1. You know what is really fun? When you get a message from your cousin that lives hours away, saying they will be in your office building for their mother-in-law's retirement celebration and wondered if you would be there! So randomly I got to see my cousin and her family for a while during my work day. It made my day, given Ellie only lasted 37 minutes at day-care before she got sick and had to go home (she had said she was fine before we left home and again when I dropped her off that day). Ellie was not the only sick child, Neve went home sick later in the afternoon.
2. Our nephew/godson turned 3 on Monday! Unfortunately we were not able to celebrate with him, as Neve and Ellie were both sick the day of the party.
3. Nick and I decided to take a few days off and have a "staycation" with the girls. On Wednesday we did a day trip to the Omaha Zoo. The girls loved it and Ellie was obsessed with the "rides" (train, sky ride and carousel).
4. On Thursday of our staycation we ventured to the High Trestle Trail for a bike ride and lunch. That night Nick and I had a date night at Bistro Montage. The girls were thrilled to have Andrea come and watch them!
5. We wrapped up the staycation by watching Mary Poppins, playing Sorry, and taking a trip to the Downtown Farmer's Market. It was a great time!
Monday, July 28, 2014
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Ellieeeeee!
This is what we heard from the youngest the other day... when she was in her crib, with her door shut, when she was supposed to be going to sleep.
We ignored it.
She repeated it a few more times.
Then we heard: "Ellieeee! Open my door!"
Over and over again.
We kept ignoring it.
Finally she gave up and started singing "Let It Go!" and talking to her "friends" (aka Brown Bear, Baa-baa and Little G). Eventually she fell asleep for the night.
It makes me wonder why she would think this would occur, as Ellie was supposed to be in bed going to sleep as well. Ellie, by the way, called out to complain that Neve was keeping her up with her yelling (my little rule follower!).
It also makes me a little nervous for the end of August when Neve's big kid bed arrives, and there are no real barriers to her getting out of bed. This could be interesting.
And how she is going to be when she hits the teenage years... but I really try not to think about that because I know she is going to test (and possible go beyond) all boundaries we set. She will be our wild child- I think she gets it from Nick. :)
We ignored it.
She repeated it a few more times.
Then we heard: "Ellieeee! Open my door!"
Over and over again.
We kept ignoring it.
Finally she gave up and started singing "Let It Go!" and talking to her "friends" (aka Brown Bear, Baa-baa and Little G). Eventually she fell asleep for the night.
It makes me wonder why she would think this would occur, as Ellie was supposed to be in bed going to sleep as well. Ellie, by the way, called out to complain that Neve was keeping her up with her yelling (my little rule follower!).
It also makes me a little nervous for the end of August when Neve's big kid bed arrives, and there are no real barriers to her getting out of bed. This could be interesting.
And how she is going to be when she hits the teenage years... but I really try not to think about that because I know she is going to test (and possible go beyond) all boundaries we set. She will be our wild child- I think she gets it from Nick. :)
Friday, July 18, 2014
5 on Friday
1. On Saturday we ventured to the High Trestle Trail with Nick's mom and her husband. Nick thought it was a 1 mile walk from Woodward to the bring... turned out to be 2.5 miles! It was a little (or a lot) buggie, but the bridge was really neat and I am glad we made the trip.
2. On Sunday we went swimming at LifeTime. They had a guest weekend where you could bring guests for free, so Nick and the girls joined me as my guests and we swam with our neighbors. Ellie and Elizabeth had a blast!
3. Ellie is doing a tumbling class through the Waukee Parks & Rec this week. It is just a short little 4 day session.
4. Ellie was sick Tuesday and Wednesday, so her tumbling classes were cut in half. And we knew she was sick when she was OK missing the classes.
5. What beautiful weather we have been having! I love having the windows open and not feeling bad about running the oven! It feels like fall, which makes me a little sad because I don't think we have had enough summer.
2. On Sunday we went swimming at LifeTime. They had a guest weekend where you could bring guests for free, so Nick and the girls joined me as my guests and we swam with our neighbors. Ellie and Elizabeth had a blast!
3. Ellie is doing a tumbling class through the Waukee Parks & Rec this week. It is just a short little 4 day session.
4. Ellie was sick Tuesday and Wednesday, so her tumbling classes were cut in half. And we knew she was sick when she was OK missing the classes.
5. What beautiful weather we have been having! I love having the windows open and not feeling bad about running the oven! It feels like fall, which makes me a little sad because I don't think we have had enough summer.
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Good-bye old friend
On Tuesday we traded in Nick's car for a new one. It was bittersweet. The car was 10 years old with 160,000+ miles on it, it needed new tires and it was a good time to replace it. But it was the car that Nick brought to my townhouse after he first purchased it 9+ years ago, a few days after we first started talking. I still feel like he used the new car as an excuse to talk to me, not that he needed an excuse. It was there when we began our life together.
