November 14 - Women. Today I am thankful for the women that we are seeing in the spotlight in the media. Some good some bad, but they are there. We are starting to move up to the front seat of coverage and while we will always have the Kardashians that are known for...well I won't fill you in if you don't know where they started. But we also have people like Ronda Rousey and Holly Holm. These two women were and are the best at the sport they have chosen, in this case it is mixed marital arts and I must admit I have never wanted to watch an MMA fight before, not only did I watch this one I also paid $60 to do so. They danced around the octagon, they caught punches and threw them...they bled and bruised just as the men did. Not only did they accomplish this, they also sold out the largest venue ever and head lined the most talked about fight in MMA history. Not in spite of them being women, or because they are women...but rather because they have earned the title of the best, and our society loves an underdog story. We love watching an 800 point underdog like Holly Holm KO a reigning champ in the second round, I have to think because some small part of the millions that watched now know that it is possible to train hard and win...even when no one thinks you can.
November 15 - Carri. Today is Carri's due date and even though she didn't have that little girl today I can still give thanks to the person that she has allowed my brother to become. It was always going to take a special person to work well with either Tadd or myself, we have a fair amount of baggage but if you don't mind dealing with that our hearts are made of gold.
November 16 - Snowmagendon - That's what they are calling the snow forecast for this evening. With a total of up to 25" at our house. It sure would be fun to be all snowed in, however when I post tomorrow about wind and a dusting of snow you will know that my thanks will not be to the weatherman who is promising to shut down the state.
Monday, November 16, 2015
Friday, November 13, 2015
What my Mom always used to say...
I grew up with the age old saying if you have nothing nice to say. So I have again been silent on this poor blog of mine, but enough is enough because it is officially my favorite time of year. :-) November is the month of thanks and since I already have a couple of weeks to make up, here we go.
November 1 - I am thankful for Joe's friends. He has developed quite a group of transplanted Indiana friends out here in Colorado and we are fortunate enough to meet up with them often.
November 2 - I am thankful for the opportunity to call Pepper our kitty for 9 years. On this afternoon I was outside with the dogs and kids and found her after apparently being hit by a car, hopefully she didn't suffer much and didn't need us in the end. She managed to teach the whole family (dogs and kids included) so much respect for animals. While she may have been the smallest resident in our house, weighing in at only 8 pounds she was definitely our fiercest.
November 3 - As always election day is a big deal to me, as I dive deeper into politics I realize how much my vote does count and I am truly thankful that I am able to cast it.
November 4 - Today made me thankful for modern medicine. I will always stand by my statement that having a baby is terrifying...nothing about being pregnant with baby number four is different from the sheer terror that you can experience while pregnant. I would have thought I would have been better at this whole gig, but alas I am not. They found a hematoma (fancy word for bruise) today while doing the 20 week ultrasound. While most of the time these are no big deal, they only raise concerns when you are in the second trimester and/or over 35...not sure if you could see my hand raised for both of those questions. So now we wait and see, will it shrink as it should and disappear...or will it cause a miscarriage? Only time will tell. The doctor smiled when I brought up the concern and when I made it home and looked up potential treatments I understood the smile. Bed rest. Which is completely out of the question for the next 4 to 5 months. At least with the ability to view our little baby girl we know for the time being that she seems happy and healthy.
November 5 - Random trips to see Joe at the shop. With Joe's recent employee changes he has been working a lot more so on occasion the kids and I drive in after I pick them up at school and bring a coffee or something to say Hi. The kids love seeing him and I am sure it helps his day go by quicker if it is broken up by little kid stories.
November 6 - Today I am thankful for Pay Day. I might still be the only full grown adult with an actual career that has a reminder on my calendar about pay day. I love the ding that my phone gives me, like hey I know you have been working "hard" these two weeks - here's your payment. And while my money is set to pay bills and transfer around to all different kinds of accounts automatically, it still feels good to get paid.
November 7 - Trips to Grandma's house. We had a dog show this weekend so rather than drag the kids by myself on Saturday while Joe worked I sent them off to spend the day at Grandma's house. The girls used to go there all the time while we went snowboarding but since I was pregnant last season and I am pregnant this season poor little Jackson has never been there for the day.
November 8 - Finishing Kuma. Kuma is officially a champion...he's title name is now CH Moonlight's Fudo. And still just as sweet as the day we picked him up. Just look what two years and hundreds of dollars in dog food can do.
