More Than Dog Children

iDump

2012-02-18T20:58:00.000-06:00

Declan loves preschool! Hallelujah. Thursday, a firetruck came to visit and Decs thought it was the coolest thing. Look at this little chief. Adorbs.

I watched my nephews this week and, with only minimal bribing, I got this cutie pie pic:

Mark's cousin and wife (and really good friends) had their third baby this week. Sweet Beckham is a precious addition to our big family:

Greek yogurt + granola + berries. Seriously it does not get much better.

Cousin Mario Bros date! They had a blast!

Valentine's Day 2012

2012-02-14T21:48:00.000-06:00

We don't celebrate Valentine's Day. I believe you should date all year round...just my 2 cents. Anywho, despite our rejection of Val's Day, preschool is now in our lives and they go ALL OUT! The kiddos sported their favorite jammies, had (lukewarm) hot cocoa and cookies, decorated bags and exchanged Valentines. Whoa buddy...was Deckers excited!! He rocked it in style with this little ditty:

(Thanks for the inspiration, Pinterest)...

A Night at the Museum

2012-02-10T15:01:00.000-06:00

A local museum is having free admission Thursday nights in Feb and since Mark has guy's Bible study, we went on a Decs/Mommy date. It was so fun to see him wide eyed in wonder: "wha wha what's that, mommy??"

Mark and I both went here when we were kids. This front room was my favorite!

Digging for bones (my husband's favorite room when he was Dec's age):

Can you say goofball??

Looking at bug's wings in the microscope (a popular stop):

Listening to bug chirps and buzzing (Declan loved this):

So in awe!

Yoshi in hand and looking so tall and skinny:

Ahhhh, the museum through the eyes of a three year old. Or, "the big zoo" as Declan called it. He was a bit confused why everything was so still. :)

Let it Snow, Let it Snow....

2012-02-07T15:42:00.000-06:00

We had our first big snow storm this weekend (over a foot of snow dumped on us Saturday) after a strangely mild winter. Despite having no power for 5 hours, it was actually fun! We spent time outside building a fort and scooping and even went sledding the next day. Declan loved it.

Sledding with the cousins

My bay-beeeee

2012-02-03T23:40:00.000-06:00

My baby is all grown up.

He was more ready than mama to start school this week.

I had to chase after him for a hug goodbye.

I cried like a fool in the parking lot.

New chapter for this little guy.

So proud of who he is and who he's becoming.

Such a sweet, spunky, hilarious, passionate, adorable, always going/talking/moving little man.

what am I thinking?!

2012-02-01T21:15:00.000-06:00

Just registered for a:

5k next month

10k that next month

and a half marathon that next month.

You'd think I was in good shape.

I wish but I haven't run much these last couple of months.

Let the hardcore training begin next week.

Yes, the week it finally is cold and snows.

Nice timing, Ash.

Hold me, I'm scared.

phases and stages

2012-01-31T20:04:00.002-06:00

Declan has gone through lots of phases and stages: balls, Dora/Diego, bowling pins, Mickey, etc etc. This one is a doozy. Complete and utter obsession.

Maria, Luigi, Toad and Yoshi have taken over my son's world. Yes, folks, Mario Bros is on the top of the "phases and stages" list. He wakes up talking about it, goes to sleep talking about it. He role plays with his stuffed animals. He begs to play it on the Wii (we have to restrict this big time). I've fallen prey as I'll pick up the random shirt and jammies (only in little boys XS because it's not a popular toddler hobby).

A boy and his current love:

How incredibly grown up does he look here? Blows me away. I have a little story about these pics. Declan accompanied me to a photo shoot today and I was checking the light (he was my little model). The shoot was for a gal who has 3 kiddos...probably 7, 5, 3 in age. The 7 & 3 year olds (boys) played with Decs for nearly half an hour after the shoot. They had an amazing time and it was a nice mental break as Declan has been alone with me working today because our childcare fell through. He has constantly needed my attention for every little thing all day long. With these boys he was in heaven.

