A Marathoner Among Us

I think it's safe to be called "a marathoner" after two, right?

Ryan finished his second marathon on Saturday. This year he ran with a friend from the ward whose wife also ran the half.

His cheerleader was a little less enthusiastic than last year, but I still biked about 6 miles (in all my exhausted, fat glory). I saw him at 7, 10 and 11. Because I was meeting our friend at the end of her Half, I did not make it back out to cheer for his second half. I feel bad about that.


At Mile 10

At Mile 11


My parents came from St Louis on Thursday (have I mentioned what an adjustment their mission is going to be for us!?) to keep the kids for the night. We left on Friday at 1pm and headed to packet-pickup. Afterwards, we headed to a friends' home who now lives in Champaign but used to live here in our ward. They fixed us a fabulous dinner, but we stayed up too late chatting. Guess that's what happens with friends. Thanks Aubrey!
Saturday morning we were up before dawn (4:30) and headed to the race. Ryan felt great until about Mile 18-19, and then his body just gave up. His training wasn't what it was last year, mostly because I've been rather needy these last few months. He ended up walk/running the last 7ish miles.

Here he is sprinting to the finish. He was really booking it! I am super proud of him.

Here are the racers enjoying some time on the field after the race. Oh, and please note our former bishop "Tebow-ing"...or struggling to get up off the ground, lol.

After we drove home, and my mom and dad treated us to Texas Roadhouse. Nothing like making sure you replenish all the lost calories, eh?

Congrats Babe; I am so proud of you. Thanks Mom & Dad for keeping the rascals. Thanks Aubrey for feeding and housing us.

It was a great... though exhausting... weekend.

Pregnancy #3

Does this announcement fill you in a little more about the REAL activities of my week without kids? You guessed it - I edited out all the puking and laying on the couch like I was about to die. Aren't you glad you didn't have to read that part?

Anyway, now that you know our fun news, here are some of the facts. I am due October 19th. We are excited to attempt to avoid any holidays with this delivery, but we're cutting it close between our birthdays just before and Halloween just after. We'll see. We do like to cluster things around here. Not.

So here are some things to take note of this pregnancy...

- As a special present at conception, I broke out in vicious, unexplainable hives. They lasted until the day after we could take a home-pregnancy test (2-1/2 weeks in all). It was horrible. Our only guess is that they were caused by the hormone switch. Yikes. The midwife was just as stumped.

- Just like usual, I hit a brick wall of nausea at 6 weeks.  I would lay on the couch, eating and routinely throwing up over and over again. I wouldn't have the strength to walk to the kitchen or toilet or even to my bed. It was just like with the boys. The difference this pregnancy is that some days/hours I would feel decent (not good, but bearable). I would be able to stand at the stove, get Collin home from school, push the boys on the swings for a moment or whatever. Anyway, it was nice to SOMETIMES be able to function.

- I begged my midwife (and she tried to talk me out of it) at 9-weeks into a prescription for Zofran. I told her I would only take it when it was at its worst. I got into a routine taking it each evening to fall asleep. I found if I could get some rest at night, I was much better suited to cope with the following day. After almost two weeks of this, I had hardly had a bowel movement. Did you know that needing to poop can feel just like contractions? Long story short, Miralax has become my friend as well. Sometime last week, I started to take another pill at noon-ish too, but I have skipped that one the last few days, and I seem to be doing fine. I am most nauseous in the evening, and the night time seems to be helping. I am throwing up about once per week, which sure beats 4-6 times per day.

- Another difference this pregnancy is that I think (am I going to curse myself?!) that my nausea is going to subside at about 13-weeks, like it does for NORMAL pregnant people. With the boys, I puked and puked and puked (never touched Zofran - which is either a "go me" or "stupid me," I'm not sure which) until 20 weeks. I think this time around I am already doing better... but we'll see.

- Lastly, I have already gained TWELVE pounds. I guess that when you have to eat every hour to have the strength to walk but then you don't puke it all up, it all sticks. Sigh. Here's hoping nursing makes it all fall off again.

Well, there you have it. Our big news. We'll be a family of FIVE this fall.

Lucky 13?

 

What do you think these big boys are getting ready for?

 

That's right! They are going to be big brothers! 

And here we are - 13 weeks on the 13th. Hope thirteen is lucky for us.

 

SURPRISE!

March Things

We are still alive around here. We still do things. We still go to school and work and play. I've just really lost the enthusiasm for blogging. But I do get upset when my old friends stop posting pictures and their goings-on, so I will try to continue to do something lame (like this post) from time to time. Sorry.

So here are some pictures of what we've been up to.

