If you hadn't already guessed, this is a Connor update.
Connor has learned a few new tricks lately (other than climbing on anything he can get his belly over)
1. Kisses. He learned this fun trick at Thanksgiving with my mom's family. We were trying to keep Connor entertained for a few minutes while we were getting ready to leave, so we passed him around to give hugs and kisses, not knowing he would ACTUALLY give everyone a kiss. But not just any kiss, that big, wet, slobbery, wide open mouthed kiss that everyone tries to turn their heads away from! Unfortunately for everyone involved he had no interest in giving cheek kisses.
2. Hugs. When Aiden gets ready for bed at night Connor will now make sure he gets a kiss, but in the process he usually ends up getting a hug too. This is because most nights he has to wrap his arms around Aiden's tummy to get him to hold still so Connor can give him one of his big ol' slobbery kisses!
3. Cardboard boxes. Connor has become the master of putting things into them, taking things out of them, pushing them around, climbing into them and sitting in them. I'm pretty sure Santa doesn't need to bring this kid a single toy, as long as he gets LOTS of empty boxes!
4. Duplo's. Finally, something that will keep Connor entertained for more than 30 seconds! Now that he has figured out how to get them to stay together he will sit with a pile of Lego's and stack them, pull them apart, and repeat for a good 10 minutes (which is an eternity compared to his attention span 2 weeks ago!) He is still working on the gravity thing, but he learning to build something other than just a perfectly stacked tower.
He is also working on his talking.
- 'num num' is probably the most frequently used word he has.
- The next two are his versions of tractor and cracker, which unless you see what he's referring to can be almost impossible to tell apart.
- 'bah' means ball
- 'ba' means bath
- mama, dada, budda (brother), oopa (grandpa)
And his sign language..
Please, more, and drink are the main one he uses. We're still working on 'Thank You' (he's usually too busy eating whatever he asked 'more please' for to bother with 'thank you')
It's hard to believe he's 17 months old already, but he's growing up so fast!!
Friday, December 9, 2011
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Stitches!!
Yesterday I had the joy of going through an experience almost all moms of boys go through at some point... stitches. To my amazement it was Aiden that needed stitches, not Connor.
I was getting Connor a snack so we could all head out the door for a Mary Kay thing as soon as Aiden got off the bus. The phone rang and it was the school nurse, Aiden was in her office with a bloody head. From what she could make out, he had missed a step and hit his head on a pole or something. She thought I probably needed to go get him and have a doctor look at it. I dropped everything, loaded Connor up, called the clinic to see if there was someone available to check him out, called to reschedule the Mary Kay appointment, and pulled into school as the last of the buses were loading up.
Aiden was still in the nurse's office, paper towel and an ice pack on his head. Somehow it was a head wound that didn't bleed very much. We determined he could stand on his own two feet, and I got him out of the building and into the van with him whimpering "I don't want to get stitches, mommy don't make me get stitches" I had no idea what they were going to do, so I just told him he needed to take deep breathes so his head didn't start bleeding again.
The nurse took us back right away when we got there, cleaned out the cut, and asked the usual how did this happen, who was there type of questions. Since it happened at recess at school he only had to answer them twice, not 4 or 5 times. The doctor looked at it, determined it was deep enough we had to do something, and let me know that gluing it COULD work, but since it was right on the hair line, it would probably be better to do stitches so it would have a better chance of healing without pulling back open.
This time there was no whimpering, it was sobbing..."I don't want stitches, no stitches, mommy, don't let them do stitches" Luckily I had backup that time. The doctor and nurse were able to convince him that they would tell him what they were doing, the actual stitches weren't going to hurt, the stitches would work much better than the glue, etc etc. So we got Aiden calmed down and they put on some numbing cream so the anesthetic shots wouldn't hurt so much.
Meanwhile Connor had decided to start investigating the cubpoards, drawers, and garbage cans, so the other nurses and receptionist offered to keep the cute little blonde boy occupied with balls, coloring, and wheelchair rides out in the hallway.
Once Aiden's numbing cream had soaked in a little they started cleaning the cut out again, and I realized I wasn't going to be much help passed out on the floor. They gave me a stool to sit on and I watched Aiden's toes wiggle while they gave him the anesthetic shots (the worst part by far), then put in 'three little stitches', and bandaged him up (with a pretty cool Cars 2 band-aid). All done!
We collected all of Aiden's goodies from the nurses station (he made out pretty well) and retrieved Connor from the wheelchair he had been riding around in and we were free to go. The first thing we did was call daddy to tell him all about it, then we headed home.
Once I got everyone unloaded and inside, Connor headed to his favorite perch... the top of the kitchen table. I took him down, but he climbed right back up. I heard Aiden say "Get down Connor, I don't wanna go back to the doctor!"
Aiden did pretty well the rest of the night. His head started to get a little sore so he got some Motrin, and he needed some help getting his PJ's on over the stitches, but nothing major... and no concussion! After 12 hours of sleep he was still exhausted, so he ate a few pancakes and headed back to bed. By 10 he was bouncing around the house, so I fed him lunch and sent him back to school with a new, bright pink bandage that he was VERY proud of!
I was getting Connor a snack so we could all head out the door for a Mary Kay thing as soon as Aiden got off the bus. The phone rang and it was the school nurse, Aiden was in her office with a bloody head. From what she could make out, he had missed a step and hit his head on a pole or something. She thought I probably needed to go get him and have a doctor look at it. I dropped everything, loaded Connor up, called the clinic to see if there was someone available to check him out, called to reschedule the Mary Kay appointment, and pulled into school as the last of the buses were loading up.
Aiden was still in the nurse's office, paper towel and an ice pack on his head. Somehow it was a head wound that didn't bleed very much. We determined he could stand on his own two feet, and I got him out of the building and into the van with him whimpering "I don't want to get stitches, mommy don't make me get stitches" I had no idea what they were going to do, so I just told him he needed to take deep breathes so his head didn't start bleeding again.
The nurse took us back right away when we got there, cleaned out the cut, and asked the usual how did this happen, who was there type of questions. Since it happened at recess at school he only had to answer them twice, not 4 or 5 times. The doctor looked at it, determined it was deep enough we had to do something, and let me know that gluing it COULD work, but since it was right on the hair line, it would probably be better to do stitches so it would have a better chance of healing without pulling back open.
This time there was no whimpering, it was sobbing..."I don't want stitches, no stitches, mommy, don't let them do stitches" Luckily I had backup that time. The doctor and nurse were able to convince him that they would tell him what they were doing, the actual stitches weren't going to hurt, the stitches would work much better than the glue, etc etc. So we got Aiden calmed down and they put on some numbing cream so the anesthetic shots wouldn't hurt so much.
Meanwhile Connor had decided to start investigating the cubpoards, drawers, and garbage cans, so the other nurses and receptionist offered to keep the cute little blonde boy occupied with balls, coloring, and wheelchair rides out in the hallway.
Once Aiden's numbing cream had soaked in a little they started cleaning the cut out again, and I realized I wasn't going to be much help passed out on the floor. They gave me a stool to sit on and I watched Aiden's toes wiggle while they gave him the anesthetic shots (the worst part by far), then put in 'three little stitches', and bandaged him up (with a pretty cool Cars 2 band-aid). All done!
We collected all of Aiden's goodies from the nurses station (he made out pretty well) and retrieved Connor from the wheelchair he had been riding around in and we were free to go. The first thing we did was call daddy to tell him all about it, then we headed home.
Once I got everyone unloaded and inside, Connor headed to his favorite perch... the top of the kitchen table. I took him down, but he climbed right back up. I heard Aiden say "Get down Connor, I don't wanna go back to the doctor!"
Aiden did pretty well the rest of the night. His head started to get a little sore so he got some Motrin, and he needed some help getting his PJ's on over the stitches, but nothing major... and no concussion! After 12 hours of sleep he was still exhausted, so he ate a few pancakes and headed back to bed. By 10 he was bouncing around the house, so I fed him lunch and sent him back to school with a new, bright pink bandage that he was VERY proud of!
Monday, November 28, 2011
the EXTRA long holiday weekend
So the long holiday weekend started a little earlier than expected when Aiden came home on Tuesday with a note letting us know that there would be no school on Wednesday (due to needing to shut the water off for a water main repair that never actually happened). Therefore, instead of a quick afternoon of decorating cookies on my own, we started the process fairly early Wednesday morning and had them ALL decorated before lunch without eating a single cookie!
Thursday we headed over to the in-laws for our first turkey dinner of the weekend. Connor played with his cousin Kaylee, no matter how little she wanted him to touch HER toys. Every time Kaylee set a toy down, Connor would immediately pick it up, and she was NOT a fan of that. By the end of the day they did learn to play nicely together, and were actually scheming to help each other tear the house apart! Aiden helped the boys, mostly uncle Jim, outside with the logging project, and I helped Tanya & Anita get the food ready before everyone else got there for lunch. Aiden set the table with all the handmade decorations/party favors for each place setting and Bev contributed chocolate turkeys for everyone. After a Kwik-Star run for chips for the taco salad dinner was served, and everything was delicious! Eventually we decided we were hungry again and repeated the above meal for supper. Aiden got permission to have a sleepover, and Brian and I headed home to put baby Connor to bed.
Friday morning I got to sleep in because I didn't have to be to workout til 7. I was REALLY glad I didn't over do it with the desserts on Thursday, because we ran and ran some more! After workout I came home to 2 sleeping boys, yes Brian AND Connor slept in past 8! I got everyone moving and went back up to the in-laws to wait for the Menard's truck so Tom & Brian could get a few hours of work in. 2 hours later they finally let us know the truck wasn't coming until after lunch, so the boys and I headed to town to run some errands and play with the Chyma boys for a little bit. The next step was feeding the boys lunch, packing everyone's stuff for the next 2 1/2 days, cleaning the van, and loading everything up so we could leave after Brian got home from work and in time to let Connor take a nap on the road. Somehow I succeeded, though I could have used a little more patience during that 2 hour time frame.
After an uneventful, though windy, drive back to Carroll, we stopped at Wal-Mart to pick up a few things for Alayna then headed to Templeton to check Alayna's newest residence. Connor learned he had to go down the steps backward if he wanted to cover the entire house, and Aiden got a few wrestling tips from Kenny. We took the boys back to my parents, decided where everyone was sleeping, and crashed on the couch with a movie.
Friday morning was cinnamon rolls in the waffle maker for breakfast (apparently something Alicia found on Pinterest) then 5 people showering and getting ready in 90 minutes with 1 shower, and another half bath. Amazingly, we were all ready to go on time (even dad), and we were on the road to Omaha to watch the first half of the ISU game at Clancy's pub before we headed to the Ortner residence for turkey dinner number 2. Everything was delicious, and the boys had a great time playing with my cousins and their kids. The big boys left a little early for their shopping date at Cabella's, and my sisters and I took the boys back in the van.
The ride was pretty tame while Connor slept for about an hour, but once he woke up things really started to liven up. By that I mean we started Alicia & Aiden's DJ Dance party in the back of the Chevy Venture. Everybody was havin a great time dancing and singing all the usual songs (and a few less conventional ones such as J-Lo's 'Sweep the Floor') I'm very thankful that there were no cops on the road, because between trying to keep the van from blowing all over the road, controlling my speed going down the hills, and trying to keep an eye on everyone in the back seat my driving couldn't have been the best ever. But we made it back to Alayna's safe and sound and waited for mom & dad to get back with the pizza.
After pizza the boys went with grandma & grandpa, and my sisters and I and the 3 significant others decided we should play a few card games to stay awake. I think it was the first time we had all three of us and our significant others had been together without parents or kids, ever. everyone had a good time, and it was quite a bonding experience for everyone. We're definitely getting old, cuz everyone was asleep by 11:30 so we could get up and get to church the next morning.