As I drove away from the shoot I was a little sad. Declan needs a sibling. I can't wait to see him run around and play games with his sister or brother. I called Mark and he tried to "encourage" me by saying they played so well together because they WEREN'T related. Ha!

Absolutely gorgeous.

2012-01-30T17:08:00.000-06:00

I can not believe it's nearly 70 degrees in January in Nebraska. UNHEARD OF. We basically spent every moment prior to nap outside soaking up the sunshine.

Flip flops. Yes, please.

Picnic in the park!

It was chilly early on but nearly 70 by late afternoon.

Good times with this little man:

Big Dreams

2012-01-27T16:37:00.001-06:00

Today I have been dreaming about all that this year could hold.

At the tip top of the list is expanding our family. As we hit 9 months of actively waiting (cue cricket chirps) I have renewed hope that God still has huge plans for us and I'm excited to see those play out.

We are sooooo very pumped to being close to being debt free. In our nearly 9 year marriage, we've always had debt. After we pay that last loan payment, I want to start an "international adoption" savings account STAT. I'd also like to go back to cash envelopes (Dave Ramsey style) to be better stewards of what we make.

My photography business really took off last year. What an unexpected blessing! Photography is my fun hobby so for it to be a profitable side business, it's a huge bonus. I put most my proceeds toward equipment or debt payoff so, in 2012, we want to set this money aside for DISNEY. Late Fall maybe? Of course Disney with a newborn won't be happening so we'll just have to see where this goes.

Last year was the start of me finally taking control of my health. Weight loss feels like it will be a forever battle but this year I want to push myself to continue to invest in a healthy lifestyle. I'm on a post Vegas detox (super restricted eating) but I plan on transitioning to a more balanced way of eating next week because I start training for the Lincoln Half Marathon. I got bit by the crazy-you-have-no-idea-what-you're-getting-in-to bug and signed up for it and have regretted it ever since. BUT, it's a new huuuge challenge that I'm up for. I think. Maybe.

I have so many more goals and dreams floating around in my head. Doesn't 2012 just feel like it's going to be a good one?

Vegas 2.0

2012-01-26T22:43:00.000-06:00

This was the trip of firsts. Mark and I usually go to Vegas alone (we were just there in July) but this trip was with my office. So, the mantra of this trip was to try new things.

Some firsts:

-Flying out of Grand Island from this tiny 3000 sq foot building....basically 1 large room. You even walk out to the plane. A little freaky that it was all on such a small scale but I'd fly from there again.

-Right after landing, a new first: limo to the hotel. Woo hoo!! We always travel alone so taxis are the cheapest but with a group, limos are the most economical. Yes, please!

Mark, me and my co-worker Joe

-Staying at the New York, New York and we LOVED it. Perfect size, great restaurants, clean, nice rooms, good location. The first night our whole crew ate at Gallagher's Steakhouse and settled in at the Dueling Piano Bar. Dinner was fab (isn't most food in Vegas??) and the piano bar is an experience none of us will soon forget. Side note- borrowing friend's heels and dancing = super sore feet the next day. Yikes. That first night Mark also won $450 in craps (he's never played before). HOLLA!! Other NY/NY highlights: nice gym (yes we got up and worked out because we are weird), fun roller coaster (Mark did this with my co-workers while I watched out the window), Ben & Jerry's (need I say more?!), and a sassy little Mexican restaurant that was deeeelicious.

My co-workers. So lucky to work with such great people!!

Dueling Piano Bar

The next day, we woke up and got in a good work out and headed to the Fashion Mall. We could not go there without happy hour at our favorite sushi joint: RA. Several friends and family share a love for RA, especially their entree called "hot mess". You'll just have to trust me here- it's off the charts.

-That next night we saw Criss.Angel.Mindfreak with my co-workers. It was giant waste of $200. Doesn't help that we chose that over a Circ.de.Solei show (we've gone to 3 and loved them). Regardless, it was a trip of firsts and we wouldn't have ever gone to it on our own and got to spend time with my co-workers. So, not a waste. The night was redeemed when we went down to Fremont Street. MAJOR people watching there. Wowza.

