she likes to roll on to her side and grab her blankies up to her cheek. It melts my heart.
*I can't really think of any 'favorite' toys, but she does usually play in her exersaucer quite well, and she loves to be outside. She also loves her outdoors swing and she likes to watch mommy groom the horse.
*At 6 months old, Piper got her very first little tooth :) I believe she is currently working on some more, and of course, EVERYTHING goes in her mouth!
*Call me crazy, but I believe that she loves shopping. Just loves it. Let me explain by saying that Piper is not always known for being the most content child, sometimes she can be a little needy/demanding... However, when we have to make a target or a shopping mall run, the girl is just an angel. Seriously. I'm pretty sure it means she loves to shop.
*She likes her naps.... She takes 3 naps everyday, 2 shorter ones in the morning, and a longer one (about 2 hours) in the afternoons... Sometimes she even likes a cat-nap in the evening if she's had a busy day!
*She sits up so well by herself and can get herself in complete crawling position. It is only a matter of days before she takes that first little crawl--and then, I have a feeling I will be one busy mommy!
*She absolutely lights up when she sees someone she knows and loves... She has a beautiful smile, the kind that goes all the way up to her eyes. She loves to giggle, and she loves her big brother... He does such an amazing job of entertaining her and playing with her.
*She absolutely can not stand when her daddy kisses/blows on her cheek. (Apparently, she does not dig facial hair on men, --and she get so angry with him when he does it, and then just laughs at her!) She does, however, love daddy's red Titleist hat, and riding on the lawn mower with him :)
*She likes to be around people, and does not repond well to being left alone for very long at all! She likes to be front and center, smack dab in the middle of the action. She's quite the busy little bee...
*....And most importantly, she is quite possibly the most loved little girl on the face of this planet. Of course, I may be a little biased ;) Can't wait to see what the second half of her first year will bring us!
How does that even happen?? It doesn't feel like it was that long ago when I was crying to my husband in bed after yet another month went by leaving us not pregnant. We had wanted a baby so badly, and there were times we just didn't understand why it wasn't happening, and we had even began to fear that it wouldn't happen at all. To this day, I have no idea why it did take us a full year to get pregnant, but I do know that for this sweet little girl, it was worth the wait :)
*She looks like her mommy! :) This is so fun for me, because Ryder is a spitting image of his dad. Literally, spitting image. The only thing on that child that I claim as my own would be the adorable little freckles that are scattered across his upper cheeks/nose... So, at random moments when I am picking Piper up out of the crib, or if we are just playing on the floor and she does something that reminds me of me, it is a pretty incredible feeling...I love her dark hair and her sweet blue eyes.
*Although she looks like her mom, she has her dad's pouty lips and likes to show them off when she is upset. It is adorable...
*She has a mind of her own and is very strong willed. She wants what she wants, and you will not be able to persuade her otherwise. For instance, from very early on we have tried just about every pacifier on the market, because they make lives easier on parents, right? Well, P has her own thoughts about pacifiers/nuks/whatever you want to call them, and she has refused them time and time again.We no longer try. In the battle of the nukie, Piper=1, Mom and dad= 0 :(
*She loves to chit-chat.... She is quite the babbler, and likes to hear her own voice. Currently she spends the majority of her day saying "ba-ba-ba-ba!!!" with enthusiasm, and within the last week or so she has really been working on her "p" sounds. She also likes to make 'mmmm' noises when she is upset or frustrated, and she likes to imitate whatever you are doing/saying with her lips. She is quite observant...
*When she sleeps, she likes to roll on to her side and grab her blankies up to her cheek. It melts my heart.
*I can't really think of any 'favorite' toys, but she does usually play in her exersaucer quite well, and she loves to be outside. She also loves her outdoors swing and she likes to watch mommy groom the horse.
*At 6 months old, Piper got her very first little tooth :) I believe she is currently working on some more, and of course, EVERYTHING goes in her mouth!
*Call me crazy, but I believe that she loves shopping. Just loves it. Let me explain by saying that Piper is not always known for being the most content child, sometimes she can be a little needy/demanding... However, when we have to make a target or a shopping mall run, the girl is just an angel. Seriously. I'm pretty sure it means she loves to shop.
