Memorial Day Weekend

Celebrating Memorial Day Weekend when you have a young family is very different then the ways we use to spend it. But you know what, I like this way a little better anyway. Run down of my weekend. And I always start with Friday even though I had to work, it's still Friday and I consider it the weekend.

Friday at work went by SO FAST! It was Pre-K Graduation day for my kids. We have been working so hard with them for this. We woke up early from nap (though most the kids were already awake b/c they were so excited) and started getting ready. First we sent the few kids that still had another year of Pre-K over to Pre-School so we could focus on staying on time. We got the kids to sit down for a quick snack so they wouldn't be hungry during the whole thing. Have you ever worked with 20 hungry kids?  Kids that were not at school that day but were graduating started arriving around 2:50pm. We sent everyone to the bathroom and started putting on gowns and caps. The kids were so excited to be putting on their caps b/c my co-teacher and I had been making such a big deal about them. As soon as every ones tummy's were full, bladders were emptied and camps and gowns were on as straight as they were going to get, I started getting the kids together for a quick picture before we headed up. Now this was a challenge all in it's own. The past 2 graduating classes were only around 15 kids or so. Posing 15 kids for a quick picture is not a problem. But this year we had 22 graduates! I had to get a little creative.  I had the kids standing, kneeling, standing on chairs, and then in the very back, standing on the table! And the picture still wasn't to my perfectionist liking, but we were running late and the kids were getting antsy so I snapped what I could and we got moving. Here is one of the shots. Don't they all look so grown up!!

We lined up in our line and started heading upstairs to graduate. I have never seen or heard the kids so quite on the way upstairs! We got to the room and Holy Heck did we have a turn out! It was packed. The kids sang their songs great and then it was slide show time. I worked FOREVER on this thing and was SO nervous. But it was a hit. The kids loved it and the parents loved it. The kids walked to get their diplomas while I read off their names and what they wanted to be when they grew up. Example: One little girl wanted to Jasmine and Sleeping Beauty when she grew up. One boy wanted to Build GPS's. We had a future costume designer among us and an builder who wanted to build play places for kids. These kids are amazing. After some cake and punch and talking with everyone, it was time to go home. I wish I could say that I did something, anything, with my family Friday night, but I was SO exhausted, I fell asleep around 8pm.

Saturday morning was adventurous. Dave worked in the morning and I thought it would be fun to head to the River Market with the kids to pick up some produce for the week. I'm not a complete fool though. I invited my mom along to help with the kids. Got my produce and Emery got to ride the train (aka the lady with the barrels hooked up to her lawn mower and charges $2 a ride, genius!).

After some short afternoon naps, we were off to my friend Courtney's house for her son's 1st Birthday. Emery had a blast playing with the other kids and Campbell used his charm to woo the ladies. After the birthday party, we picked up a pizza and headed home. Everyone was pretty tired so we stayed in the rest of the night.

Sunday morning was typical again. But finally we got the kids outside to play! It was the first time the kids got into their bathing suits. They looked SO CUTE. We got the water table out and let the kids at it. Campbell was having so much fun. I'm pretty weird when it comes to letting Campbell crawl around outside, I just don't let him, but today was I a free spirit and let him do whatever.

 Him and Emery played for over an hour at the table. Campbell decided it was time to explore other places when Emery took a bucket and filled it with water and poured it over his head. After some evening grocery shopping, we sat down for dinner, got showers, and then ALL went to bed.

Monday! Memorial Day! A day to BBQ with family and be at the pool/lake. A day to remember those who have fought for us and are still fighting for us. A day to spend together as a family. Well, we did the last two. There was no BBQing for us because most our family was out of town and we (okay, I really just mean I) don't really BBQ much anyway b/c we (again, really just me) don't eat meat. On a side note, this will be my first summer as a vegetarian and it is sure to be a very hard one seeing that my family will find any reason to get together and smoke some meat to eat together. But I will just have to plug my nose and be stronger than the delicious smell of ribs and bbq sauce. Anyway, so instead of all that other stuff, we went on a family shopping trip to Zona Rosa. The kids were wonderful walking around Zona and going into the stores. Campbell got some summer shorts and tshirts while Mommy found some Dick's Sporting Goods gift cards in her wallet that she had forgotten about and got herself a new Nike+ sensor for her runs =) Emery restrained from running in the fountains as well. It was nice to get out with everyone because it doesn't happen too often. After shopping, we headed to Dave's Dads house to spend some time with them. Went out to eat at Corner Cafe and then headed back again to their house to play in the driveway and jump on the trampoline.

Big change from the Memorial Day's I use to spend at the lake with friends, but I wouldn't change it.

Week 5! Finally

I finally ran Week 5 of my Couch to 5K program! After weeks of doing Week 4 Day 3, I finally grew a pair and just went for Week 5. It was so much easier than I thought it would be. I honestly thought I was going to die on this run before I even ran it. But I did really well with my food intake today, fueled my body well, and after the kids were in bed, hit the pavement. It was great. It felt great. I loved it.

Next run Friday!

Pre Mothers Day Post

So I have a whole lot to write for Mother's day. It was a great day though. Breakfast in bed, Dave took care of all tasks with the kids, we played outside, and I got a Pinterest project done! Pics to come!

We are Living in a Material World, and I am a Material Girl

Seriously, who doesn't love gadgets. I love them all. And now that I have been running again (okay technically, I have only ran 3 times but still, I'm getting off my ass. I also just want to throw in there that I will be running tonight too) I want all the fun gadgets that they make for running.

