I'm sorry. I know I've gone MIA again. And really, there isn't a good excuse for it. Well, I guess there could be. Things are hard right now. I struggle to say they suck, because really everyone is healthy and I have a wonderful family and I really can't complain. So I'll just say it is hard. As I've mentioned before, my job is ending next week. I've known since last October, I've had a countdown on my white board in my office starting at around 189 days and I've been ready since February. But now that it is finally here {or more importantly, now that I don't have anything lined up for after the end}, I'm sort of in a funk. Working in HR I've had to coach TONS of people through this process. And every single time I've seen people come out better than where they left. Yet for some reason I'm having a hard time remembering that advice I've given countless times before (but that's also part of the HR mantra . . . do as I say, not as I do. Ha!). This too shall pass . . .
So all that coupled with it being fall and fall is my favorite season yet we don't really have any of our usual fun fall trips planned as we had anticipated {see unemployment issue above} has sort of lead to a nasty funk going on. Oh and I'm still training for the half marathon - which is less than a month away - but some knee issues have lead to a real decline in my progress. At this point I can't wait to get it over with and trust me when I say I will never do a half marathon again. 5ks, sure. Quarter marathon - maybe. But given I will probably spend 3+ hours trying to finish this baby doing a run/walk combo, I'm not seeing this as a fun way to pass the time any time again in the near future. I've also signed up for a my first craft fair (in the hopes to stay busy at least doing something), so that is keeping me occupied, too.
I'm working on getting the blogging mojo back. I haven't taken any pictures of B&k in almost a month. But we have some fun things planned over the next couple of weekends, so hopefully I'll get back into making updates more frequently. I've also been crafting what I'll call a "real world" type blog post about the hell that is having two 3 year olds. Seriously people, whomever called it the "terrible 2s" must not have made it to age 3. And since I'm all about keeping it real and passing on the rainbows and puppy dog aspect of parenthood, I plan to do a little documenting of this stage (especially so B&K can read this later on . . . because trust me, I'll be ALL about reminding them of this age some day when they think they want to have kids!).
I will share a couple of pictures, though. Earlier in the summer (uh, like, June), Bennett & Kendyll and I participated in the Lung Walk again this year in honor of my best friend Jenn's mother. We attended last year as well and it was nice to see the event grow a little. Also growing were the kids, of course.
Here is a pic of Kendyll, Bennett, Louden and Keegan from last year:
And almost the same picture taken this summer, though this one it is Kendyll, Louden, Bennett & Keegan (I think):
{and don't ask how we got almost the exact same picture again this summer. Pure stupid luck, trust me!!}
Um, yeah, wow . . . sorry in the last month I have turned into a sucky blogger! Lots of stuff going on, I guess. But nothing really to report.
B&K are loving their new school. We all miss "Ashey", of course, but I think we are finally settling into our new routine. It took a little while for them to get used to being away from each other on their preschool days, but now they are loving their classrooms and teachers (they each have 3 teachers in their new rooms and are in classes that are mixed ages from 3 - 5 yrs). They get recess time together and they eat lunch at the same time (but I've yet to get a straight answer about whether or not they actually sit together). The lunch thing is sort of funny, or maybe scary, actually. The lunches are served "family style" at their school and they are responsible for feeding themselves, of course. Makes me wonder how much they are really eating. But Nana has been picking them up with extra snacks, just in case it was a "lunch fail" type of day.
We had a pretty low-key holiday weekend. Friday night we discovered (through our neighbors) that the "Giant Eagle on Crack" near our house does a $6 for 6 tastings every Friday night. Build in free childcare at the "play area" and we now have a new Friday night ritual. Score! Last Friday it was beer tasting and was so much fun. We even ran into Lauren & Mark (our old nanny & her husband) and their little one . . . actually her whole family!
Saturday we decided to bike over to campus to meet up with some friends for an OSU tailgate. We never made it over that way last season (and haven't been there since this time!). We recently bought a new bike trailer for B&K to ride in (and, well actually, we also recently fixed up mine & Tim's bikes back into riding shape. They had been sitting in our garage - unused - since we moved here from Chicago 5 years ago!). The bad news is it was 90+ degrees at 10am and even hotter (and all uphill!) by the time we returned home. But it was a fun time.
Sunday we threw together a little party to celebrate Labor Day. I feel bad, though, because we had been promising to take B&K to the pool one last time, but the weather didn't really cooperate (for example, Monday when we went to the Labor Day Arts festival by our house it was barely 60 degrees. Quite a harsh contrast to Saturday's weather!!).
