Weekend Wrap Up

Wow!  What a great weekend!   It was close to perfect I would say :) It was VERY busy but it was VERY good.  I will have a couple of more detailed posts later this week but I thought I would just do a quick post on the weekend.

We weren't planning on being home this weekend, we had planned to take the camper out for the first time but after seeing the forecast and the potential for thunderstorms I decided it might be nice to spend a weekend at home and get some projects done.  I made a Goals for the Weekend List (a little too ambitious list I might say) and hoped to get a lot accomplished.  I didn't get even half the stuff on the list done but that is okay because the weekend turned out just perfect.

Friday
On Tuesday last week I decided since we were going to be home I would throw together some freezer meals.  I subscribe to a site called Once a Month Mom which makes the process pretty easy.  You can enter in the number of servings you want and it will put together a master grocery list and change the recipe amounts to how many servings you want.  This was my first time using this site andd it went pretty well.  I think it was easier instead of putting together the grocery list all on my own.  I shopped for ingredients on Wednesday and started some of the prep Thursday (like browning meat, chopping veggies etc.) and then on Friday John and I put the meals together.  We ended up with 22 dinners and 8 individual serving lunches.  I am looking forward to trying them!  We tasted the soup and it was delicious.  This is what we made. Most of these were doubled.

1.  Beef Tortellini Soup
2.  Breakfast Enchiladas
3.  Chili
4. Orange Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry
5.  Balsamic Pulled Pork Sliders
6.  Chili Garlic Meatballs
7. Taco Ziti
8.  Pesto Chicken Sandwhiches
9.  Greek Chicken Skewers
10.  Tex Mex Chicken and Rice
11.  Sweet and Spicy Pork Chops

We had the meals done, cleaned up, and were bed by 11:00.  Pretty Exciting Friday night :)

SATURDAY
Saturday morning John had to go in to work for a few hours so Elsie and I played and did some housework. Later in the morning, Marc, Amber and the kids biked over to drop something off.  It was a wonderful little distraction to our morning.  It was a beautiful day and was so nice to sit outside, let the kids play, and visit a little bit.  Kari and little Briggs stopped by to visit too.  John got home and after they left we made lunch, put Elsie to bed and went to work.  We cleaned out the garage (we could barely fit my car in there), washed the bikes and the burley, we washed all the patio furniture and cushions, I donated 3 boxes and 2 bags of clothes to the local clothing closet, and then ran to the store.  Brandi ended up saying that if we were still available the would love to come over and grill out  (I had asked her earlier in the week but she thought they were busy).  So we had them over along with Dale and Bev for dinner and a fire.  It was so much fun!  We ended the night with a couple of rounds of "Starlight, Star Bright, Hope to see a Ghost Tonight" or what I called Ghost in the Graveyard.  It was so much fun and glad the impromptu get together worked out!

SUNDAY
Because Elsie was up late on Saturday night she slept in until 6:00 (lucky us) :)  So we were up early, ate breakfast, and John took off to do some cattle work.  When we got home we got ready to go to Des Moines for a special little boys birthday party.  It was such a nice time (more on this later).  It was a perfect day for a tailgate and baseball game (we only did the tailgate).  After the game we ran a few errands like drop off a whole car load of stuff to Goodwill. It felt so good to get that stuff out of our garage and it was also one of my 30 Goals so it feels good to get that checked off the list.  When we came home, Elsie napped, I worked on photos/blog stuff and John changed the tubes in our bike tires and the jogging stroller.  After Elsie woke she had snack, I updated our tornado kit and we decided it was a nice time to head out for our first bike ride of the season and Elsie's first time in the Burley.

\

She was pretty excited and I think really enjoyed it.

After we got home I kept on the local channel and watched the updates with the weather.  We were in a Tornado Watch and were forecasting to have some severed storms.  The storms were a couple counties away so I figured I would have time to get Elsie in the bath and in her jammies before it got too close to us.  Of course I was hoping it wouldn't hit us anyways but it appeared to be inevitable.  So I put her in the bath and as the water was running all our weather alerts were going off (the TV, my phone, and our weather radio).  I figured that it was just another warning for another county and then my heart stopped when I heard them say my county was in a Tornado Warning.  I yelled for John (he was down getting our tornado area ready), grabbed Elsie out of the bath and handed her off to John while I got clothes and a diaper for her.  We decided to head over to his parents to use their basement instead of our crawl space.  Elsie could play with the toys down there while we waited out the storm.  Ugh, I just hate severe weather.  Thankfully, we only got some heavy rain and the bad stuff stayed a few miles south of us.  

