THREE days

There are 3 days left until the CF walk! Please DONATE HERE TO FIND A CURE


I know a lot of times when people are asking to raise money for a cause it's easy to just shrug it off like it's not a big deal because it doesn't affect you. I used to be that way too, but not so much anymore. My brother sustained a spinal cord injury and now I realize how IMPORTANT research is to find a cure. There is still hope that some day he will walk again. And when I met my sister-in-law, Teri, a few years ago and learned the details of CF - I realized we NEED to find a cure. And we need donations, the research needs it. There are so many diseases out there we need to find cures for, but right now I'm focusing on CF - please join me.


I've been connected to a few other CF families, and I thought I would share this VIDEO with you all.  Conner is a seven year old boy who is dying of CF. He basically has a month or two left to live. He is SEVEN years old. Please watch this video and please, please DONATE to give hope to Teri, to Conner, to all the other people out there with this disease. Please.

Finn's Baptism

I LOVE GLEE!!!!

Finn Throws a Fit

It's been one of THOSE days. Actually I feel like it's more common for us to have one of THOSE days than to not have one of THOSE days. I don't remember what it was like to have quiet in my house because my kids don't nap at the same time. I don't remember what sleeping more than 4-5 hours feels like. Every day without fail, Finn Throws a Fit!

Double Jogging Stroller

We finally got our double jogging stroller!!! My old boss, David, definitely had the hook up. His boyfriend works at HAYNEEDLE (an online shopping store, you've got to check it out). And he said I could use his discount for double strollers. How could we say no to that? So we got a sa-weet deal on one. It arrived in the mail this weekend and I just had to text David a picture of the boys in it to say thanks once again. He then told me that they ripped up my check in the mail and it's our baby gift from them. I wanted to cry! What an awesome, awesome gift. I used it for the first time today, I went a little over 3 miles. Wow, what a workout! Jack and Finn seem to love it though! PS - I ran 10.5 miles on Saturday and yeah, I don't ever want to do that again. haha. I'm dead serious.

How Do You Tuck in a Superhero

A while ago I came across this blog written by a woman with five boys and who was pregnant with her sixth child (she just had a GIRL). She is a professional writer and her blog is quite entertaining to read - it's called Testosterhome.  Anyway, I saw she just wrote a book titled How Do You Tuck in a Superhero and other delightful mysteries of raising boys.  I decided to buy it off Amazon.com. To my surprise I finished it in less than a week. It wasn't exactly what I thought it was going to be, but still very entertaining. Basically it is a 200 page book compiled of 2-3 page stories about her boys, broken down into different categories. I thought I would share a few of my favorite parts.




"We women with boys (and it's a heck of a lot of us, really), we need to encourage each other. Yes, it's tough. Yes, boys can be wild. But it's worth it. You're doing great. You're going to make it. You are raising tomorrow's men. Make warriors, not wimps."


This is a story I found very entertaining and hit home (if any of you have met Jack, you know he takes off at the speed of lightning any chance he gets). 
I cannot tell you the number of people who come up to me when we are out in public, who pull me aside and whisper to me that having all boys is simple-that boys are so much easier than girls. I hear this a lot, and some days I take comfort in that fact. With girls, people will tell me, it's all so emotional. And things are never what they seem. It's true that with boys what you see is what you get.  I love and appreciate that about boys.


One summer afternoon, a friend and I took our children to the local science museum. She had her five children (two girls, three boys), and I had my four boys (pre 5th baby). We arrived at the museum and had a long, drawn out pep talk in the parking lot. It was there I went over the importance of staying right by me, where I droned on and on and belabored the point and maybe even threatened loss of privilege and food to those who got too far ahead.


Ten minutes later, we walked inside the museum and my boys disappeared immediately. Gone from my side, out of my sight, zipping through the exhibits like monkeys on speed.


Right around this time, another friend walked by. This father was there with his five daughters, all of whom were dutifully holding onto a piece of his clothing as they toured the sights.


How do you do that? I asked, while looking around for even a remote sign of my boys.