Me with my co-worker's wife (who I am friends with outside of this trip)

The hubs with Josh and Bryan (co-workers). Limo down to Fremont St.

-The next day we went to a buffet. I hate buffets. I loved this buffet. It was at Aria, a funky new hotel. Since my husband has always wanted to go to a Vegas buffet and I never do, this was a perfect chance. It was so chic and impressive [and expensive]. ;) After Aria, I hit the outlet malls with a friend. How have we never done this before? Same stores as Fashion Mall but cheaper. I was on a purse mission and am the owner of a new funky Michael.Kors purse. I will never spend that much on a purse in my life again so I look to enjoy it for a long time!

-That night was chill and fun and spent back with the work crew at a local Irish Tavern. Lots of music, dancing, Fish 'n Chips, and more people watching. We turned in early (nearly 1am...."Vegas early") and woke back up a mere 3 hours later at 4am to get to the airport. Somehow we barely made the plane and slept the whole flight back.

So many new things, so many fun things, so much bonding. Vegas, you're the best. And tiring. And expensive. Regardless, see you later this year????!? :)

Friday iDump

2012-01-13T21:32:00.000-06:00

beep beep, coming through (with cousin Evie in tow):

look for it...look for it...

kiss kiss:

tracing letters on the Ipad:

unseasonably warm!! woot!

on a run with mommy (he didn't even last a mile):

Declan and his 'tude:

aw, cute dog children:

Mark, Decs and I are all rocking the green smoothies:

silly monkey:

And, folks, we're potty trained!

2012-01-13T16:48:00.000-06:00

Declan first showed interest in potty training nearly a year ago. We hopped on board- made a sticker chart, got the reward candy, bought cutie pie underwear, froggy potty, etc. Unfortunately, he cooled off on the idea and we took the "whenever he's ready" approach. Fast forward through months of interest and zero interest. If I applied any pressure (i.e. set a timer and took him to use the potty every 30 minutes, etc), we would battle. One morning, mid battle, I found Declan like this:

Have you read Raising Your Spirited Child? It's gold, people. Pure gold. So as ironic as this moment was, I backed off a bit. Two Fridays ago, I woke up with a fire in my belly and a razor sharp focus. My 3 year, 4 month old child is no longer steering this ship. We bagged up his diapers to take to a baby cousin and dusted off (not really, ha) the underwear.

Declan wasn't really on board but he humored me and went potty a few times on the potty. Then, the true battle began. It was time for #2. Now, as I am sure you've put together, my son is strong willed. I knew tackling #2 (he had never done it before on the potty...resisted it at all costs and holding it so long he got constipated). So I decided to take his very favorite Christmas toy (Kinex.MarioKart.Track) and put it out to the curb to be picked up by the trash man. Keep in mind, it's not trash day, this was all to encourage Declan to finally use the potty for #2. I told him if he went #2 before the trash man came, he would get it back. He cried, he was mad, he fought it. This went on for hours and right before nap I got all dramatic and told him "you better go, I hear the trash man coming down the street!!"

Wouldn't you know it?? He stripped down right there, walked over to the froggy potty and went #2. We had a huge dance party, called the grandparents and daddy and got his favorite toy from the trash. He was SO PROUD of himself. From there on out, the fear was gone and it's been smooth sailing. Like, way smoother than I thought. He had a couple accidents that next day and not really any since (except waking up wet from nap a time or two). But as far as his waking hours, he's done all his business in the potty these past couple of weeks. Easy peasy! Yay!!

Now, I thought awhile about whether I should post my "method". Seems a bit cruel, eh? I get that. Trust me, my son is way too smart for his own good. He loved that toy more than he feared #2 in the potty. Once he realized he wouldn't die going #2 (why do kids fear this so bad??), he was a rock star. Coming from a mom that tried everything and every method, my #1 advice is wait until their ready. Then when you're sure they are, find out what works for your child with trial and error and praise the heck out of it when they do use the potty.

