let's go royals

 

i'm sure you've heard.

the ROYALS won the world series.

it was a pretty big deal in these parts.

especially since it hasn't been done in the last 30 years.

i'm a big fan and i lured ronnie and brette into the action too.

when we won, i decided to take

my girls to the parade to celebrate.

it was scheduled for tuesday at noon.

perfect.

i could get there around 9 or 10 in the morning with a few hours

to make our way to whatever spot we could find and

hopefully leave by 2 to get home for a late nap.

my bffs, shannon and kassie were off on tuesday too, so

we decided to brave the crowds together.

the more adults the better.

the news was speculating 200,000 people.

sure, its a lot, but i thought we could handle it.

 

but then everything went crazy.

 

shannon was little late meeting me.

you know kids...

you try to do something cool with them

and they turn on you.

brette was being cranky about her shirt

and shannon's clan was giving her a hard time too.

sweet.

with five kids and three adults we thought the best

plan of action was to pack a double stroller.

have two kids sitting at all times which leaves

the remaining three kids supervised by three adults.

we just didn't want to lose anyone.  obviously.

well, my freaking double stroller wouldn't fit in shannon's pilot.

wait for it...

neither would my jogger.

ahhhhhh!
we finally rearranged things so the jogger would sit shotgun,

we threw in an umbrella stroller

and i squeezed myself in between two carseats in the very back.

oh yeah, and we hadn't even met up with kassie yet.

there was no hope.

we finally left my house at 9:30 and called kassie to meet us.

at first kass wanted to meet up at dana's house.

she's close to the plaza and there was a shuttle taking the crowds in from there.

but traffic was bad and the numbers of attendants was raising by the hour.

now they were saying 300,000 people.

we decided to meet kass at the zoo and ride the shuttle in from there

hoping that maybe it would be a little less crowded and get us

off the highway sooner.

um no.

we waited in line forever just to park our car.

but at last - we made it and kass was there to help us with

all. our. freaking. kids.

we busted out my portable kids potty for a fast bathroom break,

loaded all our bags, snacks, drinks and children and headed to the bus stop.

now all we have to do is hop on the shuttle and make our way downtown.

...except...

the line for the shuttle was OVER a mile long.

ps- reports are now saying 500,000 people expected.

holy lord.

shannon was getting a little scared of the sheer number of people

and i was getting nervous we wouldn't even make the parade in time.

so we decided to pack it up.

that's right.

we went through all that work, just to call it a day.

reese, shannon's oldest, cried and we all felt like big jerks.

to make it up to her we decided to take all five kids to

buffalo wild wings for lunch and they could watch the parade on

all 50 of their big screens. perfect.

we even told reese she could order dessert.

(you gotta do, what you gotta do when kill a small child's dream)

buffalo was packed and both babies needed to eat.

the waitress sucked and we waited f o r e v e r  for our food.

brette was trying to steal crayons from graham and

the TV's were so loud i couldn't think straight.

we finally made it home around 1:00 - - four hours since the start of adventure.

four hours to basically go to lunch.

i threw both my girls down for a nap

and shannon and kass came over and hung out for the rest of the day.

it ended up being really fun and i actually got to see

the parade and the pep rally.

in the end over 800,000 people showed up to cheer on our boys in blue.

i'm so glad we didn't go.

it would have been different if we had ronnie and drew to help,

but it was just too much, with too many kids.

next year, (hopefully we win again) i'm calling mimi to

babysit and us girls are going to go.

THAT sounds much better.

 

#WeTookTheCrown

 

 

 

 

 

and so it goes.

i took this idea and made it my own.

we've been shooting these pictures now for

three years and i plan to keep going.

i know i'd like another one when reid turns a year old.

and maybe a new one every summer after?

we'll see if i can remember.

i just think it would be so cool to have

them until they graduate high school.

just us girls, hanging out on our bed.

 

here's our newest addition:

sister hugs.

 

 

and a look back from the beginning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

we'll see you again in july!

 

 

 

trick or treat

we had such a fun halloween!

it makes such a difference when it falls on a saturday.

no rushing around after work trying to get kids in costumes,

fed and out the door.

we actually spent the whole day doing fun, halloween activities.

first off, LS has a parade in the morning for all the kids and dogs

to strut their stuff and get candy from local stores.