We had just brought home Hiro at two months old and here's Kuma at 5 months old.
November 9 - Today I am thankful for my patience. We have homework every night to get done, and while I am sure the girls are tired of sitting still and paying attention they have another 60-90 minutes of it when they get home. It takes everything in me to not be angry at the situation and then the kids in the process. Sometimes I sit back in the playroom (our room of choice so Jackson can crawl about unharmed) and watch the three little people and their personalities and get the biggest smile. Of course the smile is wiped off my face when I repeatedly have to say "please sit down and pay attention, this is your homework not mine".
November 10 - Today I am thankful for Chipotle. While it seems like an odd thing to be thankful for, we are back into the winter swing of things which means that we don't have the sporting events so I am responsible for cooking 7 nights a week. During the summer I can always just throw meat on the grill and prepare a salad or some veggies but in the winter I have to really come up with meals and sometimes it is just exhausting. On this particular day, Chipotle teamed up with the girls school to run a fundraiser so Joe picked it up on his way home...check mark, dinner is done. :-)
November 11 - Snow. We had our first snow, and while it was only an inch or so...it was still magical for the kiddos. I can't wait for the big dumps now that the girls are so much bigger and love playing in it. Something about this year is proving to be even harder to be pregnant during the winter, perhaps it's because I won't be due until the end of the season which means that I have a zero percent chance of snowboarding this year whereas last year at least I got in one trip. But at least seeing how excited the kids are to play in the snow warms my heart.
November 12 - Non-alcoholic beer. Again it may seem like an odd thing to be thankful for, but last night when Joe got home and mixed up a drink and we sat down to talk about the stresses of the day, it sure feels nice to crack open a "beer" (even if it's a fake one).
November 13 - Lunch dates. I have been dragging the kids to lunch dates with my friends and family since they were first born, today since my boss is off on Fridays which makes my work day a lot quieter I will be meeting Kelley for lunch. I consider it a learning event, look at the server when ordering, answering completely while enunciating and sit still until the meal is done.
November 1 - I am thankful for Joe's friends. He has developed quite a group of transplanted Indiana friends out here in Colorado and we are fortunate enough to meet up with them often.
November 2 - I am thankful for the opportunity to call Pepper our kitty for 9 years. On this afternoon I was outside with the dogs and kids and found her after apparently being hit by a car, hopefully she didn't suffer much and didn't need us in the end. She managed to teach the whole family (dogs and kids included) so much respect for animals. While she may have been the smallest resident in our house, weighing in at only 8 pounds she was definitely our fiercest.
November 3 - As always election day is a big deal to me, as I dive deeper into politics I realize how much my vote does count and I am truly thankful that I am able to cast it.
November 4 - Today made me thankful for modern medicine. I will always stand by my statement that having a baby is terrifying...nothing about being pregnant with baby number four is different from the sheer terror that you can experience while pregnant. I would have thought I would have been better at this whole gig, but alas I am not. They found a hematoma (fancy word for bruise) today while doing the 20 week ultrasound. While most of the time these are no big deal, they only raise concerns when you are in the second trimester and/or over 35...not sure if you could see my hand raised for both of those questions. So now we wait and see, will it shrink as it should and disappear...or will it cause a miscarriage? Only time will tell. The doctor smiled when I brought up the concern and when I made it home and looked up potential treatments I understood the smile. Bed rest. Which is completely out of the question for the next 4 to 5 months. At least with the ability to view our little baby girl we know for the time being that she seems happy and healthy.
November 5 - Random trips to see Joe at the shop. With Joe's recent employee changes he has been working a lot more so on occasion the kids and I drive in after I pick them up at school and bring a coffee or something to say Hi. The kids love seeing him and I am sure it helps his day go by quicker if it is broken up by little kid stories.
November 6 - Today I am thankful for Pay Day. I might still be the only full grown adult with an actual career that has a reminder on my calendar about pay day. I love the ding that my phone gives me, like hey I know you have been working "hard" these two weeks - here's your payment. And while my money is set to pay bills and transfer around to all different kinds of accounts automatically, it still feels good to get paid.
November 7 - Trips to Grandma's house. We had a dog show this weekend so rather than drag the kids by myself on Saturday while Joe worked I sent them off to spend the day at Grandma's house. The girls used to go there all the time while we went snowboarding but since I was pregnant last season and I am pregnant this season poor little Jackson has never been there for the day.
