Our Memorial Day Weekend 2010

We went to the park







We found a turtle




 Finn went on the swing for the first time! 








We went to Grandma and Grandpa Loney's pool!







And this guy turned FIVE months today!






All in all, it was a fabulous weekend! I don't want it to end!!! We had beautiful weather and it was so nice not having a set agenda for the entire weekend. We did a lot more fun stuff, but I didn't have my camera with me. Had a BBQ with the Blairs and we also grilled out with Eric and Teri too! Hope everyone else had a great Memorial Day Weekend as well.

Flash Me Friday - Fridge

This weeks flash me Friday : your FRIDGE, ugh. Want to join in on the fun? Hop on over to Jen's blog




Here it is, our ugly looking fridge. We usually have a fridge farm magnet, but I have no idea where that is, along with the million animals it came with. I don't mind though, that clutter on my fridge drives me CRAZY!

We've got Jack and Finn's dr magnets on the fridge with their numbers and info, etc. We have a picture of Tom, his brother, and cousin and their kids (pre Finn). We've got three save the date magnets for a few of the weddings we have this summer. A 1st birthday invite for our niece. And a graduation invite for one of the hockey players Tom coached this past year. Oh and a really old family picture magnet of Tom's family. hahaha.  And you see that basket on the right. That has a lot of crap in it, formal wedding invitations, twins tickets, carrie underwood tickets, stamps, bills, blah blah blah. Oh and most importantly, my coupon organizer!

Here is the inside. Blah. We always have fresh fruit in our fridge because Jack scarfs it down. And I can't say no to a healthy snack. We seriously buy fruit at least 3 times a week. His faves? Blueberries and blackberries. And look at how huge those strawberries are we got from Cub! We've got leftover stir-fry, mac 'n cheese, and the most amazing salsa I've ever made in my life. Thanks to Erin Case! Well, I guess I should be thanking her mom, Sue. ha.

And I will just leave you with this picture of my boys! Have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend everyone!

Half Marathon Day!

It really didn't start to hit me that I was running a half marathon until Friday night when I picked up my number. I tried to go to bed at a descent hour, but I slept like crap. I kept thinking about the run and anticipating what it was going to be like. Tom and I woke up around 6:10 and ate some peanut butter toast and had some coffee. Tom's mom came here around 6:45 AM to watch the boys (they were still sleeping) and we were out the door. I had my iPod ready to go with all of my new songs and rearranged playlist (thank God for Justin Bieber, haha). So we got there and met up with Kelly, Chuck, Amy, and my parents. My biggest fear of the entire race was that I was going to start out too fast and get burnt out by mile 5. So I made sure that I was at the back of the crowd. And I kid you not, I was one of the last people out of the MGSH stadium. But honestly, I didn't care. I didn't care about my time. I wanted to finish without stopping. And that, my friends, is what I did! I ran the entire time, and I actually ENJOYED it! I definitely have NO desire to ever run a full marathon ever in my life, but I could totally do another half. The training was the worst part of the whole thing, but it definitely paid off.  I'm so happy that we all decided to do it and that we ALL finished and felt great about it. Kel, next year it's YOUR turn (Amy took Kel's spot because she is expecting baby #3 this November - and yes, it was her that pushed me to actually sign us all up for this race)!!! :-) You can imagine how I felt when she told me 2 weeks into the training that she wasn't running it anymore. haha. It's ok, I forgave her. And I just have to say, for anyone out there who is debating on running a half marathon...DO IT. Seriously, DO IT. You have no excuse. I was training when Finn wasn't even 3 months and he was still getting up 2-3 times a night, not to mention I was chasing a toddler all day long. I'm not trying to be like "oh look at me" I'm just trying to get the point across that you can totally do it if you put your mind to it. We all have our obstacles and our excuses as to why we don't have the time to train, but if it's something you really want to do - you can make time for it. I promise.  Oh and it helps to have someone push you a little bit like Tom did for me. Because before we had our double jogger, I had to run right when Tom would get home from work. Well then there's my mom. She didn't even fricken train and finished! She was ahead of me the entire race until mile 10. So you could try it her way too, although she probably wouldn't recommend that. Tom finished the race in under 2 hours. What a show off. And Chuck was really trying to outdo everyone, finishing at about 1:45 or something ridiculous. It was a great day. Perfect weather. It's something I can check off my bucket list. Not that I have a bucket list or anything. Or do I?