There were a few things we didn't get crossed off the list like buy flowers and plant them, go for a couple runs, finish a couple blog posts, and get in some work hours but I wouldn't trade those unexpected moments that came up for anything.  Thanks to everyone who helped make our weekend so wonderful :)

30 Years, 30 Goals April Update

Goals Completed:  3, 4, 22, 27, 

Goals I Didn't Even Think About: 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 19, 21, 23, 24, 26, 29

1. Run 5-5ks
I complete 5k so I have done 2/5.  I did the SCVAMA Scamper on April 21st.  You can check out more about the race on my post SCVAMA Scamper.

7.  Lose at least 15 pounds
Just hanging in at 10 pounds lost...I think I gained a pound or two back from vacation but it is gone again.  

10.  Plan and Carry Out a date night with John once a month
John and I went out at the beginning of the month (it seems so long ago).  Our original plan was to go to a movie but we ended up going out to dinner at the Cafe because there wasn't a single movie I wanted to see.  It was a really nice night :).

15.  Be up to date on photo books
I finally finished Elsie's First Year photo book.  I am so pleased with how it turned out!  Now moving on the next one...Our Family Book-2012.  

16.  Read 4 non-fiction books
Completed Books:  3/4
1.  168 Hours:  You have more time than you think-finished 12/12
2.  Healthy Tipping Point-finished 3/13.
3.  How to Talk so Kids will Listen and Listen so Kids Will Talk - 4/12

I read this book this month and I thought it was pretty good.  I started to apply some of the things I read with Elsie.  I would recommend this book to anyone with kids :).
  

17.  Have an Elsie outing once a month
We are doing so much with Elsie, especially since it has been nice.  This month I would say our big highlight was going to the VEISHEA Parade and the petting zoo.  Blog about VEISHEA

18.  Take the camper out 5 times this summer
This month we actually put our camper for sale on Craigslist.  John really wants to upgrade to a fifth wheel.  I am impartial.  If we sell it fine, if not I am okay with that too. We also went to check out a camper at the dealer. 

20.  Attend Church at least one a month (or 12 times throughout the year).
4/12 times
We attended church in Minnesota for Piper's baptism.  

  

25.  Find a cause I want to support and start a volunteer relationship.
I attended my first Trails Advisory Committee meeting this month and am looking forward to the next month.  

28.  Make 5:30 my standard wake up time and 10:00 my standard bedtime.
This is a struggle.  If Elsie sleeps past 5:30 I gladly sleep in as long as she will let me these days.  Maybe if she gets into a routine of sleeping until 6:30 or so 5:30 for me wouldn't be so bad.  Also I can not get to bed by 10:00.  It seems like lately I am heading up to bed between 10-10:30 but don't shut off the light until closet to 11:00.  

30.  Twice a month call a family member or friend to chat.
Complete :)

Week in Review - 5.10.13

OUR WEEKEND:
After going back and forth whether we were going to travel up to Minnesota for a good friends 30th birthday brunch we did decided to stay home and go up for Mother's Day.  Such a tough decision though.  So at the last minute our weekend changed but ended up being really enjoyable.  Friday night we hung out at home and took it easy.  Saturday we woke up, went to the Cub Scout breakfast at the local church (so delicious),  This is our third year in a row going and I would have to saw it is the best community breakfast that we have gone to.  Also that morning Dierks Bentley tickets went on sale for the state fair and John and I were planning to get tickets for our anniversary.  I was hoping for good seats but never would have imagined that we would get front row center in the grandstand!  They are PERFECT.  I was so excited.  For a minute I thought it was too good to be true ha!  Then Elsie and I went to a First Birthday party for little miss Greta.  She was so adorable.  Unfortunately I did not get any photos from the party :(.  We got her the same matching chair that Elsie and Aubrey have so now all three girls will have the same little butterfly camp chair.

Later that evening some friends of mine were training for a 20k race so they had a 11 mile run planned.  They were going to start in our town and head out to a neighboring town's local bar for 11 total miles.  I was planning on going, cheering them along the way and then enjoying a beer with them when they were done.  Well the weather didn't cooperate so instead of running to the next town, they ran some loops through our town and ended up at the restaurant here.  I decided I should run to meet them so I headed out to the bar on my feet to meet them.  I only ended up running a total of two miles but by the time I left my block it had started to really rain.  Thankfully, I work my hat and rain jacket which kept me pretty dry.  The rain actually didn't really bother me while I was running, just when I was done.  A big huge way to go for the group that ran 11 miles in the rain, so impressive!  So we enjoyed some food and beer.