*She likes her naps.... She takes 3 naps everyday, 2 shorter ones in the morning, and a longer one (about 2 hours) in the afternoons... Sometimes she even likes a cat-nap in the evening if she's had a busy day!
*She sits up so well by herself and can get herself in complete crawling position. It is only a matter of days before she takes that first little crawl--and then, I have a feeling I will be one busy mommy!
*She absolutely lights up when she sees someone she knows and loves... She has a beautiful smile, the kind that goes all the way up to her eyes. She loves to giggle, and she loves her big brother... He does such an amazing job of entertaining her and playing with her.
*She absolutely can not stand when her daddy kisses/blows on her cheek. (Apparently, she does not dig facial hair on men, --and she get so angry with him when he does it, and then just laughs at her!) She does, however, love daddy's red Titleist hat, and riding on the lawn mower with him :)
*She likes to be around people, and does not repond well to being left alone for very long at all! She likes to be front and center, smack dab in the middle of the action. She's quite the busy little bee...
*....And most importantly, she is quite possibly the most loved little girl on the face of this planet. Of course, I may be a little biased ;) Can't wait to see what the second half of her first year will bring us!
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
what life was like at mile marker 0!
Finally, a little alone time to sit down and gush about my Key West trip! I know it has been long awaited.... Forgive me for the delay, but adjusting back in the saddle of mommylife has taken it's toll on me! :)
I woke up early on Thursday morning with a slight hint of excitement, and a HUGE anxiety about leaving my kids and the hubby. It was an emotional morning, but by the time we were nearing the airport and the kids had been dropped off, I was ready for my vacation! My morning at the airport started off as every morning should, in my opinion, -with a delicious dark chocolate mocha from caribou coffee. My coffee was delicious, the people watching was phenomenal, life was good. However, that was the beginning of what later would be known as one of the longest days of my life. Let me just say it. I hate airlines, and the crabby agents that work at them, at least the ones I had to deal with! Anyway... Long story short, because of millions of delays, I ended up shackin' up in Miami for the night. Not really a huge deal since my flight to Key West was taking off at 8am the next morning anyway, but still-- I was over it.
So the next morning after approximately 3 hours of sleep for the night, I finally made my appearance in Key West and was rejoined once again with my bestie, Kristin :) Due to my extreme exhaustion, the first stop we made was this cute little coffee shop. This is where I learned my first piece of valuable key west information: they love their chickens! Kristin and I were peacefully sipping on our iced coffees catching up on any and everything when all of a sudden this little chicken decided to walk on through the coffee shop and join us on the patio. Um, excuse me? I'm at a coffee shop and there is a chicken parked next to me on the ground. Then I looked down the street and realized that chickens are probably like the state mascot, because they kind of roam around wherever they want....love it. The rest of my day involved a shower, some shopping, a spin/pedal & pump class (I was convinced that I was either going to die, fall off, or lose my virginity (again) while on that damn bike, but no worries, friends-- I made it alive (and in tact!) ! :)) That night we ate a fancy little italian restuarant in order to 'carb up' for our 5k the followin morning. The food was fabulous (although my plate could have easily fed the entire population of Darwin) but we were all exhausted so we decided to call it an early night... After a little skype action with Max and Piper :) (Ryder was at his grandmas)
Saturday was race day, so up an at'em we were! I'm so proud of my best friend for beginning this running/getting healthy journey, and more than anything, for having a goal, and accomplishing it! So happy to have been able to be a part of that accomplishment with her! We ran along the beach, which is about enough motivation for me- It was absolutely beautiful and believe it or not, the weather was perfect. Not chilly at all, but not too hot either. Just great! After our run we lounged around for a while, made some lunch, skyped with the fam back home (who I missed dearly!!) and then decided we wanted to go Kayaking. We packed a few beers in a cooler, put our suits on, and away we went! Kristin and I took a double kayak and we thought we were pretty cool, although we just couldn't keep up with Eric. Apparently we aren't the speediest kayaker's but we made our own way! We saw starfish and jellyfish, mangroves (whatever the hell they are??) and multi-million dollar homes along the channel that we were in. Amazing. :) After this little excersion, was naptime.... Ahhhhh the joys of being on vacation and being able to take a nap. Uninterrupted. Alone. No Kids.... After we woke up we decided to shower up and get pretty for the night. We went to Santiagos Bodega for dinner, soooo yummy. The food was great, but the Sangrias were even better! ;) Following multiple glasses of the sangria was a wise (??) decision to hit up Duval Street "for a couple".
