Thursday, September 20, 2012
Dinner, Dessert, and Daddy Time
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Plan
The plan for the blog was to take a picture a day of something that goes on in our lives and to document a small piece of our little family. As you can see, I'm off to a fantastic start. So now I'm documenting the goal for posterity. I'm going to start small - 4 pictures a week. This allows nights off when I'm tuckered out or when we decide to watch a movie after Audrey goes to bed (a treat!).
This picture says so much about our lives right now. First of all, it's Audrey's first cup of chocolate milk. Notice that it is so delicious she couldn't even bother to turn and face the camera! Second, we are at Starbucks on a Saturday morning, celebrating a long run. Ever since I finished my half marathon I have made it a priority to keep in shape running a couple short runs during the week and one longer run on Saturday. I have wonderful friends to meet on the weekends, and am unsure how this will continue when it gets bitter cold, but here's hoping I can run another race next summer without too much trouble! Third, Audrey is wearing her new favorite shoes - squeakers - she calls them. This is an appropriate name seeing as how each shoe has a squeaker in the heal that squeaks with every step she takes. She's a big hit out and about town as she squeaks her way around, and we always know where to find her! She's squeaked so much that even Tober has given up the search for the mystery sound that follows his sister wherever she goes. Fourth, you will notice that Audrey is sitting, ALONE, in a gigantic chair. This is the latest trend at our house where our independent 20 month old refuses her high chair and feels grown up enough to sit in grown up chairs. Seeing as how we are the parents and we call the shots (yeah... right) we had her sit in her high chair, much to her dismay, until she learned how to tip the entire contraption over on purpose. Seeing as how I like her little noggin intact, we are making the adjustment to sitting at the table like a "big girl". It's a slow process...
Not pictured in this photo - my husband, eating two different treats from Starbucks - the final trend in our lives right now. Scott is able to eat whatever he wants while I run 15 miles a week and have to watch what I eat. Ah, the injustice. Good thing he likes to share. Treat bites from his snacks have zero calories! It's a miracle!
This picture says so much about our lives right now. First of all, it's Audrey's first cup of chocolate milk. Notice that it is so delicious she couldn't even bother to turn and face the camera! Second, we are at Starbucks on a Saturday morning, celebrating a long run. Ever since I finished my half marathon I have made it a priority to keep in shape running a couple short runs during the week and one longer run on Saturday. I have wonderful friends to meet on the weekends, and am unsure how this will continue when it gets bitter cold, but here's hoping I can run another race next summer without too much trouble! Third, Audrey is wearing her new favorite shoes - squeakers - she calls them. This is an appropriate name seeing as how each shoe has a squeaker in the heal that squeaks with every step she takes. She's a big hit out and about town as she squeaks her way around, and we always know where to find her! She's squeaked so much that even Tober has given up the search for the mystery sound that follows his sister wherever she goes. Fourth, you will notice that Audrey is sitting, ALONE, in a gigantic chair. This is the latest trend at our house where our independent 20 month old refuses her high chair and feels grown up enough to sit in grown up chairs. Seeing as how we are the parents and we call the shots (yeah... right) we had her sit in her high chair, much to her dismay, until she learned how to tip the entire contraption over on purpose. Seeing as how I like her little noggin intact, we are making the adjustment to sitting at the table like a "big girl". It's a slow process...
Not pictured in this photo - my husband, eating two different treats from Starbucks - the final trend in our lives right now. Scott is able to eat whatever he wants while I run 15 miles a week and have to watch what I eat. Ah, the injustice. Good thing he likes to share. Treat bites from his snacks have zero calories! It's a miracle!
Monday, September 10, 2012
I'm BAAAAAAACK!
You didn't think you could get rid of me after 30 blogs in approximately 30 days did you?
Now I know most of you saw this picture posted on Facebook, and a picture says a thousand words, but here are 10025 words on the subject of this messy little girl.
