Sunday, November 30, 2008

Happy, Merry Thanksgiving

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving in Minneapolis this weekend. Since I still don't have a camera, here are some of the highlights...

*We went to Macy's in downtown to go through this Christmas scene. Then we stood in line to see Santa. Jack got stage fright when he actually saw Santa and told him he'd send him a letter instead. (My company has breakfast with Santa next weekend, so we're going to craft the perfect letter this week to hand him personally. How convenient.)
*We went to our first movie as a family, along with Steve's dad and his family. We went to see Bolt, and it was super cute. Anna had a couple of moments, but she made it through. Yeah!
*Jack and Anna got lots of good play time in with Uncle Sam and Aunt Julia. We may not have a huge family, but this just means the kids get extra attention!
*We had Christmas with Steve's dad since we won't see them next month. Jack and Anna LOVED this. Jack got this United States game that Grandma Ginny played with him about 10 times. (What a great grandma!) And Anna got this baby doll and wooden cradle; she took care of it all weekend.
*I couldn't bear the thought of NOT shopping on Black Friday, so I went out to Target in the afternoon and got all my "Toys for Tots" presents taken care of.
*I got to sleep in three mornings in a row, though not because the kids slept late. I just have the most wonderful husband.
*Anna had about 7 pieces of bacon this morning for breakfast. (I figured I should throw that in there because I'm sure she would mention that as a highlight of the weekend.)
*Oh yeah, the actual Thanksgiving dinner! Steve's dad made a fabulous meal, and we'd pretty much cleaned it out by Sunday. Gotta love leftovers.

So yes, we had a great, Thanksgiving weekend. It's so much fun to see my kids growing up and being to play with each other and even unsupervised. We went to a movie, went out to dinner and stood in a looooong line to see Santa. These are all things that would have stressed us out 2 years ago. Now they are just fun. What a great family we have. I'm very thankful for that.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Thanksgiving Message from Jack

Jack learned a new turkey song at school. I couldn't post a direct audio file, so I had to upload it into a movie. I just put his song behind this recent photo I took. (He has this tie set, and he wanted to wear it so bad one day!)

In case you don't understand his words, he's saying...

Gobble Gobble said the turkey
Soon it will be Thanksgiving Day.
The way they treat me,
They're going to eat me,
So I better run away.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

No More Babies



It's official. We no longer have babies in our house. Anna turned 3 on Friday. She's a big kid now...wearing underwear and everything.

We had a nice little party for her on Saturday. She got some great presents, including lots of horse-themed stuff and a cool set of princess shoes that she wears all the time. She loved everything, but her princess "bouncy ball" was among her favorite items. That little girl has mastered her bouncy technique with curls boppin' behind perfectly. For anyone looking for a good gift for a little kid, I would highly recommend the bouncy ball.

Here's a picture of her with her new horse, Sal, too. She can climb on him and sit on him. So cute. And her aunt Maggie sent her a cowgirl hat and outfit to complete her look when she rides Sal.

I took the day off on Friday, and we had a great girls' day. I can honestly say that I'm not sad to see my kids get bigger. Sure babies are cute and all, but I don't have that yearning to keep them young. I love watching them grow up and develop. Our weekends are quite pleasant, and the kids can even play unsupervised for short spurts (until someone cries out because the other hit, kicked or took something).

I feel very blessed to have such a great little family!

PS: These pictures are from my iphone. Word has it that I'm getting a new camera for Christmas, so hang in there!

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Mosaics, Birthdays and Funny Stories

I haven't had a good regular post in a while. Well, following my great run last week, I haven't worked out a single day since then. Ha! A big reason is that I've had this nasty sore throat all last week that was brutal in the mornings. And then now I have this weird earache. But all excuses aside, hopefully I'll get back in the swing of things soon. I've built up my endurance, so I don't want to just lose it.

Today I did a lot of mosaics to finish up some Christmas presents I'm working on. They turned out cool. Jack and Anna even helped me do one of the pieces. That's the beauty of mosaics. It doesn't really matter where you put the pieces, as long as you're not doing a pattern. So they had a blast with that.

Anna's birthday is quickly approaching. I took the day off on Friday to hang out with her, and I think I might be looking forward to it more than her! That girl has been counting down the days to her birthday for a long time, so everyone is excited that it's almost here. (Especially Jack because he knows that it's one more step closer to his!)

Finally, here's my funny story of the week. We were in the drive-thru line at Walgreens, and there were some cars in front of us. We were just sitting there, hanging out. And Anna says, "Dammit cars!" Unfortunately, I have to take credit for that one. It doesn't make me proud, though.

Sunday, November 09, 2008

I actually did it!

I really did it...I ran my 5k today. I've been working on it for a few weeks now, exercising and running outside weekly. Last weekend, I ran about 2.75 miles, and then today, I made it to the 3.1.

It was a cold and icky morning, though not as bad as it could have been. The kids went in the stroller on the walking portion with Steve and the grandparents. And my wonderful cross-country coach friend, Rachel, ran with me. She was such a good sport. She stayed with me the whole time, even though I know she could have gone faster. She even talked to me to keep my mind off the task at hand. What a great friend!

My time wasn't anything to brag about, but I finished the whole thing without stopping, which was my goal. I don't expect to be training for a full or half marathon anytime soon, so I might as well enjoy the moment while it lasts.

I celebrated my accomplishment by having a deep tissue massage.

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Christmas Wishes

So it might be a little early for Christmas talk, but not in our house. Jack saw something with Santa on it, so he's already been talking about what he's going to ask Santa for.

Last month, he'd decided he wanted a Power Ranger brook and dustpan. (Don't ask me why. I have no idea.) But then now he's decided he wants a white Power Ranger, a gray Power Ranger and a Jack cup. Let me explain what Jack cup is. He had pictures taken at school, and they sent up a mock-up photo of his photo on a cup. Jack was amazed! Now he's sure that Santa will bring him a Jack cup. I'm sure Santa can definitely handle that. Good thing, too, since we'll in Oklahoma when Santa stops by.

Anna, on the other hand, just wants a princess dustpan and princess bucket. She's funny.

By the way, if you people haven't signed up for my giveaway on www.how-tostudio.com, you need to do it! If I'm doing the making, I'd rather do it for someone I know. Though I promise not to "fix" it. I truly draw names for the giveaways.