My oh my. There were people EVERYWHERE, and at least like 50 bars just hopping with people. It was here that I discovered another little key west secret: strawberry beer :) -YUM! After a nice classy bar serving the strawberry beer, we made our way up to another bar. A slightly different bar. A clothing optional bar. I actually saw the sign that said "Clothing option beyond this point" and kind of thought it was cute, just for decoration. WRONG. I walked in and my poor little innocent eyes were not prepared for what they were about to take in. The term, "partying naked" in Key West, is actually meant quite literally! Now, if you know me, then you would know that I was like "trying-not-to-pee-in-my-pants-laughing-so-hard" mode as we people watched in this bar. To be fair, most people in the bar were dressed. And most of them seemed quite normal, many of them were young like us, in fact. However, the people hangin' out with their goods out for the world to see were all probably over the age of at least 50 and this just added to my amusement. I'm actually laughing out loud as I type this.... The next bar we went to was much more normal--although I did end up stealing a pink tiara off of some guy's head and wearing it around the rest of the night, and although I'm pretty sure that sort of thing doesn't happen in Darwin, you never know...
Sunday morning brought with it only a slight hangover (thank goodness!) and to remedy this, Kristin and I decided to bike down and get some breakfast... After enjoying that, we hit up the beach for the day. I'm talking teal-crystal clear blue water kind of beach. It was soooo pretty! I probably could have laid there all damn day... On our little bike cruise on the way home we picked up groceries and made homemade fish tacos for dinner. Then we went out to the Sunset Festival where I discovered love for a man who's job is to hide behind some palm tree branches and jump out and scare people. If you have gotten so busy with your life that you forgot how funny it is to see people get absolutely terrified/pranked, you are missing out. I highly recommend it. (And yes, I donated to his tip jar!) Some sinful ice cream followed the sunset festival and a little more shopping.
Monday morning was an early one, because I was determined to wake up for a sunrise run to the beach. Well worth it! Then we hit the streets with some serious shopping to do, and before I knew it, it was time to say our goodbyes! Although I was sad to be leaving, I was so anxious to get home to my babies!!! (All three of them). I said goodbye to my bestie and boarded the plane (after ANOTHER 2 hr delay) to Tampa Bay... It was here that my husband proved to be my night and shining armor (again) and got the airlines to switch me from having 2 stops left in my journey, to having a non-stop flight from tampa to minneapolis..... Do you love him or what? I do :) Around 8:30 pm that night I arrived safe and sound (thank God!) back in good ol' Minny and take my word for it, I have never been so damn excited to see that damn ball of twine before in my life because it meant my kids were just a minute away! .... Only in darwin, friends! :)
I woke up early on Thursday morning with a slight hint of excitement, and a HUGE anxiety about leaving my kids and the hubby. It was an emotional morning, but by the time we were nearing the airport and the kids had been dropped off, I was ready for my vacation! My morning at the airport started off as every morning should, in my opinion, -with a delicious dark chocolate mocha from caribou coffee. My coffee was delicious, the people watching was phenomenal, life was good. However, that was the beginning of what later would be known as one of the longest days of my life. Let me just say it. I hate airlines, and the crabby agents that work at them, at least the ones I had to deal with! Anyway... Long story short, because of millions of delays, I ended up shackin' up in Miami for the night. Not really a huge deal since my flight to Key West was taking off at 8am the next morning anyway, but still-- I was over it.