All in all a fun weekend. Our fall is shaping up to be busy, as usual, so it was nice to have a bit of down-time.
I don't really have any new pictures, but I found these on my camera that I don't think I shared before. Just some craziness on the couch.
{B&K have this book called "Preschool Day, Hooray!" that I bought them last year when they started school. Bennett can now read it word-for-word on every page . . . I need to get this on video. Pretty impressive}.
B&K started their new preschool yesterday. We're all very excited about it, actually, as they will get to spend time alone - in separate class rooms - and do new things like eat lunch with their friends every day. We're sending them half days - MWF - this year and the class is made up of children from ages 3 - 5. It is also part of our school district, which means it is real school (not part of a church, like last year, or part of a day care either) . . . what I find most refreshing is this means we don't have to do a lot of the other stuff (like valentines!!!) that they did at their school last year. Plus this school very much caters to working parents . . . refreshing!! I've signed up to volunteer for the PTO, so that should be fun too, I'm sure.
As for the first day . . . well, Bennett was basically like "mom, what are you still doing here???" when Nana & I dropped him off at school -- totally went off and almost didn't even stop for a hug. Kendyll, yeah . . . she was a bit more shy & scared at first. Nana & I stuck around for a bit, but then used a moment of K distraction as a way to sneak out. We could hear her wailing as we walked down the hall, but her teacher told me it was short lived (and for the record . . . she would do this with Ashley too. Even just last week she was all dramatic when I would leave. I think it just yet another phase). They had a blast, though, and we learned at one point the teachers brought Bennett to Kendyll's classroom for a few minutes to see each other. And they also sat together at lunch. Cute.
Here are a few pictures.
I promise to update more soon. Like about how much we love & will miss Ashley. And why I've been absent more lately (nothing exciting . . . just kicking the job search into high gear & cleaning house). So please stay tuned . . .
Today is officially B&K's 3 1/2 birthday. We actually thought about having a half birthday party for them today (more of an excuse to do our annual summer party, since we didn't do one for the 4th this year), but things just didn't come together. Sometimes having a birthday in February (when there are inches of snow on the ground) can be a little lame, but oh well. The weather is beautiful here today, so we may treat them to an afternoon at the pool.
I took them to have some pictures taken last week and oh.my.gosh they turned out awesome. If you are in the Columbus area and looking for a photographer, I highly recommend Susan Miller. I could seriously litter this post with TONS of adorable pictures, but here are a few of my favs:
A couple of things I wanted to capture about B&K at 3.5:
- Bennett is 40 in tall and weighs 32 lbs (unofficially. We had to take weight/measurements at home for some preschool paperwork). He's in a size 11 shoe and 3t or 4t clothes (though for shorts, the skinny dude is able to get away with 2Ts. Cinched as tight as they will go!).
- Kendyll is 39 in tall and weighs 35 lbs. Yep. You read that right. Homegirl has been going through a MAJOR growth spurt this summer. I'm currently searching for 4t / 5t fall clothes for her (because the 3t stuff I hung on to from last year - or bought late season - isn't going to cut it). She wears a 9 shoe, but I think we'll be moving up on that soon, too.
- They both can recognize the alphabet and their names when spelled out. They can count to 30 (at least) and remember EVERYTHING. Seriously. Fun times.
- They love to ride their bikes (both tricycles and the 2 wheelers with training wheels) and they love to sing songs and "help" out around the house. They are all about doing things "by my big self" -- like getting dressed and undressed. Which is a good thing, but it takes 4 times as long.
Overall they are doing well and are excited for the big changes to come this fall. A new school and Nana will be watching them (which, yes, means big changes for mama, too. I'm losing Ashley, who has been my right hand gal for 2 years!!). We have loved having Ava & Ashley as part of our family these past 2 years, but we're so excited for Nana to have an opportunity to do something she has wanted to do for a long time. It will be fun for everyone!
Ok, I realize it has been a while since I've updated. Two weekends ago Tim & I went out of town to celebrate a friend's birthday and B&K went to stay with Grandma, Grandpa & Uncle Mark. Their weekend was fun, ours was marked with hotel drama & a return home to MORE water issues in our basement (unfinished side this time, thankyoubabyjesus). And, well, last week seemed to fly by for some reason.