Ramblings

I have a lot of things I want to post about, but for right now I will just share with you some pictures and a short story.


First the story. Jack is slowly starting to potty train, I have a feeling this will be like a year long process, but what do you do? He asks to go potty like every 5 minutes. But how can I say no? So we undress him, because apparently he has to be completely naked to go potty. We go up in the bathroom, and if I don't go with him and watch him - he will pee on the carpet in our bedroom! UGH. So it's either I risk having Jack pee on the carpet so I can deal with Finn - or I let Finn scream and deal with Jack on the potty. I can't win. But I am glad that at least Jack is moving in the right direction, although I know we will have tons of setbacks and whatnot and that this is just the beginning. 


Last night it was 98 degrees outside and our AC wasn't working. I will just say it was not a fun night here. Although both boys were just fine. In fact the past three days, both boys haven't woken up until about 8:15 (KNOCK ON WOOD)!!! And we've got Finn eating his last bottle at about 7, going to bed about 8. Jack still goes to bed at 7. 


Enjoy the pics!

Next post will be about my half marathon! That's right, I finished! Did I make it the whole way without stopping? Stay tuned...

Flash Me Friday - Bathroom

This week's flash me Friday is the bathroom you use the most often.  Want to join in on the fun, just hope on over to Jen's Blog

I am kind of a stickler for things being on my countertops, but I have a good reason.......

This little monkey gets into everything.

BUBBLES!

Jack is back in business, feeling great. Asking for medicine every 5 minutes, and now he asks me to go to the doctor every 10 minutes. ha. Today we played outside a lot, and I remembered a while back I bought a bubble gun at target. Best purchase ever. 

Ear Infection for Jacky poo

I hate seeing my kids sick. It breaks my heart. This morning Jack woke up and was just in so much pain. It took me about 10 minutes until I realized it was his ears that were bothering him. At first he was saying it was his neck. I was just waiting for vomit to come exploding out of his mouth. But then he started holding his ears and just crying. He didn't want to lift his head up. So we cuddled. Then I decided to bring him into the Urgent Care. While we were waiting, all he wanted me to do was scratch his back and sing him twinkle twinkle. So that's what I did.  I'm not gonna lie, I love cuddling him. And even though I hate that he is in pain and is sick, it's just so comforting to me to hold him again, the way I did when he was a teeny tiny babe. Turns out, his ear is infected and we got some drugs and are slowly feeling better. The good news is he hasn't been running a fever. The other good news is that ear infections are NOT contagious, so I shouldn't have to worry about Finn getting it.  A lot of the time ear infections occur because the fluid from the colds don't drain properly and obviously colds are contagious - but actual ear infections - nope! Did you all know that??? Anyway, Jack is still napping and I'm hoping he wakes up a little bit refreshed. 

We had a fabulous weekend! In fact, it was probably too fabulous for Jack! Wore that poor boy out. Pictures from the weekend will be up later....

Flash Me! Friday - our house!

Welcome to the FIRST Flash Me! Friday.  

Want to take a peek into someone else's life? Get nosey without being impolite? Ever wonder...

• What does their laundry room/family room/garage look like?
• Do they make their bed every morning
• What kind of food do they have in their fridge?
• Is my house cleaner or messier than theirs?

Want to join in on the fun? Just hop on over to Jen's blog HERE

This week - Let's see where YOU live! 

This is our house. We've been living here for almost two years and we LOVE it!

Right or Left Brained?

I got my Real Simple magazine in the mail yesterday. I love this magazine because it has amazing cleaning, organizing and just good suggestions for what to do with random things in your house. My favorite sections are always the organizing sections. This month they said you should know whether you are right or left brained and work with that. "The key to successful organizing is to pay attention to your personality. Then come up with a plan that conforms to it."Right-brain types are visually oriented. They tend to think in images rather than words, focus on the big picture rather than the details, and go through life in a somewhat seat-of-the-pants (aka scattered) way. Left-brainers are those who think in words (attention list makers!), do a lot of advanced planning, and approach challenges in a rational, linear way. So then they go on to a survey to determine whether you are right or left brained. I need no such thing. I know that I am 100% LEFT brained. I don't think I have a fraction of right brained-ness in my body. Ha. Here were some questions in the survey (odd numbers are Left, even numbers are Right):