So the next morning after approximately 3 hours of sleep for the night, I finally made my appearance in Key West and was rejoined once again with my bestie, Kristin :) Due to my extreme exhaustion, the first stop we made was this cute little coffee shop. This is where I learned my first piece of valuable key west information: they love their chickens! Kristin and I were peacefully sipping on our iced coffees catching up on any and everything when all of a sudden this little chicken decided to walk on through the coffee shop and join us on the patio. Um, excuse me? I'm at a coffee shop and there is a chicken parked next to me on the ground. Then I looked down the street and realized that chickens are probably like the state mascot, because they kind of roam around wherever they want....love it. The rest of my day involved a shower, some shopping, a spin/pedal & pump class (I was convinced that I was either going to die, fall off, or lose my virginity (again) while on that damn bike, but no worries, friends-- I made it alive (and in tact!) ! :)) That night we ate a fancy little italian restuarant in order to 'carb up' for our 5k the followin morning. The food was fabulous (although my plate could have easily fed the entire population of Darwin) but we were all exhausted so we decided to call it an early night... After a little skype action with Max and Piper :) (Ryder was at his grandmas)
Saturday was race day, so up an at'em we were! I'm so proud of my best friend for beginning this running/getting healthy journey, and more than anything, for having a goal, and accomplishing it! So happy to have been able to be a part of that accomplishment with her! We ran along the beach, which is about enough motivation for me- It was absolutely beautiful and believe it or not, the weather was perfect. Not chilly at all, but not too hot either. Just great! After our run we lounged around for a while, made some lunch, skyped with the fam back home (who I missed dearly!!) and then decided we wanted to go Kayaking. We packed a few beers in a cooler, put our suits on, and away we went! Kristin and I took a double kayak and we thought we were pretty cool, although we just couldn't keep up with Eric. Apparently we aren't the speediest kayaker's but we made our own way! We saw starfish and jellyfish, mangroves (whatever the hell they are??) and multi-million dollar homes along the channel that we were in. Amazing. :) After this little excersion, was naptime.... Ahhhhh the joys of being on vacation and being able to take a nap. Uninterrupted. Alone. No Kids.... After we woke up we decided to shower up and get pretty for the night. We went to Santiagos Bodega for dinner, soooo yummy. The food was great, but the Sangrias were even better! ;) Following multiple glasses of the sangria was a wise (??) decision to hit up Duval Street "for a couple".
My oh my. There were people EVERYWHERE, and at least like 50 bars just hopping with people. It was here that I discovered another little key west secret: strawberry beer :) -YUM! After a nice classy bar serving the strawberry beer, we made our way up to another bar. A slightly different bar. A clothing optional bar. I actually saw the sign that said "Clothing option beyond this point" and kind of thought it was cute, just for decoration. WRONG. I walked in and my poor little innocent eyes were not prepared for what they were about to take in. The term, "partying naked" in Key West, is actually meant quite literally! Now, if you know me, then you would know that I was like "trying-not-to-pee-in-my-pants-laughing-so-hard" mode as we people watched in this bar. To be fair, most people in the bar were dressed. And most of them seemed quite normal, many of them were young like us, in fact. However, the people hangin' out with their goods out for the world to see were all probably over the age of at least 50 and this just added to my amusement. I'm actually laughing out loud as I type this.... The next bar we went to was much more normal--although I did end up stealing a pink tiara off of some guy's head and wearing it around the rest of the night, and although I'm pretty sure that sort of thing doesn't happen in Darwin, you never know...
Sunday morning brought with it only a slight hangover (thank goodness!) and to remedy this, Kristin and I decided to bike down and get some breakfast... After enjoying that, we hit up the beach for the day. I'm talking teal-crystal clear blue water kind of beach. It was soooo pretty! I probably could have laid there all damn day... On our little bike cruise on the way home we picked up groceries and made homemade fish tacos for dinner. Then we went out to the Sunset Festival where I discovered love for a man who's job is to hide behind some palm tree branches and jump out and scare people. If you have gotten so busy with your life that you forgot how funny it is to see people get absolutely terrified/pranked, you are missing out. I highly recommend it. (And yes, I donated to his tip jar!) Some sinful ice cream followed the sunset festival and a little more shopping.
