Sunday, December 28, 2008

Back to work tomorrow?

Christmas is over and tomorrow is back to work. Well, for me at least. The girls still have another week off of school. By the end of next week, Scott will probably be ready to give all the kids away. I think he is going to have the kids all day tomorrow and he has a shoot in the morning, plus he says he has a lot of work to do. Hopefully Amy can watch the kids on Tuesday to give him some quiet work time.
I had a really nice 5 day weekend. I had all day Christmas Eve off- Scott and I finished ( actually started and finished) our shopping. It's nice to actually get out shopping just the two of us once in a while. Christmas Eve night we went to my mom and dad's for our traditional pizza and presents. Travis was home so that makes it extra nice. Christmas morning mom and dad and Travis came over to our house to watch the kids open presents. I have invited them over for a few years cuz I don't want them to sit around all day on Christmas with nothing to do. At least this way we spend a couple hours together. Then we were off to Steve and Colleens for egg bake and presents. Their house gets really crowded with all of us, but no one seems to care. It will be interesting when Kyra starts bringing a boyfriend - just to see if we can fit more people in! There will always be room even if we have to sit on top of each other. That's what I like about our families! Christmas night we went to Scott's grandparents house for supper. Seemed a little weird without his grandma. I don't think she would have really liked it with everyone there though. She probably would have been more scared than anything and that's not healthy for her.
The kids got some stuff they really wanted- Haley got the complete set of Harry Potter books and a new camera. Hannah got a new camera and an ipod. Will- well what did Will get- Dinosaurs, tools, trucks- all the boy stuff any 2 year old boy could ever dream of!
Friday and Saturday were days to just play with new stuff and find room for all of it. We did pretty good. I was even able to put my whole new set of pots in the same cupboard as my old ones! Will's room needs to be a little bigger, but of course he has the biggest toys to find room for, so that will be a problem for a few more years I am afraid.
It was nice to have a couple of days to just spend at home. I even got some time to relax! We had movie night 2 nights in a row- wonderful family time!
Today I took down the tree and other decorations. Now I just have to get it all back under the stairs. Not really in the mood for that right now. Maybe tomorrow..........oh crap I have to go back to work tomorrow.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Christmas program day.....

This morning the girls had their Christmas programs at church. This is the first year that they are in seperate groups. Haley has moved up into the older group so we had someone to watch in each! This year I am helping with the primary Sunday School music, which in turn means I helped with the program. The prek- 3rd graders just had a little reading that was kind of like the 12 days of Christmas. The kids didn't have parts to say, they just had costumes to correspond to the reading. Hannah was Mary. Then the kids all sang 4 songs and they were done! Here is a close up of Hannah during the singing.




Then Haley's group did a program titled "Bethlehem Treasure". There were only a few that had speaking parts, the rest of the kids were the "choir". Haley had an extra part - she was the star. She had to wear a star costume and stand on some boxes. She was really nervous about the being up high part. It turned out the heat part is what she should have been worried about. I was watching her pretty close cuz I knew she was nervous. She started out great, but then she was fidgeting more and then I saw her put her hands on her legs and start to bend over. I knew then that she needed to get down! Luckily there was someone standing next to her just to keep her safe. He got her down just in time. 2 more seconds and I think she would have come down with a fainting thud! She came and sat with us instead of getting back on stage and she looked awful. There was no color in her face at all. When we got home she went to bed and took a 1 1/2 hr nap. Poor kid- I don't know if she is fighting off something anyway or if getting too hot was just too much. Here is a picture of her as the "star"


Well, Travis made it back today. His flight was supposed to come in yesterday, but due to a "crew shortage" his flights were delayed by a day. We met at the studio and took a family portrait before he even got to go home. Hopefully we got a good one for mom!
I suppose I should get the kiddos going and go get Scott. Mom is making a turkey for supper tonight since this is probably the only big meal she will cook for Travis this week. Our traditional Christmas Eve supper is pizza. Every year she asks what we want- like we are going to change a great casual tradition like pizza! Crazy thoughts!


Thursday, December 18, 2008

Goal- MAINTAIN

My goal for the next 2 weeks is not to lose weight, it is just to not gain weight! With all the goodies and busy schedules, that will be a tough one to keep. I have been really good and lost some weight in the last couple of months. I really, really don't want that weight back to start off the new year! I have been unmotivated to work out the last week or so. I still try, but have a hard time getting too much time in before I get really bored and come up with some excuse to stop. So - I must MAINTAIN until after Christmas, then I will work on trying to lose a few more. Think it can be done? Boy, I hope so!

As for Christmas- we haven't done much shopping, but we are probably done anyway. It's depressing to not be able to buy a lot of gifts, but we have to keep our priorities in check. No one really needs anything anyway. I guess this year we will learn to appreciate just spending time together. Not such a bad thing to concentrate on!

I think next year for Christmas I am going to ask Santa for 70 degree weather. I am not getting into this -10 stuff. The kids aren't real thrilled with it either. Everyone is going to get a little punchy over Christmas break if they can't get outside to blow off some energy. Gonna be tough on Scott- I think he is keeping all 3 of them most of the days that they are off. I'd better get him a big bottle of UV and Red Bull!

I suppose I should get to getting ready for the day. Another 2-4 inches of snow forcasted for today. YIPPEE! (note that was a sarcastic YIPPEE- I am not really excited about more snow!)

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

(Nearly) Toothless Hannah


She is now 6 teeth lighter. Yup, 6. She did awesome. This was the first time she has had to have any work done on her teeth. They gave her some "happy" gas and lots of novacaine shots. Poor kid- her only complaint afterwards was that she didn't like the gauze and she didn't like not being able to feel her lips. She was even able to eat some supper with us. I did take her to Dairy Queen and got her a blizzard for later. Hopefully someday she will have beautiful straight teeth and this will all be worthwhile.

Not too much else going on this week. I have been fighting some kind of crud for a few days and this morning I was pretty sure it was winning. I feel better now, so hopefully my immune system is stronger than whatever virus is trying to rear its ugly head.

Christmas is in two weeks......I have 1 more present to buy for Hannah and then the kids are done. I have bought nothing for anyone other than the kids. Not sure if I am even going to try to find small somethings for everyone else. I guess I'll have to talk to Scott and see what he wants to do. We got our Christmas cards today so Hannah has been helping me get those done. I am missing a few addresses, the rest are already in the mailbox!

Well, the kids are fighting, Scott left to go back to work and I am ready to go to bed- too bad it's only 6:00. Better get busy getting busy!

Sunday, December 7, 2008

First place Lego Leaguers!

Haley, Collen and I spent the day yesterday in Sioux City for the First Lego League Regional competition. Haley's team took first place in the "Rising Stars" category. Here is a quote from her coach's email regarding the category:

Rising Star AwardAt every tournament, there are teams that the judges notice and believe will soon be among the best and the brightest. The Rising Star Award recognizes a team that the judges believe stands out and that we expect great things from in future Challenges.

