Storms!

Last night was one of the first storms of Spring 2012. Of course, the lightning and thunder had to start at precisely 8:20.....right when the girls were trying to go to sleep. I tried to calm them down two-three times in their rooms. But when I walked into Lexi's room and saw her sitting on her bed rocking back and forth with her blanket over her ears, I knew it was a hopeless cause.

So I told the girls they could go sleep together in my bedroom until Chris and I were ready for bed. They jumped out of their beds and ran as quickly as possible to the bedroom.

But within a minute or so, I quickly realized this wasn't going to be enough. They both looked at me with these sad eyes telling me I had no choice but to crawl in bed with them.

After I settled in with them, they both draped their arms over me. One tidbit of information about me: I HATE to be touched when I'm trying to go to sleep. So I laid there a long time.........long time.... before I got even close to getting some sleep. Right before I drifted off, Bren whispers to me: "Thank you. You saved me." Then, she wraps her arms just a little tighter around me and falls asleep.

I know I don't know everything about parenting and I doubt I ever will, but here are a few things I got from last night:

1. My kids hate storms.
2. Regardless of how old they are, kids like to be close to their parents during storms.
3. Moms need to get over the "being touched while sleeping" thing and hold their kids close during those storms. :-)

Running

As it starts to get nicer outside, I always seem to post a blog about getting into shape. I start running and exercising more often, but it always seems short lived. I get sore and tired, and I stop. Someway...somehow....this is not going to happen this year. I have been surrounding myself with healthier foods, finding time to workout every day (in someway or another), and just feel altogether better about my efforts.

For lent, I gave up pop and haven't missed it too much (except during these long parent/teacher conference nights). Every pop I don't drink is 140 calories I don't intake a day- which is 140 calories I don't have to work off that night.

So I am announcing my running circuit today:

TBD- a 5k
May 19th- CF Run (6.2 Miles)
June 2- Dam to Dam (12.2 Miles)
July 14th- The Warrior Dash (3.4 Miles--I think)


I feel that if I post it on here I am more likely to follow through. I read online that it takes 4 weeks for you to notice a difference in your body, 8 weeks for your family and friends to notice, and 12 weeks for everyone else. So in 8-12 weeks, you are going to see a stronger, faster, healthier me!



"Running is a big question mark that's there each and every day. It asks you, 'Are you going to be a wimp or are you going to be strong today?'" 
- Peter Maher, Canadian marathon runner

The Little things in life.

Chris has been traveling a lot for work lately, and it makes it difficult to be the one left at home to keep things running. I don't want to sound like I'm complaining because I know he enjoys feeling more needed in his department and somewhat enjoys the travel aspect for it gets him out of the same boring routine.

I was worried about how the girls would deal with Chris being gone. Lexi, being the little grown-up she is, didn't seem to be bothered. Brenna, on the other hand, struggled the whole first week. She wouldn't go to sleep and would cry in my lap about how much she missed her daddy. She would ask questions like "Is Daddy ever coming back?" and I would try to console her with the number of days until he would be back.

Chris has taken 2 more trips since then, and we have slowly gotten used to it. We talk every night and I feel like I always tell him about the big things of the day, but easily forget all the cute little things the girls say. Those are the things I want to remember.

Brenna: "Mommy, I guarded my Squinkees from Dawson like you told me to. I didn't let you down."



Lexi: "Stephen is my new bff. He wrote me a note today asking me to play with him during 2 bell. (Pause as she looks at me) I know what you want to say."

Me: "What do I want to say?"

Lexi: "You want to ask if he's my boyfriend."

Me: "Well, is he?"

Lexi: (eye roll) "Mother, you're embarrassing me."




Brenna: "When I get older, can I marry Daddy?"

Me: "No, because I'm already married to Daddy."

Brenna: (Starting to Cry) "But that's not fair you get to marry him and I don't."

SLIDE by Jill Hathaway!