COMMUNITY HELPERS PARADE
To end their unit on community helpers, Collin's school had a parade. Brennan was so excited to actually get to come inside (they have a pull-up lane for pickup and drop-off, and he's not allowed to come when I volunteer). Collin looked adorable, and Brennan was so proud of him.

He had a real hard hat too, but he said it was too heavy for his neck. ;-) Thanks, Jacqie, for the clothing loan!

 SNOW... FINALLY!

Our last decent snowfall, until March, was January 2011 - When Brennan was born and Ryan got snowed-in in Madison. Needless to say, my boys had no memory of snowmen, snow forts, snow tunnels or igloos.

Mother Nature pulled through for us in March though, and after several storms, we are now more than ready for spring.

WELCOME HOME, BOYS!

Every night the boys cuddle up on the couch with Ryan or me for stories. It doesn't seem like much of a thing... until they've been gone for a few days.

 I snapped these ones the night they got back. We really missed them!

Brennan returned with this lovely shiner too. He can tell you the whole story, but basically he was jumping on Grandma's couch and jumped off into a pile of pillows... and then into the coffee table. My mom assures me the table was pushed far away from where there could be any danger, and I totally believe her.

My Brennan is never safe from harm's way. Silly, crazy boy. The deepest cut appears that it'll leave a scar, but he is finally all healed up. And yes, he got to tell the story to lots of people.

EASTER
We did some fun Easter activities. Collin sat with the Easter bunny at the mall,

 played in the free bounce houses,

 and had a great time. Brennan, on the other hand, hung for dear life to his Daddy

complaining that he was too tired to play (It wasn't nap time). Talk about a role-reversal!

We also went to our neighbor's church for their Easter egg hunt. Our Playgroup egg hunt was while the boys were still visiting my parents, and I didn't want them to miss out.

After some coaching in the car on the way there about getting as many eggs as possible and waiting to open them until later, they did a great job. ;-)

 

I have realized that despite living next-door to world's best neighbors for the last FIVE years, we have never taken a picture of them with the boys. They really are our in-town grandparents, and I don't know what we'd do without them! Love you, Jake & Laura!

 (Jake tore his rotator-cuff, hence the sling. Ouch.)

And finally, here's our obligatory Easter morning picture. I think I have the most handsome boys. Don't you agree?

Happy April, friends.

What would you do...

with a week without kids?

This week is Collin's Spring Break. Months ago my mom suggested that both boys spend the week with her in St Louis. What stay-at-home mom passes that kind of offer up?

So Monday morning I ventured about half-way to St Louis and met my parents at a truck-stop. I unloaded children and belongings, we ate trucker-food together (scary), and then parted ways.

I'll admit I sat in the parking lot a while after they'd already gotten on the freeway headed south. I said a prayer for my babies and, of course, for my parents. Then I put the van in reverse and turned around to see their two empty car seats. It isn't too often (never) I drive the van with two empty car seats. Did you know they rattle a little over bumps? Luckily, I had planned for the panic I'd surely experience at the sudden silence on my return trip by bringing along some books-on-CD. I think that the last time I listened to something of my own choosing on a road trip was when we moved to Peoria almost five years ago. No Baby Einstein. No Little People's Mr. Golden Sun. No Thomas the Train movie or Elmo's World theme song. Nope, just me and F. Scott Fitzgerald cruising with Gatsby.

So what else have I done this week? I went shopping - not for groceries but for myself - on Tuesday. That is like some crazy miracle. I'm not a shopper, and I'm even less of a buyer. But I bought some winter boots to wear to church. That's right, I've only been trying pairs on for two years now! I also read the rest of Great Gatsby yesterday afternoon. When's the last time I finished a book in two days? Definitely only in my pre-child days. Today I didn't do much of anything - laundry, cleaning, dishes - but in some kind of super-human time. Guess it must go a little faster without "helpers."

Friday morning I'll head back to the half-way point and pickup my monkeys. I plan to be rejuvenated, fresh and full of Mommy-love after a week off. Here's to Spring Break!

PS: My parents got their mission call on Monday afternoon! They are headed to the Quezon City Philippines Public Affairs Office - reporting in mid-August - for two years. Knowing they'd be gone for a long while was a major reason they wanted to have the time with the boys this week. We are all in for an abrupt life-change when they're on the other side of the world. I'm terrified.

Valentine'd

The boys got these cute shirts in the mail yesterday.

Nana said to pretend she was giving them a big hug each time they wore them. Here are my cuties sending their hugs back her way.

(Yes, I haven't forgotten my passionate plea to keep Valentine's Day between people in a romantic relationship, but you can't reform everyone, right? Love you, Nana! Thank you!)

Dating Again!

Ryan and I are at blissful period of parenthood where...
     1 - I don't have to nurse a baby to sleep,
     2 - I'm not puking pregnant,
     3 - we aren't too poor to go out once in a while,
     4 - and our kids will let just about anyone put them to bed!
When all the stars align like this, it's time for some dating. Yippee!