Monday morning was an early one, because I was determined to wake up for a sunrise run to the beach. Well worth it! Then we hit the streets with some serious shopping to do, and before I knew it, it was time to say our goodbyes! Although I was sad to be leaving, I was so anxious to get home to my babies!!! (All three of them). I said goodbye to my bestie and boarded the plane (after ANOTHER 2 hr delay) to Tampa Bay... It was here that my husband proved to be my night and shining armor (again) and got the airlines to switch me from having 2 stops left in my journey, to having a non-stop flight from tampa to minneapolis..... Do you love him or what? I do :) Around 8:30 pm that night I arrived safe and sound (thank God!) back in good ol' Minny and take my word for it, I have never been so damn excited to see that damn ball of twine before in my life because it meant my kids were just a minute away! .... Only in darwin, friends! :)
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
what have we been doing?
If you are wondering this question, it means that I have once again been slacking on this poor little blog. Oh well, I've had better things to do, and lucky for you-- now you get to hear about all those 'better things!' :)
Spring break was a few weeks ago. We had a great time just hanging out with family and friends. We did take a little adventure to Airmaxx Trampoline Park in St.Cloud with Ryder's cousins and they had a blast, while this momma was sweating bullets. It is a workout! Other than that, we just enjoyed being home, and being together - and really, what is better than that?
Then of course came Easter and all those little Easter festivities. We died 'koolaid' easter eggs, went on easter egg hunts, and that silly bunny made it's way out to darwin and left some goodies for Piper and Ryder. We praised 'the big guy' at church, hung out with our families, and as always, ate. (And then ate some more.)
Somewhere right around this time, my little peeps celebrated her 1/2 year of life.... 6 months old already?? I'm still trying to figure out just where all that time went, but I'll save that for another post - turning ".5" gets you your own blog post around here ;)
Next came Key West. And yes, there will be a separate post for this also. Way too much excitement to combine it all into this one.... more to come!
Along with all of these celebrations is a bit of sadness as well. This household has been 'Fighting for Gage" and sending our prayers up for him and his family since day one. If you don't know about Gage, you probably aren't from around these parts. Gage is a young boy who was diagnosed back in October with an inoperable brain tumor, and his fight ended this past Sunday. Although I know he was so young and had so much life yet to live, I know in my heart that Jesus is taking care of him now, and I know he is free of all the pain. I don't know all the details of heaven and earth, but my faith is strong, and I know for a fact that Jesus loves his children! I haven't been able to formulate words on how all of this has made me feel up until now because as a parent, I just can't wrap my head around what the Drivers and all of their family and friends have been going through. Even if you have no idea who these people are....please say a prayer for them to find comfort and peace, a prayer for Gage up in heaven, and if you can, donate to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation :) I realize that money doesn't solve problems such as heartache and grieving, but it can fund research to find cures for all these malicious diseases. We have some really smart and talented people in this world, and with the right tools and resources, they will figure this stuff out eventually, I'm sure of it!
And on that note, this mommy is heading to bed. Yes, it is 9:30 --don't judge :)
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Cowboy take me away....
I'm kind of obsessed with the Pioneer Woman (aka- Ree Drummond). I heard about her blog a LONG time ago and started poking around her website because there is SO much to explore. I love her photography, her food, her show on the food network, and basically, I enjoy living vicariously through her. In a different life, I think I would love to be a rancher's wife. (Minus the being in the middle of nowhere factor). The horses on her ranch are stunning, and I can only imagine how peaceful it is to look outside your window and see miles and miles of wide open land. I also wouldn't mind looking out at her cowboy hunk of a husband from time to time. Seriously, he is yummy. Recently I read her book, From Black Heels to Tractor Wheels. It was an easy read, and who doesn't love a good love story every now and then?!