He explained that he had instructed the girls to stay nearby, and that if they ran off, they would have to run laps or do pushups when they got home. That sounded like a good idea for about a second, until I realized my boys would take that as some kind of incentive, and not as punishment. After the dad left, I turned to my friend with a look of frustration and possibly dismay.  


How can having boys be easier I asked. I just don't see it. 


It's not she told me. And she admitted that to her, boys were harder.


At least in this situation, I know she was right. I was living proof that even if girls are emotional and conniving, at least they stay put.




And another excerpt that made me smile

"No one sets out to have a single-gender sibling set. Plenty of people get some of each. The rest of us wind up with something that looks different than what we imagined but is somehow the answer to the hopes and dreams we never knew we had."

Finn Rolls Over

Seeing this happen today reminded me how LUCKY I am to stay at home with my boys!!!

Progress

I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and it looks GLORIOUS! Tom and I have our nights back! We've been putting Finn to bed about 8 - 8:30 PM for the past 4 nights. There is just something about having both kids tucked in bed and being able to sit on the couch and let out a huge sigh and say "ahhhhhhhh what a day" and still have a few hours to just be husband and wife. Even though the TV is usually on and I'm working on the laptop.  


I'm also happy to report that Finn is definitely more manageable at night and get this - he even naps in his crib. Not for very long, but still - it's progress. He's smiling and laughing more. I'm going to start him on solid foods in a few weeks here and things are just moving right along.


Funny story - this afternoon I was downstairs feeding Finn watching The Rescuers Down Under (I just bought our first Disney movie for Jack - and his attention span is all of 5 min and then he's off doing something else) but hey, at least I enjoy the movie. So anyways, I go upstairs to grab a diaper and there is Jack swinging in Finn's swing. haha. He turned it on, and just decided to go for a ride. I just busted out laughing and grabbed my camera, but the battery was dead. There is nothing like grabbing your camera to take a picture of your child doing something naughty instead of disciplining them. I am so surprised the thing didn't collapse. We would be so screwed if that happened, considering Finn gets up at 6 AM, but if I put him in his swing, he will sleep in there until 8 or 9. 


So life is still pretty crazy busy around here and I don't see it slowing down anytime soon. I'm getting more comfortable with taking the boys out, especially now that Finn isn't so fussy. Jack is going to have a hay day when we start feeding Finn baby food, I can see it already. The weather has been so nice here lately, which just makes me so happy and it also makes me enjoy the rainy days to just relax.

Half Marathon Training

I figured since I am into my 5th week of training I would write a little update. I am half way done with training and the big day is on May 22. This past Saturday I ran 8 miles. That sounds unbelievable to me. But honestly, it wasn't that hard. I think the way that I have been training has really paid off. I have an awesome training schedule that I have followed to a T, well minus a few things. The schedule wants me to run M-W-TH and a long run on Saturday. I've found my long runs are easier when I have two days off instead of just one, so I've been skipping the Thursday run. Throughout the training, I never go more than 6 miles during the week - and that is only one time. Usually it's 3, 4 or 5.  So that is also nice. And let me say this - I run SLOW! I am consistently running about 10 min miles. Even when I do my 3 mile run, I still average 10 min miles. But honestly, I don't push myself to go faster on my shorter runs and hopefully this will work towards my advantage on the race day so I don't start out too fast. The first 2 miles are hard because I'm not into a groove yet and then I hit a wall around 5 miles and I'm predicting I will hit another one around 9 or 10 miles.  I am also pretty proud of myself because I have ran the entire time during all of my runs. At first I wanted to stop a ton, especially when starting the 4 and 5 milers, but I didn't let myself. Once I stop, I get out of the groove and can't get back in it. So now on my really long runs, it's not even an option for me to stop.  If I can keep my training up, I would love to finish the half marathon without stopping. I'm not getting my hopes up, but it's definitely something to shoot for. We'll see how my 10 mile run goes this weekend! 