After church the boys played Trouble and Connect 4 while we got brunch ready. Connor decided he'd had enough, so we were back on the road for hours 7-10 in the car for the weekend. After back tracking a few miles to retrieve the purse I could have sworn I'd never taken out of the van, we were actually on the road. Unfortunately it was just as windy as the rest of the weekend, but we made it home with plenty of time to eat supper and turn the Thanksgiving tree into a true Christmas tree with lots of ornaments before the boys went to bed.
I thought I had done a pretty good job of pacing myself on all the delicious food, but I'm pretty sure the Saturday night beverages did me in. 5am workout was a challenge this morning, but I survived and its a good thing because this week is a very busy one...lots of appointments and a few extra morning workouts to undo all the eating!! Looking forward to a great week this week :D
Thursday we headed over to the in-laws for our first turkey dinner of the weekend. Connor played with his cousin Kaylee, no matter how little she wanted him to touch HER toys. Every time Kaylee set a toy down, Connor would immediately pick it up, and she was NOT a fan of that. By the end of the day they did learn to play nicely together, and were actually scheming to help each other tear the house apart! Aiden helped the boys, mostly uncle Jim, outside with the logging project, and I helped Tanya & Anita get the food ready before everyone else got there for lunch. Aiden set the table with all the handmade decorations/party favors for each place setting and Bev contributed chocolate turkeys for everyone. After a Kwik-Star run for chips for the taco salad dinner was served, and everything was delicious! Eventually we decided we were hungry again and repeated the above meal for supper. Aiden got permission to have a sleepover, and Brian and I headed home to put baby Connor to bed.
Friday morning I got to sleep in because I didn't have to be to workout til 7. I was REALLY glad I didn't over do it with the desserts on Thursday, because we ran and ran some more! After workout I came home to 2 sleeping boys, yes Brian AND Connor slept in past 8! I got everyone moving and went back up to the in-laws to wait for the Menard's truck so Tom & Brian could get a few hours of work in. 2 hours later they finally let us know the truck wasn't coming until after lunch, so the boys and I headed to town to run some errands and play with the Chyma boys for a little bit. The next step was feeding the boys lunch, packing everyone's stuff for the next 2 1/2 days, cleaning the van, and loading everything up so we could leave after Brian got home from work and in time to let Connor take a nap on the road. Somehow I succeeded, though I could have used a little more patience during that 2 hour time frame.
After an uneventful, though windy, drive back to Carroll, we stopped at Wal-Mart to pick up a few things for Alayna then headed to Templeton to check Alayna's newest residence. Connor learned he had to go down the steps backward if he wanted to cover the entire house, and Aiden got a few wrestling tips from Kenny. We took the boys back to my parents, decided where everyone was sleeping, and crashed on the couch with a movie.
Friday morning was cinnamon rolls in the waffle maker for breakfast (apparently something Alicia found on Pinterest) then 5 people showering and getting ready in 90 minutes with 1 shower, and another half bath. Amazingly, we were all ready to go on time (even dad), and we were on the road to Omaha to watch the first half of the ISU game at Clancy's pub before we headed to the Ortner residence for turkey dinner number 2. Everything was delicious, and the boys had a great time playing with my cousins and their kids. The big boys left a little early for their shopping date at Cabella's, and my sisters and I took the boys back in the van.
The ride was pretty tame while Connor slept for about an hour, but once he woke up things really started to liven up. By that I mean we started Alicia & Aiden's DJ Dance party in the back of the Chevy Venture. Everybody was havin a great time dancing and singing all the usual songs (and a few less conventional ones such as J-Lo's 'Sweep the Floor') I'm very thankful that there were no cops on the road, because between trying to keep the van from blowing all over the road, controlling my speed going down the hills, and trying to keep an eye on everyone in the back seat my driving couldn't have been the best ever. But we made it back to Alayna's safe and sound and waited for mom & dad to get back with the pizza.
After pizza the boys went with grandma & grandpa, and my sisters and I and the 3 significant others decided we should play a few card games to stay awake. I think it was the first time we had all three of us and our significant others had been together without parents or kids, ever. everyone had a good time, and it was quite a bonding experience for everyone. We're definitely getting old, cuz everyone was asleep by 11:30 so we could get up and get to church the next morning.
After church the boys played Trouble and Connect 4 while we got brunch ready. Connor decided he'd had enough, so we were back on the road for hours 7-10 in the car for the weekend. After back tracking a few miles to retrieve the purse I could have sworn I'd never taken out of the van, we were actually on the road. Unfortunately it was just as windy as the rest of the weekend, but we made it home with plenty of time to eat supper and turn the Thanksgiving tree into a true Christmas tree with lots of ornaments before the boys went to bed.
I thought I had done a pretty good job of pacing myself on all the delicious food, but I'm pretty sure the Saturday night beverages did me in. 5am workout was a challenge this morning, but I survived and its a good thing because this week is a very busy one...lots of appointments and a few extra morning workouts to undo all the eating!! Looking forward to a great week this week :D
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Happy Thanksgiving!!
So I got a late start on my 'Month of Thankfulness' posts on Facebook, and I'm pretty sure I've missed more days than I've hit. Really not because I'm not thankful for anything, I think I just put too much thought into what to be thankful for each day, then got distracted and never posted. So here's a very random list, because one per day just doesn't work for me.
I AM THANKFUL FOR...
a husband who helped fold 4 loads of laundry when I got home from my meeting last night because he was going to start working on it when I called to let him know I was on my way home.
Christmas music to sing along to on my way home from my MK success night (even tho I forgot to call to let Brian know I was on my way home.)
a 16 month old boy who finally decided to start sleeping past 5am!
my mom for getting up with said little boy at 5:30am when she comes to visit for the weekend so the rest of the house can get some sleep.
parents that come to visit just because they miss us!
a 5 year old who wants us to read him chapter after chapter of 'The Box Car Children' books, and not even just to stall before bed time!
kindergarten teachers that keep parents in the loop and tell you how much they enjoy your child at school.
a great group of women to work out with EARLY in the morning and an awesome trainer that pushes everyone to do their own personal best, whatever that may be.
my health and my aching body after a really tough workout, I never thought I'd have the strength to do many of the things we do!
a new house with warm floors and a hot shower each and everyday (and for a husband that fills the woodburner so I can stay nice and warm)
amazing Mary Kay women that keep on going no matter what they've been through. Such an inspiration and such awesome friends.
having a 'job' with a company that not only thinks its important for women to have 'balance' in their lives, but provides free training on what balance means and many suggestions on how to find that balance.
kids that have the most fun when they are playing with empty boxes and creating 'crafts' out of paper plates and scrap paper. Reminds me of stuff I did when I was little.
a mom that made us cardboard box castles and provided us with all the craft supplies we could ever imagine using.
sisters that want to spend an entire weekend crafting (never thought I'd see that day)
growing up with parents that never pretended that life was always going to be easy, and always working hard to make it better.
parents-in-law that welcomed me into their family from the very beginning and that get along great with my parents.
an adorable niece that makes my children look like the 'wild things' from a certain story book compared to her.
an extended family (on all sides) that loves and supports us no matter how far apart we are or how often we get together.
having not just one but THREE Thanksgiving celebrations in one... long... turkey filled... weekend! (We'll see how thankful I am for all that food at 5:15 on Monday morning!)
I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving Day (and weekend) filled with lots of great food, surrounded by people who love you.
One last quote... "What if you woke up this morning with only what you thanked God for last night"
I AM THANKFUL FOR...
a husband who helped fold 4 loads of laundry when I got home from my meeting last night because he was going to start working on it when I called to let him know I was on my way home.
Christmas music to sing along to on my way home from my MK success night (even tho I forgot to call to let Brian know I was on my way home.)
a 16 month old boy who finally decided to start sleeping past 5am!
my mom for getting up with said little boy at 5:30am when she comes to visit for the weekend so the rest of the house can get some sleep.
parents that come to visit just because they miss us!
a 5 year old who wants us to read him chapter after chapter of 'The Box Car Children' books, and not even just to stall before bed time!
kindergarten teachers that keep parents in the loop and tell you how much they enjoy your child at school.
a great group of women to work out with EARLY in the morning and an awesome trainer that pushes everyone to do their own personal best, whatever that may be.
my health and my aching body after a really tough workout, I never thought I'd have the strength to do many of the things we do!
a new house with warm floors and a hot shower each and everyday (and for a husband that fills the woodburner so I can stay nice and warm)
amazing Mary Kay women that keep on going no matter what they've been through. Such an inspiration and such awesome friends.
having a 'job' with a company that not only thinks its important for women to have 'balance' in their lives, but provides free training on what balance means and many suggestions on how to find that balance.
kids that have the most fun when they are playing with empty boxes and creating 'crafts' out of paper plates and scrap paper. Reminds me of stuff I did when I was little.
a mom that made us cardboard box castles and provided us with all the craft supplies we could ever imagine using.
sisters that want to spend an entire weekend crafting (never thought I'd see that day)
growing up with parents that never pretended that life was always going to be easy, and always working hard to make it better.
parents-in-law that welcomed me into their family from the very beginning and that get along great with my parents.
an adorable niece that makes my children look like the 'wild things' from a certain story book compared to her.
an extended family (on all sides) that loves and supports us no matter how far apart we are or how often we get together.
having not just one but THREE Thanksgiving celebrations in one... long... turkey filled... weekend! (We'll see how thankful I am for all that food at 5:15 on Monday morning!)
I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving Day (and weekend) filled with lots of great food, surrounded by people who love you.
One last quote... "What if you woke up this morning with only what you thanked God for last night"
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Life updates - October
Ok, I realized I haven't updated this in over a month. Not that I have time now, but I'll never have time so I'll do it anyway.
Aidea is LOVING kindergarten. They spent the first few weeks talking about butterflies, so if there is any stage of the butterfly life cycle you'd like to know more about, ask Aiden. Today was farm day, so they got to dress up as farmers and take farm toys. I had to limit Aiden to the amount he could fit in his backpack, and made him mark them so he got all the right ones back home. I told him he could take enough to share with anyone who didn't have farm toys. I'm not sure that he believed anyone could survive without farm toys!!
He is now down TWO teeth, and has decided he will just pull the next 2 himself so daddy doesn't have to do it! With his new grown up teeth coming in, I'm having to deal with the fact that he's probably never just gonna be my sweet baby boy again. With that said, I am also having a hard time remembering he's only 5 and that "How many times do I have to tell you" is probably a question I don't want to know the answer to.
Brothers - He is a great big brother. He loves to play hide-n-seek with Connor and try to surprise him by hiding behind a chair or around the corner and yelling 'BOO'. Connor loves it! He giggles so hard he can hardly walk, then he goes wobbling after big brother for more. Yesterday the boys went to Brian's grandma's for an hour between me needing to leave for a meeting and Brian getting back from work. As we pulled up I asked Aiden to help great-grandma with Connor as much as possible. He said "OK, I'll be a good big brother and keep Connor out of stuff since great-grandma can't move so fast any more" (From the sounds of it they were all three worn out by the time Brian got there.)
Connor is a busy little boy. His favorite pass time is opening cupboard doors and pulling things out. Especially the pantry and tupperware doors. His communication is getting better. He knows the signs for please, and drink. He also says 'num num, bananana, cacker (cracker), and bye bye. Occasionally he gets out a dadada or mamama, and grandma and grandpa are 'oopah'
I have been working on getting him a little more used to not being attached to me. He seems to do fine when I sneak out of the room while he's distracted. We went to MOPS this morning and he was with people he didn't know at ll for 2 hours and did great.
Brian is STILL working up at Stacyville. They've decided to spend a couple days a week working closer to home getting small projects wrapped up before winter, so hopefully the boys and I will get to see him a little more those days.
Me - I have been getting up at 4:50 am 3 days a week since the beginning of Sept for a fitness class with about 15 other women. I can tell that I'm stronger and can run a little farther, but chocolate still seems to be my enemy. I am enjoying having more energy and the workouts are a great start to my day, even though they are REALLY early.