Now the pressure is on for upcoming years :-)

The kids were so excited! Now they are qualified to go to the state tournament on Jan 17 in Ames, IA. Of course the kids are raring to go! We will need to decide if/when we are going to go. Since Haley can't officially participate in the competition I am having a difficult time with justifying the expense of driving and a hotel room. She put in a lot of time and hard work so I don't want to disappoint her. I am sure we will end up going, whether it will be the whole family or not will have to be decided.

Here are a couple of shots from yesterday, the first is of "Shane" the robot. The second is right after the awards ceremomy. The kids don't look just a little excited do they?


Here's a travel tip for you: Don't trust the directions given to you by a third party. We ended up in Nebraska twice and had to call Scott for street by street guidance in order to find the competition location yesterday. It is a good thing that I am always early for things and that I don't get flustered or upset by things too easily. Boy were we ever lost!

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

my baby's on steroids!

Well, it could be worse. Will has croup so the dr put him on steroids to help keep the wheezing down. Hopefully a couple days of steriods and he won't sound like a baby seal anymore. He certainly has not lost his sense of humor though. We were in the exam room waiting and he was coloring. We were practicing our colors, he pulled out the yellow- and said "this is yellow, just like pee". Now there is something the girls would never have said. Most kids would compare yellow to the sun- not my little bubba!

I suppose I should get to making supper, just thought I would give a bubba update and give you all a little chuckle as well!

Barkin Bubba

I knew something was up when my cell phone actually rang yesterday. Normally Scott just sends me text messages to call when I have a chance. He called to tell me to call Amy so that I could listen to Will. Well, I called her and I could hear Will wheezing as soon as she picked up the phone. I tried to talk to him and he couldn't even get any words out cuz he was working so hard on breathing. I called the dr office and it took them an hour to call me back. By the time the nurse called I had already checked on Will 4 times and he was getting better. I made him an appt for this morning thinking that I would probably be able to cancel it. Well at 10:30 last night I was glad we already have an appt for today. The poor thing was barking and wheezing. Scott sat in the steamy bathroom with him for awhile and that seems to calm the cough down enough so Will can relax. I had him in the bathroom again at 5 this morning. So I am taking the day off work and making a trip to the dr. Hopefully it's just one of those things that will go away in a couple days, but with the wheezing I think we'd be better off making sure.

Other news? No, not really. It snowed last night- about an inch is all, but it looks like there is a chance every day starting Saturday. I just hope it doesn't snow alot on Saturday cuz I have to drive to Sioux City and back. I'd rather not have yucky roads to contend with!

Well, I suppose I should go see if Will is still awake. He was wanting breakfast 20 minutes ago, but I tried to get him to go back to sleep.

Wish us luck at the dr!

Friday, November 28, 2008

I did it!

I have officially hosted my first Thanksgiving dinner- and successfully even! Everything went well, the food was edible and no one got sick! I'd say that makes for a successful dinner. I only had to make one phone call to my mom while making the turkey- that was only cuz Scott made me freak out about the stupid little plastic bracket that holds the legs together. Just for the record- I was right. Here are a couple of pics from Thanksgiving- they are blurry- think my camera needs new batteries:
Turkey right out of package- seems a little scary, right?


Turkey after cooking- looks good, huh? Tasted ok if I do say so myself!


Mom making the gravy- I wasn't brave enough to try that yet!


Colleen carving the dead bird, didn't really want that responsibility either!


This morning I was up at 3:30, picked Colleen, Amy and Kyra up at 4:30 so that we could be at Walmart by the time the 5:00 sale started. What a crazy place that was this morning! You would never know that the economy was in the crapper by the amount of people that were out shopping today. I think maybe everyone else is having the same thoughts as me. Buy it cheaper and less of it! The kids are probably going to be disappointed this year, but hopefully they will realize that it's not all about how much you get.

Anyway, it is now 4:30 pm and I am ready to call it a day. Gotta find some supper for the family and then it will be nothing but snuggling on the couch. We have a wedding in Lamberton, MN tomorrow, so no sleeping in then either!




Tuesday, November 25, 2008

internet withdrawl

Our internet at home has not been working for the past 2 days. I finally asked Scott to try to fix it this morning. Whether it was him or just timing- it works now! Can you believe it is already the week of Thanksgiving? How crazy is that? Oh and just to add to the "time flies"- today is 11/25 - only 1 month till Christmas! I have 1 present bought, a couple ideas and no cash. Hmm- could be interesting!

This past weekend I went to the festival of trees. I went with Colleen and Amy. It seems like there were less trees to look at and less games for the kids. Will got to talk to Santa though, so all was well. He told Santa that he wants a dinosaur "THIS BIG". Picture short child holding hand WAAAAYY above his head. I think Santa may have to find a reasonably priced dinosaur to put under the tree or said small child will be very disappointed.

Well- this is it- my first Thanksgiving of cooking "the dinner". The turkey is in the fridge thawing. I have a time line all written up so hopefully I won't forget to start anything on time. As long as I don't ruin the turkey all should be just fine. I am planning on making a list of things that I want done tomorrow. Hopefully Scott and the kids will be feeling helpful on their day off. At least I only work 1/2 day tomorrow so I should be able to get some stuff taken care of.

I suppose I should go check on my other internet stuff and then actually get to getting something done.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Blast from the past

I joined Facebook a little while back. Most of my "friends" are people I went to high school with. People I would say hi to if I saw on the street, but wouldn't necessarily have a lot to talk about with them. Today I got a message from a girl that I met at church camp when I was in 8th grade. We kept in touch by writing actual letters - yes I am old enough to remember actual letter writing- sent with stamps and everything. We met up again at a church camp a couple years later in Colorado. She even came down one weekend and spent it with me - she lived in Montevideo, MN. After she graduated from high school- she was a year older than me, we lost touch. Anyway- today I got a message asking if I was the Wendy Bakker that she remembers from camp. Wow! How she found me I don't know, but how cool is that? It would be nice to have a "pen pal" friend again. She and I always seemed to have lots to talk about. Ok- so you probably don't care, but I was really excited!

Had a quiet day at work today- tomorrow will not be the same. Oh well, I prefer the crazy busy days anyway-I don't really like pretending to have things to do.

I suppose I should go check on "hacky"- that's Hannah. I think I might make her sleep downstairs tonight so I can get a good night's sleep. Just kidding, I am a mean mom, but not that mean- maybe tomorrow if she's not better..........