Anyway, the reason for my post is my lunch which is sitting in front of me. A couple weeks ago I decided to try her chicken spaghetti recipe in her first cookbook. It was amazing. I don't usually like my pasta 'baked' after being cooked, but this was so good I didn't even mind. It's pretty simple with just pasta, chicken, cream of mushroom, pimentos, green peppers, and cheese and more tasty ingredients all thrown together. I added mushrooms, because if it was up to me, sauteed mushrooms would be included in EVERY meal. :) As I was making the dish however, I realized that her big family eats much more than my little family does. So, I was left with half the dish to freezse, which worked out great to unthaw and warm up in the oven for a quick lunch on this dreary cloudy day. You can find the recipe here
Enjoy :)
Anyway, the reason for my post is my lunch which is sitting in front of me. A couple weeks ago I decided to try her chicken spaghetti recipe in her first cookbook. It was amazing. I don't usually like my pasta 'baked' after being cooked, but this was so good I didn't even mind. It's pretty simple with just pasta, chicken, cream of mushroom, pimentos, green peppers, and cheese and more tasty ingredients all thrown together. I added mushrooms, because if it was up to me, sauteed mushrooms would be included in EVERY meal. :) As I was making the dish however, I realized that her big family eats much more than my little family does. So, I was left with half the dish to freezse, which worked out great to unthaw and warm up in the oven for a quick lunch on this dreary cloudy day. You can find the recipe here
Enjoy :)
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
miss me??
yep, it's been a while. Wish I had a better excuse, but the fact of the matter is, I've just been lazy and work has been somewhat exhausting lately, which means the last thing I care to do when I get home and have a free minute is to sit on the computer and type.... Today is an exception, because the hubby is sick so he hit the sack early, and me...I'm still trucking along, so here I go-
Gosh, so much I've missed--where to begin?! This past weekend was St.Patty's day. I did all the right things for a successful st.patty's day-- I wore green, I finished my very first 7K run in Minneapolis, and then I partied the DAY away in the cities. At one point in time, I was even watching Rugby while drinking an irish beer. (Is rugby an irish thing?? Now that I typed that, I'm not sure....oh well) Anyway, the day was a success and we had so. much. fun. I think I smell a new tradition starting ;)
My little boy had kindergarten roundup tonight, so he is just pumped. He got to meet his two potential teachers and check out the school. He is getting so old... Next month he turns 5! He is currently still very much into baseball. He loves the move "sandlot" and he and his cousins reenact the movie quite often from what I'm told. When his mind is not on baseball or movies, he is outside. He has grown to love the art of 'putsing' around like his stepfather, and most of the time, I really have no idea what he is doing outside. I do know, however, it usually involves wheels. He is constantly asking to ride either his bike (no training wheels!), his dirtbike, or his four-wheeler. If there is mud outside, you can bet he is whipping shittys in our driveway (with the proper safety equiptment, of course!) and trying his hardest to get CAKED in mud. ......boys!
Little P is not so little anymore either.... She will be 6months old soon, yikes! She is so stinkin' cute. There is just no denying it. She's a little ham, and for the most part, she is a smiley little girl who loves to giggle and talk when she feels she has something valuable to add to the conversation. However, she has her moments. Actually, she has her hours! Everyday from about 5:30-7:30, she is super fussy/needy. Its the point in time where she actually could use a little nap, but she refuses one, and so it's just not a very pleasant time. With this new beautiful weather we've had lately, it's been super nice because I plunk her in her stroller and she just gets strolled along in our yard as I help daddy do yard work and it seems to calm her. That, and the moby wrap, have been my saving grace! Without them, I would probably never get anything done...
Max is sick, at the moment with a bad head cold, so he's pretty much miserable. Other than that, he's been busy with yardwork and house projects, and getting things finalized for our deck, which will hopefully be started soon :) He's running alot lately since he and some friends signed up for the Grandma's 1/2 Marathon in Duluth this summer! So proud of my man!
As for me, I'm just giddy. Giddy about the fact that we have some nice springy weather (minus this week, not that nice), giddy about the fact that Hunger Games comes out this weekend (if you haven't read the series, do yourself a favor, and please do) and giddy about the fact that....Oh yeah, I will be seeing my best friend in less than a month!! I'm flying to Key West in mid-april and I'm so excited I can't even wrap my head around it.. It'll just be for a long weekend, because I would go crazy for any longer without my babies, but I really am looking forward to taking in Key West, running an earth day 5k with kris, and just enjoying my bestie once again.. :) Seriously friends, life is good :)
Enjoy your day!