I spent last weekend in Mankato at a Mary Kay retreat. It was great to have a girls weekend, and very refreshing to spend time with women who were focused on moving forward and improving their lives and businesses despite everything life had thrown at them. One of the women said that everyone has their own problems. If we were all told to lay our problems out on the table for everyone to see and then choose a set to pick back up, we would all choose take our own problems back over anyone else's. We talked about how to keep a positive attitude and having someone to be accountable to in order to help stay on track. We also talked about the necessity of getting out of our comfort zone, and expanding that comfort zone, in order to grow and reach our goals and dreams. As always, I came home excited about my goals for my business and the dreams I know it can help our family achieve. And then I got on the phone and stepped out of my comfort zone.
Aidea is LOVING kindergarten. They spent the first few weeks talking about butterflies, so if there is any stage of the butterfly life cycle you'd like to know more about, ask Aiden. Today was farm day, so they got to dress up as farmers and take farm toys. I had to limit Aiden to the amount he could fit in his backpack, and made him mark them so he got all the right ones back home. I told him he could take enough to share with anyone who didn't have farm toys. I'm not sure that he believed anyone could survive without farm toys!!
He is now down TWO teeth, and has decided he will just pull the next 2 himself so daddy doesn't have to do it! With his new grown up teeth coming in, I'm having to deal with the fact that he's probably never just gonna be my sweet baby boy again. With that said, I am also having a hard time remembering he's only 5 and that "How many times do I have to tell you" is probably a question I don't want to know the answer to.
Brothers - He is a great big brother. He loves to play hide-n-seek with Connor and try to surprise him by hiding behind a chair or around the corner and yelling 'BOO'. Connor loves it! He giggles so hard he can hardly walk, then he goes wobbling after big brother for more. Yesterday the boys went to Brian's grandma's for an hour between me needing to leave for a meeting and Brian getting back from work. As we pulled up I asked Aiden to help great-grandma with Connor as much as possible. He said "OK, I'll be a good big brother and keep Connor out of stuff since great-grandma can't move so fast any more" (From the sounds of it they were all three worn out by the time Brian got there.)
Connor is a busy little boy. His favorite pass time is opening cupboard doors and pulling things out. Especially the pantry and tupperware doors. His communication is getting better. He knows the signs for please, and drink. He also says 'num num, bananana, cacker (cracker), and bye bye. Occasionally he gets out a dadada or mamama, and grandma and grandpa are 'oopah'
I have been working on getting him a little more used to not being attached to me. He seems to do fine when I sneak out of the room while he's distracted. We went to MOPS this morning and he was with people he didn't know at ll for 2 hours and did great.
Brian is STILL working up at Stacyville. They've decided to spend a couple days a week working closer to home getting small projects wrapped up before winter, so hopefully the boys and I will get to see him a little more those days.
Me - I have been getting up at 4:50 am 3 days a week since the beginning of Sept for a fitness class with about 15 other women. I can tell that I'm stronger and can run a little farther, but chocolate still seems to be my enemy. I am enjoying having more energy and the workouts are a great start to my day, even though they are REALLY early.
I spent last weekend in Mankato at a Mary Kay retreat. It was great to have a girls weekend, and very refreshing to spend time with women who were focused on moving forward and improving their lives and businesses despite everything life had thrown at them. One of the women said that everyone has their own problems. If we were all told to lay our problems out on the table for everyone to see and then choose a set to pick back up, we would all choose take our own problems back over anyone else's. We talked about how to keep a positive attitude and having someone to be accountable to in order to help stay on track. We also talked about the necessity of getting out of our comfort zone, and expanding that comfort zone, in order to grow and reach our goals and dreams. As always, I came home excited about my goals for my business and the dreams I know it can help our family achieve. And then I got on the phone and stepped out of my comfort zone.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
I love Fall !!!!
Finally... the weather is cooling off, we're back into a school routine, and FOOTBALL has started :D This is by far my most favoritest (yeah, I know it's not a word) season.
Aiden is back to school...he's in kindergarten this year. He is already on his 3rd 'full' week. The first day he informed me that he got to ride the bus twice, had THREE recesses, they had cheeseburgers (his favorite) for lunch, and snack was a really yummy yellow thing with white frosting (honestly I think it was a Twinky). After all, those ARE the most important parts of kindergarten!
After the first or second day of school grandma Sullivan came down to ask how Aiden's day went, but he was busy watching TV. (I think his brain was fried) I finally shut the TV off and he talked for about 5 minutes, got up and turned the TV back on, and said, "Ok, you can leave now" I think the big kid attitude has struck!! Luckily for his teacher the attitude only seems to happen at home. They get 3 pennies at the beginning of each day, and their goal is to make good decisions so they can keep their pennies. Aiden has only lost one penny so far, although I have not been informed how he lost it.
Oh yeah, he also has 2 loose teeth...yeah, loose teeth already. I told him to just keep wiggling them, which is kinda freaking Brian out. Apparently he prefers the yank 'em out approach :S Well whenever they fall out, Aiden is very excited for the tooth fairy, who will be delivering a surprise to the kitchen counter, NOT under the pillow!!
Connor is adjusting pretty well to having mom and most of the house to himself all day. He's not always too happy that he has to go back in the house after Aiden gets on the bus, but I think its more because he loves to play outside than wanting his brother to come back. By the end of the day, however, he is VERY excited when big brother walks in the house.
Connor has definitely given up on the crawling thing. He walks everywhere and even carries things with him, which is great news for my floors! He doesn't really talk yet, but there are recognizable sounds such as uh-oh, and buh (book), bah (bath) and who dah? (whats that?) He is also starting to learn that words mean different things. I can tell him to go get something like a book or a toy and he can go find it and give it to me. He is a goofball pretty much all the time, and loves to play with Brian before he has to go to bed at night.
For as little effort as we put into the garden (after we planted it) we got a pretty decent crop this year. The rabbits took care of the peas, beans, lettuce, and most broccoli, but we got a few ears of corn before the coons took over, and lots of carrots. We even have a few peppers, which I forgot were even still buried in all the weeds. Next year I think we will skip the corn (the coons are impossible to keep out) but at least attempt to keep the rabbits out so we can have a little larger variety.
Well this got a little longer than anticipated...I guess I will do a part 2 for anyone who cares what I have been up to lately (oh, and Brian, can't forget about him!!)
Aiden is back to school...he's in kindergarten this year. He is already on his 3rd 'full' week. The first day he informed me that he got to ride the bus twice, had THREE recesses, they had cheeseburgers (his favorite) for lunch, and snack was a really yummy yellow thing with white frosting (honestly I think it was a Twinky). After all, those ARE the most important parts of kindergarten!
After the first or second day of school grandma Sullivan came down to ask how Aiden's day went, but he was busy watching TV. (I think his brain was fried) I finally shut the TV off and he talked for about 5 minutes, got up and turned the TV back on, and said, "Ok, you can leave now" I think the big kid attitude has struck!! Luckily for his teacher the attitude only seems to happen at home. They get 3 pennies at the beginning of each day, and their goal is to make good decisions so they can keep their pennies. Aiden has only lost one penny so far, although I have not been informed how he lost it.
Oh yeah, he also has 2 loose teeth...yeah, loose teeth already. I told him to just keep wiggling them, which is kinda freaking Brian out. Apparently he prefers the yank 'em out approach :S Well whenever they fall out, Aiden is very excited for the tooth fairy, who will be delivering a surprise to the kitchen counter, NOT under the pillow!!
Connor is adjusting pretty well to having mom and most of the house to himself all day. He's not always too happy that he has to go back in the house after Aiden gets on the bus, but I think its more because he loves to play outside than wanting his brother to come back. By the end of the day, however, he is VERY excited when big brother walks in the house.
Connor has definitely given up on the crawling thing. He walks everywhere and even carries things with him, which is great news for my floors! He doesn't really talk yet, but there are recognizable sounds such as uh-oh, and buh (book), bah (bath) and who dah? (whats that?) He is also starting to learn that words mean different things. I can tell him to go get something like a book or a toy and he can go find it and give it to me. He is a goofball pretty much all the time, and loves to play with Brian before he has to go to bed at night.
For as little effort as we put into the garden (after we planted it) we got a pretty decent crop this year. The rabbits took care of the peas, beans, lettuce, and most broccoli, but we got a few ears of corn before the coons took over, and lots of carrots. We even have a few peppers, which I forgot were even still buried in all the weeds. Next year I think we will skip the corn (the coons are impossible to keep out) but at least attempt to keep the rabbits out so we can have a little larger variety.
Well this got a little longer than anticipated...I guess I will do a part 2 for anyone who cares what I have been up to lately (oh, and Brian, can't forget about him!!)
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
three weeks
I just finished reading a novel about 3 women who were given the chance to go back in time and relive any three weeks of their life they chose. At the end of the 3 weeks they were brought back to present time, and given the choice to continue their lives the way it played out originally, or to choose the new life created by changing three weeks. (Summerhouse by Jude Deveraux) Of course to make the story interesting the women chose to go back and change encounters they had with men and choices they made in the past that they felt were making them miserable now.
Not that I am anywhere near being miserable, but my mind wandered off into "What if's", and I started wondering which three weeks I would choose if I was given the choice. A few years ago, I may have chosen a path that would let me pursue my "career" as an engineer with no worry of day cares and school systems, or how often we would be able to visit grandparents. Maybe I would have used my foresight to convince Brian to choose a position where he wasn't going to get laid off after a couple years, or where I would certainly have an engineering job available to me even if he didn't. I could have chosen a life that provided a more substantial income, more vacations, a bigger house with a bigger TV, more shopping trips just because.
But then I came out of 'what if' land and looked around me. At a house that I had helped design every detail of and had a hand in almost every step of building. A view that is gorgeous even on a day that makes you want to curl up and hide inside. Two adorable blonde boys that I wouldn't trade for the world (even when they are driving me and each other mad). An amazing husband who helped make most of those things possible, and even puts up with me when I can barely put up with myself.
Of course there are things that would be nice if they could be changed... a few less months waiting for paper work and excavators so we could start building our house, being able to spend more time with Aiden while the house was being built and Connor was turning his life as he knew it upside down, and having a larger budget to work with so we could have done all the "we can add that later" stuff right away.
Then there are the things that I would like to have changed that I'm currently working on... a few less baby pounds around the middle, a few more dollars in our savings account, and of course a little (or a lot) less guilt about staying home with the boys when our budget is tighter than we would like.
So which three weeks would I choose?
Honestly, I love what I do, and when I actually have the courage and the discipline to do it right it, my Mary Kay business makes life so much less stressful. I feel successful, Brian can relax and enjoy the time he has alone with the boys, and everyone is happy. So I would go back to July 10, 2009, the day after I started my Mary Kay business, and I would take all the knowledge I have gained in the last 2 years and I would take off running and never stop!! I wouldn't let the small things discourage me, I would force myself to learn the discipline to work this business as a business. I would ignore the voices in my head that convinced me not to pick up the phone to ask SO many times. I wouldn't let it take me 2 years to figure out that the only way to fail is to quit. (and of course I would choose to remember what I know now so the house would get started in May, not August, and who knows what else)
But of course, there is no magic time machine that could send me back. So I will have to accept that the house got built (no matter how stressful it was), that we will always have more projects on the to do list, no matter how many we cross off, and that right now the best things in life had better be free, cause otherwise they're probably not in the budget.
As for taking off running and never quitting... I am FINALLY at a point in my business that I feel the work I have done in the past starting to pay off, and I just have to keep myself working to keep it that way. I may not have gotten where I want to be yet, and I may not have gotten to this point as quickly as I wanted, but I'm here now, and I know HOW to get where I want. I have to keep working. Working smart, working consistently, and NEVER quitting.
And whenever I get to where I want to be now, I hope that I want to do more and be more, and that if given the chance, that I would have nothing to go back and change.
Not that I am anywhere near being miserable, but my mind wandered off into "What if's", and I started wondering which three weeks I would choose if I was given the choice. A few years ago, I may have chosen a path that would let me pursue my "career" as an engineer with no worry of day cares and school systems, or how often we would be able to visit grandparents. Maybe I would have used my foresight to convince Brian to choose a position where he wasn't going to get laid off after a couple years, or where I would certainly have an engineering job available to me even if he didn't. I could have chosen a life that provided a more substantial income, more vacations, a bigger house with a bigger TV, more shopping trips just because.