1. When I'm finished using an item, I put it away immediately
2. When making major purchases, I usually follow my instincts rather than do research
3. I often wear the same jewelry every day.
4. If I have to explain directions to someone, I'll draw her a map instead of telling her verbally
5. I always bring a shopping list to the grocery store
6. I often drive with the Empty light flashing.
7. I'm the go-to party planner for friends and family
8. I'm fine with other people making last-minute changes to plans


OK I am laughing out loud right now because I freak out when my gas light comes on. I have really only let my gas light come on probably 4 or 5 times in my life. I have to put things away after using them. It drives me crazy if I don't clean up my dishes after cooking or after we eat dinner.  And just ask my friends from high school how I felt when plans would all of the sudden change. HA. Of course there are times that I wish I had a little more right brian qualities in me, I've tried to change some things - but I am who I am. 


So are there any other left brainers out there, or am I all alone? :-)

Funny Stories

Lately I feel like all I blog about is Finn and how frustrated I am. I'm happy to report that Finn has been sleeping through the night since Wednesday last week and I now know for CERTAIN that he does not need to eat in the middle of the night. Praise the Lord! I can't even begin to describe how wonderful it feels to be sleeping again. I have more patience, I have more energy, I have a whole new outlook on life. ha. So anyway, I feel like I've left Jack out of the blog for a while and he's been doing/saying some pretty hilarious things that I wanted to document:

• The other week Jack started talking about Bobby. At first we thought he was saying buddy, but no it was Bobby. He would laugh hysterically when he said Bobby and talked about him. Tom and I dismissed it, but then when Jack kept bringing him up - we were like, ok - who IS Bobby??? So I started to ask Jack questions. Is Bobby your friend Jack? OK! he would say. Ummmm.....Is Bobby a boy?? Bobby a mouse Jack responded. I panicked. We just had a dead mouse on our patio that week and was thinking that possibly Jack had made friends with another mouse that might have been living in our house. ummm.....Jack, where does Bobby live? Bobby live in Jack's room! ummmm...... HA HA! This went on for a few days until finally Tom was changing Jack's diaper in his room and Jack proclaimed BOBBY!!!!!! And he pointed to his Huggies box of diapers.  This confuses me because Jack knows who Mickey Mouse is. Maybe he thinks Minnie Mouse is Bobby? We have no clue. But I'm happy to report that Bobby is not imaginary and we do not have a mouse living in our house.
• Jack knows that Tom is at the office for work every day. He always asks for him, but I just tell him Daddy is at the office. When he begs to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house during the day, I tell him they are at their offices too. The other night Tom was putting Jack to bed (When Tom is home for bedtime, Jack INSISTS on having Tom put him to bed, which I am A.O.K with) and Jack was mad at Tom because he wouldn't put different PJs on Jack. So Jack started screaming, Daddy go to office, Daddy go to office! hahaha. My mom also said that when she was babysitting a few weeks ago after she put Jack to bed, he was yelling in his crib, Nanna go home. Nanna go home. HAHAHA. Sad.
• Jack repeats EVERYTHING he hears. One thing I have noticed is that I say God WAY too much. It's sad because I never really noticed it until my 2 year old started saying it every time I did. The other day, Tom did something or said something and I said "God Tom!!!" and for the next 5 minutes all that came out of Jack's mouth was God Tom, God Tom, God Tom! It was one of those situations where I couldn't help but bust out laughing. I'm getting better at it, but bad habits are sure hard to break!
• The other day Jack put on a pair of my heels and comes click clacking into the kitchen. He goes, "Let's go to Ruby's house!" haha. Ruby is my God Daughter and we spend an awful lot of time at the Blair household, but Kelly and Chuck were in Mexico last week and I think Jack was missing Ruby. haha. Why he had to put heels on before he told me this was beyond me. 
• This video speaks for itself

So there you have it. I love my toddler. He is so entertaining. The times when he is naughty or whiney, which is more often than not, are super hard. But the good times are oh so good. 