Gosh, so much I've missed--where to begin?! This past weekend was St.Patty's day. I did all the right things for a successful st.patty's day-- I wore green, I finished my very first 7K run in Minneapolis, and then I partied the DAY away in the cities. At one point in time, I was even watching Rugby while drinking an irish beer. (Is rugby an irish thing?? Now that I typed that, I'm not sure....oh well) Anyway, the day was a success and we had so. much. fun. I think I smell a new tradition starting ;)
My little boy had kindergarten roundup tonight, so he is just pumped. He got to meet his two potential teachers and check out the school. He is getting so old... Next month he turns 5! He is currently still very much into baseball. He loves the move "sandlot" and he and his cousins reenact the movie quite often from what I'm told. When his mind is not on baseball or movies, he is outside. He has grown to love the art of 'putsing' around like his stepfather, and most of the time, I really have no idea what he is doing outside. I do know, however, it usually involves wheels. He is constantly asking to ride either his bike (no training wheels!), his dirtbike, or his four-wheeler. If there is mud outside, you can bet he is whipping shittys in our driveway (with the proper safety equiptment, of course!) and trying his hardest to get CAKED in mud. ......boys!
Little P is not so little anymore either.... She will be 6months old soon, yikes! She is so stinkin' cute. There is just no denying it. She's a little ham, and for the most part, she is a smiley little girl who loves to giggle and talk when she feels she has something valuable to add to the conversation. However, she has her moments. Actually, she has her hours! Everyday from about 5:30-7:30, she is super fussy/needy. Its the point in time where she actually could use a little nap, but she refuses one, and so it's just not a very pleasant time. With this new beautiful weather we've had lately, it's been super nice because I plunk her in her stroller and she just gets strolled along in our yard as I help daddy do yard work and it seems to calm her. That, and the moby wrap, have been my saving grace! Without them, I would probably never get anything done...
Max is sick, at the moment with a bad head cold, so he's pretty much miserable. Other than that, he's been busy with yardwork and house projects, and getting things finalized for our deck, which will hopefully be started soon :) He's running alot lately since he and some friends signed up for the Grandma's 1/2 Marathon in Duluth this summer! So proud of my man!
As for me, I'm just giddy. Giddy about the fact that we have some nice springy weather (minus this week, not that nice), giddy about the fact that Hunger Games comes out this weekend (if you haven't read the series, do yourself a favor, and please do) and giddy about the fact that....Oh yeah, I will be seeing my best friend in less than a month!! I'm flying to Key West in mid-april and I'm so excited I can't even wrap my head around it.. It'll just be for a long weekend, because I would go crazy for any longer without my babies, but I really am looking forward to taking in Key West, running an earth day 5k with kris, and just enjoying my bestie once again.. :) Seriously friends, life is good :)
Enjoy your day!
Friday, February 24, 2012
decisions, decisions...
A few minutes ago I was sitting at the counter filling out Kindergarten-Roundup packets... Seriously, Ryder will be a kindergartner next year??? Time flies...
Anyway, where to send Ryder to school has been such a tough decision. Since I work for all meeker county schools, I can honestly say that I think they are all great! Living in Darwin, we are actually in Litchfield's district, but after much thought, we've decided to send our little man to Dassel Elementary. It just made more sense for many reasons including transportation. With Max working in Dassel, and with my job taking me all over sometimes, it's just more practical. I've had the opportunity to get to know the elementary principal and social worker at Dassel through my job, and I must say that I feel we've made the right decision! It's such a welcoming and happy environment (hopefully all elementary schools are!) and I know Ryder is going to LOVE kindergarten. I'm probably more excited than he is though :)
Now that we've made one tough decisions, it's freed up some time for us to start focusing on the rest of the decisions we've been pondering.... For one, we've decided to (hopefully) finally put on the deck that we've been waiting for! We had our friend Andy come out and do measurements, we've been trying to figure out exactly what our 'wish list' consists of, and filling out lots and lots of paperwork to make it all happen! We are all so excited for this and I know we will use it a TON. I'm sooooo ready for outside projects: the deck, more landscaping, gardening, adding a sandbox to Ryder's swingset, etc. Love it...