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

First orchestra concert

Last night was Haley's first orchestra concert. I'll be honest, I did not want to go, I was sooooo not looking forward to listening to a room full of kids squeaking and squaking. Turns out, the songs were short and few and the kids didn't do too bad. I tried to take a picture, but we were at the top of the bleachers and couldn't really even see Haley. I did circle her in this pic so I can prove I was there.
Haley's extra activities are going to keep us busy for the next couple of weeks. Saturday she has a scrimmage for Lego League here in town. Dec 6, she has her Lego League competition in Sioux City. Of course, Scott already has a session that day so I will be driving all 3 kids to Sioux City. Sounds like Colleen would like to go with me, so that will be a big help.
Next week is Thanksgiving- hmm, not sure how that snuck up so fast. I need to get my grocery list in order. Gonna be an expensive trip to Hy-vee this weekend.
Well, supper should be about done, then it's bath night, workout till I can't move anymore and off to sleep. Seems like I have my night all planned.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

been ahwile....

It's been a few days since I've posted. Do you suppose that means nothing is happening in my life or too much is happening that I don't have time to play on the computer? I think it's a mixture of both. I have been busy, but not with anything worth taking the time to write about. I have been slowly trying to get the carpets cleaned before Thanksgiving. Yesterday I shampooed the stairs- what a horrible job! That is definitley one thing that I do not want to do for a living! They do look better and the nastiness that was in the cleaner just proved how bad it needed to be done. I plan to do the living room and hallway next weekend.

Speaking of Thanksgiving- I think we got the menu pretty much worked out. Colleen and Amy stopped by yesterday so we could decide who would make what. I figure as long as we have turkey, potatoes, corn and pie, the rest is just bonus food. By my counts we could have up to 18 people here. That will be a nice sized family meal. Nothing like the 60 or so people that used to get together at my grandma Ackerman's, but I don't have room for that many anyway.

Haley has her first orchestra concert tomorrow night. She forgot to bring home the information sheet and only remembered to tell me yesterday. Sometimes I wonder how we ever get to all the things we are supposed to. Her brain doesn't work the same way mine does. I need to have things planned and in order. She is more like Scott, always just figures it will work out. Usually is does work out and that drives me crazy! Maybe someday I will be less of a freak about having things planned- doubtful. With 3 kids, eventually things are going to have to be planned a little ahead of time cuz I can't be in 3 places at once no matter how hard I try!

I suppose I should go see what the kids are up to. It has been too quiet for them to not be into some kind of mischief!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

What?????

I tell you, that little boy of mine gets funnier everyday. I was just giving him a bath and he looks me in the eyes and says "If that dinosaur tried to eat me, it would hurt." So matter of fact. What dinosaur were we talking about? Oh- we weren't talking about a dinosaur at all. That's why he is so funny- the random things that he spurts out all the time - what a goofball!

I go back to work tomorrow after a couple days home with the munckins. I like my job and the "grown up" interaction, but I wish I could spend more time with Will. The girls are so independent and do their own thing most of the time, but Will is growing up so fast, I feel like I am missing out on some of the best stuff with him. He can count to 10, say most of the alphabet- mostly in order, spell his name and make my heart melt with just one "i love you, mommy". Sometimes it makes me sad to think that he is my last baby, but I know that we are already spread too thin most days. I guess I will just have to keep him little as long as possible. All of the things that we want our children to do on their own, but as soon as they don't need our help anymore, it makes us sad. There just doesn't seem to be a happy medium.

I didn't accomplish nearly as much today as I did yesterday. I did get to the studio and worked on some stuff for Scott. I also got the laundry caught up. No shampooing today, though. Oh well, guess I know what I can do this weekend! Yippee!

I suppose, I should motivate the girls to get their school stuff ready. I have a feeling they will both be dragging a little in the morning. Tough to sleep in for 4 days and then have to get back in to the "regular" routine.

Monday, November 10, 2008

A day off?

Well today is day 3 of my 4 day weekend. I was up at 6, did 30 minutes on the elliptical, shampooed 3 bedroom carpets, took Haley to Lego League, picked Haley up from Lego League, took all 3 kids for haircuts, we did family pictures, took both girls to the orthodontist and soon it will be supper time. Yup, seems like a day off to me!

Today was Hannah's initial consult with the orthodontist. Poor kid has to have 6 teeth pulled. She has a cross bite that requires 4 of the pullings. The other 2 are molars that have permanent teeth growing into them. The xrays are pretty nasty looking. She is going to get to know the orthodontist very well I believe. On a good note- Haley does not have to wear her retainer anymore. Good thing- since she broke it and I was not looking forward to paying for a new one! She doesn't have to go back for 1 year. Then we will be talking about braces. Will better have nice straight teeth- the orthodontist doesn't give group discounts!

I wonder what I will do tomorrow? I can bet I won't sleep in. I also probably won't spend all day watching tv or playing. I need to do some bookwork for Scott and I really should shampoo the hallway and the stairs. I am going to wait to do the living room for another week or so- closer to Thanksgiving and a house full of company.

Time to start getting supper ready!

Friday, November 7, 2008

4 day weekend - WOO HOO!

That's right, I get a 4 day weekend. The girls don't have school Monday and Tuesday. Both of the drs I work with are out of town Monday and Tuesday. I decided that spending the day with my kids would be waaaaay better than sitting at my desk trying to come up with stuff to do. I am really looking forward to sleeping in and hopefully getting some stuff done around the house. Maybe we can even get in our other family picture that Scott is wanting to take. We are going to try to do a "dressy" picture. I even got Will a little suit outfit. I figure I should probably spend a little time figuring out what I am going to do for Thanksgiving too. I am having both families here for lunch. I am going to do the Turkey and a ham - both for the first time ever. I might try to convince the rest of them to bring all the other stuff. Colleen is great at making pies so I think I will leave those up to her, plus she can make them so Kirby can eat them too.





Oh - look at this:


Yup, that's snow. We got a little bit of snow overnight last night. Will thought it was pretty cool. It's not supposed to snow more this weekend, but I think it is supposed to be pretty cold. I am really not ready to deal with winter, but not much I can do about it. No use in complaining, not gonna change anything- right? I hope Will likes playing in the snow better this year. Last year it just made him really mad to get stuck in the middle of the yard.

I think it must be time to go relax in the jacuzzi tub. I am really feeling the need to sit in the dark and quiet and ignore the rest of the world for a few minutes. Sounds like a great way to start my long weekend!

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Halloween fun






The party went well. The weather was amazing! The kids were playing outside after they got done trick or treating- not usual for Halloween in SD. I was standing outside waiting for trick or treaters, the kids didn't have to have on snow apparel under their costumes- very unusual for Halloween in SD. I didn't get very many pics of just our kids in their costumes cuz by the time we were all dressed and ready their friends were already showing up for the party! I did manage to have one of Haley's friends take a pic of our family quick before the rest of the kids arrived.
The mummy wrap game:




Even got Kyra and Dan to join in:
Bobbing for apples:
The cutest little dinosaur you ever did see:
Scott is out of town this weekend at a photographer seminar. The kids and I kept pretty busy yesterday. We cleaned the house, got groceries, put away the Halloween decorations. We took Colleen to Look's Market with us. Scott wants me to make him some buffalo chili and I was feeling like I needed some moral support to go to the market. She was a good sport and went with eventhough she probably thought I was crazy. We went out for supper with Steve and Colleen, came home and all 4 of us snuggled in my bed and watched Lion King. If the weather is still really nice today, we might hit the zoo for a little while. Really we should just stay home and clean up the backyard before the snow flies. Maybe we can get that done while Will takes a nap........