Also, don't be afraid to take things they already have and use it to encourage them to keep up the good work. For example, we walk in the door from running errands and I ask Decs to go potty and wash his hands and I get a typical 3 year old response of "I don't wannnna" and I tell him if he goes and does it with a good attitude he can play Ipad for 10 minutes or watch a show before nap (both things I'm okay with him doing on a normal basis, again, I'm using stuff he already has privleges for to keep up the good bathroom skills). Does that make sense or am I rambling?!

I joke with Mark now that we are done with diapers, I'm ready to start diapering a new bum! C'mon baby H, #2! We are ready for you!!

Super Skater

2012-01-13T16:13:00.000-06:00

We met the cousins this past weekend at a rollerskating rink. My germophobic tendencies were pushed to the limits but Declan sure had fun and that's all that matters in the end.

Aunt Heather helped me steady Decs. He was pretty good with support (i.e. my arms killed the next morning):

Such a big boy!!

Oh, what a year!

2011-12-31T10:12:00.001-06:00

What a year 2011 has been. We left job lay offs, housing woes, etc etc in 2010 and enjoyed a much more joy filled 2011. Peaks and valleys still existed but the peaks were more prominent for sure. A trip down memory lane....

January

Declan, our reckless child, finally earns his first stitches.

February

Lots of snow, lots of bowling.

March

Mark and I travel to Omaha to do classes for homestudy #2, Declan gives up paci (not by choice), house goes on the market.

April

Celebrated Easter with both sides of our family. I got my nose pierced to commemorate 50 lbs of weight lost.

May

Happily welcomed warmer temps, the start of many zoo trips and we celebrated our 8th Anniversary!

June

Started going to the pool 3+ times a week, transitioned Declan to his big boy bed, took in local outdoor concerts, and went to several baseball games. We also had a fun family Adoption Day party! Lastly, our homestudy is finally approved and we become an active waiting family at our agency.

July

VEGAS!!!! We really enjoyed time away in Vegas. This pic was right after we saw Garth Brooks live. It was definitely a top memory of 2011.

August

Declan turned 3 and we celebrated with a Mickey party. We also pulled our house off the market, rented it out and moved next door. Our new home has more space and a huge yard and we took full advantage by playing outside until sundown every chance we got.

September

Such a busy month, hard to pick one picture! Declan started soccer, I turned 30, annual Mahoney trip, a new nephew born, loads of birthdays. Such fun!!

October

I completed my first 5k...a huge accomplishment. We also enjoyed a trip to the pumpkin patch and taking our little fireman around trick or treating.

November

We celebrated Mark's birthday and Thanksgiving with family.

December

Celebrated Christmas through the eyes of an enthusiastic 3 year old. Enjoyed lots of extra family time. Spent lots of time outside because it was around 50 all month (a huge rarity in Nebraska).

Here's to a fabulous year! We thank God for blessing our family and our prayer for 2012 is to become a family of FOUR.

Happy New Year!!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-29T17:05:00.000-06:00

We had such a fabulously blessed Christmas this year with both sides of our family. Declan's at an age that everything is so new and fun. It was a joy to see things through his eyes.

Monster cookies with Nana & Papa:

Christmas Eve dinner with my side of the family:

Traditional gumbo feast:

We went to our church's Christmas Eve service and it was wonderful! Unfortunately, we didn't get a good pic. I started a tradition of dressing him in a Chaps vest and dress shirt and this year was no different. I'm glad I snapped a pic of him in his outfit when we were doing our family Christmas cards:

Sweet cousins:

There was lots of gaming this year. Cousins got a Nintendo.DS and Declan loved watching them play:

We left my parents and went to look at lights:

Christmas Morning we busted out our new jammies (our tradition) and celebrated as our family of 3:

We got Decs a Mickey Thingamajig (which sings obnoxiously) that he thought was

pretty darn funny:

But, without a doubt, his Mariocart Kinex was (and continues to be)

a huge hit:

Christmas Evening we hosted a chili dinner and game night with both sets of

parents and some of the cousins:

Super Mario 3! (See the theme?...Decs is obsessed):

Tuesday night we headed over to Mark's parents to celebrate Christmas

with the other side of the fam.