(we left our mutts at home)

we also managed to make our way into our downtown

diner for a little breakfast.

once you sit down, hot cinnamon rolls are served.

yes please!

when we got back home we decided to carve our pumpkin.

we were supposed to do it family fall day,

but i actually liked saving it for halloween.

 

 

 

 

then it was nap time and as soon as the girls woke up we were off to brian's.

madeline, eden, mimi and papa were all waiting for us

with hot bowls of chili.

unfortunately, the girls were way too excited to eat.

so instead, we started getting them all dressed and ready.

we had to be out the door by 5:20 for the neighborhood parade

and then (for the first time ever) i actually had a trick-or-treater.

it makes halloween so fun. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

last year, brette wasn't walking yet... what a difference a year makes.

we were back at brian's early enough to hand out candy to other kids

and i actually got to eat dinner.

the girls ate dinner too... 18 candy bars.

i'm not kidding.

at one point we couldn't find the huge bag of candy

that we bought to give out and that's because brette was sitting with

it between her legs, just going to town.

in fact, brette woke up and told me she doesn't want breakfast,

she just wants candy.

halloween has to be the wors/best holiday ever.

 

ours was super sweet and already i can't wait for next year.

i'm hoping reid will be out there walking with the older girls.

seven

ronnie and i celebrated 7 years of marriage yesterday, but
i didn't write this.

very romantic for our anniversary, right?

sometimes i read things that say it

better than i ever could.

so here are Marielle Petkoff's words

from her blog, The Resplendent.
it struck a chord with me with

what ronnie and i have.

 

what we had.

 

what we will have.

 

 



Dear Husband,
This season of life has been a challenging one.
I know it shouldn’t come as a surprise, since people have always told us how hard the first few years of marriage can be. We are smack dab in the middle of those years, after all.
And I know we are not the only ones feeling it. As a matter of fact, I’ve recently started to see other young couples our age announcing the end of their marriages. At first, these announcements always shock me. How could a couple this young be ending a marriage that feels like it just begun?
But, as you and I sit here in silence in front of the television after a long day, staring at our phones, I have to admit that I get it. All of those people who warned us that marriage isn’t always easy? They were right. It is hard. I think we would both admit that this whole “for better or for worse” thing hasn’t always been a walk in the park. In a few years, we’ve already been through so much together. There have been new jobs, unexpected jobs changes and jobs we’ve hated every second of. There have been moves, a miscarriage, illness, and the loss of family members. There have been financial worries and more “adult” decisions than I thought two kids like us would ever have to make.
And if we are being totally honest, I think we’d both admit that adding children to the mix has been one of the hardest changes of all. We fight over things that wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for our kids—things like, who has to get up at 6 a.m. on a Saturday with the screaming alarm clock, who has to discipline them after the tantrum in the middle of the frozen food aisle, and why in the world you would give our toddler a cookie just 10 minutes before dinner.
We spend very little time as just the two of us these days, and when we finally do find time, we usually spend it doing “boring” stuff. We catch up on episodes of our favorite shows, we go to Target just to walk around in peace without children, or we sit in a movie theater shoving our faces with the sugar we usually deny our kids. We don’t spend as much time talking and laughing and playing as we used to, because we are both so tired. When we get the chance, we just want to turn our brains off. We don’t want to think. We stare at our phones instead of each other. Some days, it feels like we hardly talk at all. And when we do, it’s often to take out our stress and frustration on one another.
I know that there have been times during our pointless arguments that we’ve both wondered if these years are supposed to be this way. We’ve wondered if we are the only ones who don’t know how to pass the time with our antsy toddler on those long Saturday afternoons. We’ve questioned whether or not we are the only ones who argue over who has to watch the kids instead of spending our free time going on elaborately planned family adventures together.
Since getting married and having kids, we’ve spent less time taking care of ourselves, our relationship, in favor of sleep. We’ve started to “let ourselves go,” and let’s be honest, we might even be starting to rock mom and dad bods. We don’t go out with our friends as much as we used to and staying up late usually means 10:00 (or maybe 12:00, if we are feeling extra crazy). Our idea of partying is ordering pizza so that neither of us has to cook or clean up the kitchen.
Let’s face it. In just three short (seven) years together, our marriage has already changed a lot. And to some, our marriage might not look all that exciting.
But, I want you to know something.
This season? It hasn’t surprised me. I knew it would be challenging. And I’m not naïve. I know that we aren’t going to “outgrow” the hard. It’s not like learning to ride a bike. You don’t just figure out the hard part once and then cruise through the rest of life. Each season ahead is bound to bring challenges of its own. I know our marriage will continue to change, and there are sure to be continued growing pains along the way.
But, even now, I love our life. I love our boring, weird, simple life. Even though my words and actions may not always show it, I love you through the quiet nights of staring at the television in silence, because I’m sitting next to you. I love you through the financial worries and hard decisions, because I’m facing them with you. Despite the challenges we have faced as a married couple, I know this is just a season, and I am so very glad that I’m living it with you.
Yes, it’s hard sometimes.
And there will be more hard seasons, no doubt. There will be days when I’m crazy about you and days when I don’t like you at all. There will be times of pure bliss and times when our faith is the thread holding us together. There will be hardships ahead like nothing we’ve ever faced before, and there will be times so good that we will do everything in our power to hold onto them forever. We’ll face boring and crazy, easy and hard, babies and budgets, wins and losses, joy and pain, long hours and sleepless nights. The seasons will just keep changing, and so will our life together.
But one thing will never change, I’m certain.
Through every season, dear Husband, I will love you and our life together.