Finn's First 3 Months

Cystic Fibrosis - Help Donate to Find a Cure

Before I met Teri (my sister in law) I never knew the details about Cystic Fibrosis. I knew it was a genetic disease, in fact that was the only pre-screening pregnancy test I had done with Jack - but besides that, I was clueless. When Teri and I first started hanging out, I would often ask her about her disease. I didn't want to seem rude, but I wanted to know about it and I felt like I should hear about it first hand. There are many treatments that CF patients have to do on a daily basis and catching the common cold is not just annoying, it can be life threatening. And spending time in the hospital for "tune ups" is an annual occurrence.

Cystic Fibrosis is an inherited disease that causes thick, sticky mucous to build up in the lungs and digestive track.  Currently there is no cure for CF. However, there are many medical advances being made and many new drugs in the pipeline that need funding to get to the next stages.

On May 1st I am walking to cure Cystic Fibrosis. I need your help though. If you could just donate $1, it will make a difference.

And if you need another reason to donate, just go to The Groettum Family and take a look at their cute little one year old, Gavin, and tell me he doesn't deserve the donation!?! I'd put up a picture of Teri, but she'd probably kill me :-)

So whip out that credit card. Justify your payment by not eating out for lunch or dinner for a few days, skip those caribou or starbucks coffees for one week, or just realize that your money is going straight towards research to help find a cure for this disease.

My goal is one of the lowest amounts right now, maybe you will all surprise me and I can raise the bar! We've got less than one month people. DONATE NOW

Counting in Spanish and moonwalking - oh my

Last week Jack woke up in the morning singing Hola, Hola, Ariba, Ariba! He was seriously shouting them. I was just laughing in my bed listening to him. This was obviously learned from watching Dora, not from me. haha. So then later in the week or earlier this week (I can't remember) Jack was counting his snacks and I swear he was saying uno, dos...and I was just like, no way. If you've ever seen a Dora episode, they are so repetitive with everything, it is no wonder he has started counting in spanish. Haha, they count in every single episode I swear. And who said that TV is bad for our children? Just kidding people. So anyway, I was able to get him to count to three on the video camera just so you don't think I'm crazy...




Then this past weekend, Tom was listening to a Michael Jackson song and Jack started doing those high pitched squeals MJ is known for, it was HILARIOUS. I haven't caught a good one on camera yet, but I did try and teach him the moonwalk yesterday, hahaha because I am such a good dancer and all.  Do you think it's going to be a problem that I never listen to children's music with Jack?





Finn has been driving me bonkers lately (what's new, right?). I cannot get him to nap in his crib. And I know, what is the big deal about having him nap in his swing - BUT Jack is so loud that Finn is constantly waking up. I think this inconsistent napping is why he is still waking up at night too. I need the baby whisperer to come to my house stat!

Happy Easter 2010!

We had a WONDERFUL Easter this year. It's so much fun now that Jack is getting to an age where he understands things and wants to participate in holiday activities. We had about 3 Easter Egg hunts this weekend and he loved them all.


On Thursday afternoon we dyed Easter eggs out on our deck

Then on Friday afternoon we saw the Easter Bunny at Ridgedale. We had been telling Jack all about him and he was super excited to go and see him. When the bunny finally came out, Jack was super giggly. Then when we forced him to sit on his lap, he freaked. See for yourself:

On Saturday we headed to Scandia, MN for an egg hunt with some friends and their kids and had dinner at their place too.


This morning we had a little egg hunt for Jack at our house and some gifts from the Easter Bunny were left on the table. We headed to church at 9 AM (it was not pretty with a 2 year old who can't sit still) and then there was another Easter egg hunt at the Starkey's this morning.  We left the Starkey's and we ALL got to take a nice nap before we headed to our last Easter gathering at the Loneys. We threw rocks in the pond and drew chalk at Great Grandma and Grandpa Loney's house. Here are some pictures of the hunts and the Easter presents.



Jack's presents (Spider Man plate and placemat, new crock shoes,  and a customized Twins hat)

This is what the Easter Bunny left Finn: 

My boys Easter morning

k