November 8 - Finishing Kuma. Kuma is officially a champion...he's title name is now CH Moonlight's Fudo. And still just as sweet as the day we picked him up. Just look what two years and hundreds of dollars in dog food can do.
We had just brought home Hiro at two months old and here's Kuma at 5 months old.
November 9 - Today I am thankful for my patience. We have homework every night to get done, and while I am sure the girls are tired of sitting still and paying attention they have another 60-90 minutes of it when they get home. It takes everything in me to not be angry at the situation and then the kids in the process. Sometimes I sit back in the playroom (our room of choice so Jackson can crawl about unharmed) and watch the three little people and their personalities and get the biggest smile. Of course the smile is wiped off my face when I repeatedly have to say "please sit down and pay attention, this is your homework not mine".
November 10 - Today I am thankful for Chipotle. While it seems like an odd thing to be thankful for, we are back into the winter swing of things which means that we don't have the sporting events so I am responsible for cooking 7 nights a week. During the summer I can always just throw meat on the grill and prepare a salad or some veggies but in the winter I have to really come up with meals and sometimes it is just exhausting. On this particular day, Chipotle teamed up with the girls school to run a fundraiser so Joe picked it up on his way home...check mark, dinner is done. :-)
November 11 - Snow. We had our first snow, and while it was only an inch or so...it was still magical for the kiddos. I can't wait for the big dumps now that the girls are so much bigger and love playing in it. Something about this year is proving to be even harder to be pregnant during the winter, perhaps it's because I won't be due until the end of the season which means that I have a zero percent chance of snowboarding this year whereas last year at least I got in one trip. But at least seeing how excited the kids are to play in the snow warms my heart.
November 12 - Non-alcoholic beer. Again it may seem like an odd thing to be thankful for, but last night when Joe got home and mixed up a drink and we sat down to talk about the stresses of the day, it sure feels nice to crack open a "beer" (even if it's a fake one).
November 13 - Lunch dates. I have been dragging the kids to lunch dates with my friends and family since they were first born, today since my boss is off on Fridays which makes my work day a lot quieter I will be meeting Kelley for lunch. I consider it a learning event, look at the server when ordering, answering completely while enunciating and sit still until the meal is done.
Monday, November 2, 2015
Our weekend
Our friends host a Halloween party every year, and while it was/is an adult party they start it now at 7PM so we can drag the kiddos and leave when the real party starts. Every year I try and dress the kiddos up as something at least together and most years I match them too, however this year I decided that we should all dress up together as a family...and while Joe grumbled he ended up pulling off the Scarecrow very well. :-)
Earlier in the day, Jackson was helping me make the cupcakes for the party. Boy do I love that face!
Poor Jackson's head piece kept falling down (which I actually think made him cuter, but also angry). We won second place in the costume contest too...thanks to pulling off The Wizard of Oz!
Sunday mornings we try and make it to Overtime to watch the Bears, here's Jackson hanging out with Adam watching the game.
Tadd and Carri got a new rocker for the baby's room so we got the furniture box, which Joe turned into fort.
Earlier in the day, Jackson was helping me make the cupcakes for the party. Boy do I love that face!
Poor Jackson's head piece kept falling down (which I actually think made him cuter, but also angry). We won second place in the costume contest too...thanks to pulling off The Wizard of Oz!
Sunday mornings we try and make it to Overtime to watch the Bears, here's Jackson hanging out with Adam watching the game.
Tadd and Carri got a new rocker for the baby's room so we got the furniture box, which Joe turned into fort.
Friday, October 30, 2015
Halloween time!
We carved those big beasts the other night...Joe even took off early from work, which is actually more of a treat than the activity itself.
The finished products all lit up. See how mine looks like an old man's face or perhaps a scary skull (which is about as far from what I was going for possible).
Here's my owl in the daylight see how the wings are only scratched out, apparently I didn't go deep enough to be able to see it at night.
The girls school does Book Character Parties at school rather than Halloween parties. Here's our Elsa before her party yesterday. I completely forgot to get a picture of Austin this morning so I will have to take one this afternoon when we pick her up.