Sweet cousins:

We started an annual bear pic years ago and last year Declan screamed and ruined it. This year, the other two cousins wanted nothing to do with it and Decs was waiting patiently. Ha!

A little distraction while the adults opened gifts:

Annual family pic:

This is a more typical pic of us:

Crashing after a long night:

DPP :day 25:

2011-12-29T15:32:00.000-06:00

This concludes the December Photo Project! It's been fun to participate for the 3rd year. This pic is a perfect finale....we've had unusually mild temps (it's 60 today!!) and we've soaked up every warm moment before we're slammed with winter.

DPP :day 24:

2011-12-29T15:29:00.000-06:00

DPP :day 23:

2011-12-29T15:27:00.002-06:00

DPP :day 22:

2011-12-24T12:27:00.001-06:00

Thursday was such a blast. My friend Linda (2nd from right) organized our neighborhood's 1st Annual Holiday 5k. I reeeeally wanted to run it but was scared about slipping on the ice or snow. Let's just say my first ever winter run left me full of anxiety. So, some girlfriends and I layered up and volunteered on the course. It was a blast! The outfits were hilarious and the after party such a good time. Mark my words- I'm running it next year. ;)

Side note- at the end of the night, a sweet gal who self proclaimed herself as my stalker, came up to chat because she recognized me from my blog! First time I've ever been recognized from my blog. The crazy thing to me is that she found it through www.thebump.com which is a HUGE mommy chat board (not local). Come to find out, our sons are super close in age and we live in the same neighborhood. Such a small world. Nice talking with you, Gina!!

DPP :day 21:

2011-12-22T23:15:00.000-06:00

That hair! What a stud.

DPP :day 20:

2011-12-22T23:14:00.000-06:00

Decs: "Mario Bros Tower"

Cwist-tullll

2011-12-20T00:04:00.000-06:00

All day today, Declan talked about Cwist-tull (Crystle, his birth mom). He couldn't figure out why she wasn't coming over that minute. I explained she had to work (why?) and that he needs to nap first (why?) and that mommy needs to cook dinner (why?) and that we'll have to wait but she'll be here soon (why?) Don't you love the inquiring mind of a 3 year old?

We had a great evening of pure Declan entertainment with one liners to die for, dipping and decorating pretzels and gift exchanging. We're so blessed that we get to spend time with Dec's birth mom. It's heart warming to see their relationship bloom.

DPP :day 19:

2011-12-19T23:52:00.000-06:00

yum.

DPP :day 18:

2011-12-19T23:50:00.000-06:00

[angry birds addict]

DPP :day 17:

2011-12-17T22:07:00.003-06:00

DPP :day 16:

2011-12-17T22:07:00.001-06:00

DPP :day 15:

2011-12-15T21:26:00.000-06:00

Christmas Card 2011

2011-12-14T17:16:00.001-06:00

Who doesn't love to receive Christmas cards? I love sending and receiving them. Today, I'm joining a virtual Carousal of bloggers sharing their cards. We used Tiny Prints this year and will probably in the future too. Is it nerdy to admit I coordinated our outfits to this card design?

It is a folding 5x7 card. This is the front:

On this inside of the card I highlighted a few things from our year

just to do something a little different:

The back of the card. My hubby's favorite pic. We love our little monkey so much.

Want to check out other Christmas cards? *Warning....time suck!! A fun one, though. Follow this link:

Santa 2011

2011-12-14T16:30:00.001-06:00

My best friend called me today to ask if we "do Santa". The short answer is "not really" but the long answer is that we don't put much focus on him beyond the yearly pic. I'm a little nostalgic about comparing pics year to year and about doing memorable traditions. When we took out last year's pic, Declan had no idea who Santa was. Ha! I know I'm bias but this is the cutest little boy in the world.

DPP :day 14:

2011-12-14T15:58:00.002-06:00

DPP :day 13:

2011-12-14T15:56:00.002-06:00

DPP :day 12:

2011-12-12T20:15:00.002-06:00

Sickies.