 

happy seven years, ronnie.

here's to us.










(and maybe an extra toast to THE ROYALS too! World. Series. Champions. wahoo!!!)

 

 



halloween week

Monday:

my parents came up to spend the day

with the girls while we all worked.

my two year old didn't nap and my

three month old goes to bed at 7:30.

we ate a quick family dinner and made

a fast exit to get both girls to bed before

the real shit show began.

Tuesday:

it was rainy and gross.

i planned to go grocery shopping but

i refuse to try to unload and load the girls.

then load and unload all the food.

instead we went to hobby lobby and

spend the rest of the day at home doing laundry and crafting.

(making reid's costume)

 

 

Wednesday:

i spent the morning cleaning house.

i spent the afternoon searching for overalls for B and

making witch finger cookies.

i also found time to take a comparison shot of B and R.

brette was four months old and reid is only three,

but still.  they're looking cute in their pumpkin pj's.

ronnie also got reid to (what we are calling) laugh.

so adorable.

 

 

Thursday:

every thursday morning we head to the

library for storytime.

brette really looks forward to it and it

gives us an actual structured activity to our week.

after, i finally went grocery shopping.

i really hate grocery shopping.

actually, i just really hate walmart.
but i did manage to find some cute sweatpants
(is that even possible?!) for only $10.
 

 

 

then that evening we had our monthly pizza party

(halloween addition) at shannon's.

the kiddos wore costumes and ate candy while the adults

enjoyed apple sangria, pizza, beer and sugar cookies.

i seriously love my friends.
 

 

(my kids missed the group shot because reid was asleep and

brette had just crapped herself.  sweet. "i pooped in my mouse.")

 

 do you get brette and reid's costume?

you have to be familiar with this book...

 

 

 

 

Friday:

and finally the end of the week.

i had to dress up for work and brette had a little halloween party.

my mom came up and watched reid.

now i'm just laying here watching the royals and my boyfriend, hosmer.

#foreverroyal #takethecrown #boysinblue

 

 

tomorrow is obviously halloween.

there is a parade in the morning and then

we're heading over to brian's for trick-or-treating that evening.

i'm sure i'll have a ton of cute pictures to share soon.

 

hope you had a good week!

 

 

 

 

witch's fingers

it's halloween week and

we have a little party on thursday.

i saw these cookies on food network this morning

and i'm going to whip up a batch.

they're fun, festive, a bit scary and EASY!

i'm in.

 

you basically make a sugar cookie,

roll them into "fingers,"

cut knuckle wrinkles,

add a slivered almond for a nail,

bake and then

dip them in jam.

 

aren't they creepy?

i can't wait to see if they're actually good too.