Other decisions we are playing around with are just trying to figure out what is best for our family structure. Right now, I work. Generally, I enjoy working outside of home, and I'm fortunate enough to work with some pretty awesome people, but my job is not always enjoyable. Actually, it adds a lot of stress to my life sometimes, and that stress affects our family in many ways. Next year is very up in the air for us. For financial reasons, I would love to continue to work, maybe even just 3 days a week, but at the same time, I feel like I am missing out on alot and Piper is already growing up so fast! She very well could be our last baby (at least for a long time!) so I want to enjoy every. single. moment. with her :) On the flip side, I also have this image in my mind of my husband barely walking in the door from work before I hand him the kids because I simply can not deal with them anymore after being 'stuck at home' with them all day. Don't get me wrong. I like being home, but the problem with me being home all day is that I feel like my house needs to be spotless every second that I'm in it. I love a clean house, and I feel crazy when it's messy. It's crazy how much i enjoy the hour at night after the kids are sleeping that I have a clean house and a candle burning. Even though I know it will be messy by 7am the next morning and will be a disaster by the time I leave for work, it still makes me happy. My other issue with staying home is that I went to college for a reason. Stressful or not, I have a passion for the kind of work that I do, and even if I took some time off now, I can't really imagine never wanting to work again -- and who knows when I will find work again? Ahhhhh can you sense my dilema with this topic?? We honestly can't come up with an answer... Luckily, we have a while to figure it out and I know that the answer will come to us... Enough for tonight! Busy weekend ahead including birthday parties and basketball games with family- love it :)
Anyway, where to send Ryder to school has been such a tough decision. Since I work for all meeker county schools, I can honestly say that I think they are all great! Living in Darwin, we are actually in Litchfield's district, but after much thought, we've decided to send our little man to Dassel Elementary. It just made more sense for many reasons including transportation. With Max working in Dassel, and with my job taking me all over sometimes, it's just more practical. I've had the opportunity to get to know the elementary principal and social worker at Dassel through my job, and I must say that I feel we've made the right decision! It's such a welcoming and happy environment (hopefully all elementary schools are!) and I know Ryder is going to LOVE kindergarten. I'm probably more excited than he is though :)
Now that we've made one tough decisions, it's freed up some time for us to start focusing on the rest of the decisions we've been pondering.... For one, we've decided to (hopefully) finally put on the deck that we've been waiting for! We had our friend Andy come out and do measurements, we've been trying to figure out exactly what our 'wish list' consists of, and filling out lots and lots of paperwork to make it all happen! We are all so excited for this and I know we will use it a TON. I'm sooooo ready for outside projects: the deck, more landscaping, gardening, adding a sandbox to Ryder's swingset, etc. Love it...
Other decisions we are playing around with are just trying to figure out what is best for our family structure. Right now, I work. Generally, I enjoy working outside of home, and I'm fortunate enough to work with some pretty awesome people, but my job is not always enjoyable. Actually, it adds a lot of stress to my life sometimes, and that stress affects our family in many ways. Next year is very up in the air for us. For financial reasons, I would love to continue to work, maybe even just 3 days a week, but at the same time, I feel like I am missing out on alot and Piper is already growing up so fast! She very well could be our last baby (at least for a long time!) so I want to enjoy every. single. moment. with her :) On the flip side, I also have this image in my mind of my husband barely walking in the door from work before I hand him the kids because I simply can not deal with them anymore after being 'stuck at home' with them all day. Don't get me wrong. I like being home, but the problem with me being home all day is that I feel like my house needs to be spotless every second that I'm in it. I love a clean house, and I feel crazy when it's messy. It's crazy how much i enjoy the hour at night after the kids are sleeping that I have a clean house and a candle burning. Even though I know it will be messy by 7am the next morning and will be a disaster by the time I leave for work, it still makes me happy. My other issue with staying home is that I went to college for a reason. Stressful or not, I have a passion for the kind of work that I do, and even if I took some time off now, I can't really imagine never wanting to work again -- and who knows when I will find work again? Ahhhhh can you sense my dilema with this topic?? We honestly can't come up with an answer... Luckily, we have a while to figure it out and I know that the answer will come to us... Enough for tonight! Busy weekend ahead including birthday parties and basketball games with family- love it :)
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