DPP :day 11:

2011-12-11T23:44:00.000-06:00

Weeeeeeeeee...

2011-12-10T22:43:00.000-06:00

We took full advantage of the nearly 40 degree day and sunshine to sled today. (On a side note- isn't it strange that 40 is warmish?) Declan loved it and was quite brave and wanted to do the hill by himself. Our little daredevil through and through.

This was Dec's favorite way to sled, as you can see by his pure joy. I love how he adores his daddy.

My one and only run down the hill went way off track when we swerved toward a soccer goal. Scared me enough to go back to photographer. (No one was hurt...) I believe this was pre-panic:

DPP :day 10:

2011-12-10T22:32:00.000-06:00

I had a quickie outdoor photo shoot this morning with Mark and the other telerad techs at his office for their Christmas card. Declan would NOT let me forget his "special pic-chure" with daddy.

DPP :day 9:

2011-12-10T00:17:00.000-06:00

cookie exchange.

"special" hot chocolate (wink, wink).

girlfriends.

perfect winter party.

DPP :day 8:

2011-12-10T00:13:00.002-06:00

DPP :day 7:

2011-12-07T22:30:00.000-06:00

As I was pouring milk over my gingerbread cake for breakfast I paused and wondered:

-Do people eat cake for breakfast or was that just in my home growing up? (on occasion, of course)

-Do people pour milk over their cake? (or just my mom?)

Either way. Delish.

Oh christmas tree (nearly the death of me)...

2011-12-06T23:32:00.000-06:00

Our fake tree bit the dust last year but, until then, I loved it. With a couple little clicks, it was full and pretty and had built in lights. Easy peasy. This year we decided to cut down a fresh tree. Fun times! Well, the Saturday we had chosen (right after Thanksgiving) was suuuuuper windy so we opted for a locally cut birch tree and my parents graciously helped us haul it home and set it up. We were so excited to decorate it!

Post nap, we got some Christmas tunes going and started to track down all our ornaments (we moved in August and some things aren't where I mentally placed them). So, a bit of a rocky start. Add in an excited and grabby 3 year old and I started repeating "this IS fun, these are GREAT memories" over and over in my head.

So, alas, the tree was up and decorated. Mark retreated to his favorite place- the basement bathroom (sorry---gotta keep it real to completely document the experience) and I made one more quick adjustment to the tree from below because it seemed to lean. Before I knew it, the entire tree fell on me and forced me in to an odd position underneath it completely straining my knee. I had run a 5k two days before and my knee was tender. I start yelling [turned screaming] for Mark. Declan ran away (to knock on the bathroom door I was hoping). Mark finally burst in to the room. He was sure I had cut my arm off so he was sort of relieve I was "just" trapped under the tree. This naturally led to a [thankfully short] argument and I realized Decs wasn't there.

Here's the heart breaker--he was at the bottom of the basement steps bawling!! My screaming scared the bajeebers out of him. I picked him up and cuddled him close and he kept repeating "lets take the tree back, I don't like the tree, the tree hurt mommy." Instead we went and bought a new tree stand, said our apologies and made a fun night out of it. Hopefully we didn't permanently scar the poor kid.

In the past couple weeks it's been a battle of keeping the dogs from drinking the tree's water and, ultimately, I can't wait to snag up a fakey at a post Christmas sale!!

DPP :day 6:

2011-12-06T22:15:00.000-06:00

Declan decorated "a big man" today with his nanny. He informed me you can eat his head but not his arms. Good to know, little man, good to know.

DPP :day 5:

2011-12-06T00:25:00.000-06:00

Don't let that innocent face fool you. He sucessfully dumped most of his

taco on Sophie's back (she was totally unaware). Ha! Keeping dinnertime interesting.

DPP :day 4:

2011-12-04T22:17:00.002-06:00

LBC Kids Christmas program 2011 (3 year olds)

iDump

2011-12-03T22:59:00.000-06:00

cousins + ipad:

Tar-jay trip:

Army men with the cuz:

Eating like a dog from the side table. Typical.