First of all, I want to know when my little baby became a kid? I have been with her every day of her pea-pickin life and it has bulldozed me over. Even though she is technically a toddler she went from still having baby tendencies to being 100 % kid. She plays and interacts like a kid, she makes demands like a kid, she gets in trouble like a kid, and she's got a mind of her own! All of these things I wanted for her, but darnit if it doesn't just blow me away how old she gets over night.
As she gets older and more independent, she is also MESSY! I must say that I've never been one to really judge kids for being messy (I get it. Pick your battles). I do judge kids for having Honey Boo Boo hairstyles, and we are bordering on tragic with a toddler mullet, but Scott refuses to trim her little curl (mullet) so Honey Boo Boo it is.
But goodness are toddlers messy. The high chair is messy, the table is messy, the car seat is a DISASTER zone, and I am not willing to spend my entire pay check on baby wipes to keep this adorable face clean! You will probably be dismayed to find out this is the second day in a row of messy faced Audrey. The first day it was due to some DELICIOUS chocolate covered raisins that melted in her hands an on her face. After she had devoured her "treat" I gave her a juice box that she promptly lost the straw to so she had to suck from the punctured hole in the top. Did I mention we were at Target for our weekly shopping trip? That's right. This messy mug was gracing each aisle of Target as we shopped for the next two weeks of groceries.
You may think I'm picking the wrong battles, but I've gotta tell you. Right now, the battle is toilet paper. We have an epic battle between Audrey and the toilet paper and so far Audrey is drastically in the lead. Once we learn that toilet paper is not a toy then we can focus on not slathering our face with chocolate goodness.
But as a mom do you know what I see on this wickedly adorable and chocolate covered face?
A little kid who fed herself her entire bowl of ice cream. It makes me so proud and so sad at the same time.
My little Audrey is a feeding-herself-messy-faced little kid. And I love her.
 | ||||
| YUMMM! |
First of all, I want to know when my little baby became a kid? I have been with her every day of her pea-pickin life and it has bulldozed me over. Even though she is technically a toddler she went from still having baby tendencies to being 100 % kid. She plays and interacts like a kid, she makes demands like a kid, she gets in trouble like a kid, and she's got a mind of her own! All of these things I wanted for her, but darnit if it doesn't just blow me away how old she gets over night.
As she gets older and more independent, she is also MESSY! I must say that I've never been one to really judge kids for being messy (I get it. Pick your battles). I do judge kids for having Honey Boo Boo hairstyles, and we are bordering on tragic with a toddler mullet, but Scott refuses to trim her little curl (mullet) so Honey Boo Boo it is.
But goodness are toddlers messy. The high chair is messy, the table is messy, the car seat is a DISASTER zone, and I am not willing to spend my entire pay check on baby wipes to keep this adorable face clean! You will probably be dismayed to find out this is the second day in a row of messy faced Audrey. The first day it was due to some DELICIOUS chocolate covered raisins that melted in her hands an on her face. After she had devoured her "treat" I gave her a juice box that she promptly lost the straw to so she had to suck from the punctured hole in the top. Did I mention we were at Target for our weekly shopping trip? That's right. This messy mug was gracing each aisle of Target as we shopped for the next two weeks of groceries.
You may think I'm picking the wrong battles, but I've gotta tell you. Right now, the battle is toilet paper. We have an epic battle between Audrey and the toilet paper and so far Audrey is drastically in the lead. Once we learn that toilet paper is not a toy then we can focus on not slathering our face with chocolate goodness.
But as a mom do you know what I see on this wickedly adorable and chocolate covered face?
A little kid who fed herself her entire bowl of ice cream. It makes me so proud and so sad at the same time.
My little Audrey is a feeding-herself-messy-faced little kid. And I love her.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
DAY THIRTY!!!!
I've made it! 30 blogs in CLOOOOSE to 30 days. Don't give up hope though, blog fans. I have plans to continue after this challenge. I've really enjoyed writing and being reflective, so the plan is to continue blogging at least 3-4 times a week. I would love to try a similar challenge with 30 pictures in 30 ISH days. I follow a lot of blogs that have attempted a photo project of some sort and I think it starts strong in the beginning and dwindles down, so here's to another 30 ISH days of success!