But then I came out of 'what if' land and looked around me. At a house that I had helped design every detail of and had a hand in almost every step of building. A view that is gorgeous even on a day that makes you want to curl up and hide inside. Two adorable blonde boys that I wouldn't trade for the world (even when they are driving me and each other mad). An amazing husband who helped make most of those things possible, and even puts up with me when I can barely put up with myself.
Of course there are things that would be nice if they could be changed... a few less months waiting for paper work and excavators so we could start building our house, being able to spend more time with Aiden while the house was being built and Connor was turning his life as he knew it upside down, and having a larger budget to work with so we could have done all the "we can add that later" stuff right away.
Then there are the things that I would like to have changed that I'm currently working on... a few less baby pounds around the middle, a few more dollars in our savings account, and of course a little (or a lot) less guilt about staying home with the boys when our budget is tighter than we would like.
So which three weeks would I choose?
Honestly, I love what I do, and when I actually have the courage and the discipline to do it right it, my Mary Kay business makes life so much less stressful. I feel successful, Brian can relax and enjoy the time he has alone with the boys, and everyone is happy. So I would go back to July 10, 2009, the day after I started my Mary Kay business, and I would take all the knowledge I have gained in the last 2 years and I would take off running and never stop!! I wouldn't let the small things discourage me, I would force myself to learn the discipline to work this business as a business. I would ignore the voices in my head that convinced me not to pick up the phone to ask SO many times. I wouldn't let it take me 2 years to figure out that the only way to fail is to quit. (and of course I would choose to remember what I know now so the house would get started in May, not August, and who knows what else)
But of course, there is no magic time machine that could send me back. So I will have to accept that the house got built (no matter how stressful it was), that we will always have more projects on the to do list, no matter how many we cross off, and that right now the best things in life had better be free, cause otherwise they're probably not in the budget.
As for taking off running and never quitting... I am FINALLY at a point in my business that I feel the work I have done in the past starting to pay off, and I just have to keep myself working to keep it that way. I may not have gotten where I want to be yet, and I may not have gotten to this point as quickly as I wanted, but I'm here now, and I know HOW to get where I want. I have to keep working. Working smart, working consistently, and NEVER quitting.
And whenever I get to where I want to be now, I hope that I want to do more and be more, and that if given the chance, that I would have nothing to go back and change.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Boys will be boys...
I am soooo glad the weather is finally nice out, and so are the boys!! Aiden has been spending as much time outside as we will let him. Riding his bike (he is getting really good, now he just needs a slightly larger bike), driving his dump truck and Tonka crane around the yard, and a lot of the time... picking up rocks! At the age of "more than 4 and three quarters, almost 5" Aiden is still thrilled to get to help pick up rocks, put them in his trucks, and drive them to the next pile (or dump them in the pond).
Today after lunch we decided to head outside and get some fresh air (and burn off a little energy) before the boys' naps. I didn't really feel like picking up rocks, but Aiden was all for it, so I picked up a few here and there as we walked around the pond. As we got most of the way around the pond, Aiden decided he needed to go potty. Only he didn't tell me he needed to go, he just pulled down his pants and peed. With his pants around his ankles. Facing the ditch. 20 feet from a state highway. (and from what I saw, I think he was trying to write his name in the dirt, or water most of the ditch)
I have 2 sisters, raising boys is filled with new experiences, and this was one of them. It took everything I had not to burst out laughing as I told him to pull up his pants and explained that he couldn't go pee just anywhere, even if he was out by the pond. He said "Oh, so if I have to go potty outside, I should go over there by the woods, 'cause its OK to pee in the woods" Again trying really hard not to laugh (not sure it worked that time) I just nodded and said, "Sure"
Today after lunch we decided to head outside and get some fresh air (and burn off a little energy) before the boys' naps. I didn't really feel like picking up rocks, but Aiden was all for it, so I picked up a few here and there as we walked around the pond. As we got most of the way around the pond, Aiden decided he needed to go potty. Only he didn't tell me he needed to go, he just pulled down his pants and peed. With his pants around his ankles. Facing the ditch. 20 feet from a state highway. (and from what I saw, I think he was trying to write his name in the dirt, or water most of the ditch)
I have 2 sisters, raising boys is filled with new experiences, and this was one of them. It took everything I had not to burst out laughing as I told him to pull up his pants and explained that he couldn't go pee just anywhere, even if he was out by the pond. He said "Oh, so if I have to go potty outside, I should go over there by the woods, 'cause its OK to pee in the woods" Again trying really hard not to laugh (not sure it worked that time) I just nodded and said, "Sure"
- T-Ball -
So t-ball started yesterday for Aiden, (and about 25 other 3-5 year olds). Aiden has been looking forward to t-ball for weeks. Sunday night, Aiden asked at least 4 times if he needed to get up early for t-ball? Would there be time to play before t-ball? Did we have his glove to take along? At 9pm, I was still trying to assure him that there was no need to be up early to go to t-ball at 9:30am.... so of course he bounced out of bed at 6:15 AM. And by 6:30, we had reached 20 questions about t-ball practice. By the time we left the house at 9 I was about ready to have an anxiety attack from all the what-if's and why's and what about's... and I just had to go drop him off and pick him up!!
I was pretty sure there wouldn't actually be a t-ball game occurring during the first 45 minute t-ball practice, especially when I found out there were 25 kids and 2 adults! Aiden, however, seemed thoroughly disappointed that they ONLY got to practice throwing, getting the ball into their gloves, catching, running bases, and batting. "We didn't actually play t-ball" was his response to anyone asking how the first day of t-ball went.
-Thing 2 -
Connor is now 11 months, has 10 teeth, and is still using anything that will move as a walker.
He has cut 2 new teeth in the last 2 week, one 12month molar, and one tooth on the bottom between the teeth he has and the large lump where yet another molar is trying to come through. He is still working on the other 3 molars, and probably the other bottom tooth. Needless to say, he's had some very grumpy evenings, and lots of sleepy days.
Remembering how difficult it was to get Aiden to take whole milk instead of formula, I decided to buy a small carton of milk and start getting Connor used to it. I gave him about an ounce with his lunch, and he sucked it right down!! He won't drink straight water, but milk he seems to love. At first I was a little confused as to how switching Connor could be so easy, when Aiden had fussed about it for weeks! Then I remembered, Connor was already used to the sippy cup and he was used to drinking his formula cold... 2 changes we tried to make at the same time as switching Aiden from formula to milk.
I just kind of smiled and thought, "oh the things you learn from the first child that makes the second one easier". Then Connor looked at Aiden, stuck his tongue out and blew a raspberry at him, and Aiden did it right back. And I thought... "oh the things the second one learns from the first one that will make this so much more difficult!!"
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Lessons from a four (and three quarters) year old
Yesterday I was out on the driveway with Aiden. He had mastered riding his bike without training wheels, but only after getting a push to get going. We have a long, gravel, not-so-level driveway... it was time for him to figure out how to get himself going. So I gave him a few pointers, and a few more good pushes to get him going, then stood back and watched.
What did I observe? It's REALLY hard to keep your balance on a bike when you're leaned over the side staring at your feet!! He would put one foot up, and watch it as he pushed off a little and put the other foot up. The pedals would make it almost one rotation, then he would tip over and try again with the other foot. I watched this process a few times, then yelled "watch where you're going and quit staring at your feet!!"
Off he went!! He made it all of 10 feet and stopped... then proceeded to stare at his feet and go 2 feet at a time. Again, I watched for a few minutes, then yelled "Stop staring at your feet"...off he went!! That time it seemed to sink in.
And what did I learn? Life goes a lot more smoothly when you keep your focus on where you are headed, and don't get quite so caught up in what your feet are doing.
Focus on what you want to accomplish and who you want to be, and just know that as long as you are doing the things that need to be done, you will get there. As soon as you start getting caught up in the processes that make up your life (waking up early, the to-do list, the house work, the screaming kids) instead of focusing on the big picture and appreciating your life and accomplishing your goals, you lose your balance and the bike stops moving forward.
So look up, decide where you're going, and start pedaling!!
What did I observe? It's REALLY hard to keep your balance on a bike when you're leaned over the side staring at your feet!! He would put one foot up, and watch it as he pushed off a little and put the other foot up. The pedals would make it almost one rotation, then he would tip over and try again with the other foot. I watched this process a few times, then yelled "watch where you're going and quit staring at your feet!!"
Off he went!! He made it all of 10 feet and stopped... then proceeded to stare at his feet and go 2 feet at a time. Again, I watched for a few minutes, then yelled "Stop staring at your feet"...off he went!! That time it seemed to sink in.
And what did I learn? Life goes a lot more smoothly when you keep your focus on where you are headed, and don't get quite so caught up in what your feet are doing.
Focus on what you want to accomplish and who you want to be, and just know that as long as you are doing the things that need to be done, you will get there. As soon as you start getting caught up in the processes that make up your life (waking up early, the to-do list, the house work, the screaming kids) instead of focusing on the big picture and appreciating your life and accomplishing your goals, you lose your balance and the bike stops moving forward.
So look up, decide where you're going, and start pedaling!!
Monday, May 9, 2011
Its May!?!
Mother nature must have been celebrating Mother's Day because I was actually able to take Aiden outside to play and work on projects AND we have grass growing in our yard!!
Last week was a surprisingly good week around here. Normally I'm the one running out of the house after Brian gets home from work. But last week Brian was gone 2 nights after work and half of Saturday, leaving me alone with both boys for most of the week. I say last week was surprisingly good because I managed to keep my sanity for MOST of the week. The nice weather helped that a lot. Aiden and I were able to go out and work on picking the yard up a little...moving rocks, picking up sticks, admiring the pond, etc.
Thursday night Brian and I were both supposed to go to a contractor's appreciation dinner with his parents, but of course that would have required finding a babysitter. Aiden has been less than willing to listen (to me or anyone) at bedtime, and Connor has suddenly decided that mom probably shouldn't leave the room...ever. Of course finding a sitter was also put off til the last minute after being gone all weekend for a wedding and focusing on going to Mason City Monday night for a Mary Kay event.
Thursday arrived, and we had no sitter, so I stayed home and spent half the evening giving the boys a bath. Well, watching the boys give each other a bath. Connor loves to splash in the bathtub, so he usually ends up getting everyone wet. And Aiden is ALWAYS wanting to help, so he gives Connor a bath.
After a long week of lots of time with the boys, Brian still had some work to get done Saturday morning, so I took the boys with me to run errands. We took back cans and bottles, went to the library, made a few Mary Kay stops, then came home and put Connor down for a nap. Aiden and I finished cleaning up the garage and waited for Brian to get home for lunch. Aiden actually took a nap, at the same time as Connor, so Brian turned on golf and I retreated to our room with the first book I got to read in months.
The boys woke up, both pretty happy, and Brian asked Aiden if he wanted to help him take back the movie we had rented and do some shopping. I suggested he take Connor (a MUCH better shopper)with him and Aiden and I would go explore the woods and meet them at grandma & grandpa's when they got done shopping. (Of course I reminded him to get something for his mom & grandma, and not to get me anything) Aiden loved walking up the 4-wheeler path and was immediately "put to work" checking out the new trailer and filling bird feeders.
Brian mostly listened, he had flowers and cards for grandma & great-grandma, and he couldn't resist getting me a card that read...
This week will hopefully be a busy one. I've got meetings Monday & Tuesday, aplay date Tuesday, a party scheduled for Thursday, Aiden has Pre-K graduation Friday, and I've got another party Sunday. I also have 8 more parties to book for Mary Kay's birthday, and I would LOVE to get my garden started this weekend.
Last week was a surprisingly good week around here. Normally I'm the one running out of the house after Brian gets home from work. But last week Brian was gone 2 nights after work and half of Saturday, leaving me alone with both boys for most of the week. I say last week was surprisingly good because I managed to keep my sanity for MOST of the week. The nice weather helped that a lot. Aiden and I were able to go out and work on picking the yard up a little...moving rocks, picking up sticks, admiring the pond, etc.
