When We Last Left Off...

Seems to have been awhile since I last posted!  Dang, time flies when you have to work for a living!

Since the camping and back to school updates, we've been busy getting back into a groove of school, getting up at 6am(ish), homework, packing lunches, paying  for schools fees, paying lunches, girl scouts, after school art and choir programs, homecoming coming up (Mason is actually going he says!), soccer...ya know.

First, running:  I've really been hurting and not running much.  I pulled my hamstring back in (Aug?) and it's been hurting since.  I've done a few fun runs and they have been fine.  I'm worried about the Half in October but know I can finish...but it may take awhile to recover.  I really want to finish it though because Alison will be at Mile 13 as a Children's Champion! It's very important for me to make it to the end AND still have enough strength and energy to hang out and have fun with her there!
In August, 12 of us girls did the Tap N Run and we were the Blue Mooners.  We had a TON of fun running in our tutus and buttocks!

Strides for Hope is the Ovarian Cancer run and has become one that I really enjoy running with my friend Heather, who lost her mom to ovarian cancer 2 years ago.  Our team is Carla's Rum Runners and the rum and coke toast after at 10:30am has nothing to do with why I run it!

We are back in the soccer groove too...this year is a little different.  Ella has gone up a league.  Justin is no longer coaching her.  She's playing for Coach Sam, who coached her indoor league.  It's been a bit of an adjustment but she is loving it!

 Daddy and toothless Si watching one of Ella's games.

Justin IS coaching Si's team again this year but he's the assistant.  It's been hard for him to give up a little control over "strategy" and how to coach the kids but it's been great because he's not doing the organizing for snacks, trophies, etc.

And this look on his face is one we see often.  I love it.

And for your amusement - go back and look at this post of Silas and his soccer arms/face :)



Oh, and I got my hair cut!!  First time in a LONG time that I've chopped it off...but it was time!!  I don't think I had my hair out of a ponytail in 2 years and I was sick of it.  This is quick and easy, I like that I can do something with it when I'm so inclined (like going to a concert!) but can still get it into a (albeit, the teeniest ever) ponytail!

Last weekend, Justin and I went to Put-in-Bay with 4 other couples.  MY FIRST TIME THERE!  We had so much fun!!
We got there on Friday, early evening.  Caught the Jet Express by the skin of our teeth at 5:45pm.

We milled around the island, had a little dinner and drinks and then chilled and got ready for our Saturday morning PIB 5K!  After a very soggy Friday night, we had incredible weather for the morning run.

 

Doug and his babes had a great run!

We spent the rest of Saturday watching the Buckeyes game and bar hopping.  We found a super fun band that night and got to dance and have a great time.

We're really looking forward to doing it again next year.

The last but definitely not least update is our progress on the house (a YOSP update the I've failed to do lately!).
So, one of the things that we really wanted was to convert the 1st floor laundry into a mudroom. Justin put a laundry area in the newly finished basement and that allowed for the laundry room by the kitchen to be turned into a mudroom.

It was a big project and the first portion (tear out and tiling the floor) went pretty smoothly.
Building the cubbies went fairly smoothly too.  The problem really started when trying to get the cubbies INTO the space.  That wasn't as smooth!

And then TA DA!  It all worked out and I have my mud room!!

It is such an awesome space.  The baskets at the bottom hold shoes, the ones above can be used for gloves, hats, etc. Papers will go in there, hooks for book bags, jackets, hats, umbrellas...
Top shelf holds lunch boxes and other odds and ends. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!


It's been a fun and productive month!  Much more to do in October!!

TGIF!

And I say that with an AMEN and Hallelujah!!  I don't know that I've been this happy to see a Friday end and the weekend start in a long time.  I have been nervously waiting all week for the end of this week. I had to do a presentation tonight at OSU for one of their MBA groups of about 40+ students. Of course I started getting sick with a cold, sinus, cough, congestion thing on Tuesday and felt miserable and nervous all week.

I started having a major fear that I'd have a crazy sneezing or coughing fit and wet my pants or something. Do you stop and explain to this group why you cross your legs when you sneeze/cough/laugh too hard or do you pull the leg crossing into a 360 degree twirl and pretend it's part of your presentation? Luckily I didn't have to make that decision.  I was mostly hidden by a nice big podium.  It all went well and I'll be happy if I never have to speak in public again (very unlikely though).