 

whisk together 2C flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt.

set aside.

beat 1 stick of butter and 1C sugar together.

add in 1 egg and 1 tsp vanilla until smooth.

then gradually add in the flour mixture.

done!

roll the dough between your palms into 5 inch fingers.

press a sliced almond into the end of each finger to make fingernails.

make several horizontal cuts in

the center of each finger to make knuckles.

press the dough on either side of the cuts to shape the knuckles.

bake for 16 to 18 minutes at 325 on a greased cookie sheet.

let them cool completely.

heat the jam over low heat until warm and

dip the ends of the fingers.

now you're ready to serve them up.

 

mwah ha ha ha!

 

 

ps- just a little thought,

but i bet you could totally add green food coloring

to your cookie dough and make green fingers.

 

 

reid: three months

can you believe it?!
we're already a quarter done with her first year.
s l o w  d o w n.  please.

growth:

i'm not sure how much she weighs

or how tall she's gotten.

we don't have another check-up with the

pediatrician until november.

but i do know that she is getting bigger!

she's still in size one diapers,

but i've started putting her in a couple 3-6 month

clothing because of the weather.

all of brette's clothes for fall/winter are that size

and since we've had a few chilly days,

i needed to bust them out.

and honestly, they fit pretty well.
a little roomy, but it looks comfy.

her eyes are blue and so pretty.

her hair is definitely still red and pretty long on top.
there's no mullet like with brette
and i think i'm going to be able to start bows a little sooner.

 

 

sleeps:

our sleep schedule has been working really well.

we start our bedtime routine at 7:00 and i have

her in bed by 7:30-7:45.

i make it out in time to have 10ish minutes with brette

before she goes to bed, so it works out well.

last week reid was sleeping until 6 in the morning,

this week, she's been getting up at 5:00 and then going back down

until about 7:30.

i actually prefer this schedule because i get to sleep a little later.

she's up for a couple hours and then she's ready to go right

back down for her first nap - - which lasts anywhere from

45 minutes to 2 hours.

after that she has more of an awake period and

stays up a bit longer.

i always have her ready for another nap around 1:00

so she can go down at the same time as brette.

(its nice to get a little break)

she also takes another nap in the evening around 4:00 or 5:00,

which is helpful for me to get dinner on the table.

this is not a concrete schedule and she dozes off

in between, but i at least have in her crib three times a day.

 

 

eats:

our "food" situation has not changed at all.

she eat basically every two hours.

i nurse her the days i'm here and

on mondays and fridays, she takes a bottle.

i've been trying to schedule my lunch so i can

come home and feed her on my working days,

so that's a nice break from my pump.

we still have plenty frozen milk,

so she's not getting formula.

i'm going to try my best to keep it up,

just to save us from having to buy anything extra.

 

 

plays:

i introduced some toys!

actually no, brette introduced reid to toys.

we have a basket in her room of "baby" toys

that brette's outgrown.

brette kept getting them out for her

and finally she held on and started paying attention.

she can follow an item with her eyes and reach for it.

she really likes the ring ball and

it's especially helpful in honing those skills.

(i think its a favorite first toy of all babies.)

she has great neck strength.

she holds her head up all the time and no

longer likes to be carried around like a baby.

in fact, i tried putting her in her lounger the other day

and she was doing a sit up trying to not lay down.

we may be coming to the final days of getting to use her lounger.
but no worries, because we busted out the bumbo
and reid sits like a champ!

we play some peek-a-boo, read books and sing to her,

but mostly we just sit around and talk.

she is so good at responding to us.

she's definitely another talker.

lots and lots squeals, coos and gurgles going on over here.

 

 

firsts:

first hayride.

first day injury. (brette accidently kicked her in the head)

first time to a pumpkin patch and apple orchard.

first roadtrip. (marceline and back)

first time sitting up in a bumbo.

 

 

i wouldn't say she is as chill as she used to be.

there are definitely days she makes me work for it,

but over all she seems like such a happy baby

and we love to watch her grow.


as for the monthly pictures:
its definitely harder this time.
brette keeps messing with her or throwing
toys on the chair (hello, little owl)
but i'm trying.
i definitely don't have the half an hour to mess around
 to get the perfect shot when she's smiling,
so these always feel rushed.
but anyway... at least they're getting done.