Day 30's topic: 10 Things I want to be remembered for.
1. I want to be remembered for being a really kind and supportive person (with my family and with my friends). When people look back at our friendship or relationship I want them to think of me as supportive and kind. I have blogged earlier that I am working on being thoughtful (I'm the LAST person to remember birthdays and have never gotten a gift to someone on time in my life. It's my New Year's Resolution each year and each year I tank. Somewhere, deep down, I have an aversion to timely package deliveries).
2. A good mom. When my kids grow up I want them to think the way I do about my parents. I want to live by their example and learn from their mistakes to be the best mom I can be. I know I'm not perfect. Tonight, I was exhausted so Audrey and I ate canned ravioli and snuggled watching a marathon of Nick Jr. Just as I was starting to feel guilty Audrey snuggled in and said "I love you, mommy". Canned ravioli can bring out the best in anyone.
3. A wonderful teacher. I want to be visited by students in their adulthood to hear about their successes in life. I want to have generations of students and want to be thought of in a positive light in the community. I take my job very seriously and want to do the best for all of the students I teach in my life. I want to be remembered for being kind and thoughtful towards kids.
4. I want to be remembered for my sense of humor. At my funeral I want people to tell funny stories and laugh their heads off at the fun times we had together. Thinking this way helps me stay positive when situations get a little bumpy.
5. I want to be remembered for my love of all things superficial, while deep down people know I have a lot of depth to my thoughts. I love that people can relax and talk about all things junk food and reality t.v. around me but people also know they can ask me about things that matter as well. It kind of breaks the ice to be able to shoot the breeze about the Kardashians, and through these conversations I've made some really great and deep friendships.
6. I want to be remembered for being honest. I want people to know they can trust me and that I'll be honest with them in the kindest way I know. I want to model trustworthiness for my kids (school and home) and hope to lead a life by example.
7. I want to be remembered for standing up for what I think is right, but in a respectful and appropriate way. This morning I was listening to a radio announcer who I severely disagreed with and all I wanted to do was call in and give them a piece of my mind. Instead I gave my family a piece of my mind (even though they were in agreement) and decided to pick my battles. This is not something I'm necessarily good at, so it's also a goal I'm working toward as I enter the "mature" stage of my life... (thanks Sara, for the "mature" label...) :)
8. I want to be remembered for my vocabulary and spelling skills. HA just kidding. I have ZERO vocabulary skills and thank my lucky stars every day for spell check. I was lucky to get into my Masters program based on test scores and undergrad grades because the vocab of the GRE might have done me in. In all seriousness I want to be remembered for being well educated. I may not be the most verbose about my knowledge but I'm proud of my education.
9. I want to be remembered for being patient. I think people outside my small family will think of my as a patient person, so it's another goal of mine to show the same patience towards my most important people. I'm sad to say that Scott bears the brunt of my patience with everyone else. I'm lucky to have a patient partner to deal with my AT TIMES... impatience.
10. I want to be remembered for living a happy life. When we are old and grey I want Scott and I to look back on our lives with little regret. We put a lot of thought and effort into our decisions and try to be purposeful in our major life decisions. We rarely live life with regret, which I believe has largely contributed to where we are today. We are very happy, we have the cutest daughter that's ever been born, and we have a long way to go.
PHEW! That's a lot to live up to. I'm going to need to re-read this blog to remember all these things I've outlined. Perhaps when I'm long gone I'll be remembered for totally different and unrelated things, but HEY! I'll be dead! For right now, this bubble will do :)
Day 30's topic: 10 Things I want to be remembered for.
1. I want to be remembered for being a really kind and supportive person (with my family and with my friends). When people look back at our friendship or relationship I want them to think of me as supportive and kind. I have blogged earlier that I am working on being thoughtful (I'm the LAST person to remember birthdays and have never gotten a gift to someone on time in my life. It's my New Year's Resolution each year and each year I tank. Somewhere, deep down, I have an aversion to timely package deliveries).