Thursday night Brian and I were both supposed to go to a contractor's appreciation dinner with his parents, but of course that would have required finding a babysitter. Aiden has been less than willing to listen (to me or anyone) at bedtime, and Connor has suddenly decided that mom probably shouldn't leave the room...ever. Of course finding a sitter was also put off til the last minute after being gone all weekend for a wedding and focusing on going to Mason City Monday night for a Mary Kay event.
Thursday arrived, and we had no sitter, so I stayed home and spent half the evening giving the boys a bath. Well, watching the boys give each other a bath. Connor loves to splash in the bathtub, so he usually ends up getting everyone wet. And Aiden is ALWAYS wanting to help, so he gives Connor a bath.
After a long week of lots of time with the boys, Brian still had some work to get done Saturday morning, so I took the boys with me to run errands. We took back cans and bottles, went to the library, made a few Mary Kay stops, then came home and put Connor down for a nap. Aiden and I finished cleaning up the garage and waited for Brian to get home for lunch. Aiden actually took a nap, at the same time as Connor, so Brian turned on golf and I retreated to our room with the first book I got to read in months.
The boys woke up, both pretty happy, and Brian asked Aiden if he wanted to help him take back the movie we had rented and do some shopping. I suggested he take Connor (a MUCH better shopper)with him and Aiden and I would go explore the woods and meet them at grandma & grandpa's when they got done shopping. (Of course I reminded him to get something for his mom & grandma, and not to get me anything) Aiden loved walking up the 4-wheeler path and was immediately "put to work" checking out the new trailer and filling bird feeders.
Brian mostly listened, he had flowers and cards for grandma & great-grandma, and he couldn't resist getting me a card that read...
Good moms let their kids lick the beaters....GREAT moms turn the mixer off first!
It also came with a mint plant and a bag of limes (both of which were on my shopping list)
After dinner Aiden decided he was staying to help grandpa make pancakes for grandma on Mother's day, and Brian and I put Connor to bed and I read a few more chapters while Brian got the fire pit and mojitos (limes, mint, rum & sprite) ready.
Sunday morning I woke up to only one screaming child, drug Brian & Connor to church, made sure Aiden was at Sunday school, and came home and read, and read, and read some more. The book was pretty good, but being able to sit and read and ignore pretty much everything else was amazing! I finished the book Sunday night before going to bed... an entire novel in a day and a half, I hadn't done that since high school. Happy Mother's Day to me :D
This week will hopefully be a busy one. I've got meetings Monday & Tuesday, aplay date Tuesday, a party scheduled for Thursday, Aiden has Pre-K graduation Friday, and I've got another party Sunday. I also have 8 more parties to book for Mary Kay's birthday, and I would LOVE to get my garden started this weekend.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
on a little more serious note...
This entry is going to be a little more somber than most, sorry. And please, no political remarks... I am merely expressing my thoughts.
I woke up Monday morning and after getting 2 boys breakfast and the kitchen somewhat clean, I finally had a chance to check to see what was going on in the world outside of Camp Swampy. I turned the computer on, checked my emails, and logged in to Facebook. It took me about 30 seconds of reading status updates to figure out what the biggest story of the weekend was.
I still haven't quite figured out how to react to the news of bin Laden's death. Yes, he was beyond a terrible person who is responsible for the death of thousands of innocent people. Yes, he needed to be stopped before he could kill thousands more. If I had the choice of putting a bullet through his head or letting him go free, I probably would have pulled the trigger.
But I'm not ready to dance and sing about the fact that we killed a man for killing people. The message doesn't seem quite right. How do we tell our children that violence is not the answer when we celebrate assassinating an enemy? Its like spanking a toddler while scolding them for hitting someone, they're not going to get the message we are trying to send.
And now what... more violence? higher oil prices? more countries wanting us to come fight their wars and assassinate their tyrannous dictators?
Yes, the man that is responsible for killing thousands of innocent people is dead... but what has changed? Another reason for our children to accept violence as a part of their lives, and another step from a world of peace and understanding.
I woke up Monday morning and after getting 2 boys breakfast and the kitchen somewhat clean, I finally had a chance to check to see what was going on in the world outside of Camp Swampy. I turned the computer on, checked my emails, and logged in to Facebook. It took me about 30 seconds of reading status updates to figure out what the biggest story of the weekend was.
I still haven't quite figured out how to react to the news of bin Laden's death. Yes, he was beyond a terrible person who is responsible for the death of thousands of innocent people. Yes, he needed to be stopped before he could kill thousands more. If I had the choice of putting a bullet through his head or letting him go free, I probably would have pulled the trigger.
But I'm not ready to dance and sing about the fact that we killed a man for killing people. The message doesn't seem quite right. How do we tell our children that violence is not the answer when we celebrate assassinating an enemy? Its like spanking a toddler while scolding them for hitting someone, they're not going to get the message we are trying to send.
And now what... more violence? higher oil prices? more countries wanting us to come fight their wars and assassinate their tyrannous dictators?
Yes, the man that is responsible for killing thousands of innocent people is dead... but what has changed? Another reason for our children to accept violence as a part of their lives, and another step from a world of peace and understanding.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
This one's for Aunt Wisha
Somehow my sister giving up FB for Lent requires more blogging effort on my part...
Connor Updates:
Nothing is safe anymore! He as learned to open doors, drawers, ovens, everything. And he remembers that he knew how to open a cupboard door, and does not like it when I baby proof the tupperware cupboard in the middle of him digging out his favorite toys.
He also knows how to crawl, but he still chooses not to until he is within a few feet of his target, then he gets up on all fours knowing it gets him a little closer to standing up on whatever is in front of him. Walking isn't too far off. He is constantly grabbing my fingers to hold him up so he can lead me to whatever he thinks he needs, so he already knows walking is faster than crawling.
He took his first bath in the big bathtub last week. Aiden thought it was pretty cool that he got to help give Connor a bath, but insisted on adding more water as soon as his little brother was out of the tub. Connor has no fear, he was splashing around on his tummy and crawling all over in the tub (something it took Aiden almost 4 years to attempt) Apparently seeing the first one survive everything he's done has given me more faith that the second one won't break either!
Aiden Updates:
Aiden's pre-K class is already working on the letter X, which means I need to start figuring out how to keep him occupied all summer! He has been riding the bus to and from school everyday except Tuesday when I drop him off. I think coloring is his favorite activity, both at home and at school. I can give him a bucket of crayons and a coloring book and keep him busy for at least an hour at a time. He has finished a few coloring contest pictures too, and they were VERY impressive and VERY colorful!
We bought some seeds to start our vegetable garden, and last week we started some of the seeds inside. We planted lettuce, broccoli, watermelons, and pumpkins on Monday. The package said we would see plants in 7-14 days. We were both amazed to see lettuce and broccoli already on Thursday, pumpkins on Saturday, and watermelons on Sunday! (I will post a few pics here, and will probably have a separate blog post about the garden, since we have also been keeping a journal to keep track of what we see and learn.)
We had a busy week last week. Brian's grandma came home from being in Texas for the winter, so we were there Thursday evening and Friday afternoon helping her get settled back in and taking care of her technology. Saturday we headed to western Iowa for Great Grandma Clancy's Tapestry of Tables luncheon followed by church, a grill out at Great Grandma Buelt's, then a bowling party to celebrate spring birthdays. On Sunday Aiden gave grandpa a tour of the farm, cuz I'm sure grandpa hadn't been all the places Aiden found at any point in the last 21 years.
Connor Updates:
Nothing is safe anymore! He as learned to open doors, drawers, ovens, everything. And he remembers that he knew how to open a cupboard door, and does not like it when I baby proof the tupperware cupboard in the middle of him digging out his favorite toys.
He also knows how to crawl, but he still chooses not to until he is within a few feet of his target, then he gets up on all fours knowing it gets him a little closer to standing up on whatever is in front of him. Walking isn't too far off. He is constantly grabbing my fingers to hold him up so he can lead me to whatever he thinks he needs, so he already knows walking is faster than crawling.
He took his first bath in the big bathtub last week. Aiden thought it was pretty cool that he got to help give Connor a bath, but insisted on adding more water as soon as his little brother was out of the tub. Connor has no fear, he was splashing around on his tummy and crawling all over in the tub (something it took Aiden almost 4 years to attempt) Apparently seeing the first one survive everything he's done has given me more faith that the second one won't break either!
Aiden Updates:
Aiden's pre-K class is already working on the letter X, which means I need to start figuring out how to keep him occupied all summer! He has been riding the bus to and from school everyday except Tuesday when I drop him off. I think coloring is his favorite activity, both at home and at school. I can give him a bucket of crayons and a coloring book and keep him busy for at least an hour at a time. He has finished a few coloring contest pictures too, and they were VERY impressive and VERY colorful!
We bought some seeds to start our vegetable garden, and last week we started some of the seeds inside. We planted lettuce, broccoli, watermelons, and pumpkins on Monday. The package said we would see plants in 7-14 days. We were both amazed to see lettuce and broccoli already on Thursday, pumpkins on Saturday, and watermelons on Sunday! (I will post a few pics here, and will probably have a separate blog post about the garden, since we have also been keeping a journal to keep track of what we see and learn.)
 |
| Putting dirt in the garden |
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| These are all the seeds we bought... we won't have to buy veggies all summer! |
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| Pumpkins 5 days after they were planted... and they said it would take 7-14 days to germinate |
We had a busy week last week. Brian's grandma came home from being in Texas for the winter, so we were there Thursday evening and Friday afternoon helping her get settled back in and taking care of her technology. Saturday we headed to western Iowa for Great Grandma Clancy's Tapestry of Tables luncheon followed by church, a grill out at Great Grandma Buelt's, then a bowling party to celebrate spring birthdays. On Sunday Aiden gave grandpa a tour of the farm, cuz I'm sure grandpa hadn't been all the places Aiden found at any point in the last 21 years.
Monday, March 28, 2011
A weekend in the "Pink Bubble"
Unless you are in Mary Kay and Mary Kay is in you, a weekend in the "pink bubble" might sound a little corny. But in reality, it was 24hours of positive thinking, inspiring stories, and getting to walk across stage in zebra striped heels to a standing ovation because I am part of a Cadillac Unit. Never in my life have I seen so many beautiful and self confident women in one place.
There were over a thousand women in skirts and heels with their hair and makeup looking fabulous. There were National Sales Directors (NSD's) who had earned 2-3 MILLION dollars each in commission checks (on top of their sales). There was clapping, and cheering. There were 6 women in 1 hotel room with 1 bathroom and one sink, and we were all dressed and beautiful by 7:30am after staying up til midnight talking and laughing. But most importantly there was inspiration.
As you may know, I have been a Mary Kay consultant for almost 2 years. I would love to have $20,000 monthly commission checks and drive a pink Cadillac as a NSD. Until this weekend, I knew anyone can become successful in this company, but never truly believed it would be me. But I know I was meant to be at Career Conference in St Paul, on my 25th Birthday, listening to a NSD who replaced her ENGINEERING career with Mary Kay, listening to a Top 3 Director who had also been an engineer before starting her Mary Kay career, hearing that another NSD was able to thank God that she had no regrets when 3 men in uniform told her that her 24 yr old son wasn't coming home.
Can you imagine your first thought being "Thank you God" when you find out you have outlived one of your children? I want to be able to drop everything and be there for my family, no matter what. I want to get cheers and applause for something as simple as putting foundations on 30 women's faces, no matter how crazy they think I may be. I want to know I have someone to call that will tell me I can do it, no matter what obstacle I come up with.
I have found that in Mary Kay. I have been given an amazing opportunity, and so far, I've been too lazy, too afraid, to make the most of it. But no more. If a woman can start her Mary Kay career by literally falling down the stairs into the door of her first party and turn out to be a multi-millionaire NSD... anyone can succeed in this company, even me. There are no excuses, I have all the free training I could possibly need, the products are absolutely amazing, and the women in this company are even more amazing than the products.
