THAT ONE TME...

i got bangs.

 we had a bald eagle in front of our house.

 dave made a salad for dinner.

 henry got sick and fell asleep in my bed.

 henry stayed sick and fell asleep on the couch.

 we had this crazy amazing sunset.

 the girls helped me volunteer at a local bridal expo.

there.

 

all caught up?

HOORAY, THE WEEKEND!

i am so happy it's the weekend. we have nothing tonight (!) and plans for a fun saturday at the steamshow, every little boy's delight. and then hallie and dave have a father/daughter sleepover with some of our favorites, which should be hilariously interesting.

 

a note about hallie's finger: it's healing nicely. i would categorize it as a really yucky nail now. the bone will heal on its own and the stiches will dissolve. she has the "cage" around her finger for another two weeks and then she can take it off as long as it's not too sensitive.

 

a note about henry's potty training: the boy is rocking it. no poops yet, but i'm confident we will be in full-on underwears in a month. A MONTH?! yikes, but yes. he was dry all day yesterday and even told Irma three times that he needed to potty. he figured out how fun it is to pee on tires, grass and gravel, so he doesn't completely have to interrupt his play to take a whiz. he sure does love to play with that thing though, so it's in a constant state of erection. hilariously uncomfortable.

 

a request: books! i need book recommendations, please! I've figured out how to use our nanny's library card to borrow ebooks from the library. i'm so happy. i'm back into my full-fledged bookworm status, much to dave's dismay :)

 

happy weekending!

WOULD YOU RATHER...?

some sample questions taken from a blog (joannagoddard.blogspot.com) this morning:

Would you rather be lost in a desert or at sea? desert
Would your rather make more money or get more vacation time? vacation time
Would you rather meet your ancestors or your great-grandchildren? great-grandchildren
Would you rather be able to eat anything you wanted forever or get rid of all your fears? FOOD
Would you rather take a vacation to a city or the beach? beach. maybe.
Would you rather be an amazing cook or an amazing dancer? cook.
Would you rather camp or stay in a hotel? hotel. although i wish i was the type of person who would rather camp. but i'm not.
Would you rather always be a little too hot or a little too cold? cold? hmm.
i love stuff like this :)

*****

we're going to start pottytraining henry on monday. i'm nervous, but hoping he will catch on quick. he is so smart, but still so sloooow in some areas. i'm not even sure he can pull his own pants down?! we'll find out.

WEDNESDAY.

hump day. i hate that it's called hump day. weird.

 

i had my final class last night! i mean, my final class for this semester. three more courses to go and i am d-o-n-e, woo hoo! now, i just need to make sure i passed! the only grade our professor has handed back ALL SEMESTER LONG has been for an 11 point paper. that's it. so who knows at this point?

 

WHO CARES AT THIS POINT? (me, of course)

 

so anyway.

 

i have this overwhelming feeling of having something to do, but not knowing what it is.

 

dave leaves today and then his summer schedule picks up. he's gone for the majority of june. my goal is to keep the kids super, super busy.

 

henry's birthday is coming up! i've decided to start potty training him - EEK. starting next friday. good times.

 

so that's all i've got today! i did find this picture the other day. so precious.

 

 

IT'S GONNA BE A GOOD, GOOD WEEK.

*final due friday!

*tumbling recital tonight! dress rehearsal thursday! friday and saturday recitals!

*visit from dad thursday/friday!

*visit from mom saturday/sunday!

*mother's day, hooray!

it's just a busy time of year for everybody, isn't it? we had a great weekend. it was busy and full, but had great weather and just very grateful for the good times.

JUST A FEW THINGS.

*in case you were wondering, hallie's favorite song right now is 'kokomo' by the beach boys.

 

*my current favorite song is 'midnight memories' by one direction, which i am only slightly ashamed of.

 

*but this is what i listened to on my way into work today (hi, sarah!):

 

 

*hallie's dance recitals are next week. tuesday tumbling meet, plus friday night and two on saturday. and this is what she'll be wearing for the hiphop number (the green one):

 

 

 

 

good stuff.  

 

 

OH, HI FRIDAY!

made it! friday!

 

*hallie woke up before 5am today. i don't know. 4:56am.

 

*i woke up at 5:12am and went to exercise. i really grumpy, but then i wasn't.

 

*after going home, showering, getting ready for work, getting kids ready for the day and taking them to the sitters, i bought six dozen glazed donuts.

 

*buying donuts made me think about sarah (hi, sarah! i owe you an email!). we used to pick up a dozen donuts at super wal-mart in kirksville and eat the entire box while we did our grocery shopping. we would have the cashier ring up the empty box and giggle hysterically. wow. i can't imagine why we gained weight in college?!

 

*speaking of pigging out, henry has been eating so much more lately! it used to be such a struggle to get him to eat...period. and then he would only want carbs, carbs, carbs (see above, i wonder why?!). but now we are getting him to eat! woo-hoo! still lots of carbs, but more! the pictures below he ate an entire hotdog, club crackers, applesauce, lots of ketchup (straight up) and a ton of peanut butter. and some chips. nutritious! (not).

 

*today is a beautiful day. sunny and warm-ish. we have a relatively calm weekend and it's GOOD FRIDAY! we love you, jesus! thank you for dying on the cross for us. #understatement

 

*HAPPY GOOD FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

(my view down our lane driving in from working out this morning. so peaceful.)

 

 

AND, WEDNESDAY.

*i had class last night. i talked to the other seven students and pretty sure we are all on the same page with the final project, which makes me feel better. i also took some days off in the upcoming weeks to get some good work done on it. so, that's good.