2. A good mom. When my kids grow up I want them to think the way I do about my parents. I want to live by their example and learn from their mistakes to be the best mom I can be. I know I'm not perfect. Tonight, I was exhausted so Audrey and I ate canned ravioli and snuggled watching a marathon of Nick Jr. Just as I was starting to feel guilty Audrey snuggled in and said "I love you, mommy". Canned ravioli can bring out the best in anyone.
3. A wonderful teacher. I want to be visited by students in their adulthood to hear about their successes in life. I want to have generations of students and want to be thought of in a positive light in the community. I take my job very seriously and want to do the best for all of the students I teach in my life. I want to be remembered for being kind and thoughtful towards kids.
4. I want to be remembered for my sense of humor. At my funeral I want people to tell funny stories and laugh their heads off at the fun times we had together. Thinking this way helps me stay positive when situations get a little bumpy.
5. I want to be remembered for my love of all things superficial, while deep down people know I have a lot of depth to my thoughts. I love that people can relax and talk about all things junk food and reality t.v. around me but people also know they can ask me about things that matter as well. It kind of breaks the ice to be able to shoot the breeze about the Kardashians, and through these conversations I've made some really great and deep friendships.
6. I want to be remembered for being honest. I want people to know they can trust me and that I'll be honest with them in the kindest way I know. I want to model trustworthiness for my kids (school and home) and hope to lead a life by example.
7. I want to be remembered for standing up for what I think is right, but in a respectful and appropriate way. This morning I was listening to a radio announcer who I severely disagreed with and all I wanted to do was call in and give them a piece of my mind. Instead I gave my family a piece of my mind (even though they were in agreement) and decided to pick my battles. This is not something I'm necessarily good at, so it's also a goal I'm working toward as I enter the "mature" stage of my life... (thanks Sara, for the "mature" label...) :)
8. I want to be remembered for my vocabulary and spelling skills. HA just kidding. I have ZERO vocabulary skills and thank my lucky stars every day for spell check. I was lucky to get into my Masters program based on test scores and undergrad grades because the vocab of the GRE might have done me in. In all seriousness I want to be remembered for being well educated. I may not be the most verbose about my knowledge but I'm proud of my education.
9. I want to be remembered for being patient. I think people outside my small family will think of my as a patient person, so it's another goal of mine to show the same patience towards my most important people. I'm sad to say that Scott bears the brunt of my patience with everyone else. I'm lucky to have a patient partner to deal with my AT TIMES... impatience.
10. I want to be remembered for living a happy life. When we are old and grey I want Scott and I to look back on our lives with little regret. We put a lot of thought and effort into our decisions and try to be purposeful in our major life decisions. We rarely live life with regret, which I believe has largely contributed to where we are today. We are very happy, we have the cutest daughter that's ever been born, and we have a long way to go.
PHEW! That's a lot to live up to. I'm going to need to re-read this blog to remember all these things I've outlined. Perhaps when I'm long gone I'll be remembered for totally different and unrelated things, but HEY! I'll be dead! For right now, this bubble will do :)
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Day 29: Misunderstood
What do you think people misunderstand most about you?
Before I'm misunderstood I have an Audrey anecdote to share. I took Audrey for a run tonight around the Windsor Lake. It was windy and the stroller was acting like a sail (WHAT! OUR GIANT STROLLER DOES NOT HAVE WIND DYNAMICS? SHOCKER, I KNOW!)
As I was puffing for my last breath (1 mile in) I gasped "Audrey, you're heavy"
-cue Kristen Wieg
Audrey - Sssorry
Seriously. It was straight from Saturday Night Live, with a little attitude mixed in. If you aren't familiar with my reference, this might not be very funny. Go Youtube Kristen in her Gilly role, and you'll get a great image. If I had any air capacity to spare I would have gotten a big laugh out of it. Instead, I gasped a chuckle and trudged on.
Now, being misunderstood.