All I have to do is ask. And ask I did. I got home Saturday night, spent some time with my husband and his family, and Sunday morning went to church and spent time with my boys. But Sunday afternoon, instead of having a nagging feeling to go take a nap or watch TV, I had a nagging feeling to get on the phone, and book some parties, and work my business. I knew in my heart, and finally in my head, that when I decide to work this business it will work for me.
I have a goal to be a Star Consultant and earn my brand new FREE Red Jacket for being a star team builder by June 30th. But more importantly, I have a dream. And I feel entitled to dream, and encouraged to dream. I can't imagine having an office job and going to a meeting where my boss asks what my dream is...it just wouldn't happen. But I spent 24 hours being encouraged to dream, and to encourage others to dream, and to help other women find self confidence and self worth. Mary Kay is not just skin care and Pink Cadillacs... it is about enriching women's lives, and about self growth.
I am beautiful, inside and out.
I have more than enough to share and to spare.
My dreams come true.
My choices and possibilities are expanding everyday.
My children have self confidence and believe in their dreams.
I AM SUCCESSFUL
There were over a thousand women in skirts and heels with their hair and makeup looking fabulous. There were National Sales Directors (NSD's) who had earned 2-3 MILLION dollars each in commission checks (on top of their sales). There was clapping, and cheering. There were 6 women in 1 hotel room with 1 bathroom and one sink, and we were all dressed and beautiful by 7:30am after staying up til midnight talking and laughing. But most importantly there was inspiration.
As you may know, I have been a Mary Kay consultant for almost 2 years. I would love to have $20,000 monthly commission checks and drive a pink Cadillac as a NSD. Until this weekend, I knew anyone can become successful in this company, but never truly believed it would be me. But I know I was meant to be at Career Conference in St Paul, on my 25th Birthday, listening to a NSD who replaced her ENGINEERING career with Mary Kay, listening to a Top 3 Director who had also been an engineer before starting her Mary Kay career, hearing that another NSD was able to thank God that she had no regrets when 3 men in uniform told her that her 24 yr old son wasn't coming home.
Can you imagine your first thought being "Thank you God" when you find out you have outlived one of your children? I want to be able to drop everything and be there for my family, no matter what. I want to get cheers and applause for something as simple as putting foundations on 30 women's faces, no matter how crazy they think I may be. I want to know I have someone to call that will tell me I can do it, no matter what obstacle I come up with.
I have found that in Mary Kay. I have been given an amazing opportunity, and so far, I've been too lazy, too afraid, to make the most of it. But no more. If a woman can start her Mary Kay career by literally falling down the stairs into the door of her first party and turn out to be a multi-millionaire NSD... anyone can succeed in this company, even me. There are no excuses, I have all the free training I could possibly need, the products are absolutely amazing, and the women in this company are even more amazing than the products.
All I have to do is ask. And ask I did. I got home Saturday night, spent some time with my husband and his family, and Sunday morning went to church and spent time with my boys. But Sunday afternoon, instead of having a nagging feeling to go take a nap or watch TV, I had a nagging feeling to get on the phone, and book some parties, and work my business. I knew in my heart, and finally in my head, that when I decide to work this business it will work for me.
I have a goal to be a Star Consultant and earn my brand new FREE Red Jacket for being a star team builder by June 30th. But more importantly, I have a dream. And I feel entitled to dream, and encouraged to dream. I can't imagine having an office job and going to a meeting where my boss asks what my dream is...it just wouldn't happen. But I spent 24 hours being encouraged to dream, and to encourage others to dream, and to help other women find self confidence and self worth. Mary Kay is not just skin care and Pink Cadillacs... it is about enriching women's lives, and about self growth.
I am beautiful, inside and out.
I have more than enough to share and to spare.
My dreams come true.
My choices and possibilities are expanding everyday.
My children have self confidence and believe in their dreams.
I AM SUCCESSFUL
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
I love getting mail!!
** I wrote this on March 11th, almost 2 weeks ago, saved it (meaning to add pics later), started getting the house ready for an open house, and totally forgot about posting it...until now
At least I love getting mail when its 40 degrees and sunny and there's good news involved. I'm not sure if I was more excited to get outside, or to open the mail and find info about Mary Kay's new Spring line AND a letter telling us the land we own is officially designated as farmland!!
I love my business, have I mentioned that before? I love it because it comes with endless amounts of free knowledge and inspiration. Yesterday was the first day I could order next quarter's new products, and I had already seen them, been given great ideas on how to show them, market them, and sell them. All from other Mary Kay consultants and directors, most of whom gain nothing financially from helping me out. I am really excited to be working my business, February was a great month for me, and I know I need to keep on pushing to make March even better, and April even better yet. The money is much needed, but what I need more is to feel successful and feel like I contribute as more than just a maid and a nanny!
And I need to be able to spend more time outside on our "farm"!! After going out to check the mail, I realized I hadn't taken a single picture of our house from the outside since before we moved in on November 21st. So I grabbed the camera and my boots and went out to take pictures before Connor woke up from his nap. I took a few of the house, then headed down to the pond. I could see from the house that it was getting fuller and bigger..but WOW! I hadn't realized just how big it had gotten!!
Then I discovered why it had grown so much in the last 3 weeks... there is a small river flowing into the pond under the snow and the ice! Walking to the pond I could hear (and feel) what seemed to be ice cracking under the snow. On my way back I found a hole about twice the size of my foot that had water in it.
I looked closer and realized the water was flowing through it from the woods down toward the pond. The farm kid instincts kicked in and I started digging through the snow with my foot to try to follow the river, breaking through the ice occasionally to see how much water there really was. It just felt great to be outside, playing in the snow and ice, and the farm kid inside of me yelling "I really own a farm!!" (Granted that 'farm' is less than 4 acres and includes a wetland designation, which I'm guessing is about 3.5 acres!!)
I am really looking forward to actually being able to use our yard this summer, and hopefully some of this spring. I have huge ideas for a vegetable garden, I've got tulip bulbs that need to get in the ground this week, and there are numerous other landscaping projects I could dream up using the boulders thy pulled out of the swamp less than a year ago.
At least I love getting mail when its 40 degrees and sunny and there's good news involved. I'm not sure if I was more excited to get outside, or to open the mail and find info about Mary Kay's new Spring line AND a letter telling us the land we own is officially designated as farmland!!
I love my business, have I mentioned that before? I love it because it comes with endless amounts of free knowledge and inspiration. Yesterday was the first day I could order next quarter's new products, and I had already seen them, been given great ideas on how to show them, market them, and sell them. All from other Mary Kay consultants and directors, most of whom gain nothing financially from helping me out. I am really excited to be working my business, February was a great month for me, and I know I need to keep on pushing to make March even better, and April even better yet. The money is much needed, but what I need more is to feel successful and feel like I contribute as more than just a maid and a nanny!
And I need to be able to spend more time outside on our "farm"!! After going out to check the mail, I realized I hadn't taken a single picture of our house from the outside since before we moved in on November 21st. So I grabbed the camera and my boots and went out to take pictures before Connor woke up from his nap. I took a few of the house, then headed down to the pond. I could see from the house that it was getting fuller and bigger..but WOW! I hadn't realized just how big it had gotten!!
Then I discovered why it had grown so much in the last 3 weeks... there is a small river flowing into the pond under the snow and the ice! Walking to the pond I could hear (and feel) what seemed to be ice cracking under the snow. On my way back I found a hole about twice the size of my foot that had water in it.
I am really looking forward to actually being able to use our yard this summer, and hopefully some of this spring. I have huge ideas for a vegetable garden, I've got tulip bulbs that need to get in the ground this week, and there are numerous other landscaping projects I could dream up using the boulders thy pulled out of the swamp less than a year ago.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Thing 1 and Thing 2
I don't remember how it got started, but Aiden and Connor have been referred to as Thing 1 and Thing 2 since shortly after Connor was born, or at least by Brian's family. It seemed quite fitting at the time. Aiden loves Dr. Seuss books, and especially The Cat in the Hat, so he knows who Things 1 and 2 are, and more importantly what they do. (He claims he can't be Thing 1, he doesn't fly kites in the house.) And lately I'm not sure he IS Thing 1...Connor has been learning lots of new tricks that are putting him in the lead for title of Wild Child in our house.
Lately Thing 2 has been learning how to pull himself up on anything and everything he can reach. Last week he pulled himself up on the baby gate we put up in Aiden's doorway so we can see into Aiden's room without Connor getting into all of his toys. He stood up and smiled and laughed, and then started shaking the gate. Much to my surprise, and his, he pulled the gate loose and down went the gate and down went Thing 2. I calmed him down and moved the gate to the other side of the door jam so he couldn't pull it over.
The next day he's right back at it...standing up, holding on to the gate and bouncing. The next thing I know, he sticks his little 7 month old foot in one of the holes in the baby gate and tries to climb OVER the baby gate!! That was all the further he made it before I pulled him down and distracted him, I wasn't ready for him to be climbing!
Now that he has learned how to pull himself up, he will climb up anything that doesn't move. And if it does move, even better, he'll get on his knees and push it around! But as soon as you take it away, he's back to doing his army crawl, because he still refuses to pick his belly up and crawl. He will hold my fingers and walk all over, but has no interest in crawling. I think he's been watching Thing 1 and knows that if he wants to keep up that crawling thing just ain't gonna cut it.
So being the wonderful, helpful big brother that he is, Aiden has decided that HE can help Connor learn to walk. This morning I turned around and Aiden had let Connor pull himself up hanging on to Aiden's hands and was trying to walk around with him. All was gong well until I told him to make sure that if he wanted Connor to let go he had to make him sit on his bottom so he didn't get hurt. Apparently that meant just let go of his hands and see how well baby Connor can balance.
But Thing 1 isn't giving up the title without a fight (and with the help of his "Mud Slingin' Jeep" from Aunt Alayna, he's back in the running.) We finally got around to cleaning the garage out and Aiden was begging to get out the Jeep he got from his aunt for Christmas, since the garage is clean and he has room to drive it. Well of course Brian wants to play with it too, so we get it out. Keep in mind Aiden is four (and a half) and the box says 8+ on it. He mostly understands the forward/reverse controls, but the left/right steering is not user friendly (even for me). So after running into everything he could in the garage, the batteries finally died. And this is where the 8+ part comes in...it takes 8 hours to charge the battery for every 20 minutes you play with the Jeep. Try explaining THAT to a 4 year old!!
He got the Jeep out again this morning, but instead of trying to play with it in the garage, he wanted to take it outside. The windchill was -6 this morning, so I said he had to wait until Connor took his nap. (Aiden immediately went to get Connor's nap time book so he could read it and we could put Connor back to bed) That is one tough Jeep. It was skidding on the ice, so Thing 1 had it out on the snow in the yard and was doing a pretty good job of not getting it stuck...until the batteries died, again.
After having his cheese n crackers with hot cocoa, Thing 1 is now watching Word World, and Thing 2 is still snoozing away. (and I wish they came with the Thingamajigger to clean up all the messes they make!!)
Lately Thing 2 has been learning how to pull himself up on anything and everything he can reach. Last week he pulled himself up on the baby gate we put up in Aiden's doorway so we can see into Aiden's room without Connor getting into all of his toys. He stood up and smiled and laughed, and then started shaking the gate. Much to my surprise, and his, he pulled the gate loose and down went the gate and down went Thing 2. I calmed him down and moved the gate to the other side of the door jam so he couldn't pull it over.
The next day he's right back at it...standing up, holding on to the gate and bouncing. The next thing I know, he sticks his little 7 month old foot in one of the holes in the baby gate and tries to climb OVER the baby gate!! That was all the further he made it before I pulled him down and distracted him, I wasn't ready for him to be climbing!