Loving his "latte" (milk in my latte cup):

Kins bins.

Digging with the cousins.

Dad and Ruby.

Christmas trees with Papa & Nana!

Decs was in love.

It's the most wonderful time of the year....

Jack Jack

GUP in my parking lot. Pretty fabulous.

Old school cartoons:

Newest little cousin, Soren.

DPP :day 3:

2011-12-03T18:32:00.000-06:00

first snow. holla.

DPP :day 2:

2011-12-02T22:30:00.000-06:00

date night.

soup run.

childless shopping.

coffee.

bliss.

December Photo Project

2011-12-01T21:08:00.000-06:00

I'm so excited to participate in Rebecca's December Photo Project for the third year in a row. I love checking out everyone else's take on the project and also looking back on what caught my eye the last couple of years. Hint- it usually morphs from joy over the first few snows to utter stir crazy madness. Join in if you want!

Tonight, we had several odds and ends to pick up at my happy place (i.e. Super.Target) and one of those was a warm winter hat for Decs. From probably 10 options he absolutely insisted on the ugliest one. It's a dog hat complete with huge furry ears. Bleh. If you know me, I don't like dressing him in cutesy kid themey type clothes but, let me tell you, some battles aren't worth fighting. Some family might chuckle at this choice because they've witnessed him role playing as a dog for weeks. Yes, eating from bowls with no hands, panting, scratching, barking, etc. When he misbehaves he listens better if I refer to him as doggie. It's a phase....right...um...please (!!!) Anywho, I wasn't shocked that he decided on wearing it all night which lined right up with the fact that I hadn't taken DPP's day 1 pic. So here he is in all his doggie cuteness:

A new year, a new me.

2011-11-24T12:15:00.001-06:00

This picture was taken right before Thanksgiving last year. I was at my heaviest, wearing the same few articles of clothing because they were the only ones that fit. I had half heartedly just started Weight.Watchers for the 3rd time. Honestly, I felt awful. Low energy, hard to wake up and get going in the morning, having heart palpitations and knee pain. Something had to change. I have had the "something big needs to change" talk with myself countless times throughout life. I've always battled my weight. It's easy to blame PCOS and Insulin Resistance for my troubles but it starts and ends with me. I'm an "all or nothing" person 100%.

Last January (January 11th to be exact) I started a program, that for me, took hold. I rocked it until the end of July...no humility here, I seriously did amazing. I felt amazing. Those 6 months led to nearly an 80 lb weight loss.

(left pic, day before I started losing weight and right pic is nearly 4 months in and 50 lbs down)

We went to Vegas in July and that was my first time letting open the floodgates and eating whatever I wanted. It was a fun celebration of all I had done. It was so freeing to get dressed and feel fit and not worry about covering this or what makes me look less fat. You see, I've always had confidence and been fairly active and embraced my role as the chubby chick. But, this was all new. A new level of confidence and, honestly, a person I barely knew. That trip was nothing short of fabulous.

I returned home and started a new journey. A journey called maintenance. Truth be told, this is my hardest journey yet. I find myself trying to eat moderately but spinning off track so pulling in the strings and eating really strict again. I fight the yo-yo mentality that cripples so many people. My crazy strict dieting has been replaced with a 6 day a week gym routine that I am loving. SERIOUSLY LOVING. My weight has gone up a bit and I'm trying to make peace with that. Overall, I'm solid on working out and making good food choices 80-90% of the time. Will this take continued tweaking? Definitely. I am doing more research in to emotional eating and food addiction and trying to educate myself on how I got where I was and how to never go back. A difficult yet rewarding process. I've been pretty silent on this blog because I do NOT have it all figured out. I'm not an expert, I haven't ended my journey and reached a final goal (is there ever really a final goal??!)

This brings me to today. It is truly full circle. I got up bright and early and ran my second 5k. RAN. Yes, me. I hate(d) to run. If you ask me about my first 5k (last month) I would tell you I hated the training, hated the race and loved the finish line. That finish line high led me to this race but the big difference is that I enjoyed the training and running the race and can't wait to do another (Dec 22nd, baby!!)