I think I'm misunderstood when I first meet people. I can come on a bit strong... and since you have all had a first encounter with me this is not unfamiliar territory. I forget that people don't know my sense of humor when they first meet me and I can cross some barriers without meaning to. The good news is all of you have given me a second chance to make a first impression, and hopefully coming on too strong has become an endearing quality in your minds. I love to joke around, so if you ever question whether or not I'm joking, it's 99.999999999% yes. The .0000000001 is if your name is if I'm woken up from a nap (I try not to nap b/c when I wake up it's ugly).
Thankfully our first impression moments have come and gone. It might be best to provide warnings to people you see making their first encounter. Tell them to give me another chance. As I saw on a Pre-Schooler's shirt today "My Name is Awesome".
Nice to meet you :)
Before I'm misunderstood I have an Audrey anecdote to share. I took Audrey for a run tonight around the Windsor Lake. It was windy and the stroller was acting like a sail (WHAT! OUR GIANT STROLLER DOES NOT HAVE WIND DYNAMICS? SHOCKER, I KNOW!)
As I was puffing for my last breath (1 mile in) I gasped "Audrey, you're heavy"
-cue Kristen Wieg
Audrey - Sssorry
Seriously. It was straight from Saturday Night Live, with a little attitude mixed in. If you aren't familiar with my reference, this might not be very funny. Go Youtube Kristen in her Gilly role, and you'll get a great image. If I had any air capacity to spare I would have gotten a big laugh out of it. Instead, I gasped a chuckle and trudged on.
Now, being misunderstood.
I think I'm misunderstood when I first meet people. I can come on a bit strong... and since you have all had a first encounter with me this is not unfamiliar territory. I forget that people don't know my sense of humor when they first meet me and I can cross some barriers without meaning to. The good news is all of you have given me a second chance to make a first impression, and hopefully coming on too strong has become an endearing quality in your minds. I love to joke around, so if you ever question whether or not I'm joking, it's 99.999999999% yes. The .0000000001 is if your name is if I'm woken up from a nap (I try not to nap b/c when I wake up it's ugly).
Thankfully our first impression moments have come and gone. It might be best to provide warnings to people you see making their first encounter. Tell them to give me another chance. As I saw on a Pre-Schooler's shirt today "My Name is Awesome".
Nice to meet you :)
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Day 28: Love Language
It would be funny to get Scott's input on this one, because I'm pretty sure he would laugh at the term "love language". I'm not a very snuggly person. I always thought of myself as a hugger, until I realized I don't really like giving people outside my family hugs. That's kind of the opposite of a hugging person actually. I like to be on the couch next to Scotty and Audrey but I also like having some space. When I say goodbye in the mornings it's pretty quick - a quick kiss and a hug and we're on our way! Scott and I joke that Audrey learned her love language from me in the womb. I think we can count on 1 combined hand the times she's snuggled in her life, including when she was an infant! She likes her space also.
:)
I definitely have a love language, though. I love my little family and my big family, and I think my love language is laughter and humor. I love to make people laugh and I love to see my family laughing. It makes me happy and it's when I feel the most love. Scott can make me laugh in almost any situation and I can do the same for him. Once Audrey is old enough to learn our love language she's going to have a great time :)
I think my love language is also thinking of fun things to do with my family so we can spend time together. It doesn't always mean we leave the house, but I usually have something up my sleeve. I have trouble letting Scott know what is up my sleeve, which gets tricky because I expect him to be a mind reader, so my love language often includes flying by the seat of my pants and gripping it and ripping it.
My love language for my friends is a willingness to do anything for them, no matter how small. I'm not the most perceptive, in that I think of things ahead of time but if someone needs something and asks I'm there.
I'm working on being more of a snuggler. It means I have to slow down and clear my head, which is easier to do when I'm on summer vacation. Tonight when it was time for bed Audrey asked for a mommy/daddy sandwich, and that was pretty great.
