Busy busy once again

Yesterday was the start of "school" for Evie and Lex again! As much as I dreaded the end of school (aka a daycare center) last May, I really surprised myself by loving staying home all summer with all three kids. The transition was much smoother than when Lex was born. I guess I was just already better at juggling their multiple needs at once and didn't have to learn that this time. So yesterday morning I brought the kids into daycare for their first drop off this fall. I have been stopping by once a week for the past month because Lex had a freak-out moment when I stopped by there during July to pick up our paperwork and I was trying to get them used to it. I was worried yesterday would be difficult for them but it was a piece of cake after 10 minutes of hiding behind my legs. I did get a little teary-eyed leaving them there. I definitely didn't realize how much I was going to miss the little buggers!

Yesterday was also the start of a new semester for me too! I'm taking a full course load basically just so the kids are able to attend daycare. The classes are pre-req's for one of the nursing programs I'm applying to. Not the program that's my #1 choice, but one of my alternatives. All but one of the classes are online so that I'm still able to stay home with Sophia during the day. But holy moly! Between all 4 classes I'm taking there are 4-6 chapters of reading, 4-6 quizzes and other miscellaneous assignments due each week.

You'd think the kids and my classes would keep me busy enough, but, no...I also somehow managed to sign myself up for 30 hours of work this week. To say it's a busy week would be a bit of an understatement! I fully plan to keep the blog up to date but the posts may become a little more infrequent.

--One last shout out request before the end of this post...if anyone took pictures at Evelyn's birthday party this past weekend, please send me some! I was running around so much that I didn't take any :-(

Wordless Wednesday: our new park

Happy 3rd birthday Evie

Three years ago today I became a mom to one very special girl. She was wanted and welcomed by everyone in our families. Shaun and I tried to get pregnant for just under 2 years, with Evie's pregnancy being the first positive pregnancy test we had seen in our trying-to-conceive journey.

I can still remember the excitement of being pregnant like it was yesterday. My plan had been to tell Shaun I was pregnant in some super creative way. Instead, I ran into our computer room with the test shaking so hard I couldn't even get the words out. He was facing away from me when I walked into the room (probably playing some game on his computer) and I finally managed to squeak out the words "We're. Going. To. Be. Parents!" He jumped up and hugged me; I started crying. Then the terror struck. OMG! We were going to be parents! What the hell did we know about raising kids?

My pregnancy was mostly uneventful and passed painfully slow in my mind, but the big day finally did come. August 16th, 2008 at 9:22 am I gave birth to our beautiful first born baby girl. We really did have no idea what we were getting ourselves into, lol. I thought taking care of one baby, a tiny baby that did nothing, was overwhelming at times. I stayed home for the first three months and then got bored enough to look for a job. I worked on and off over the next year. Evie's entire first year passed waaaay to quickly and I didn't even know how much I should have cherished every moment. They leave that baby stage much too fast. Some days now I wish we could go back to that level of easiness!

If it's possible, her second and third year have passed even quicker. She's gone from this giggle-y little baby, the center of our world, to this happy, independent part-one of our three-part center of gravity. She's changed a lot over the past three years. Evie is now very much into imaginative play, anything pink, and helping to mother her brother and sister. She has distinct preferences in music, books, television and reactions from mom and dad. She likes to pick her own clothes for the day, what meal she eats at any given time and what activities she participates in. Just last week she started swim lessons unassisted by me or Shaun. On her first day she was awarded a sticker for holding her breath under water! Next month she starts dance classes. I cannot believe we are a mere 2 years from kindergarten. Seriously, where has my baby gone? I anxiously look forward to the rest of our lives together and I can't wait to see how the years change her. She brings joy to my life in ways I never even imagined.


Baby girl, I love you! Happy, happy birthday Evelyn.

Congratulations Mom and John

Yesterday Mom and John got married! I'm now the eldest sibling of 5, lol. The wedding was wonderful. They couldn't have asked for better weather and everything seemed to go off without a hitch. Of course that was from the point of view of someone who wasn't doing anything to help run the show. Jynelle helped keep things running smoothly and she did a wonderful job.

Immediately after getting out of the car.
The cleanest they'll be all evening.

Trying to keep Lex interested in a family photo

Success!

Too much room to run!

Daddy's hat

The bridal party

annnnd...this is how Lex spent most of the evening

My mom made Evie's dress. Adorable!

Love, love, love this photo of them

Trying to get a photo with all three

Still trying!

Cute little Sophia,
best behaved of the whole evening

Mom's favorite things: the first

There are so many things people don't tell you bout being parents. Perhaps it's because whatever they should be warning you about is something that sneaked up on them so slowly over time that it just became part of their new normal as parents so they just never think to warn you. Or, perhaps, I was told everything and I just didn't listen. #thiscouldbetrue

One such example would be the utter lack of privacy you will get from the moment you bring your baby home start labor become pregnant. Don't even get me started on the complete lack of personal space random strangers afford you as a pregnant woman or the number of medical types you'll encounter during your pregnancy/labor/delivery/postpartum period. That tiny little creature you and your partner created will forever more drain you of your personal time and space. Most of the time you're happy about this; occasionally you're not.

So this leads me to my first mom favorite: doors that lock!

You never realize just how much you need that lock on the bathroom door until you have mobile kids. If they had it their way you'd never get a moment to yourself in the bathroom. There's something about that room that's a vortex calling to kids.