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Pumpkin fun

There are so many things I could say about tonight's family project, but I think I will let the pictures do most of the talking for me.....



So, as you can see, Will loved helping daddy carve a pumpkin! Yeah, we carved pumpkins a couple weeks ago because the girls and I were all excited and couldn't wait. Well, those pumpkins are looking really sad and wilted so we got a couple new ones at Hy-vee (slim pickin' there) and carved them up when we got home.
I am really excited about throwing a party tomorrow for the kids. I hope they have fun- the weather sounds like it's going to cooperate and everything. YEAH!

Monday, October 27, 2008

Another weekend blown away

Literally- BLOWN, yesterday was so windy we had white caps in our toilets. Sanford Women's was having a fall family festival yesterday. It was supposed to be at McHardy park in Brandon. Thankfully they moved it indoors to Brandon Lutheran church. There weren't a lot of people there, I think most of them looked at the trees blowing over and never even thought to check to see if it had been moved.

We spent Friday and Saturday at the Expo for Her at the convention center. For being 2 days of standing in one spot, it could have been worse. It was steadily busy, so that is always a big help. Hopefully Scott will get a few calls this week for some sessions.

I don't think we have anything going on tonight. Tomorrow night Haley has a music concert at school. Wednesday night Hannah will be gone for Order of St George- I think Haley and I will start cleaning out the garage. Thursday night is Hannah's conferences and major garage cleaning. Friday night is Halloween and the party. Gonna be another busy week. Scott is leaving us for the weekend to go to a photography convention, so it will be a long weekend for me too.

Anyone want to go to work for me today? I feel like I need a couple days at home to get caught up on some stuff........No takers? Fine, I better go get ready then.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Thank goodness it's raining!

The only reason I say that I am glad it is raining is cuz I am not ready for snow. There is snow falling not too far from here. We have gotten 2 inches of rain in the last 2 days and it is still coming down. That would have been like 2 feet of snow! YUCK!

I spent yesterday at home with Haley and Will. Haley didn't feel good when she got up and by 6:00 she was throwing up. I sent her to bed and she slept until a little after 10. Once she got up, she was fine. It was nice spending a few hours alone with Will. We read, did some puzzles, worked on writing W, cleaned his toybox and played tickle monster. I don't get to spend a lot of one on one time with him. He really is a funny little boy. He reminds me so much of Haley at that age. Super independent, but if he wants help with something he wants it now! Hannah has always been a lot more easy going. I wouldn't want them to all be the same, how unexciting that woud be!

I went to the dentist yesterday and I was sure I had at least 3 cavities. My mouth has been so sore lateley. Turns out no cavities, no cracked teeth, just receding gums exposing nerves. When the dentist sprayed cold air on a couple of spots, my butt came off the chair. "I think we found the sensitive spot" Well, DUH! He told me to change to sensitive toothpaste and gave me a rx for some flouride treatments that I need to do everyday. If that doesn't help, I may end up with a root canal somewhere down the line. Oh joy!

I suppose I should go take a shower and get ready for work. Tomorrow I have the day off to help Scott at the Expo for Her. Hopefully we will get some more portrait sittings out of the 2 days of sitting in one spot! Since it was my idea for him to have a booth there, I feel like I should be there the whole time so he can leave if he wants to......hopefully it's not as boring as a bridal show.

Ok- seriously- gotta go get in the shower!

Monday, October 20, 2008

The end of a fun busy weekend

Usually our weekends are really busy with work related stuff. This weekend was maybe more busy than most, but it was with fun-related stuff. Saturday morning I went shopping with my mom and finally found a new comforter for our bed. We also went shoe shopping and hit a couple of stores in the mall. Hannah had her last soccer game of the season Saturday afternoon. Haley had a lego league meeting from 4-6. While Haley was at her meeting Colleen and I took Hannah and Will shopping for Halloween decorations and other party stuff. We got some really cool stuff, just need to find some lights or something yet. We picked up Haley and went out for supper. Pretty busy Saturday for not having a wedding!

Yesterday we went to Omaha to take pictures. Long trip for pics, but it was nice. We met up with a photographer that Scott knows there and wandered around the Old Market and an abandoned train depot. We took the kids to the "big slides" for a little bit and then hit Applebees before heading back home. Oh- I almost forgot- I got to have Schlotzsky's for lunch too!

All in all, we weren't home much this weekend, but we did get some family time in. Michael even took some family pics and some of just Scott and I. Hopefully he got some good stuff. I would love to have some new stuff for my office.

I haven't had time to figure out how busy we are this week. I don't think we have anything going on tonight, but past that I have no idea!

Better go get ready for a super fun Monday! (maybe if I tell myself it will be super fun, that will help?)

Friday, October 17, 2008

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

I am quite excited about the fact that it is Friday. We don't have a wedding this weekend, I am going out for supper with some friends tonight, and we are actually planning a family outing on Sunday! WOO HOO!


Last night the kids and I worked on pumpkins. Will and I painted and the girls carved. I don't have a lot to talk about this morning, but I wanted to post some pics of the pumpkins in progress. We didn't take any of the completed pumpkins- it was getting kind of late by the time they were done.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Chef Haley


Ok so she's not into fine cuisine or anything, but Haley is learning how to cook. She asked me to start teaching her how to make a few things. So far her "specialty" is french toast. I have been having her help me with supper at night just so she can learn a little bit about cooking. Now, I know, I am not the world's greatest cook, but my family seems to be getting along just fine. I won't be the one to teach her the fine art of cooking, but I can certainly give her the basics. Besides, I can't see Haley wanting to learn how to make new and creative dishes!

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Yellow pumpkins?

Well, the kids and I finally got around to making the sugar cookies tonight. I went to make the frosting and found out we didn't have any red food coloring left. Kind of hard to make orange without red. When Haley saw the yellow frosting she said "Since when is yellow a Halloween color?" My smart butt comment was "since mommy doesn't feel like making a trip to the store just for food coloring". So we have yellow pumpkins, yellow cats and yellow ghosts. What the heck, they will all taste the same anyway and I wasn't planning to enter them in any contest so who cares? The girls handed out invites to the Halloween party today so I guess I can't back out now. Hopefully not all the kids they invited can come, I think between the two of them they invited over 30 kids. That would be a little more than I am prepared for. I don't think it will be an issue though. Having the party on Halloween night will probably keep a few of them from coming. That and a few of the kids are of religions that don't celebrate Halloween.