First, here are some people we've "used" for babysitting:

Neighbors:
pros: can walk (so no transportation needs)
cons: expensive ($7-10 per hour), don't know LDS bedtime routine - Primary songs, prayer, scripture stories (Collin is pretty much old enough to lead all this stuff now though)

Young Women -
pros: know the LDS routine
cons: usually have to be picked up and dropped off, cost money ($5-7 per hour)

Young Single Adults -
pros: all the Latter-day Saint bedtime knowledge of YW plus usually won't accept pay and can drive themselves
cons: busy schedules

Side Story: The new basement has a "theater" (a giant tv and surround sound). So we invited the YSAs over to watch the Christmas Broadcast back in December. Then afterwards, Ryan proposed an idea:

They could come over once a month after we had the kids in bed, and they could have a YSA Movie Night while we went out on a date.

And guess what? They totally took us up on it! Hopefully, it'll become a regular thing. Sweet.

pros: they provide own transportation, free

cons: too late for dinner. Oh, and I provided snacks for their movie, but that was my choice.

Friend Swap -
pros: free, provide own transportation
cons: have to go out after kids are in bed (so no eating out), have to return the favor (though this isn't really that big of a deal)

Now here are some things we've done this last month:

dinner: Still by far my favorite date. I just love to eat out. Unfortunately, most of the "free" options above are specifically linked to a later departure time, which rules out dinner. We usually try to hit places that aren't kid-friendly - unique, pricey menus with slow-ish service.

comedy night: Brian Regan came to town, and we went with a big group from the ward. Good times.

basketball game: The local university men's team was playing downtown. Tip off was 7:05, and we were able to get there about twenty after. Swish! And it was only $8 for each of us.

game evening: Arrange for two babysitters to come to your home. Invite over several families. Leave a jar near the door for contributions to the babysitters. Everyone puts their kids on one floor with the sitters, and the adults play games and chat on another floor. Genius!

Barnes & Noble: Sit in the cafe browsing books/magazines and share a treat. We prefer travel books, where we dream of warm destinations. Sigh.

Rhythm Kitchen: Sit in the restaurant and listen to live music. The quality of music varies, but we shared a piece of cheesecake and some brie & fruit and chatted for hours. It was a good later-evening activity.

temple weekend: For another very few months, my parents are still in St Louis (a mission awaits them soon though). It isn't technically our temple district, but we head down there on a Friday night (3.5 hours), go to the temple and out to lunch on Saturday morning while my parents have the kids, and return home after church on Sunday. It's a busy weekend, but we get to go to the temple, and the kids get to see their grandparents. Good deal.

hockey game: We haven't gotten to this one yet, but there's a minor league here in town. Games start at 7pm, and if we can make it by 7:20, we'll still get plenty of entertainment. Score!

Do I have your mind clicking now? Look at all those babysitting and date ideas! Now go schedule a night, and enjoy your husband. It's almost Valentine's Day after all. :-)

B is TWO!

Happy birthday, Brennan!
 

We started this Sunday by making chocolate chip pancakes. After eating and while Ryan got ready for his meetings and I dressed the boys, we found out church was canceled! We spent the next few hour making phone calls and sending text and email messages passing on the word.

And then we suddenly had a whole day with nothing to do. Yippee! We decided the only way we'd survive the day was if we opened his presents first.

He got a stick horse from Grandpa & Grandma, which he loves. In my mom's own words: "I know it breaks all your rules. It has a stick for him to hit with, and it makes noise, but it is so Brennan." And she was spot-on: he loves it, but he hits his brother with the stick, and it makes a lot of noise. Gotta love the gifts from the grandparents who don't have to live with the consequences. :-)

Ryan and I got him these balls and sticks that you put together into a fort. Then you put a blanket over the whole thing to make a tunnel thing. Ryan LOVED building, and the boys LOVED playing, so it'll be a good "we're stuck in the house" kind of toy. Oh so perfect for a Sunday morning with church canceled. Go us.

After playing all morning, I taught the boys my primary lesson (gotta get a little church into them on the Sabbath), and we got to web-cam with Nana & Papa, which ended with meltdowns and nap time. Typical.

For dinner, we had our neighbors over. They are our fill-in local grandparents, and we love them! We enjoyed a meal of B's favorites: ham, corn, home fries and ketchup (of course). They brought birthday and Christmas gifts for both boys, so they got to open those after eating.

Lastly, we sang and did candles on a little cake (we're under dessert-restriction around here this month so we had to keep it small). He loved blowing out the fire. So cute.

Anyway, that was our little man's second birthday. Nothing fancy, but he was happy and so were we.