Happy Mothers Day

T.G.I.F

Small Successes

1. Last night we ate dinner at 4:45 because, well I have no great explanation, but it's just what we did. Tom has been out of town since Tuesday and I was running low on energy, so I whipped up some stir fry and we were finished with dinner a little after 5. That makes for a LONG night before bed. So I decided to give both boys a bath at the same time. I've done it a few times before, but it's a huge challenge. Obviously Finn is still in his baby tub, so it's not like I've got both boys in the same tub and can keep things under control. But it all worked out. Jack is old enough where I can walk out of the bathroom for like 2 minutes and know he's fine. Plus I constantly yell his name so he will yell something back so I know he's not drowning. haha. It all worked out and in the end I had two squeaky clean boys.

2. As I mentioned before, yesterday I was running low on energy. Tuesday night I MAYBE got 3 hours of broken sleep, MAYBE. I was dragging all day long. I got both boys to nap at the same time, Finn was in the basement so his whining wouldn't wake Jack up. I got to nap for an hour and a half (Finn fell asleep, he wasn't screaming the whole time, ha). I felt a tad better, but not much. So then I decided to not work last night and go straight to bed when Finn went to bed. I put Finn to bed about 8:30 and he was up fussing at 9:20 and 9:45, so I said screw it. I put him in the basement in his pack n play, set up the monitor and let him work it out. He fell right to sleep and I didn't hear from him until 3. I decided to try and not to feed him (now he's eating cereal about twice a day, he's getting plenty to eat). So I gave him his nuk, let him cry it out for about 10 min and he was sleeping. Jack woke up at 7:15 and I still hadn't heard from Finn. 8 AM we are done with breakfast, still no Finn. I started to panic, is he still alive? ha. So I went downstairs and a blanket was covering his face. Great, he's suffocated to death. But he was alive and breathing. Welcome to your new bedroom Finn, the basement!

3. I signed up for a golf league with Alissa and my mom. I can't wait to have an escape out of the house every week and work on my game again.

 Ok Finn is up from his nap, time to feed him and go to Target, my second home!

4 month check up and CF Walk

Finn had his 4 month check up this morning. Here are the stats from last time and from this time:


2 MONTH
Height: 22 3/4 inches (50%)
Weight: 12 lbs 3 oz (50-75%)
Head: 38 3/4 cm (25%)


4 MONTH
Height: 25 inches (50%)
Weight: 14 lbs 4 oz (25%)
Head: 41 cm (25%)


He is about 1/2 lb and 1 inch smaller than Jack was at this point. That is probably because Finn spits up everything he eats. HA. All checked out well at the appointment. Finn was happy as a clam. I discussed our sleeping issues and didn't really get any great feedback. Just need to let him work it out and if that means moving him downstairs at night so he doesn't wake up Jack, maybe we will do that. I mentioned his spitting up issues and she gave me a prescription for acid reflux, but she said it probably won't do much since he doesn't seem bothered by spitting up. Oh well, it's worth a shot. I started Finn on rice cereal last week because I just needed to try something else to help him sleep more, and he was days away from being 4 months. He LOVES it, and he ate it so well. Way better than Jack did at his age. I'm going to slowly start baby food too. Most doctors say to wait until the baby is 6 months to start baby food, but we started Jack at 4 months and I remember his pediatrician saying it was fine and if he was eating and swallowing the cereal fine, go ahead. I'm ready to try anything to help us all get on a set schedule of some sort. (Look at how blond Finn's hair is getting. I think he's starting to look more like Jack).

Tom is going out of town this week from Tuesday - Friday, so this would be an excellent time for Finn to start sleeping through the night. I've been getting up with him every 45 minutes from 11:30 to about 3 AM, just giving him his nuk and laying him back on his back (he is rolling over like a maniac now). It's not that I care if Finn rolls over and sleeps on his tummy, but when he gets on his tummy, it's like he doesn't know what to do and screams bloody murder until we roll him back over. ha. His favorite sleeping position is definitely his side. Anyway, then Tom will feed him at 3 and he's been sleeping until his big brother wakes him up at 7. But I will say Finn is now a pretty happy baby, he just needs some help with his sleeping issues. So we are slowly getting there. 

Thank you SOOOO much to everyone who donated for the CF walk. I was able to raise $175 and I think our team raised about $1600. Don't worry, if you didn't get a chance to help out our team this year - I'll be raising money again next year.  It was a nice day, although EXTREMELY windy!!! Jack and Finn were great and we loved using our double stroller.