A view from my route to the bar...pavement soaked
and you can still see a few patches of snow from out
May snowstorm.  

The 11-milers and me (not sure why I am in this pic ha!)
They were smart and packed dry, clean clothes to change into.

Saturday Elsie had a rough night and was up quite a bit so John let me sleep in just a bit and then we headed out to run some errands to Theisen's and Target.  

At Theisen's.  Elsie loved this little go-cart and was
pretty upset to learn we were not going to get it
and she had to get out of it.  

At Target we wanted to get Elsie a treat so
she got to enjoy her first cake pop from Target.
She was pretty excited.  

After our errands we came home, put Elsie down for her afternoon nap and then when she woke up we headed out to the Spring Festival at the local county park.  You can read more about it here.     It was a great time and Elsie really enjoyed it!   

Olivia and Elsie enjoying the naturalist program.

After the park we went out to dinner and then headed home to get Elsie to bed and to relax a little before the start of the week.       

                              

OUR WEEK: 

Our week went pretty fast.  I worked four out of five days this week to make up for a missed day the week before.  The weather was finally getting better but we did get dumped on with rain late in the week with over two inches of rain.  We did get some outdoor time in though.  

1.  Elsie is so fascinated with the squirrels in the our front yard.  Although they are a nuisance to us, Elsie loves watching them play.

Elsie and Daddy checking out the squirrels.

2.  When at Target on Sunday we decided to get Elsie some play-doh tools.  Well we got them out on Wednesday and she played with them for at least 45 minutes.  She loves it!

3.  Also at Target, we picked up a booster seat for our dining room chairs for Elsie to sit in instead of a high chair.  We took it out after she went to bed and got it on the chair and the next morning she noticed it right away and wanted to sit in it.  We made her wait for dinner but now that is where she sits at lunch and dinner time.

Elsie in her big girl chair :)

4.  Elsie has had a really rough week in regards to sleep.  Two nights she was up for two hours each night in the middle of the night.  The next two nights she slept through the night without a peep (and one night without her paci at all, we never even gave it to her), towards the end of the week she was up again.  Ugh...hope this phase is a short one! 

5.  Happy 30th Birthday to my dear friend Erin!  She turned 30 on May 5th! Erin and I have been friends since like 5th or 6th grade when we were on the same softball team.  I feel so blessed to have her as a friend!

Spring Festival

This past weekend we went to the Spring Festival out on by our local county conservation board.  IT was the first time going there (well actually I was there for the trails meeting last month) but it was nice to get out and walk around a bit and see the park in the daylight.  The event was from 2:00-5:00 so we put Elsie down for a nap by 12:30 and made it to the park by 2:30 which I think was the perfect amount of time.  

When we first got there we walked around the trails for a little bit and then went to a program at 3:15.  They had a naturalist there with live animals.  It kept Elsie's attention for the most part.  They also had popcorn available so that kept her interest too :) At the program we met up with Brandi and the girls and Amber and her kiddos.  

Couldn't get enough of the popcorn...something new to her.

Elsie absolutely loved the live animals and were not afraid to touch them.  After the program you could go around and pet all four snakes and she had to make sure to get them all.  

Not only was there a program but you could do a little paddling on the little lake/pond that they have in the park.  They also had people there with fishing poles if you wanted to fish a little.  

Brandi and the Girls

After being cooped up from the snow for a few days Elsie loved having open space to just run and explores

"Lets go this way!"

Fishing Time

Here comes Aubrey and Amber

Cayden cruising down the hill.

Right before the event ended we decided to take the kids out.  Because of the # of adults to kid ratio we had to figure out how to have someone paddle and hold Elsie, etc but we figured it out the best we could.  Also, they were trying to pack things up so we just had a short little ride but it was still fun.  When Brandi and the girls went Elsie wanted to go so bad and I just tried to distract her but in the end I am glad we went back and took her for a ride.  

Unfortunately we didn't have enough arms to paddle and hold both the little ones so Aubrey had to sit on the sidelines with Brandi and watch this time.  Not sure if she was happy about that haha :)

It was a great afternoon and I am already looking forward to their Fall Festival! 