For most teachers, the time they spent student teaching was stressful and almost a deal-breaker on the whole teaching career. I was recently married, 6 months pregnant, and a little concerned about being in a classroom full-time.

Then...I meet Jill Hathaway. She was a great mentoring teacher who introduced me a lot of new ideas, concepts, but most importantly, writing. At the time I was student teaching, she was constantly telling me about her book ideas. I had never even considered writing or becoming a writer, but I loved listening to her talk about it.

And now, her dream of becoming a published writer is finally coming true! Here is her first novel being published! I cannot wait to read this and share this with my students who I know will love it, too! If you love YA mysteries, then look for this one!

Bren's Haircut (No Appointment Needed!)

There comes a time in every parent's life when their child does one of those things that ALL kids do. I remember a few weeks ago, a facebook friend documented her little girl cutting her own hair. I recall thinking how nice it is that my girls have never tried that.


Until now.



Bren was in her room cleaning (which is something she never does by herself). I walk in and the first thing I see is a pile of hair and scissors...



followed by more hair...


This is what Bren looks like. She said "I told you I needed a haircut, Mom!" Luckily, she had a ponytail on top that covers up most of the damage. And she cut the same look on both sides which I feel shows that she knows it has to be even! :-)



But, of course, we had to document this event when Bren did the "typical kid thing."

Winter Photo Shoot

Since I'm home with a sick Brenna today, I saw this as a great chance to do some cleaning and post on the family blog.

Black Friday, Jess and I found these cute coats at Gymboree for an AMAZING deal (I'm sure I've told most of you all about the $15 I paid for these coats). I wanted to take some pictures of the girls out in the snow with these coats. 3 months later, we finally got the snow we needed.

We had a fun morning driving around Adel finding some great spots. We saw 200 geese and a bald eagle flying around by the soccer fields. It was an amazing sight!

Love these girls more than life itself!


Brenna looks too innocent in these pictures; don't let her fool you!
Ms. Alexa with her sass!

And of course, some goofy ones!

A Bittersweet Morning

Today started like most other mornings. Bren came into my room around 5:45 and asked for cartoons. I got ready while she entertained herself and patiently waited for "Sissy" to get up. Breakfast was next on the to-do list: Chocolate chip waffles for Lexi and Regular for Bren.

The day turned unusual when we had to get dressed. Lexi, for some reason, wanted to wear a dress. And, usually, whenever Lexi wears a dress, Bren must follow. The only thing was that Bren doesn't have any dresses that aren't completely "summery". I was just about to tell her that I didn't have a dress for her to wear, when I saw "The Tote."

To all you mothers out there, you know how important and exciting "The Tote" can be. When discussing this with another teacher, she told me she thinks of "The Tote" as shopping. It's a great chance to reminisce about your older daughter's old clothes while finding new outfits for your younger daughter. I begin digging through the tote looking for a dress with leggings that Bren could sport today.

The dress she chose was one that brought back many memories. When Brenna was born, one of my aunts got them matching dresses. I loved putting them in those dresses! Bren today was wearing the one that Lexi was fitting into when Bren was born. All these thoughts came flooding into my head: my baby is wearing the big sister clothing!

I had this bittersweet feeling hit me. My baby is no longer a baby? Do I miss little babies and all that comes with them? Now that we are out of the baby stage, do we really want to dive back in?

If you would have asked them this morning, I may have actually considered it. I may have "slipped" and said I wanted another baby.

But reality set it....there is no way I want to go back to diapers, formula, and having someone be 100% dependent on me. I love my kids and want to enjoy every minute with them as they continue to grow up right before my eyes!

Here are the pictures of Bren wearing Lexi's dress (I'll look for pictures of them together wearing the matching dresses to compare!)


Pretty Girl!


Notice her pretty Jewelry? Thanks Jessica Bellinghausen!
My two big girls!
Bren is always willing to share the love! (Lexi, not so much!)