The second most important door lock is the locking bedroom door. Unfortunately, with the way our house is set up, we don't have a lock on our bedroom door. Evie has ventured down into our bedroom uninvited in the past. There's nothing creepier than hearing a whisper from over the side of your bed at 3 am, lol. At least we've been lucky enough that she hasn't ventured in at a *ahem* more undesirable time. Our next house will include a bedroom door that locks.

Really, any door in the house that locks has the potential to be your friend. There will days where you feel yourself about to lose your cool, those days where the kids seem to know every button you have and they have a desire to push each and every one. Five or ten minutes with a locked door between you and the kids can be a lifesaver on those days!

User beware though!

Just as locks on doors can be your friend they can also ruin your day quickly. A very important tip: always, always bring your keys with you if you have to run outside for anything, for any amount of time. Trying to convince a giggling almost 3 year old to unlock a door is not fun.

Training Camp

Shaun is one happy dude this week. He got to visit Vikings Training Camp with Evie on Monday. I keep trying to convince him that he should blog things himself, but no suck luck, so you'll have to hear about his time second hand from me :-)

Shaun and Evie just arriving at camp

On Monday he and Evie woke up at 5 am to pick up John and Dan and make the drive to Mankato. They were among the first people to arrive expecting a very busy day since it was running back autograph day. While waiting in line Evie and Shaun practiced hiking the ball, going long and catching footballs much to the amusement of those around them. Evie's not quite ready for the pros, lol.

Rockin the helmet

So many people tend to want Adrian Peterson's autograph that they have to run a lottery program for those who are interested in meeting him. Evie was the lucky one this year who drew a Peterson ticket! Since Shaun already has a Peterson autograph, and Dan helped us the other week when we needed our lawn mowed, Evie gave her ticket to Dan. As thanks, Dan got Evie her very own Viking helmet!

There was a break between arriving and the opening of autograph signing so they, of course, went to watch the team practice. During one part of special teams practice Jaymar Johnson, WR, missed a punt. Our darling daughter yelled at him "You missed it!" just in case he hadn't realized.

The day ended with her receiving an autograph from Toby Gerhart and a 2 hour nap in the car on the ride home.

(almost) Wordless Wednesday with Miss Minnesota

Evie got to meet Miss Minnesota,
aka "a real princess!" at Vikings training camp
on Monday. She was pretty stoked.

Sword play

Shaun thought it was a super cool idea to get the kids pretend swords and shields. I'll update in a few days to see how that's going. In the mean time, here's a video of Shaun and Lex playing.

The not so little one

Her first 3-6 month outfit!

Time has definitely sped up lately as Miss Sophia is now more than 2 months old! She had a visit with the doctor this past week where we found out she has put on an average of 12.5 ounces per week since we brought her home from the hospital. She now weighs 13 lbs and is in the 93rd percentile for weight. She is also 23 inches tall in the 73rd percentile. In comparison, Evie was only 11 lbs 8 oz and 22.75 in at 2 months old and Lex was 12 lbs 14 oz and 23 in at 2 months. My littlest child at birth is now the biggest at 2 months old! Evie didn't even weigh this much at 4 months old!

Sporting band-aids from the mean ol' nurse.

She also had to get her second round of shots at this appointment :-( She cried for all of a minute and now she's all ready to go to the child center at work with me. All we were waiting on was for her to be caught up with any vaccinations a 3 month old would have and they were willing to make an exception with letting her come in.

Wordless Wednesday: Summertime

(all from the phone)

Post baby body

Ugh, ick, blah! <--That's what I have to currently say about how I feel. Three babies in three years does not do much to compliment a mom's body! Now that I'm moving past this child bearing phase I want to get something of a body back that I can take pride in.

Around 5ish weeks post baby I started working out again. I started slow with a Jillian Michaels for beginners work out and threw in a couple days of running. This week I'm moving onto the 30 day Shred, 300 sit-ups* and 100 push-ups* work outs. During the weeks when Shaun is in town (or every week once Sophia is old enough for the gym daycare) I'll be doing the C25K program and a weight training program designed by the Life Time Fitness website. Once I complete the C25K program I'll be starting the 10K one. What this breaks down to is 3 days of running, 5 days of strength training, 3 days of Jillian Michaels (non-running days), and 3 days of the sit-up/push-up routine. I'm working it out so there is one day of nothing during the week. With the way each workout is designed I'll be working out 60-75 mins, 6 days a week.

I believe, based on these workouts, that my fitness goals are realistic. By the end of September I want to 1) run a 5K race and 2) be able to pass a PT test (not that I'm actually taking one then!). By January I want to 1) run a 10K race and 2) pass a PT test with 80% or better in every category. This will be hard for me because I've only once received better than 80% on my run. By the end of next summer I want to run a half marathon. Right now I'm thinking it will be the Stillwater half marathon.

That's a lot of running for someone who used to hate running! Jynelle and my mom really inspired me to just get out there and start running last summer. Ever since then I've enjoyed running and I've missed it this pregnancy. I'm going to post once a month here about how close I'm getting to my goals to try to keep myself accountable.

*I feel like I should edit to say that I'm not actually doing 300 sit-ups or 100 push-ups, but that the work outs I'm doing are designed to get you to be able to do 300/100.