Now that he has learned how to pull himself up, he will climb up anything that doesn't move. And if it does move, even better, he'll get on his knees and push it around! But as soon as you take it away, he's back to doing his army crawl, because he still refuses to pick his belly up and crawl. He will hold my fingers and walk all over, but has no interest in crawling. I think he's been watching Thing 1 and knows that if he wants to keep up that crawling thing just ain't gonna cut it.
So being the wonderful, helpful big brother that he is, Aiden has decided that HE can help Connor learn to walk. This morning I turned around and Aiden had let Connor pull himself up hanging on to Aiden's hands and was trying to walk around with him. All was gong well until I told him to make sure that if he wanted Connor to let go he had to make him sit on his bottom so he didn't get hurt. Apparently that meant just let go of his hands and see how well baby Connor can balance.
But Thing 1 isn't giving up the title without a fight (and with the help of his "Mud Slingin' Jeep" from Aunt Alayna, he's back in the running.) We finally got around to cleaning the garage out and Aiden was begging to get out the Jeep he got from his aunt for Christmas, since the garage is clean and he has room to drive it. Well of course Brian wants to play with it too, so we get it out. Keep in mind Aiden is four (and a half) and the box says 8+ on it. He mostly understands the forward/reverse controls, but the left/right steering is not user friendly (even for me). So after running into everything he could in the garage, the batteries finally died. And this is where the 8+ part comes in...it takes 8 hours to charge the battery for every 20 minutes you play with the Jeep. Try explaining THAT to a 4 year old!!
He got the Jeep out again this morning, but instead of trying to play with it in the garage, he wanted to take it outside. The windchill was -6 this morning, so I said he had to wait until Connor took his nap. (Aiden immediately went to get Connor's nap time book so he could read it and we could put Connor back to bed) That is one tough Jeep. It was skidding on the ice, so Thing 1 had it out on the snow in the yard and was doing a pretty good job of not getting it stuck...until the batteries died, again.
After having his cheese n crackers with hot cocoa, Thing 1 is now watching Word World, and Thing 2 is still snoozing away. (and I wish they came with the Thingamajigger to clean up all the messes they make!!)
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Celebrating the big ?0 !!
My mom turned an age that ends in a 0. She doesn't look that age, and as her kids its hard to believe that she IS that age. So we decided to celebrate her ?0th Birthday by inviting all the women on her side of the family and heading for Omaha. (and I refuse to tell which number goes in front of that 0)
- 6+ hours in the car with both boys and Brian.
- 4 hours in the "party van" (my sister couldn't handle the idea of driving a minivan, even though it was a very nice minivan)
- 2 adjoining hotel suites
- 8 Buelt women that hadn't all been together in quite a while
- 2 dozen chocolate filled chocolate cupcakes and 1 margarita cake
- 7 makeovers with more laughing and more heckling than I have ever had at any party
- All the FREE drinks we could handle at the manager's reception
- 2 women in tiaras with the same # in front of their 0 (my mom was by far the classier and better looking of the two)
- 1 woman way too old to be saying "OMG" OR inviting my mother to an "adult toy party" in room 720
- 3 daughters that will ALWAYS be too young to hear "adult toy party" in the presence of their mother
- 1 very nice driver who drove us out of the hotel shuttle range so we could go to the Clancy's Irish Pub that was NOT a dance club
- 4 new shirts from last year's St Patrick's Day celebration (but they said Clancy's, so we bough them)
- 1 driver that thankfully came back and picked us up even though we were out of the free shuttle range
- 0 laughs or smiles from the driver who had to endure 8 women laughing about everything from "Turt's Titties" to "designer print Depends"
- 2 years until we have our next ?0 Birthday celebration
Friday, February 18, 2011
Valentine's Week
This week:
Sunday at church Aiden sang with the Little Lambs, and did a great job (from what I could see) He is still one of the short ones, even though he is at least a year older than some of the kids. Connor decided to chip in during the children's sermon. (Luckily most of the people around us found his shrill little squeal more cute than annoying) Aiden didn't want to go up front, but insisted on sitting on the end of the pew so he could see and hear... and then told Brian to go get the papers they were handing out o all the kids. Of course that didn't happen, but he was lucky and they put the papers in the back so he got one after church.
Aiden had his Valentine's party at school on Monday. Connor and I went in to help out and to see what big brother had been up to at school. Their party menu consisted of sugar cookies, rainbow cookies, lip cookies, and heart cookies, oh and some juice. The teachers had baggies for the kids to take home any cookies they didn't eat. Aiden didn't need a bag, he ate ALL 4 cookies. Talk about a sugar buzz.
Brian gave me the night off for V-Day. I got a nice relaxing bubble bath with wine and candles while he fed Connor and gave Aiden a bath and put them to bed. Then he made a nice dinner with the roses he and the boys had given me as a center piece. Such a sweet husband I have :D
Tuesday was a long day. It was one of those days I had to keep reminding myself to be thankful for everything I had, and that God doesn't give us patience, he gives us opportunities to learn patience. By the time Brian finally got home from work I had the boys in bed, supper put away, and everything packed up to go to Mason City the next day. I had also decided I was going to get up extra early so I could go work off some of the day's frustration on his parents' treadmill, since they obviously weren't going to be using it.
5:50AM Wednesday, my alarm went off and I was wide awake. No idea how, but I was. Got dressed, out the door and went to find out just how out of shape I really am. The one-word answer: ridiculously. But I survived, and have been up at 5:50 every morning since, and am getting less ridiculously out of shape. Hopefully it will be nice enough to go walk/run outside by the time his parents are home.
Connor has been learning to get around and get into things even faster, still without picking his big belly up off the floor. Lately he has been working on sitting, and climbing. So far he hasn't found anything but mommy that won't fall over on him when he pulls on it, so he hasn't been too successful at climbing unless I want him to be. He has still been favoring his left hand when eating cheerios and bananas, although neither hand was very successful with the first banana attempt.
Aiden is loving the warm weather. A couple days he didn't even have to put snow pants on to get on the bus. He has been warned to stay off the black mud (swamp mud). So far he's listened. He stayed out of the black mud, but kneeled down on the muddy (non swamp mud) driveway to reach out onto the swamp mud with his stick to "make a place for the water to go". His teacher sent a book home with him for the long weekend. I laughed when I read it. Mrs. Wishy-Washy. (The whole book is about animals playing in the mud. Then Mrs Wishy Washy gives them a bath, and as soon as she turns around they jump right back in.)
My Mary Kay has been going well this week. I am on track to finish up a challenge to either have a booking, meeting, or make 5 customer contacts each day for 30 days between the last week of Jan and the end of Feb. I am excited to get the bracelet from Carolyn to wear to Career Conference in March. I am also making HUGE progress on finishing up the Save the Nation With Foundation challenge from the company. I have done stripe tests on 13 women, and have probably 10 more this weekend! Completing that challenge will earn me a ribbon at Career Conference AND a zebra print tote from Carolyn :D It has been so much fun learning about the new foundations and hearing the opinions of other women about our products. I had a great meeting with a director in Waverly Wednesday night. It was very casual, we had pizza and talked about questions that had come up with customers and how to provide the best customer service possible.
Right now both boys are SUPPOSED to be napping (they are at least being quiet). We are leaving shortly to go to my parents' in western Iowa (3 hours on the road) so that I can go to Omaha (another 2 hours) with my mom, sisters, and aunts to celebrate my mom's ?0th B-Day. Tomorrow night my dad and my husband have a "Man Date", babysitter and all. If you know my husband, that doesn't sound ALL that strange, if you know my dad, you are probably laughing pretty hard.
Sunday at church Aiden sang with the Little Lambs, and did a great job (from what I could see) He is still one of the short ones, even though he is at least a year older than some of the kids. Connor decided to chip in during the children's sermon. (Luckily most of the people around us found his shrill little squeal more cute than annoying) Aiden didn't want to go up front, but insisted on sitting on the end of the pew so he could see and hear... and then told Brian to go get the papers they were handing out o all the kids. Of course that didn't happen, but he was lucky and they put the papers in the back so he got one after church.
Aiden had his Valentine's party at school on Monday. Connor and I went in to help out and to see what big brother had been up to at school. Their party menu consisted of sugar cookies, rainbow cookies, lip cookies, and heart cookies, oh and some juice. The teachers had baggies for the kids to take home any cookies they didn't eat. Aiden didn't need a bag, he ate ALL 4 cookies. Talk about a sugar buzz.
Brian gave me the night off for V-Day. I got a nice relaxing bubble bath with wine and candles while he fed Connor and gave Aiden a bath and put them to bed. Then he made a nice dinner with the roses he and the boys had given me as a center piece. Such a sweet husband I have :D
Tuesday was a long day. It was one of those days I had to keep reminding myself to be thankful for everything I had, and that God doesn't give us patience, he gives us opportunities to learn patience. By the time Brian finally got home from work I had the boys in bed, supper put away, and everything packed up to go to Mason City the next day. I had also decided I was going to get up extra early so I could go work off some of the day's frustration on his parents' treadmill, since they obviously weren't going to be using it.
5:50AM Wednesday, my alarm went off and I was wide awake. No idea how, but I was. Got dressed, out the door and went to find out just how out of shape I really am. The one-word answer: ridiculously. But I survived, and have been up at 5:50 every morning since, and am getting less ridiculously out of shape. Hopefully it will be nice enough to go walk/run outside by the time his parents are home.
Connor has been learning to get around and get into things even faster, still without picking his big belly up off the floor. Lately he has been working on sitting, and climbing. So far he hasn't found anything but mommy that won't fall over on him when he pulls on it, so he hasn't been too successful at climbing unless I want him to be. He has still been favoring his left hand when eating cheerios and bananas, although neither hand was very successful with the first banana attempt.
Aiden is loving the warm weather. A couple days he didn't even have to put snow pants on to get on the bus. He has been warned to stay off the black mud (swamp mud). So far he's listened. He stayed out of the black mud, but kneeled down on the muddy (non swamp mud) driveway to reach out onto the swamp mud with his stick to "make a place for the water to go". His teacher sent a book home with him for the long weekend. I laughed when I read it. Mrs. Wishy-Washy. (The whole book is about animals playing in the mud. Then Mrs Wishy Washy gives them a bath, and as soon as she turns around they jump right back in.)
My Mary Kay has been going well this week. I am on track to finish up a challenge to either have a booking, meeting, or make 5 customer contacts each day for 30 days between the last week of Jan and the end of Feb. I am excited to get the bracelet from Carolyn to wear to Career Conference in March. I am also making HUGE progress on finishing up the Save the Nation With Foundation challenge from the company. I have done stripe tests on 13 women, and have probably 10 more this weekend! Completing that challenge will earn me a ribbon at Career Conference AND a zebra print tote from Carolyn :D It has been so much fun learning about the new foundations and hearing the opinions of other women about our products. I had a great meeting with a director in Waverly Wednesday night. It was very casual, we had pizza and talked about questions that had come up with customers and how to provide the best customer service possible.
Right now both boys are SUPPOSED to be napping (they are at least being quiet). We are leaving shortly to go to my parents' in western Iowa (3 hours on the road) so that I can go to Omaha (another 2 hours) with my mom, sisters, and aunts to celebrate my mom's ?0th B-Day. Tomorrow night my dad and my husband have a "Man Date", babysitter and all. If you know my husband, that doesn't sound ALL that strange, if you know my dad, you are probably laughing pretty hard.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Its been almost a year!!
I'm new to the whole blog thing. After I looked at the calendar and realized that the last 12 months have been some of the craziest of my life, I realized I needed to take a few minutes to keep track of some of the smaller things that happen in my life. As a little background, I am a wife to a wonderful husband, mom to 2 beautiful blonde-haired, blue-eyed, (not as Irish as their names may sound) little boys. I am building my Mary Kay business in whatever spare time I can muster up, and loving every minute of girl time I can get.
Just under a year ago my husband and I sold our 4 bedroom house in Mason City and moved to Nashua, where my husband grew up. We moved back because my husband had been laid off from his job the November before and he had been helping his parents out in his free time. We moved out of a 4 bedroom house into a small, no tiny, 2 bedroom rental house in town. Crazy, I know. The only upside..the backyard was HUGE and literally steps from the elementary school playground.