Week in Review 5.3.13

Another great week at our house!

1. The Weekend:  The weekend was pretty laid back.  Elsie and I did a little shopping on Saturday morning and Amber and Aubrey joined us for a while.  Then we picked up lunch and had a little tailgate lunch out at the farm.  John had to haul cow manure pretty much all weekend so it was nice to be able to enjoy lunch with him.  It was also the first time we took Elsie out to see the cows.  She loved it out there!  She also got to see the little baby kittens.  On Sunday we went for a walk with Hillary and Owen and ran into Kara and Orson.  Then John, Elsie and I did a little more shopping in the afternoon and all went out to dinner at Red Lobster.  Yum!  I ended the weekend with a nice relaxing run.

2.  Elsie and Cinder: Elsie and Cinder have such a great relationship and I love it!  It is so fun to see how much Elsie loves Cinder and Cinder just loves all the attention that Elsie gives her.  Her latest thing is that Elsie loves to feed Cinder one little piece of food at a time.

3. Brushing Teeth:  Elsie is obsessed with "brushing" her teeth.  Whenever we do it, she needs to do it.  

4.  Monday:  Monday morning we got a text from JoLene that Peyton was sick so she wasn't going to be able to work so I had a surprise stay home day with Elsie.  It was such a great day!!  Elsie is doing all these new things and I just love being able to see her do it.  For example, that morning she got out her wipes and starting wiping her baby's bottom.  Then a few minutes later she was taking these little blocks that were different shapes and putting them in the correct shaped hole.  She had done this a few times before but nothing quite as deliberate as that was.  And she was so proud of herself.  She would put one in and then clap like she knew she had done something special.  Later in the morning we headed to the library for storytime but when we got there I found out it was cancelled for the day.   Bummer, but Elsie got to play around for a little while. 

She loves playing with the duplos at the library.  While we were playing I had another proud moment when another mom told me what a good job Elsie does minding me and following my directions, especially for a 16 month old.  My response was "well its a good day today" :)  But in reality, Elsie does do a good job of listening to us.  

She also likes looking at the fish at the library too.  

We ended up walking to the park after Elsie woke up from her nap.  She really wanted to go down the big slide so her and I went down together.  When we got home I tried to sweep up some debris from our maple tree, well when I went to go get the dustpan Elsie decided that it was all better spread out than in one little pile. 

That night, I met my friend Amy at Fuji and it was 2-1 nights.  Well we thought we would get mojitos and with the special we would each get one...well in reality, we each got two drinks for the price of one.  We were a little surprised when all four drinks came out :)

5.  Elsie's Favorite Spot in the House

6.  May Snowstorm:  I took this photo on Thursday May 2nd when I was at the shop.  We ended up getting around 5-6 inches.  Yuk!  Thankfully it didn't last too long!

7.  Elsie's Baby/Photo Book:  Finally, after many, many hours I complete Elsie's photo book and it arrived!  I couldn't be more happy with how it turned out!  Now onto the next book...

Elsie Marie - 16 Months

GROWTH:  She is about 21 pounds according to our scale at home.  We never took a height measurement but we have been putting away more and more 12 month shirts and pants.

EATING:  She is still a super eater!  She eats most of what we offer but still goes straight for the meat.  She doesn't really like pork roast or chops though.  No real new foods this month.    We have played around with different kinds of yogurt because when we switch for YoBaby to other options she didn't like it so much.  I think we have found she likes the YoToddler and also Chobani Champions yogurt tube things.  She likes to eat with a spoon or fork the most and at times will eat things better if it comes off my fork ;). She still isn't proficient with eating utensils but she is definitely getting better at using them.   We have taken away soft spouted sippy cups because she learned to push them against her tray so that milk would come out on the tray and she could play with it.

SLEEP:  There was big change in the sleep department this month and that is the elimination of the morning nap.  She started it a little bit before she turned 15 months and took a few weeks to get the transition worked out but she is now down to one nap a day and it ends up being a longer nap in the afternoon.  It is hard because sometimes she is still tired in the morning so we take it day by day.  Every now and then she will lay down for a short nap in the morning but that happens so rarely.  As for afternoon naps go she lays down around one and is sleeping between 1.5-2.5 hours.  She is still going to bed right around 7:00PM and waking between 5:15-6:30 AM with most of the mornings waking up before 6:00.  Most mornings she wakes up at 5:15ish and we go in, give her a paci, sometimes pick her up and lay her back down and she will fall back asleep for another 30-60 minutes so that is nice...I just wish she wouldn't wake up at 5:15 to begin with.  We had one REALLY rough morning where she woke up at 4:30 and we could not get her to go back to sleep no matter what we tried. Let's just say it was a long morning.