Of course every runner needs a good pair of shoes. There are so many different kind of running shoes out there though! And I have a hard enough time finding good shoes because my feet are HUGE! (We're talking size 11 here people). Oh and did I mention that they are super wide too?! Ya, so finding good shoes for me is usually a challenge. BUT, I did find these Mizuno's at Dick Sporting Goods and they were like heaven on my feet. Or what I can only imagine what your feet would feel like in heaven.

They are $149.99 which I would not normally ever spend on ANY pair of shoes (not totally true, I did drop a pretty penny on some UGG's last winter) but they say that if you serious about running, you need a good running shoe. So these are what I am saving up for now. Lucky for me, I'm still sitting on some Dick Sporting Goods Gift Cards from Christmas. You can find the shoes here.

Okay, so the shoes were not really a gadget, but they are expensive like most gadgets so they count. Now on to something I don't really need, but I REALLY WANT! I already run with my iPod touch. Love it. Love the running apps I have on there and my music and how small it is. What I really want though, is the new iPhone. I think a new one is coming out this fall maybe. I don't even need that new one, just an iPhone would be nice.

Oh to have internet where ever I go and be able to post my runs right away on my run logger so I don't forget. So what is stopping me? Honestly, my husband! He thinks that if I get an iPhone then he should get one too. I have NO IDEA why. He has an iPod, he loves it. ALL he does on it is play games. He doesn't use the iCal, or have his contacts uploaded onto them, heck he doesn't even ever check his facebook! So why does he need an iPhone? I don't know either. I do understand a little though, I mean, who doesn't want a smartphone? But he is firm on that if I get one, he needs one too, and we just can't afford a phone plan with both of us having one. So, I'm still stuck with my no internet dinosaur phone that doesn't even work half the time. Eh, you win some, you lose some.

The last thing that I'm going to write about that I want, and actually can have, is the Nike+ SportWatch GPS.

This thing would rock my world. Water resistant, accurate GPS, keeps time, pace, milage, heart rate, calories burned....need I go on? Ya, it's kind of expensive ($169.99 on Amazon) but I think it something that when I get into a little more milage, I'm going to need. So I will wait it out. Maybe it will be a little gift to myself after my first race or something.


I do have a Nike+ sensor already and the app on my iPod, but I feel like the battery runs out of that little sensor thing SO FAST! So I am stuck buying a $20 sensor every so often and it's just redic! Just let me have the rechargeable watch!

So there you have it. My gadget running list. All wants, no needs.

No Post

Sorry there hasn't been much activity on my blog lately. But there has not really been a lot going on at home to blog about. Wait, let me rephrase that. There has been tons of stuff going on, but nothing really worth mentioning.

Work has been crazy busy lately. We have been packed with 20 kids every day. That's TWENTY 4 and 5 year olds. Plus, graduation is coming up really fast which means crunch time with getting the kids's portfolios done, teaching them their songs, getting the graduation video ready, blah blah blah. So, that's work.

Campbell-Well, let's see. He is crawling like his ass is on fire. He is climbing stairs (we have bought a new gate for the stairs which is super annoying). He is starting to eat big boy food. And he is still not quite sleeping through the night. We went to Children's Mercy to have his ding-a-ling looked at to see if it was ready to be circumcised. It is, the skin finally grew all the way over so there is slim to no chance of it looking weird when getting snipped. The surgery is set for June 14th. It does make me a little nervous, the whole surgery thing, but he will be fine. He will get put under with some nice smelling gas, then they will put all iv's and needles in him, then they will do the surgery, then he will go in recovery and when he wakes up and is all clear, we will get to see him again. He will get pain meds too which is nice for him. So, that's that. Campbell is saying Mama and Dada and has 8 teeth!

Emery-Oh law, where do I start with this girl? She is nuts! She had a real bad rough patch a month or so ago which her behavior with us and her brother, she didn't want anything to do with any of her grandparents which is very odd, and just not acting like Emmie. But, knock on wood, she has recently been awesome! Just making better choices, and listening better. We have been trying to do more one on one stuff with her so that may be what is helping her. She has been playing soccer on a Y team on Saturdays and has been doing a really good job! And she also LOVES gymnastics! Holy cow, she talks about it every day and wants to go at all hours! We talked about taking a break from it this summer so we could just focus on family time and swimming and stuff, but now we are thinking we may do some summer classes. Her 4th birthday party will definitely be at her gymnastics center. I have a conference with Emery's pre-school teacher tomorrow about her progress and where they think she is at. Now, I know most of this considering I work there as well and her pre-school teachers and I are pretty close and talk often. She is doing well, knows pretty much all of her colors, mixing up black and brown at times, and is doing very well with her shapes. She knows how to spell her name, but you kind of have to guide her along. She also knows how to count and sing her ABC's, though not correctly the whole way through, we still count it. Below is a recent picture of Emery and her BEST FRIEND friend from pre-school James. These two LOVE each other. I'm not kidding. James doesn't come to school every day, but when he does, they are almost inseparable. Emery will go up and hug him first thing in the morning and then they are off in areas together. James is only a few days younger than her too which is nice. So, that is whats going on with that little girl.

I don't have much on me to share. Work, take care of my own kids, sleep when I can, try and keep house straight. That pretty much sums up my life right now. I finally got back on some medication for my ADD and it has helped tremendously! I just can feel my thoughts being organized up there now instead of thinking of a million different things at once. It's been nice. I have some busy months coming up. Lots of birthday parties these next few months, a bridal shower, 2 baby showers, a possible 5K (we will see how training goes), pre-k graduation, Camp's surgery, and I'm sure lots more that I can't even think of right now. But don't worry, I have 3 planners just to make sure I don't forget anything.

So anyway, sorry again for the light postings, hopefully with all this stuff coming up, I will have some more interesting stuff to talk about.