Our oldest son was still attending 3-yr old preschool in Mason City 2 days a week, so twice a week we would drive 45 minutes to preschool, I would run errands, have prenatal appointments, or visit friends, and 2 hours later we would drive 45 minutes home. Crazy, I know. The end of May was a little bittersweet, no more spending half a day on the road twice a week, but no longer did I have my 3 year old occupied for 2 full mornings a week.
As the snow began to melt, my husband and I became more and more sure that this was where we were going to stay put and raise our kids, and that a 2 bedroom house with 4 people, one of them being an infant, was going to be unbearable, so we started looking for a more permanent housing solution. And what did we discover...we're picky!! We wanted 4 bedrooms, a big kitchen, attached garage, a great view, a few acres for the kids to play, and of course we wanted all of that on a paved road, and in our price range. Well that house didn't exist, yet. So instead of house hunt, we began land hunting. Lots of great building sites, but no one was willing to sell. So the in-laws say "What about Camp Swampy?" We laughed. Then thought about about it, and decided to go ahead and build a house on land that is called 'Camp Swampy' for a reason. Crazy, I know. It was April, we figured we could move in by the end of October, Thanksgiving at the VERY latest.
It is the wettest land I have ever seen, mostly because there is a natural spring bubbling up through the ground at the low end. The solution...dig a pond, and not a basement. No basement? in Iowa? during tornado season? Crazy, I know. But once we designed a concrete block bomb, I mean tornado, shelter into the house plans, we were ready to build. Well, we were ready to start applying for permits so we could start building. We started the process in April, it took a while because we wanted to put a driveway on a state highway. By the end of May the paperwork was in order and we were ready to start moving dirt. Then it rained, for 2 months straight. On a normal site, some earthwork could have gotten done, but not in Camp Swampy where it takes a week to dry out from a 1/2 inch rain.
I don't think I have ever had to have as much patience as I did during May, June, and July of last year. The rental house was getting smaller and smaller as we prepared for another baby boy. Progress on the new house was...non-existent at best for most of 3 months. It was getting hot, the A/C didn't work most of the summer, and being due the beginning of July, I was 8 months pregnant and very uncomfortable. I took my almost 4 year old on lots of walks, and did everything in my power to help that baby decide to grace us with his presence just a little early. After a false alarm in early June, we decided not to go to a much anticipated wedding in Chicago. I also wanted that baby to hurry up and arrive because his great-grandma in Texas was diagnosed with cancer, and didn't have much time left to meet her great-grandson. Unfortunately, she passed away 5 days before the baby was born. It took a couple weeks to make arrangements for her service, so we were home from the hospital by the time my husband's family was home. I know his great-grandma would have loved to get to see pictures of another great-grand baby, but at least he was able to meet lots of family that hadn't been all together since our wedding.
So now its July, we have a newborn to take care of, a totally new schedule to adapt to, and the house is a good three months behind schedule. Well, if the earthwork crew gets the foundation done first, and we work really hard, and are OK with only having most of the work done, we can still move in by Thanksgiving, 4 1/2 months. Crazy, I know. The rest of July flew boy. Our oldest turned 4, the little one grew and changed everyday, and we waited some more.
August came and went. I kept my tradition of going to the State Fair every year, this time with a 4 week old. Crazy, I know. Our 4 year old started Pre-K, and loved it, and the baby continued to change and grow. And FINALLY... the last week of August the earthwork crew was ready for us to start building a house. Thanksgiving was now 3 months away, yes THREE. But we could still be moved in by Thanksgiving, if we worked REALLY hard.
Labor Day weekend consisted of laying block, more block, and more block. I didn't even have to do the hard part, but 36 hours of work in one long weekend made me thankful that there were no more long weekends before Thanksgiving. In fact, I don't think there were any weekends between then and Thanksgiving. We took off one Sunday for our son's baptism, a Saturday to tailgate with the family for my grandma's 80th birthday, and a weekend because my husband was in a friend's wedding. 3 months, 4 days off. Crazy, I know. But we REALLY wanted to move in to that house.
On November 21st, the weekend BEFORE Thanksgiving, we moved out of the rental house and into the new house. I had no kitchen counter tops (or sink), the master bedroom and bathroom were completely unfinished, but we had 3 bedrooms, a bathroom, and most of a kitchen. We were totally and utterly exhausted. My in-laws were too, as the boys had spent almost every evening at their house while we worked on the house. There was still plenty to be done on the house, but we needed a vacation. So a vacation we took. A whirlwind trip for an amazing Thanksgiving Day game in a suite with amazing food, all the beverages we cared to drink, and back to my hometown to celebrate my parents' 30th wedding anniversary with a family photo session and a family brunch.
December was much less rushed and chaotic than the previous 3 months. I unpacked and organized as much as I could. Christmas shopping got done, some decorations got put up (a village without lights and a beautifully decorated tree). The finishing touches got put on the concrete floors, and the concrete counter tops in the kitchen finally became a reality. After the crazy schedule we had been working, things seemed to be coming to a crawl. Christmas was spent with our families making memories, and yet another year came to an end.
The next month and a half was spent finishing up the kitchen, and turning the master bath and bedroom from a work zone to a place I can actually enjoy and relax in. The to-do list is getting shorter, and the final completion date has been set for an Open House in March, 6 1/2 months after we poured the footings. Crazy, I know.
And here we are, a year later. We have another child, who is crawling, eating finger foods, and has his own distinct personality. Our 4 year old has changed schools, made new friends, and has learned about every step of house building (and if you ask he would love to tell you about it) We have moved twice, and hopefully will never have to do it again. Our marriage survived building a house, and so did my sanity. And much to my surprise, I found time to work my business in all this craziness, and I'm so glad that I did.
And after all that craziness, I feel the need to pay more attention to the little things in life. So that's what this blog is going to be about. Focusing on the little things in this crazy thing we call life.
Just under a year ago my husband and I sold our 4 bedroom house in Mason City and moved to Nashua, where my husband grew up. We moved back because my husband had been laid off from his job the November before and he had been helping his parents out in his free time. We moved out of a 4 bedroom house into a small, no tiny, 2 bedroom rental house in town. Crazy, I know. The only upside..the backyard was HUGE and literally steps from the elementary school playground.
Our oldest son was still attending 3-yr old preschool in Mason City 2 days a week, so twice a week we would drive 45 minutes to preschool, I would run errands, have prenatal appointments, or visit friends, and 2 hours later we would drive 45 minutes home. Crazy, I know. The end of May was a little bittersweet, no more spending half a day on the road twice a week, but no longer did I have my 3 year old occupied for 2 full mornings a week.
As the snow began to melt, my husband and I became more and more sure that this was where we were going to stay put and raise our kids, and that a 2 bedroom house with 4 people, one of them being an infant, was going to be unbearable, so we started looking for a more permanent housing solution. And what did we discover...we're picky!! We wanted 4 bedrooms, a big kitchen, attached garage, a great view, a few acres for the kids to play, and of course we wanted all of that on a paved road, and in our price range. Well that house didn't exist, yet. So instead of house hunt, we began land hunting. Lots of great building sites, but no one was willing to sell. So the in-laws say "What about Camp Swampy?" We laughed. Then thought about about it, and decided to go ahead and build a house on land that is called 'Camp Swampy' for a reason. Crazy, I know. It was April, we figured we could move in by the end of October, Thanksgiving at the VERY latest.
It is the wettest land I have ever seen, mostly because there is a natural spring bubbling up through the ground at the low end. The solution...dig a pond, and not a basement. No basement? in Iowa? during tornado season? Crazy, I know. But once we designed a concrete block bomb, I mean tornado, shelter into the house plans, we were ready to build. Well, we were ready to start applying for permits so we could start building. We started the process in April, it took a while because we wanted to put a driveway on a state highway. By the end of May the paperwork was in order and we were ready to start moving dirt. Then it rained, for 2 months straight. On a normal site, some earthwork could have gotten done, but not in Camp Swampy where it takes a week to dry out from a 1/2 inch rain.
I don't think I have ever had to have as much patience as I did during May, June, and July of last year. The rental house was getting smaller and smaller as we prepared for another baby boy. Progress on the new house was...non-existent at best for most of 3 months. It was getting hot, the A/C didn't work most of the summer, and being due the beginning of July, I was 8 months pregnant and very uncomfortable. I took my almost 4 year old on lots of walks, and did everything in my power to help that baby decide to grace us with his presence just a little early. After a false alarm in early June, we decided not to go to a much anticipated wedding in Chicago. I also wanted that baby to hurry up and arrive because his great-grandma in Texas was diagnosed with cancer, and didn't have much time left to meet her great-grandson. Unfortunately, she passed away 5 days before the baby was born. It took a couple weeks to make arrangements for her service, so we were home from the hospital by the time my husband's family was home. I know his great-grandma would have loved to get to see pictures of another great-grand baby, but at least he was able to meet lots of family that hadn't been all together since our wedding.
So now its July, we have a newborn to take care of, a totally new schedule to adapt to, and the house is a good three months behind schedule. Well, if the earthwork crew gets the foundation done first, and we work really hard, and are OK with only having most of the work done, we can still move in by Thanksgiving, 4 1/2 months. Crazy, I know. The rest of July flew boy. Our oldest turned 4, the little one grew and changed everyday, and we waited some more.
August came and went. I kept my tradition of going to the State Fair every year, this time with a 4 week old. Crazy, I know. Our 4 year old started Pre-K, and loved it, and the baby continued to change and grow. And FINALLY... the last week of August the earthwork crew was ready for us to start building a house. Thanksgiving was now 3 months away, yes THREE. But we could still be moved in by Thanksgiving, if we worked REALLY hard.
Labor Day weekend consisted of laying block, more block, and more block. I didn't even have to do the hard part, but 36 hours of work in one long weekend made me thankful that there were no more long weekends before Thanksgiving. In fact, I don't think there were any weekends between then and Thanksgiving. We took off one Sunday for our son's baptism, a Saturday to tailgate with the family for my grandma's 80th birthday, and a weekend because my husband was in a friend's wedding. 3 months, 4 days off. Crazy, I know. But we REALLY wanted to move in to that house.
On November 21st, the weekend BEFORE Thanksgiving, we moved out of the rental house and into the new house. I had no kitchen counter tops (or sink), the master bedroom and bathroom were completely unfinished, but we had 3 bedrooms, a bathroom, and most of a kitchen. We were totally and utterly exhausted. My in-laws were too, as the boys had spent almost every evening at their house while we worked on the house. There was still plenty to be done on the house, but we needed a vacation. So a vacation we took. A whirlwind trip for an amazing Thanksgiving Day game in a suite with amazing food, all the beverages we cared to drink, and back to my hometown to celebrate my parents' 30th wedding anniversary with a family photo session and a family brunch.
December was much less rushed and chaotic than the previous 3 months. I unpacked and organized as much as I could. Christmas shopping got done, some decorations got put up (a village without lights and a beautifully decorated tree). The finishing touches got put on the concrete floors, and the concrete counter tops in the kitchen finally became a reality. After the crazy schedule we had been working, things seemed to be coming to a crawl. Christmas was spent with our families making memories, and yet another year came to an end.
The next month and a half was spent finishing up the kitchen, and turning the master bath and bedroom from a work zone to a place I can actually enjoy and relax in. The to-do list is getting shorter, and the final completion date has been set for an Open House in March, 6 1/2 months after we poured the footings. Crazy, I know.
And here we are, a year later. We have another child, who is crawling, eating finger foods, and has his own distinct personality. Our 4 year old has changed schools, made new friends, and has learned about every step of house building (and if you ask he would love to tell you about it) We have moved twice, and hopefully will never have to do it again. Our marriage survived building a house, and so did my sanity. And much to my surprise, I found time to work my business in all this craziness, and I'm so glad that I did.
And after all that craziness, I feel the need to pay more attention to the little things in life. So that's what this blog is going to be about. Focusing on the little things in this crazy thing we call life.
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