 

*i'm really into wearing heels these days. like, every work day i'm wearing heels and being all professional and such. it's a new work keri. dress for the part, blah blah blah.

 

*ROAR by katie perry is my work soundtrack. i listen to it every morning after i drop hallie off until i get to work.

 

*unless i'm listening to one directions. ya know, market research and whatnot. (but seriously. midnight memories, great song. did i just admit that?)

 

*i'm going to colorado in a week! i can't wait to see my brother and his family and celebrate baby kate coming in july!

 

 

 

 

TODAY IS TUESDAY.

right?

 

*at night before bed, henry and i say "good night" to the many important people in his life. we go through daddy, mommy, hallie, pets, grandparents, aunts/uncles and more. he loves it and we usually go through it 3-4 times before i end it with, "good night HENRY!" and then put him into bed. what i love is that i can hear him going through the list all by himself when he thinks no one can hear him. precious.

 

*hallie had her feelings hurt the other night by someone she loves very much about something she was very proud of. i was pumping her up - gotta get that self-esteem back up! - and after sitting quietly for a minute she told me, "i am so glad that god made you my mom. i really need someone that encourages me the way that you do." it was all i could do not to start bawling.

 

*dave is home! life is better when dave is home!

 

*class tonight. please pray for my final project. i am stressing out about it majorly. i need to get a good start on it and then i will feel much better. i will start this weekend. eek.

 

*this weather has officially ticked me off. the winter was long and hard, but we made it to the sunshine! i wore flipflops on saturday! and it SNOWED yesterday. i hate illinois.

 

*if you see me rocking out in the car to one direction, it's only because i'm taking hallie and kenz to see them in chicago at the end of august. so, it's really research. i need to learn the words!

 

 

 

 

 

ANYBODY STILL HERE?

mom?

 

dad?

 

lori?

 

sarah?

 

alison?

 

anybody?

 

i know it's been a long time. and it will probably be a long time yet, but i am checking in. life is pretty overwhelming right now, and i just haven't had much time to blog. as much as i would love to document this time of my life, i need to maintain my sanity, so somethings gotta go. like blogging.

 

i will keep checking in with updates and hopefully pictures/video.

 

so here you go for now:

 

henry:

henry is a terror. very much into the terrible twos, but in the sweetest way possible. he loves to push those boundaries...and stare at you the whole time, waiting for you to tell him know.

 

he goes to time out quite a bit. and the second you put him in the chair, he starts asking "all done? all done? all done?" it's pretty hysterical.

 

no news on potty training. we haven't even tried and i'm okay with that. he's not ready. he's talking more and more (in the sweetest voice ever!), but other than commenting on his weiner and "mommy's weiner," he's not quite there yet.

 

hallie:

oh, hallie. she is so smart and sensitive. love that girl. she is such a reader. i find her with a flashlight under the covers at night. she takes after her mama and nana :)

 

she loves to be outside - loves nature. loves to "work out," and is just a really sweet kid. is obsessed with tv. again, takes after her mama!

 

as for me, blah. if i make it out of this class alive, it will be a miracle. i am stressed to the max. i have a ridiculous project due in may...and i barely understand what it's about. trying not to complain, but there you go. other than that, i'm great :) and i have a great family, so that is the best thing.

 

dave is great. he recommended that i hire a cleaning lady, which i'm NOT going to take as insult. i'm going to see that as him recognizing my needs. it will take one thing off my plate, and for that i'm grateful.

 

 

 

 

the end.

 

CATCH UP!

basically, we had spring break for work (reason #345 i will never work anywhere else!), and i used that time to do whatever the heck i wanted to. which was not blogging. and then this week back has been crazy. but i'm back!

 

it was a very indulgent spring break week. the kids were at school/irma's, and i used the time to visit my mom in the ozarks, clean, clean and CLEAN, celebrate my birthday (!), get a cavity filled and visit dave in bloomington at the 2014 hearts at home conference. i also got to go to some wonderful fitness classes and workout as much as i wanted to!

 

it was glorious. such a refreshing week.

 

 

 

my birthday pie!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the end.

VALENTINE'S DAY. HAPPY FRIDAY!

happy love day!

 

love you, mom! dad!

 

whomever else reads this blog!

 

alison! sarah! (AHHHH!!! only eight days!!!!!!!!!!!!!).

 

everyone!

 

i woke up and did my earrlllllyyyyy class at 5:30am and was grateful for it - because then i could have a giant heart-shaped cookie with less guilt :)

 

 

 

so delicious.

 

it's snowing today, instructors are cancelling classes, and we have eight boxes of those cookies. i'm not going to tell myself not to have another later, because i probably will and i don't want to feel bad when i do.

 

we have a fun, easy weekend planned. haircuts tonight - oh boy! pray for me. workout class tomorrow, a few birthday parties sunday, and just some time to clean the house, prep some food and relax.

 

i plan to prep:

*sweet potato burgers (new recipe)

*pulled pork (crockpot)

*spicy sausage pasta (so good)

*beer & garlic marinated chicken (new recipe)

*swedish meatballs (new recipe)

*salsa chicken (crockpot)

*staples - homemade ww tortillas + quinoa + chopped veggies

 

i plan to clean:

*everything

 

i'm hoping to feel motivated and productive - i'm so blah this time of year. the snow is pretty, but it's got me down. i need some sun and warmth. anybody want to go to florida? but the blahs have me feeling unmotivated and that needs to change!!!!!

 

have a wonderful weekend!

 

 

 

THESE TWO.

me - "oh hallie! you look so cute for your christmas program! let me take your picture! "

dave to hallie - "let's not smile."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 my family is weird.

 

and here's henry tell me that he's ready to go.

 

people, this is all i've got.