I was very saddened to see that my old boss, the former director of the library when I worked there, passed away this week.  He was a very kind and funny guy, old school, liked things simple. He was also very intelligent and passionate about the library system and helping others.  He helped me make the decision between getting my Masters in Library Science or a Masters in Counseling. He wrote me a wonderful letter of recommendation to use when applying to grad schools.  It's sad to think that he's gone - he was only 61.

Larry Black, 1949-2011

This is the last weekend in February so we've got to be productive - I'm excited to see what we have accomplished in our 2nd month of the YOSP.  I feel like we continue to make great strides.  It is also a very busy weekend with social activities too.  Ella has a 7:30am soccer game (which I think is insane for a 7 year old), 2 girl scout events this weekend, I am getting together with some high school girls Saturday night, book group on Sunday, and I really need some time to rest up and get rid of this cold!!  Which means that I really should be getting to bed now!

HH 2010

We had our 3rd annual couples' weekend in Hocking Hills this past weekend.  As usual, we had a ton of fun!

From the looks of it, you'd think the weekend is all about booze...

And some of it is...we dance, laugh hysterically, make fun of each other...and ourselves, tell jokes and just hang out. Oh, and cook wonderful meals!

But it's really just a fabulous time to get away for a weekend and spend time as couples. The girls get time to chat, read, hot tub and snooze.  The boys get time to fish, build fires and chop wood with sharp axes and be manly.

We all got to go on a pontoon  this year - after the rain on Saturday, it was a perfect evening on the water. There was a festival on shore and we got to hear some bands playing.

I got some time to escape into the woods and take some pictures - and Greg is the perfect spotter for a good subject.

I feel very, very blessed to have not only a great husband and friends to get away with, but great support from family to watch my {wonderful} kids while we are off in never-never land. 

The Weekend that Wasn't

This will be a grumpy post - because this past weekend just blurred right into last week and makes it feel like I've just had a super, duper long week with no end in sight. My fun for the weekend included lots and lots of work and tons of laundry.  Justin worked all weekend too.  All I could envision is what it might be like to just go away someplace tropical, with a book in one hand and a big drink in the other. With or without kids but definitely without the computer and the washer/dryer. The most exciting thing this weekend is that Columbus (and most of Ohio) broke the February snowfall record with 30.1 inches.  I suppose that could be why I feel so cooped up and antsy - I'd just like to hibernate.

Silas even asked me on Sunday "can't I just sleep until summer gets here?" 

- my feelings exactly!! I don't think that in my 40 winters in Ohio, I've ever wanted spring to get here as much as this year!

 Even the snowmen have had enough...look how depressed he looks...

 

The leaning pile of snow. It stayed that way all night.

One thing that I've been trying hard to work on around here is some of our eating habits.  I've been reading some books on nutrition and preventing/fighting cancer.  There are a lot of things that I had no clue about. It's been very helpful.  I have switched our pasta to whole grain, trying to cut out as much refined sugar as possible and this week we've eaten apples, bananas, oranges, tons of blueberries, other berries (lots in smoothies), broccoli, carrots, brussel spouts, orange peppers, tomatoes and lots of avocados and salads.

I am having a hard time working more fish into our weekly menu though...maybe tomorrow we'll have fish tacos. And more beans...less meat. Yikes.

The animals continue to be loved...very loved to the point of suffocation.

 And they have claimed the kids' couches as their own...

Silas has been a good sport when I put his hat on...and he looks like a lump-head. He calmly reminds me that his mittens are still in his hat.

An Ella funny:

me: don't lick your sunglasses

Ella: I'm not licking them, I'm cleaning them (with her tongue...)

ick.