It is weird to get emotional about a physical possession, but there are so many memories associated with the car. It took us on tons of trips all over the Midwest. You could fit a ton of camping gear into that hatchback car, as we ventured to multiple DMB concerts in WI. It made the trip to the Wisconsin Dells the first time there. It is the car that our animals road in (and there were marks left to prove it). That same car also got me to the hospital when I was giving birth to both of the girls, and then brought them safely home from the hospital. It is the car that we road to work together in each day, first with just the two of us, then as a family of three, and after that a family of four. It is the car that Ellie got sick to her stomach in right as we turned off the interstate to go to work (maybe not the best memory, but still a memory). And all of the wonderful conversations we have had with the girls in that car.
It was a good car. I will miss it.
But I do LOVE the new car!
It is weird to get emotional about a physical possession, but there are so many memories associated with the car. It took us on tons of trips all over the Midwest. You could fit a ton of camping gear into that hatchback car, as we ventured to multiple DMB concerts in WI. It made the trip to the Wisconsin Dells the first time there. It is the car that our animals road in (and there were marks left to prove it). That same car also got me to the hospital when I was giving birth to both of the girls, and then brought them safely home from the hospital. It is the car that we road to work together in each day, first with just the two of us, then as a family of three, and after that a family of four. It is the car that Ellie got sick to her stomach in right as we turned off the interstate to go to work (maybe not the best memory, but still a memory). And all of the wonderful conversations we have had with the girls in that car.
It was a good car. I will miss it.
But I do LOVE the new car!
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Getting off the couch
As I mentioned a few months ago, my neighbor convinced me to join Farrell's for a 10-week boot camp that started at the end of March. For anyone that knows me, my workout routine has been next to nothing for a while now. For some reason I said yes (because I had no reason to say no, other than because I was so out of shape) and I started super nervous on the first day (they expected me to run an entire mile!) The classes were difficult. I did not remember that I could sweat so much or be so sore. It was hard. Really hard. Really, really, really hard. But I did it.
Fast forward 10-weeks. I could run that mile without stopping and actually dropped 2-minutes off of my original time. I also tripled the number of sit-ups I could do in a minute, and improved on my push-ups as well. I felt better and had more energy that I did at the beginning of the adventure. But it was also the end of the 10-week course.
While I really enjoyed Farrell's, and loved the motivation it gave me to change my workout habits, I also realized that I needed more variety if I was going to make this a lifestyle change instead of just a short-term adjustment. I knew that the timing of Farrell's ending at the same time as I took my exam meant that come that first Monday morning after the exam when I didn't have to be anywhere at 5AM in the morning, I was going to have a hard time getting out of bed. I also knew that I needed an instructor to push me to my limits. At this point, I knew I couldn't keep up with what I had started unless I had somewhere to be at a certain time. I decided I needed to join a gym that would offer classes that I was interested in doing, at the time that worked into my schedule (which just so happens to be 5AM in the morning!) I ended up joining a new gym that opened up at the end of May, LifeTime Fitness. I looked into various options and this one offers me exactly what I am looking for in terms of class options and times. It also happens to be absolutely amazing, right down to a hot tub in the bathroom!
Five weeks after joining the gym I have worked out 6 times each week. I have tried a variety of classes and already have my favorites (I love this one called Strike! that incorporates kickboxing and martial arts). I get out of bed at 4:35AM because I want to, not because I have to or feel like I need to. I love that when I arrive at the gym each morning I am greeted by name before I even hand them my membership card. I love that the instructors single me out by name in a class of 40 people, which pushes me to work out that much harder. Seriously- props to the gym for personal service! I love that when I go into work each morning I know I have my workout complete, and didn't give up any family time in the process. I also love that Ellie asks me if I worked out each morning, and I can say yes.
I just love it, and I can feel it becoming a lifestyle change instead of something I am doing for the time being.
Fast forward 10-weeks. I could run that mile without stopping and actually dropped 2-minutes off of my original time. I also tripled the number of sit-ups I could do in a minute, and improved on my push-ups as well. I felt better and had more energy that I did at the beginning of the adventure. But it was also the end of the 10-week course.
While I really enjoyed Farrell's, and loved the motivation it gave me to change my workout habits, I also realized that I needed more variety if I was going to make this a lifestyle change instead of just a short-term adjustment. I knew that the timing of Farrell's ending at the same time as I took my exam meant that come that first Monday morning after the exam when I didn't have to be anywhere at 5AM in the morning, I was going to have a hard time getting out of bed. I also knew that I needed an instructor to push me to my limits. At this point, I knew I couldn't keep up with what I had started unless I had somewhere to be at a certain time. I decided I needed to join a gym that would offer classes that I was interested in doing, at the time that worked into my schedule (which just so happens to be 5AM in the morning!) I ended up joining a new gym that opened up at the end of May, LifeTime Fitness. I looked into various options and this one offers me exactly what I am looking for in terms of class options and times. It also happens to be absolutely amazing, right down to a hot tub in the bathroom!