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Fall Time
Our weeks are crazy busy right now, I am sure Joe feels even more like that. With some recent changes at the business he is working a lot more and with two kids in school we are running a lot more...both of which make it feel as though we never really get any time off. But just as this change swept in and disrupted everything so will the change that makes it all different.
I drove past a pumpkin display the other day and told Joe about it so he could go back and pick some up. I love how the vines weren't cut off all the way so they have so much character. If you'd like a size comparison...take a look at the toaster oven that looks small. These pumpkins are huge!
We went up to Denver to cheer on our friend Anna who ran in the marathon up there. This crazy statue was outside of one of the state buildings.
Look at that troop...even Jackson and I were in our jerseys.
Matisyahu performed at the finish line, this was the kiddos first concert so it was fun to watch them feel the music.
The girls and Nate made signs for the race, the girls were in charge of glitter. Which as you would imagine is a very important job.
There she is crossing the finish line...what a great accomplishment. And a great experience for the girls who both want to run marathons some day now.
Afterwards we went to Hoss and Leslie's house for a fall party complete with a hay ride.
I drove past a pumpkin display the other day and told Joe about it so he could go back and pick some up. I love how the vines weren't cut off all the way so they have so much character. If you'd like a size comparison...take a look at the toaster oven that looks small. These pumpkins are huge!
We went up to Denver to cheer on our friend Anna who ran in the marathon up there. This crazy statue was outside of one of the state buildings.
Look at that troop...even Jackson and I were in our jerseys.
Matisyahu performed at the finish line, this was the kiddos first concert so it was fun to watch them feel the music.
The girls and Nate made signs for the race, the girls were in charge of glitter. Which as you would imagine is a very important job.
There she is crossing the finish line...what a great accomplishment. And a great experience for the girls who both want to run marathons some day now.
Afterwards we went to Hoss and Leslie's house for a fall party complete with a hay ride.
Friday, October 16, 2015
Holy Smokes!
Holy Smokes.
Ok so first for the big news! As most of you should know by now, we are expecting our fourth child and third daughter on March 24th (or in my case two weeks later) .
Between watching the heartbroken faces of three of my friends miscarry in the last 6 months during the first trimester AND the big wedding in Iowa AND Tadd and Carri's baby shower, I had to wait slightly longer than I normally do to tell anyone. Especially Joe who just gets too excited not to mention it.
Here's the little wiggly girl all snug in the belly pudge that her brother Jackson left her. :-)
We hosted our 9th annual Chili Cookoff last weekend and I managed to WIN! With a green chili that took my four days to make, smoked the pork shoulder and roasted my own peppers. Yahoo!
Just look at that beast! I made a cumin and salt crust and smoked it all day, turned out amazing.
Of course adding a major life event like birth and another child does come with it's own stress like the fact that my last day with Verizon is supposed to be the end of March, which will also be the last day of my insurance. Although for the first time ever there are a ton of options to just go out and buy insurance through a CO-OP like our bank(s) or even COSTCO offers it. So while it may be a little more expensive than Verizon's offering at least we won't go bankrupt. The silver lining (other than welcoming an amazing little person to the world) is that Verizon can no longer ship me off to Pittsburgh due to the pregnancy. :-)
Ok so first for the big news! As most of you should know by now, we are expecting our fourth child and third daughter on March 24th (or in my case two weeks later) .
Between watching the heartbroken faces of three of my friends miscarry in the last 6 months during the first trimester AND the big wedding in Iowa AND Tadd and Carri's baby shower, I had to wait slightly longer than I normally do to tell anyone. Especially Joe who just gets too excited not to mention it.
Here's the little wiggly girl all snug in the belly pudge that her brother Jackson left her. :-)
We hosted our 9th annual Chili Cookoff last weekend and I managed to WIN! With a green chili that took my four days to make, smoked the pork shoulder and roasted my own peppers. Yahoo!
Just look at that beast! I made a cumin and salt crust and smoked it all day, turned out amazing.
Of course adding a major life event like birth and another child does come with it's own stress like the fact that my last day with Verizon is supposed to be the end of March, which will also be the last day of my insurance. Although for the first time ever there are a ton of options to just go out and buy insurance through a CO-OP like our bank(s) or even COSTCO offers it. So while it may be a little more expensive than Verizon's offering at least we won't go bankrupt. The silver lining (other than welcoming an amazing little person to the world) is that Verizon can no longer ship me off to Pittsburgh due to the pregnancy. :-)
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