Silas has been his rotten self lately.  He is quickly learning the art of manipulation, especially if it involves the Wii or DS.  We really have to watch how much he plays because if we'd let him, he'd stay on it ALL day long!
I've been going into his classroom once or twice a month to help the kids do activities on the computer. It's fun to get to know the kids in his class and his teachers.  His teacher is pregnant and the kids all ask her a bunch of questions about the baby. One girl asked her to open her mouth so that she could see the baby in her belly :)

I am VERY proud of Mason right now.   He's done a good job of keeping his grades up all year, but for some reason, seemed to be slacking in the effort last semester.  When he brought home his interim grades this time he has all A's and today he got a postcard in the mail from his World Studies teacher:

Your student, Mason, has been recognized for...

turning it up this quarter! Mason has really applied himself and is performing at the level we all knew he could.  Great job!!

Yes, GREAT JOB!  I love my kids.  I'm not nearly as grumpy now :-)

First Week Down - 40 to Go!

The first week of school was a big success! Everyone got to school on time, no missed buses, no screaming or crying (except me...) and everyone was happy to have "lazy days" over the weekend!

Friday night, Justin, Mason and friends decided to go to the first Bradley football game. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate and we had severe storms all evening, so they didn't get to play.

While the guys were getting rained out at the game - Ella, Silas and I were at home all cozy in pj's and having movie night. I knew they would be exhausted after their first week at school and decided taking them out late to a football game would result in major meltdowns.


On Saturday, the kids and I headed to the mall to get Ella new earrings! She has had her ears pierced now for 6 weeks and can change her earrings as she wants now. We got her 3 new sets of earrings (9 pair). The first pair that she decided to wear were cute polka dot buttons.

Saturday night, Justin, Mason, Ella and friends went to the rescheduled Bradley game (Jags won 19-18!!) and Silas and I went to the school to play. It was a beautiful evening - definitely felt more like a late-September or October night!

Silas had fun running, sliding, racing his cars down the slide and having the park all to himself.

Sunday was full of cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, bike riding and my divine book group. And now we're off to Week 2 of school - hopefully it goes as well as the first...

Celebration of Learning and Cincinnati = Fun Weekend!

Justin and I went to the CML (Columbus Metro Library) Celebration of Learning on Friday night. It's one of my favorite annual events - combining food, wine, the beautiful downtown library and a wonderful author/speaker. This year Roy Blount Jr. was the author. I had not heard of him but he was SO funny and had a great southern accent.
The food was fantastic - there are usually 8-10 or so local restaurants that cater it and you go around to all the different "stations" and fill up on their specialties. Jeni's Ice Cream was there also - I had Dark Cocoa Gelato and Justin had something pumpkin flavored - both to die for!

A few pictures - taken with the cell phone camera so they are not great.

1st floor of the main library - looking up at the 2nd and 3rd floors

Entering into the childrens area

My kind of kid area - open bar had been set up :)

On Saturday we dumped the kids off at Sarah and Brian's and headed South to Cincinnati. I had a work party (an early holiday party) and it was great fun. We ate and drank well (again!) - and we stayed the night in Cinci.
When we got back, Ella went to see a movie with a friend and Silas crashed - he must have been really worn out!

Sunny Sunday

I so love sunny autumn days! Not much can go wrong on days like today.

I went to a friend's baby shower brunch today and it was wonderful - congrats to Katy!

When I got home, we started decorating for Halloween. I bought some scary stuff this year...like tombstones and cobwebs - oohhhhhhhh....and black lights!


I snapped a few photos of the kids while they were out playing and a group picture from the baby brunch.












































































And Greg spotted a hawk for me perched on the neighbor's swingset.
Oh I wish this weather would last forever!!

Weekend pictures

If you know any of my kids - you'll agree when I say they can be pretty quirky. Silas is now into wearing belts. Pretty much every day he asks if he can wear pants with "belt hoops" so he can put one on. He also asks all the guys "You got belt on?" Aunt Margie bought him a new belt the other day. So now he's starting a new trend...belted pj's.

Sunday was such a beautiful fall day. After Justin and I worked around the house much of the morning and early afternoon, we took the kids down to the park to play. Here are a few pictures.

We let Si ride his bike to the school and back. Actually, Justin and I ended up carrying it about 1/2 way there and back - otherwise I don't think we'd be home yet...

I love this picture of Si - I think it's a framer.

We wanted to get Ella out without training wheels a few more times before the warm weather is gone. She did a great job - hopped right on and took off. The only problem was when she tried to avoid Si and ended up crashing. I love her riding and blowing bubbles.