I suppose I should get some work done. The laundry room is calling my name........wait maybe that's the bills on the counter......or maybe the dishes in the sink........or .....nope, I know it is the couch and blanket calling for me to snuggle and watch House. Yup, that's got to be it!

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Hannah the mechanic?

After 2 years of desperately needing new tires and brakes on his truck, Scott finally decided to take care of it. We got tires a couple of weeks ago and that made the brake issue even more pressing. This week Scott decided to fix the brakes himself. This week he also decided to paint the garage floor again. So- we have a nice clean shiny garage floor that we can't drive on for a week. Not the best timing to have to fix a vehicle, but that's the way life goes most times. For some reason, Hannah decided she wanted to help daddy fix the brakes. I guess Scott even had her using the impact wrench and taking off nuts. She is the girlier of the two girls so I think it's kind of strange that she is the one out helping, but whatever. I think Scott probably taught her the usage of some 4 letter words- he was having a tough time getting the rotors off. As long as she doesn't use the experience for show and tell at school it shouldn't be a problem!

Well, today is Saturday. Hannah has a soccer game at 9. We have a wedding in Luverne from 12-4. Tomorrow we have a bridal show all day. One of those weekends where no matter how fast I move, I will not get anything accomplished. I cleaned the house last night. This morning I mixed up some sugar cookie dough. The girls really want to make Halloween cut outs. I figured they could make cookies with grandma today. If grandma doesn't want to make them, we can do it this evening instead. I think pumpkin carving and painting will have to wait until next week, but that's ok.

I suppose I'd better get everybody ready for the game. At least it's not raining!

Friday, October 10, 2008

Too busy or uneventful life?

It's been awhile since I posted. I'm not sure if it's because I have just been really busy or if it's because we haven't really had a lot of excitement. I haven't been taking any pictures lately so that's part of it. I really want to take more pictures of everyday life, cuz the kids are growing up so fast. Colleen told me about a place that will print out your blog- pictures and all- and make a book out of it. I need to look into that. Sounds like a wonderful thing to have for the future.

We are busy trying to plan a Halloween party. I am going to let both girls invite some friends for games and trick or treating. I don't know how many kids will come since we are doing it on Halloween, but I figured I should take advantage of the years that the girls will let me help plan a party for their friends. Haley is getting dangerously close to being "too old" to let mom help. I am not looking forward to that, but she is so much like me that I know it is inevitable.

Ok s0 how perceptive are you? For the detail oriented, you will notice that it is 5:30 in the morning and I am blogging. Why is that strange? I should be out running. Coulda, shoulda, didn't. The alarm went off this morning, I got dressed to go running, I came downstairs and decided to go on the elliptical instead of freezing my butt off outside. I was on the elliptical for about 10 minutes and I couldn't take the clunking noise anymore- it needs a new bearing or something. So here I am - burning calories by typing. I think I am going to have to start doing my dvds in the morning. It is getting awful cold out overnight. I am definitely not a die hard runner. No winter running for me!

A quick request from those of you who read this. Please pray for my uncle Marv DeRuyter. He had surgery yesterday to remove a large mass from his thyroid. He has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. His surgery was pretty extensive and now they are waiting on some path reports. I am sure his family would appreciate a few extra prayers lifted up for them.

Well, I'd better at least do a few crunches this morning before I hit the showers. I'll see what I can do about blogging a little more often- I'll even try to get some more pics on here!

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Proud of my girls.....

Today was the last day of the Sioux Falls running club race for the kids. The girls did awesome. We had set goals for the girls so they could earn supper out and ice cream. Hannah's goal was to run her 1/2 mile in less than 4:30. Last week she ran it in 4:58. Today she ran it in 4:26. Haley's goal was to run her mile in less than 9 minutes. Last week she ran it in 9:29. Today she ran it in 9:09. Sooooo close to making it by her goal. Since both girls tried so hard and improved so much from the first race, I took them out for supper- McDonalds and then to Cold Stone for ice cream. Eventhough Haley didn't technically make her goal I was so proud of both of them for trying hard and not stopping to walk at all. The three of us had been going out at night and running a mile together to practice. I hope I can convince them to still go running with me eventhough the races are done. I think it is a good habit for them to get some activity every day. They spend so much time inside playing or reading and soon it will be too cold to go outside very much.

Ok- enough mommy gushing. I need to go tuck in all of my angels. Have a nice night!

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Happy Birthday to me!

Happy B-day to me! I am (gulp) 31 today! You know 30 wasn't so bad, so I suppose 31 will be just fine too. Scott bought me a carpet cleaner for my b-day and he even used it already! When I got off work yesterday he had the living room floor cleaned. I know, I know, men are not supposed to buy that kind of thing as a gift, but honestly it's what I wanted. Flowers are great, but they die. Jewelry is wonderful, but I can only wear so much at one time. Really- keeping our house looking nice is way more important to me anyway. I take pride in keeping a clean house, so when it's gross, I feel gross. Make sense?

Anyway, I will be spending my 31st b-day at a stranger's wedding. Oh well- that's the life of a photographer's wife! The kids are going to spend the night with mom and dad so that Scott and I can go out after the wedding. It will be nice to not have to worry about getting home right away so that grandma can go home. I don't know what we are going to do, I would like to go out to eat and maybe have a couple drinks. I would love to go somewhere that we could dance a little, but there isn't really a good place for that around here- Buck's is too country for us. Oh well, we never have really been big partiers so why start now?

Well, I'd better go get ready for today's wedding! Have a piece of cake for me today!

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Running cuz it's fun!

The girls are participating in the Sioux Falls Running Club's cross country races again this year. It's 3 Wednesdays, no cost, no "competition", just running to run. Haley's group has to run 1 mile, Hannah's group has to run 1/2 mile. The first run was last Wednesday. Yesterday both girls improved on their times from last week. I made a deal with them that if Haley can run her mile in under 9 minutes and Hannah can run her 1/2 mile in under 4:30, I will take them out for supper and to coldstone after the last race. Yesterday Haley ran her mile in 9:29 and Hannah ran her 1/2 mile in 4:59. Both girls want to run with me every night to practice cuz they really want cold stone! I really like these "races" because although there is a timer up, there are no prizes for the fastest. All of the kids get a popsicle when they are done, so they all feel like they've accomplished something. I think it's a great way to get kids out and moving! Here are a couple pics I took yesterday as the girls were running. The one of Haley is as she is finishin up her first lap- she had to run 2 laps. The one of Hannah is supposed to be her "finish line sprint".

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Big news!

Nope, just kidding. Got you to start reading though didn't it? Not much happening lately. I know I passed a Sunday and didn't do a weigh in report. That's cuz I am working on revamping my diet plan. I hit a wall with the last one and need to come up with something different. I think what I really need is some kind of implanted device that will render me completely paralyzed every time I try to eat something I shouldn't. I don't have a problem with getting up in the morning and working out. It's the evening munchies that win out in the end. But, lucky for you, I won't be writing about my weight for a little while. Maybe my next diet will be a secret and one day you will see me and exclaim "Wow, you're hot!" A girl can dream right?