:)
I definitely have a love language, though. I love my little family and my big family, and I think my love language is laughter and humor. I love to make people laugh and I love to see my family laughing. It makes me happy and it's when I feel the most love. Scott can make me laugh in almost any situation and I can do the same for him. Once Audrey is old enough to learn our love language she's going to have a great time :)
I think my love language is also thinking of fun things to do with my family so we can spend time together. It doesn't always mean we leave the house, but I usually have something up my sleeve. I have trouble letting Scott know what is up my sleeve, which gets tricky because I expect him to be a mind reader, so my love language often includes flying by the seat of my pants and gripping it and ripping it.
My love language for my friends is a willingness to do anything for them, no matter how small. I'm not the most perceptive, in that I think of things ahead of time but if someone needs something and asks I'm there.
I'm working on being more of a snuggler. It means I have to slow down and clear my head, which is easier to do when I'm on summer vacation. Tonight when it was time for bed Audrey asked for a mommy/daddy sandwich, and that was pretty great.
Monday, September 3, 2012
Day 27: Favorite Body Part
Ha! I bet you thought I'd thrown in the towel. I didn't make 30 blogs in 30 days of August, but I gave myself permission to take a 3 Day weekend. Friday night Audrey and I went to cheer on the Bears volleyball team win against the OU Sooners, Saturday my mom and Bob and Luke drove up from the Springs and we spent the day catching up and playing. Sunday we drove up to Estes Park for some ice cream and a hike and then today my mom and I ran the Windsor 5k (where things have gone from bad to worse. My age division is now 30 - 49. Even with a very small crowd I didn't stand a chance! My mom, on the other hand, medaled, and made everyone around her look slow! Way to go mom!!!). Then we watched the Windsor Labor Day parade and got the house in order for another week of work. It was a really fun weekend, and I loved having the extra day! Audrey has learned to put her own shoes on, which means she is constantly taking them off to demonstrate her new skillz. We keep having to build in toddler time to our schedule (time to take steps by ourselves, climb in the car seat ourselves, time to buckle ourselves in, and now time to put our shoes on, take them off, and put them on again). Pretty soon we'll just start getting ready to leave in the mornings at bedtime!
I love the Labor Day parade because I think it's so fun to see students from the past and present line the streets of Windsor and do their tricks on the floats. Each year I know more and more participants. This year's parade was almost 2 hours. That's a lot of Windsor participation!
So! Onto the "official" blog topic - my favorite body part. I would have to say I'm very fond of my face (right? I'm always looking at myself, it's no wonder. Have you SEEEEN my face?) I say my face because I really like my eyes and my lips. I could stand to have a different nose, but that's another blog post all together. I'm proud of my face, and don't wear a lot of make up, I just like to go natural. I do wear some make up in the winter, when my summer "glow" fades away, but have grown attached to what I look like from the neck up. So, consider Scott a lucky man because he got the whole package. A glowing personality AND a pretty face. Lucky guy :)
Right now it's time for my face and I to end this three day weekend with a little Bachelor Pad. Gotta be ready to gossip at the lunch table tomorrow! Gotta get my beauty sleep as well :)
I love the Labor Day parade because I think it's so fun to see students from the past and present line the streets of Windsor and do their tricks on the floats. Each year I know more and more participants. This year's parade was almost 2 hours. That's a lot of Windsor participation!
So! Onto the "official" blog topic - my favorite body part. I would have to say I'm very fond of my face (right? I'm always looking at myself, it's no wonder. Have you SEEEEN my face?) I say my face because I really like my eyes and my lips. I could stand to have a different nose, but that's another blog post all together. I'm proud of my face, and don't wear a lot of make up, I just like to go natural. I do wear some make up in the winter, when my summer "glow" fades away, but have grown attached to what I look like from the neck up. So, consider Scott a lucky man because he got the whole package. A glowing personality AND a pretty face. Lucky guy :)
Right now it's time for my face and I to end this three day weekend with a little Bachelor Pad. Gotta be ready to gossip at the lunch table tomorrow! Gotta get my beauty sleep as well :)
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