TEETH:  No new teeth this month so she is still at 12.

DEVELOPMENT:  Each day it is something new with her and I love to watch her grow!  I am still amazed at the things she sees us do and then copies the action.  She definitely follows two step directions pretty well.  As far as self care, she loves to brush her teeth and she even learned how to spit in the sink.  She also does a pretty good with washing her hands.  For large motor development she is really picking up speed with her running and is starting to walk backwards.  She is also starting to want to walk up the stairs hold on to my hands vs crawling up the stairs.  Another thing that is developing is the frequency of her throwing a fit.  We are really working on getting her to use gestures, words, and signs and instead of throwing a fit and whining to get what she wants.

PLAY: Like every other month she still loves her books.  She also like to push things around her in doll stroller.  With the weather getting nice we are spending more and more time outside and at the park.  Unfortunately, we have to time our walks to the park just right because you have a thrown a fit or two on our way home from the park.   She is starting to play more with her puzzles and can even put the pieces into place.  This month she also discovered the set of mega blocks she has loves to get them to stack together.  Other favorites are her baby dolls, her little plush barn and animals, and her singing bunny.

SPEECH:  There are a few words Elsie has started saying this month that surprised me this month one of them being "cracker".  She repeated it after I said it once and then the next time she saw a cracker she pointed to it and said it again.  She is says banana when she sees a banana, baby, names of the kids at daycare, I know there is more but I can't really remember now.  Oh she said no quite a bit when my parents were watching her.

 

Week in Review-4.26.13

We had such a good week.  A nice weekend and a pretty busy week.

1.  As I posted about earlier, our weekend was filled with VEISHEA activities and the 5k run on Sunday morning.  In addition to that we also shampooed our carpets which meant a lot of furniture moving.  It felt good to vacuum and clean behind all our furniture.  Especially in our bedroom.  We also switched our two dressers around and doing just that little thing makes our small bedroom seem so much bigger.

2.  I had book club this week and it was at our house.  We had a great turnout!  The book I chose for this month is The Great Gatsby.  I read it in high school but I think it will be interesting to read it now when I am older.  I also thought it would be good to read before the Movie comes out May 10.

3.  It is finally starting to warm up.  We spent some time at the park this with with Lisa, Greta, and Park and Amber, Cayden and Aubrey.  Heidi and the boys stopped by for awhile too.  Elsie is doing so good going up the stairs and down the slide all by herself.  It is so fun to see how brave she is becoming...I love it!

4.  Last week Elsie really started to try to put her own shoes on and off.  This week she is trying so hard with her other clothes.  One night at dinner she took her shirt bib off and put it back on all by herself which was huge!  Then on Thursday she sat there for probably 15 minutes trying to out on her fleece pajama pants over her sweatpants.  She was so determined and finally got both legs through the leg holes (she didn't get them pulled.  The picture is her taking them back off.

5.  After weeks spent working on Elsie's First Year book I finallyg ot it done and ordered from Shutterfly on Wednesday night.  It feels so good to be done with that.  Now to start working on the other ones. 

6.  This week I went to my first Trails Advisory Committee Meeting for the local conservation board.  It was really interesting and it felt good to back around people who are so involved in outdoor recreation.  They have meetings every month and then do work projects once a month.  I am looking forward to getting involved in this group.

7.  A few little Elsie notes:  She went this week from calling me "Mama" to "Mommy" :(  I just need to work on getting her back to mama.  I think I have started a bad habit.  For the last two weeks after she wakes up from her nap in the afternoon we snuggle up in the chair together and turn on Barney. She absolutely loves it and gets so excited.  So I guess 2-4 times a week she watches about 20 minutes of TV.  I love it because I get a solid 20 minutes of snuggle time.  She just loves the songs and the dancing and especially if there are animals on the show.  Well this morning she woke up and I was carrying her into our room to snuggle in bed and she got excited and said her version of Barney which is more like a "B" and an "E" sound.  Oh no...not sure what I have started.  Also note she got her first haircut this week which I posted about earlier.