Work is starting to settle down. The new dr is still trying to get in her groove, but it's coming along. The reception department has lost a few people recently so I have been spending my down time helping out on the phones. Boy am I glad I don't do that full time anymore!

What else is happening.......we had a bridal show on Sunday, it was busy but we didn't really have a lot of people that were talking to us. I think with our pricing, we are going to be a lot less busy. I'm not sure what I think about that. I guess as long as we are busy enough to keep the same amount of money coming in, we should be ok. With the economy going to crap, I wonder how much people are really going to spend on their weddings anymore. Might be lots of Vegas weddings in the future.

Haley made it on to the "lego league" team at her school. They are going to be building robots for a competetition. She is pretty excited. It will mean some afterschool meetings and probably a Saturday or two, but I think it's great that she wants to do some more creative, critical thinking kind of things. You can never go wrong with that kind of experience!

Well, I suppose I should get ready for work. Seems like it's going to be one of those days where I am just not in the mood to work. Too bad I think one of my supervisors is going to be working my front desk today. Guess I will just have to pretend to be working!

Have a good one!

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Can you catch a spider with a clamp????

This morning Hannah was getting ready to take a shower when she noticed a cute little friend in the tub......


Of course, being Hannah, she wouldn't dream of stepping into the tub and disturbing him. When mommy wouldn't go help her, she resorted to calling for Will. Will went in to check out the situation. From the living room , we could hear him say "Don't touch him Hannah, I will be right back." Will went to his room for what I assumed would be either his hammer or screwdriver, but lo and behold he comes out with a CLAMP! At this point I thought, "I have got to get a picture of this!"


Will was leaning way over the edge of the tub holding out his clamp saying "come here little spider, come here". Well little spider would have nothing of the sorts and mommy finally had to intervene with a kleenex. Poor Hannah almost had herself a heart attack when I tried to hand her the spider filled kleenex. One quick flush and our new little friend was gone.


Later Will had to go potty and he said he needed to use mommy's bathroom. When I asked him why he said cuz he didn't want to pee on the spider!


Life with Will is never going to be dull!

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Life thru the eyes of a 2 year old

Oh excuse me 2 1/2 year old. I don't really have much to blog about but there have been some cute Willisms lately that I thought I would share.

Ask him how old he is " I am 2 1/2." (he's not really- he won't be officially 2 1/2 until 10/18)

Ask him what his name is " Will, W I L L, Will" Sometimes just for good measure he will add an extra l or two when spelling his name.

At precisely 4 45 this morning Will was crying for me. It wasn't the usual "mommy, I have to go potty", so I peek in his door and ask him what is wrong. "Hannah stole my lawnmover". Well my dear little bubba, Hannah is still asleep way up in her bed, so I don't think she has your lawnmower.

The other day we were at Amy's and she and I were talking about the weather and how pretty soon we will be playing in the snow. Will piped in with "you can't play in the snow until you have your glubs on" And somewhere in the conversation about why there isn't snow "the snowblower needs to make it snow and it's turned off right now."

When I asked Will what he was going to do with daddy today "we are going to do stuff with screwdrivers"

At last but not least- when he hasn't pooped for a couple days and finally is able to- he has to look at it and always says "it's like a baseball!"

Have a good night!

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Blah blah blah

That is how I am feeling about my diet. BLAH freaking BLAH! Yup, it's Sunday and I got on the scale and YUP- my weight went up again. Today will be bad cuz we are having kick off Sunday at church so there will be food and then we have a potluck at Dr Bell's house tonight - so there will be lots of food. That means that I have to kick my will power into high gear the rest of the week. I know what the problem is, I just can't stop myself from snacking. I need to redirect my energies into working out or something instead.





This past week was pretty uneventful. Work was still pretty stressful, but that should be getting better slowly. There was a surprise this week- Travis is home! He showed up unannounced on Thursday and is here until next Sunday. He stopped by the studio on Friday and got to see Will, so he stopped by the house yesterday to see the girls. Hannah decided he was pretty comfortable to cuddle with. I did get Will close enough to him to get a picture of all 3 kids with their uncle.


The weather has been pretty yucky the past couple of days. Hannah's soccer game was even cancelled yesterday due to rain. It's looking pretty dreary today too. Guess we won't be at the Sunday School kickoff too long if the rain comes. That's ok- I think Scott has some running around he wants to do today and then it's off to the potluck!

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Seriously, is it Friday yet?

This has been a really really long week. I don't know if it was being at work at 7 two days in a row, the stress at work that I'm not used to dealing with anymore, not going running in the morning, who knows- probably a combination of everything, but this week has seemed neverending. Tomorrow is finally Friday!

Got an email from mom this afternoon saying that Travis is home. Huh, didn't expect that. I'm not sure what prompted this visit and he probably won't tell me either. Hopefully we will get to spend a little bit of time with him. The girls love picking on him so I am sure Will is going to as well. We don't have a wedding this weekend so they won't be able to spend all day Saturday driving him crazy like they usually do when he is home.

Not much else going on in my life. Scott is trying like crazy to get more sessions at the studio. Seems to be working a little - he has booked a few family sessions for the next couple of weeks. I don't know what happened to our big plan of trying to get caught up this summer, but we are no farther ahead than we were in March. Might be a long winter for us. I guess we just keep plugging away and doing what we can with what we have.

Well, Scott is out shooting tonight and the kids are getting ready for bed. Maybe I will crash a little early too.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

stress is very bad for my diet

Well I'm not stuck at 147.8 again this week- nope- went up. ARGH! I am a major stress eater and this week was very bad for that. I am back up to 149. Know what that means? This week I am going to have to torture myself. I think it's going to be about time to start working out to dvd's in the morning again. It is getting really cold during the night and the daylight time is getting much shorter. I think Tony Horton (p-90x guy) and I will be spending our mornings sweating together again. I hope to still be able to get some running in - probably in the evenings. If the weather warms up a little again I can run in the dark too.

We had a wedding yesterday- outside- in the rain. The ceremony got done just as the rain started to get more steady. Good timing right- well, the couple didn't see each other before hand so we still had to do all the pictures. At least we could get in to their reception location and we took all of the pictures there. Worked out fine and the couple didn't even seem too stressed over the deal.

Not too much else going on. The kids start Sunday school again today. I am not teaching this year. I just decided to take a break- when Will starts I will probably offer to teach his class for a couple years.

I hope it is nice out today. Maybe I can get an afternoon run in or something. It is dark and cold this morning and Will is up so I don't think I will get out before I need to take a shower.

Well, Will is yelling for me. Must be done with breakfast!

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Monster Free!