In honor of his two years on this planet, here are some facts about Brennan:

1 - He says all his beginning C/K sounds like a T or a P. We can't figure out the pattern of which consonant he replaces it with, but here are some examples: pamel (camel), Pim (Aunt Kim), Tall (Collin), tolor (color), tup (cup).

The other night Ryan was trying to get him to say "camel." Ryan said, "c-c-camel." And Brennan said, "t-t-pamel." We laughed for a good five minutes!

I love this language-acquisition phase. It is so fun to hear them say new words each day and express more and more complete thoughts. It makes me so happy to watch them learn new things. Is that the teacher in me or the mom or both?

2 - He loves art work. He loves markers, crayons, paints, and dry erase things. He is very meticulous, drawing itty bitty circles everywhere. My favorite is when we are doing stickers in church - he draws a little circle with the crayon and then covers it perfectly with a sticker, almost like putting glue down for the picture. He does it over and over again with exactness. Adorable.

He sometimes struggles with keeping his art work on paper though, and we've already cleaned marker off the couch, walls and bean bag chairs. We've cleaned crayon off the walls, couch and office chairs. Sigh. Good thing we didn't buy nice, new furniture for the basement theater. That hand-me-down stuff is working just fine as his canvas!

3 - Brennan is a pester-er. He likes to smile real big and then trip, pinch, pull hair, tickle/scratch, etc.

He also likes to tease with words. For example, he's started switching all our names around. Most days he makes me Brenn, and Tall is Daddy. He loves making Collin angry with silly things like this, and I'm trying to just convince Collin to let it go by saying, "Otay, B." It rarely works. Boys will be boys, right?

(Do you see the pestering in there? He's cute, but he's trouble!)

 

Every day after preschool, we drive through a new neighborhood across the street from ours with constant new construction. It's called Waterstone. One day, Brennan couldn't say it quite right, and he called it something that sounded like "waterbum." Now every time we drive in, he starts chatting "waterbum" while Collin yells back, "No buddy. Water-ST-one. Say ssssssssst." And Brenn promptly and purposefully grins and says, "Water-BUM!" It is quite the chorus.

4 - B loves to eat - all day, every day. It's been worse this week, so I hope he is just growing. He eats a waffle for breakfast but sometimes two. About an hour later, he has a piece of fruit (apple, banana or orange). By ten, we are errand-running and he's begging for his bag of pretzels, Goldfish and Cheerios. We eat lunch before noon, and he devours whatever is put in front of him. After naps, he eats a snack or two (more fruit and crackers) before dinner at 5:30, where he eats like he's never been fed. He even asked for something to eat after his bath and before bed tonight! It's out of control. I can't imagine what he'll be like as a teenager. Hope we are independently wealthy by then.

My Brennan is a sweets-addict. Between the extra pounds Ryan and I put on over the Holidays, and Brennan's inability to stop after one treat, we've put our whole family on restriction. You wouldn't believe the screaming, kicking and tears that have ensued. He likes the bad stuff - candy, cookies, cake, fruit snacks, brownies. He doesn't seem to have any idea what it means to be full, and he never stops. I'm not sure if it's his age, an inherited condition (Ryan suffers from the same addiction, lol), or if it is something I need to teach him. I think time will tell. I just want him to know balance, ya know?

Brennan loves to drink too, ha ha. We were having some problems in the diaper-arena (for 2 months!), and I tried taking away milk for two weeks, and it didn't fix anything. So then I took away apple juice (he never had much to begin with -just as a bribery in stores), and voila! No more crazy diaper-changing! Anyway, both boys are totally done with juice, and Brennan has really started liking water. I still serve him milk at meal-times, but all in all, he's a water-drinker now. Hooray!

*   *   *

All in all, Brennan is pretty flexible as far as a schedule. As long as he gets a nap before 2-ish and has food available at all times, he can go with the flow. He had a HARD month of December (lots of public tantrums), but January seems to be going smoother. He is talking SOOO much better than last month, so I think he is able to tell me more of what he wants instead of freaking out. Thank goodness.

Happy two years, Little One. We love you!

Kim's Visit

My sister went to St Louis with her family for Christmas, and since we're only another 3 hours away, they all came to our place for a few days afterwards. They mostly came to see the new basement, but since that was accomplished in the first 30 minutes...

 

We had quite a few movie parties in the new theater. The kids also played and played (bring on the new Christmas toys!), and the moms and dads talked and talked. It was great fun. We miss living close to them!

 

We've also been wanting to visit the new Caterpillar Visitor Center downtown, and what better time than with visiting family.

 

There isn't really much to say about each picture, so I'll just let the photos do the talking.

 

 

Thanks again for coming, Kim and family. Brennan keeps asking for "Anna." We miss you guys!