Five weeks after joining the gym I have worked out 6 times each week. I have tried a variety of classes and already have my favorites (I love this one called Strike! that incorporates kickboxing and martial arts). I get out of bed at 4:35AM because I want to, not because I have to or feel like I need to. I love that when I arrive at the gym each morning I am greeted by name before I even hand them my membership card. I love that the instructors single me out by name in a class of 40 people, which pushes me to work out that much harder. Seriously- props to the gym for personal service! I love that when I go into work each morning I know I have my workout complete, and didn't give up any family time in the process. I also love that Ellie asks me if I worked out each morning, and I can say yes.
I just love it, and I can feel it becoming a lifestyle change instead of something I am doing for the time being.
Friday, July 11, 2014
5 on Friday
1. We had a relaxing 4th of July, just hung around home and played outside with the neighbors (it was beautiful weather). It worked out well, because Neve decided that instead of sleeping from 12:30-2:30PM like I planned she would sleep from 3-5PM instead. It must be her new thing, because she did it the next day as well... totally puts a cramp in doing anything outside of the house!
2. Since Ellie took a good nap and Neve took a late nap on Friday, they both were able to stay up and watch fireworks (first time ever). Since we didn't know how they would do, we just walked across the street to the park and watched the DM Golf & Country Club ones in one direction, and the Waukee ones in the other direction. Worked out perfectly and we did not have to worry about Neve being scared of the loud noises.
3. On Monday we purchased a new car! We tried to do so on Saturday, but I guess the dealership closes at 5:30PM, and we didn't get the girls dropped off at the neighbor's house until 6PM (see Neve's odd nap schedule).
4. Tuesday was Ellie's last t-ball game of the season. She loved it and we celebrated with Kona Ice at the end. The 5-week, 5-game schedule worked out perfectly for us. Just enough time to introduce the kids to the game, but not enough to make you feel like it took up all of your evening time.
5. On Thursday, Farm Bureau Property & Casualty company hosted Jazz in July as one of their 75th anniversary celebration events. We had dinner outside on the lawn and enjoyed a little jazz. The weather was beautiful and it was a really neat event. The girls were thrilled that they received temporary tattoos AND glow necklaces!
2. Since Ellie took a good nap and Neve took a late nap on Friday, they both were able to stay up and watch fireworks (first time ever). Since we didn't know how they would do, we just walked across the street to the park and watched the DM Golf & Country Club ones in one direction, and the Waukee ones in the other direction. Worked out perfectly and we did not have to worry about Neve being scared of the loud noises.
3. On Monday we purchased a new car! We tried to do so on Saturday, but I guess the dealership closes at 5:30PM, and we didn't get the girls dropped off at the neighbor's house until 6PM (see Neve's odd nap schedule).
4. Tuesday was Ellie's last t-ball game of the season. She loved it and we celebrated with Kona Ice at the end. The 5-week, 5-game schedule worked out perfectly for us. Just enough time to introduce the kids to the game, but not enough to make you feel like it took up all of your evening time.
5. On Thursday, Farm Bureau Property & Casualty company hosted Jazz in July as one of their 75th anniversary celebration events. We had dinner outside on the lawn and enjoyed a little jazz. The weather was beautiful and it was a really neat event. The girls were thrilled that they received temporary tattoos AND glow necklaces!
Friday, July 4, 2014
5 on Friday
1. The girls and I spent Saturday with my parents in Ames. Ellie was very excited to go to Reiman Gardens and visit the butterfly wing. We were even able to see the staff member take the new butterflies (just out of the cocoon that morning) and release them into the main room.
2. While we were in Ames, Nick participated in the Bacoon Ride. 70+ miles later he had a great time and was very tired that night and the next day.
3. It has been a very busy week at work for me, with the roll-out of a new general ledger system. I was added to the project a few weeks ago and I have learned a ton in a short amount of time. While I find it all very interesting (because I love to learn), I do miss working with municipal bonds.
4. One of my good friends joined the same gym I joined after I finished the Farrell's 10-week challenge. It is so much fun having a workout partner once again! (More on my workout status in a later post.)
5. I am very much ready for the 3-day weekend. But then again, who wouldn't be!
2. While we were in Ames, Nick participated in the Bacoon Ride. 70+ miles later he had a great time and was very tired that night and the next day.
3. It has been a very busy week at work for me, with the roll-out of a new general ledger system. I was added to the project a few weeks ago and I have learned a ton in a short amount of time. While I find it all very interesting (because I love to learn), I do miss working with municipal bonds.
4. One of my good friends joined the same gym I joined after I finished the Farrell's 10-week challenge. It is so much fun having a workout partner once again! (More on my workout status in a later post.)
5. I am very much ready for the 3-day weekend. But then again, who wouldn't be!
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