Will has been more afraid of noises lately and he is just sure we have monsters in the basement. He was telling everyone about it Monday night so grandma Meyer told her she would get him some monster spray. Well that sure got his attention! He was very excited about the thought of spraying to get rid of monsters! Last night she brought over a spray bottle of "Will's anti monster spray". Boy oh boy was he a happy one! He spent most of the evening monster hunting. He stood at the top of the stairs and kept spraying thru the railing towards the basement. He says next he needs to bring it to Amy's cuz "Amy's got big monsters too". Funny kid- smart grandma!

Well the new dr started yesterday and I had the biggest headache when I got home. Unrealistic expectations mixed in with overworked frusteration made for a rough afternoon. We just need to get thru the next couple of weeks and hopefully everything will even out for everyone.

On the workout front- with the headache I had yesterday, I didn't run last night. I did go this morning though and made it 3 miles again. It was awful cold out though! My hands were numb after the first mile and I didn't sweat until I got home and in the house. Think I will need to break out the sweatshirts pretty soon!

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Blame it on the rain.....

I didn't go running this morning. Not cuz I am lazy or didn't want to- I woke up to rain at 4:30 and decided then that I wasn't going to be able to run outside today. I did do 20 minutes on the elliptical though and if it is nice tonight I hope to go running after supper. Seriously I do, I promise.

Yesterday should have been a day to get stuff done, but really I did more relaxing than doing. I did get a lot of laundry done and got the house semi picked up. We had my folks, Scott's folks and Amy's family over for a mini potluck. I just thought it would be nice to have a relaxing end to the weekend with everyone. The kids got to spend some time playing together and the grown ups got to have a good sized meal without a lot of fuss. I like having everyone over, especially when the kids can go outside for awhile. They have so much fun together that they get a little loud in the house. I am glad that they play so well together though. I also like having both sides of the family over at the same time cuz I think it's great for my kids to see everyone as one big family instead of two separate ones. Maybe it's just me, but I like it.

Back to work today. Our new doctor is starting today so this next couple of weeks should be real interesting for me. Since I have never met her I have no idea what she is going to expect from me. I have already figured out that she is not very organized or into paperwork so that will keep me busier in itself. That's ok though, I like to be busy and as long as she is pretty user-friendly we will be just fine.

Well, I suppose I should get to it!

Monday, September 1, 2008

how to know you had a good family outing......

1. At least one person has really sunburned at least one part of their body . Check- mommy has pretty purple shoulders.


2. At least one person has nearly fainted from the excitement. Check- Hannah collapsed in the middle of the midway. We can call it excitement if you wish, but I think in reality she got a slight case of heat exhaustion.


3. At least one person lost their lunch. Check- Will threw up his supper, lunch and snack all at once in the car on the way home. He was trying to finish his sandwich so he could have his cookie and he choked.


So all in all we must have had a great day yesterday! Actually we did have a good time. We spent a good 8 hours at the state fair. Steve and Colleen and Amy & Cameron & the boys were all there too. The kids had a great time on the rides. It's so fun to see Haley going on all the rides, she is such an adrenaline junkie! The other kids follow her and go on all the rides too, but she is truly the one who is having the most fun.


Other than the fact that it was 90 degrees, 40 mph winds and felt like we were in the middle of a dust storm all day, I think everyone had a good time just being out and doing something. There are so many things we could/should have been doing at home, but sometimes you have to just stop and enjoy life instead.


Today will probably be a little more of doing the could have/should haves but that's ok too.


Well, yesterday was Sunday so I did do a weigh in. I was really worried cuz my will power has completely disappeared. I have still been running everyday, but eating has not been well controlled. Well, I am exactly the same weight as I was two weeks ago, not up not down. I guess I should just be thankful it didn't go up. I did up my running distance again. I ran a little over 3 miles yesterday morning. (yup and then I walked in the wind all day) I am taking today off of running cuz my legs are all cramped up from all the walking yesterday. I think I deserve a day off once in a while don't you? If you said no- shut up and run yourself! Besides the wind is still blowing this morning and I am not in the mood to fight it.


Well, I suppose I should go take a shower and figure out which of the " to get done before it snows" things I want to try to get done today. Happy official end of summer!

Sunday, August 24, 2008

a whole weekend off!

We actually had another weekend off! It was nice to get the house cleaned good. Hannah had a soccer game yesterday- the first of the fall season. She did pretty good considering she wasn't able to run or do anything too active all summer. It was apparent that she is a little slower and not kicking as hard as she was this past spring, but it will all come back in time.


Scott took Will running yesterday. Well, Scott ran, Will sat in his jogger and took a nap. I gave him my Ipod so he could listen to music and he was so darn cute I had to take a pic of both my boys before they headed out!


Well, today is Sunday, so yup, weigh in day. Kind of depressing. My weight is exactly what it was on Monday. I was afraid of that since I had been so munchie this week. Hopefully I can back on the "no extra snacks" track this week.


We went to the outdoor campus today to walk the trails and just have some nice family time. Will found a huge stick that he really wanted to carry around. He couldn't quite pick it up.....



I told him he should look for a smaller stick and this is what he found:


I have been doing a lot of cooking this weekend- trying to get a jump start on the week's menu. Yesterday I made another batch of Chicken Noodle Soup for my lunches. Today I cooked up some Chicken and Vegetable Toss that can be the base for a couple different recipes. I will use part of it this week and the rest for another meal next week. Kind of nice to have some more involved meals already half cooked!


Well, I should get another load of laundry done and take a quick gander at the bills to be paid and see what I have to get out this week!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

The back to school chaos has begun

Well today was day 2 of back to school. I am already trying to figure out how to keep the girls organized adn on top of things. I am hoping that I can get them into good habits right away this year so we don't have so many last minute things to do in the mornings. The first day went well, both girls were pretty excited. I took a couple pictures of the girls and then Will got his backpack and wanted to be in the picture too! He is so funny, he had to have "learning stuff" to take in his backpack to Amy's. I don't know that he will actually be interested in doing any of the stuff that we put in his bag, but that's ok.

Day 2 of school- Haley got hurt at recess and has a big ol' bump on her head. She also brought home some orchestra papers - she wants to try learning the viola. I have no idea how to play a viola or anything about them. We will need to see how much it is going to cost to rent/buy one. Hopefully not too much- I don't want to tell her she can't try something new. She seems really excited about it, so I want to encourage it as much as possible. The practicing could prove to be an issue for her, but we'll see.

Well, Hannah has soccer practice tonight and I have to be at work early again tomorrow, so off to get some laundry done before time to leave for practice!

Monday, August 18, 2008

WOO HOO

Just a quick post this morning cuz I am really excited! I actually lost weight on vacation. This morning's weigh in was 147.8. That's a whole pound lighter than when we left!

Ok- gotta go help the girls get ready for the first day of school!