This past weekend was BUSY. Saturday morning B&K had their first visit to the dentist. We had been talking about it for quite some time (and totally pimping the coupon for free ice cream they give for first time visitors!). Overall, once again, B&K were total rock stars. Bennett especially . . . . he just laid back, crossed his legs and went with the flow. Kendyll had one moment of drama-queen-ness when the dentist finally came in at the end to count her teeth. But a threat of no balloon or surprise toy cured that real quick. They had their teeth counted, both had their teeth cleaned and received fluoride treatments. Best news -- no cavities!! I was a bit worried about one of K's teeth that has been yellowish for a LONG time (basically since coming in), but the dentist said it was just an enamel issue and her adult tooth should be fine. And despite being an avid thumb sucker, her bite looks perfect. But we still need to work on breaking this habit. Sooner than later.
After that, Nana & I took them to a special lunch and then we headed to the pool at our new golf club. Tim & Papa and friends were golfing and ended up meeting up with us after. It was actually a super fun time and B&K were in GREAT moods (despite not having a nap. We've been doing this a few times lately, but the good news is they still NEED the nap, so normally the next day they take super long naps or sleep in late. And I realize I just royally jinxed myself by typing this out. Dammit!). Our friend Scott (who B&K call "Scotch") was showing off his mad diving board skills at one point and Bennett decided he wanted to be brave and go off it too. And thus a water logged monster was created. He wouldn't actually jump off, but if you dropped him into the water he would go under and then swim to whomever was there to "catch" him. Pretty impressive, if I do say so myself, esp since we haven't been able to get them into lessons yet (sorry for the cell phone pictures -- that's all I had with me!).
On Sunday we did some of our normal weekend things. Like grocery shopping. And at our fav grocery store they actually have free childcare -- this awesome room set up with all kinds of toys & games and at least 2 staffed workers there at all times. We tried to get B&K to go to the "play area" at least two other times, but no go (once I even got them all checked in only to have the worker call me on the walkie-talkie to come get them less than 3 min later). Yesterday, though, they actually initiated the request to go there (though I learned later Tim had been baiting Bennett with the idea all day). They LOVED it. And Tim & I got to shop in peace!! Oh glory day! :) Next time we may even try to do the wine tasting while we "shop" . . . even MORE glory day!! :)
Lastly, yesterday evening we took B&K to check out the play ground at their new preschool. They'll go for an open house the day before they start, but they had both been asking about the new school a lot lately so we figured why not go out in the upper 90 degree heat index afternoon to play on a playground. :) We took them for their free ice cream afterward, though, so all was good in the world.
Last Sunday I took Kendyll to a "Mommy & Me Princess Tea" luncheon at our golf club. {that's right. We belong to a country club now. Don't judge!}. It was so.much.fun! There were two "real" princesses (who were supposed to be Belle & Sleeping Beauty, but the one didn't really have a Belle dress on. Whatever.). I found a super cute - from the Disney Store with tags still on it - Belle dress for K on my BFF Craigslist and she was SO super stoked to wear it (though it was a tad bit too long. And given how K has a thing for splatting on her face while wearing shorts these days, I was a tiny bit concerned).
The grand ballroom was decorated like a Princess wonderland. Each girl was given a special princess cup and wand and LOTS of candy jewelry (read: that's all Kendyll ate for lunch. And at the risk of looking like a parent who can't control her screaming strong willed diva of a child, I just went with the flow. It was worth the hearing of everyone in the room).
After we ate our "lunch", each girl could partake in fun princess activities like getting tattooed:
{they also had LOTS of little crafts for the girls to do}.
Once the princesses arrived, each girl was given a makeover, which consisted in getting whored up with make-up and LOTS {I mean L-O-T-S} of glitter on the face & hair. Let's put it this way, Kendyll has taken 3 baths since this event and there is STILL glitter on her scalp.
Then each girl was called up individually and given a special crown and deemed a "Princess". Kendyll took this very, very seriously.
They rounded out the social with some games and dancing. Fun times all around. K was hesitant to get her picture taken at first (I think she was in a sugar coma), but by the end she was SO excited to pose with the two "princesses".
Bennett REALLY wanted to attend, too (and honestly, asks me daily if we can go to another princess event). He was supposed to "golf" with Tim on Sunday (he has a new set of clubs and everything!), but given the 100+ degree heat index we've had lately, the guys opted for the pool on Sunday instead. But I'm sure they'll do the golf thing sometime soon!