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Last day of vacation

Today is the last day of summer vacation for the girls and the last day of our one and only family vacation this summer. I tried to post on Thursday before we left, but blogger was being uncooperative and I wasn't patient enough to type everything over. I did a pre-vacation weigh in on Thursday morning and I was 148.8. I will do a post vacation weigh in tomorrow morning. I did pretty good on the diet front though. I was trying very hard to eat well and I ran on the hotel treadmills every morning. I ran in the same clothes every morning so by this morning I was glad I was the only one in the fitness room cuz I could so smell myself. GROSS!

Well we had a pretty good vaca. Thursday we left around noon. We stopped at the outlet mall in Medford. Didn't do much for shopping there though. I had packed a picnic supper thinking we could go to a park and eat, but we just ate it on the hotel room floor. Then we all went swimming (We brought a "floatie" for Will and he was sooo excited!). After swimming, we watched a movie and crashed. Friday was Nickelodeon Universe day- lots of rides and more rides. The kids are all going to be little adrenaline junkies. There was a new roller coaster that I got the girls to go on with me and it was my favorite ride of the day! Saturday was Albertville outlet malls- we did lots of shopping there- Scott raked in a lot of new pants, which is what he really needed. Then we headed back to the Mall of America and did a little more shopping. We bought the kids each a webkinz cuz they were so well behaved in all the shopping. Scott suprised me with an ipod shuffle- an early b-day present that I have been really wanting for my early morning runs! Today we stopped at the Minnesota Zoo- bummer there- no dolphin show - that is really the only reason we went there, but oh well. All in all, a pretty busy crazy weekend, but still very nice to be away from home for a few days!

School starts tomorrow. Both girls seem to be pretty excited. Haley wants to get up at 5 am - crazy kid- can't drag her out of bed at 8 on the weekends!

Well, I want to get to figuring out how to use my ipod so talk to you later!

Sunday, August 10, 2008

It's Sunday, you know what that means.....

Weigh in day.... well it was better than I thought. I was pretty sure I hadn't lost any weight again this week, but lo and behold I am down another 1.2 lbs. That puts me at a loss of 5.6 lbs in the last 3 weeks. Seems a little sad that the loss is so little, but I know that an average of 1-2 lbs a week is the healthiest amount to lose and also easier to keep off so I guess I must be doing something right. I didn't go running this morning, decided to take at least this morning off. Depending on how the day goes I may decide to run tonight. Maybe we can do a family outing today that I can count as cardio. Otherwise a day off here and there is probably not a bad thing either.

I am getting really excited to go out of town for a couple days. I just got a bunch of clothes together for Will. I will try to keep on top of the laundry this week, but it is nice to know that if I get a little behind he still has enough to get thru. Me on the other hand, I will be washing everything I wear this week to get packed. I only have a few summer outfits that fit decent enough to wear in public.

Don't know what the plan is for today, but I am going to go enjoy it now!

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Little boys and baby frogs

Scott was mowing the yard this morning and found a couple of little frogs. I took Will out to see them and boy was he happy when he got to pick one up! Such a boy...


Will was up at 5:45 this morning so he and I went for a run. Boy is it a lot harder to run while pushing him in the jogger! I only made it 1 mile before I had to walk. When we got home the little goofball says "whew, running is hard work" Yeah, sitting in that jogger must be exhausting!

Friday, August 8, 2008

I did it!

I ran 2 miles this morning all by myself! Maybe you are thinking- well didn't you run 2 miles last week? Yes, but this morning Scott stayed in bed while I went running. Having him with me usually helps motivate me to push harder. Today I did the whole 2 miles and didn't even have to talk myself out of stopping, I just kept going. I am very proud of myself because I am pretty quick to give up when I start to get tired so this is a big deal - to me at least.


Yesterday mom and I took the kids to the fair. She gave them each $20 to spend how they wanted. The girls both decided not to get wristbands for the rides so that they could play games too. They seemed to have a pretty good time. Will went on the same car ride twice. He was so cute-he smiled the biggest smile he could fit on his face. Both times when the ride was done he tried to get out the car he was in and go right to another car. The last time he was getting pretty close to meltdown and he just stopped next to the ride and wouldn't come out. Good thing we were already planning to be on our way out cuz I don't think he could have lasted much longer in the heat.

Today Scott is shooting a wedding by himself and we have one tomorrow too. Hopefully Sunday is nice and we can get some family time in. Well, I can hear Will calling for me so better get him some breakfast!

Sunday, August 3, 2008

UGH!

Well it was weigh in morning. Technically I did lose weight this week. A whopping .6 pounds. Yup that is POINT 6. But, I did lose another 1.1% of body fat too, so maybe I am losing some of the jiggly and getting some buffness. That would be ok too. Really my main goal is just to look and feel better- I would love to get to my goal weight, but I would settle for cute butt flat stomach too. Hee hee- flat stomach, yeah right I have had 3 kids- gaining almost 60 pounds each time- that skin will never be taut again!

We had a good wedding yesterday, the bride and groom were really sweet. The bride gave me hug first thing at the salon so I knew it was going to be a great day. She was just so happy about everything. Those days are so nice. We have certainly had our share of the not so happy not so sweet.

Haley slept at Marli's last night for a b-day party so she will probably be a bear today. She never does real good after sleepovers and the whole sleep deprivation thing. I am hoping we can get out and do something outdoorsy and physical as a family this morning. We'll see what time she comes home and what time Scott gets up. I am ready to go do something right now, but I am a lot more of a morning person than anyone else in our house.

Well, I hear Romeo crying so I'd better go let him out and give him some breakfast. Any one want to come give the dogs baths today?

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Good morning!

Well it is Saturday August 2nd. Yup, AUGUST - how on earth is it August already? School starts in 3 weeks. That is a good thing though, the girls are both getting bored with summer break. We are going to get in a quick family vacation the weekend before school starts and then comes the craziness of homework, soccer and misc school functions.

On the diet front- I have been doing really good but I don't feel like I have lost any weight this week. Guess I will find out tomorrow. I am going to be bummed if the numbers didn't go down and God forbid they went up! I did have a few jelly beans this week and I felt so guilty afterwards that it so wasn't worth it. I was very good at work and passed on all the free food. There were 2 free lunches, cold stone and some homemade bars. No wonder I gained weight since I started there- free food all the time!

Well we have a wedding today. I start at the salon at 10 and we should be done for the day around 9. It's going to be a hot one so hopefully they don't mind melting. We are doing a lot of outdoor pics after the ceremony.

Well, Will is done with his cereal and Romeo is crying to go out so I guess I am done for now!

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Cast Free!

The tool:



The cutting:





The laughter that ensues as above tool vibrates whole body of little girl:




The stinky nasty foot that has been in hiding all summer:

(can you smell that where you are?)
Well, dr says Hannah's leg is healed well enough that she should be able to do all things kids do. She is in a little pain in her ankle as all of her muscles are kind of "stuck". Dr said to maybe use cructhes again for a few days to help her get the muscles back in order. Hannah doesn't want to use her crutches so she is trying really hard to walk. She is pretty slow today, but I don't think that will last for long!