This is not an end to my weight loss journey. It's a "....." to my weight loss/maintenance future. I am proud of myself. I'm passionate about being an active family. I've come to realize that being an active family is extremely intentional, it never just happens. We have many nights where we tag in/out and go the gym. We choose to be intentionally active in our time with Declan (though he needs to prodding to be active). Last week, Decs and I ran hills next to the park. He giggled the entire time before he said he was tired. Yes, this 30 year old had more gas in the tank than he did.

So, I'd like to encourage whoever is reading this and wanting to make a life change. You can do it. Even if it is effort #183 like mine was/is. There is no special start date to wait on, no special diet that you have to follow. Just a healthy decision followed by another healthy decision and so on. When you slip, re-set. Throw the "all or nothing" thinking out the window. It doesn't work. There are celebrations, holidays, illnesses, injuries. You'll never be 100%. But can you can start now. You're worth it. I was worth it and my family is worth it.

Happy Thankgiving, y'all.

Turkey Trot 5k

iDump

2011-11-19T22:11:00.000-06:00

Niiiice.

Opening day for GUP Kitchen. We are big fans!

Runza reward for being such a good assistant (who showed 4 houses with me Friday

and got many compliments at how well behaved he was...I was like "who?". Just kidding.

He did great):

Dressed for success (went to work with me):

Such a sweet kiddo. Love love.

Cousins rocking Angry Birds:

Just the start of a little project I did to display Declan's art skills. ;)

Soaking up the little park time left. The warmer temps are leaving us (sniff, sniff).

Presh

2011-11-15T21:57:00.000-06:00

No matter

...the craziness

...the selective hearing

...the power struggles,

...there is nothing as precious as my sleeping son.

The hands clasped, doggie right where he always ends up, the sports blanket.

It kills me.

Kids have a lot to teach us.

2011-11-14T10:00:00.000-06:00

iDump

2011-11-13T22:05:00.001-06:00

Cute, right? What's the fun of capturing pics on your iphone if you don't dump them off to be remembered. Here's our week.

croup. steroids. sinus infection. antibiotic. doctor visits. crabiness.

lots of t.v., snuggles and popsicles.

We escaped crabby mcCrabs (thanks Papa & Nana!) to celebrate Mark's 31st. So fun.

Ran in to my cutie patootie niece at the bank. She's a ball of sunshine.

Got to see friends who are oversees missionaries in Poland and Spain via Skype in church today.

Stuck at a train for 15 minutes on the way to an appt today? Fun with sunflare.

Soft opening of my BIL's new venture: a yum-o fresh, funky food truck GUP Kitchen:

Just a little trip to TraderJoes:

30 Days of Thankful - Day 6

2011-11-07T00:10:00.000-06:00

Today I am thankful for my husband's support. There are several reasons that I'm probably a hard person to be married to. One of those would be my crazy arse schedule. Today was one of those days were I was gone from 10:30 to 5:45. My rock star husband hung with the little man all day. According to Decs, they: played outside, watched t.v., went to Trader Joes (and came home with a bag of gold chocolate coins...random...), took potty breaks, jumped on daddy's back, played video games and played chase. When bed time came, though I was the one gone all day, he wanted daddy to rub his back.

Most men would hate my schedule but my man embraces it. And for that I'm thankful.

30 Days of Thankful - Day 5

2011-11-06T08:21:00.001-06:00

Today, I am thankful for a slow Saturday with no commitments. My weekends are full between running a photography business, selling real estate and our social calendar. Yesterday, I had no appointments to run off to or things pressing that I had to handle. So I started my day watching cartoons snuggled on the couch with Declan. Perfect.

pic by Decs. my little photog.

Friday Dump

2011-11-05T00:03:00.002-05:00

Welcome to my Friday iphone dump, 2nd edition. I couldn't include about 10 adorbs pics of my potty training son in his undies and/or sitting on the pot because my husband reminded me there are creepers out there. Darn. I'll just have to save them for his high school graduation video.

a stroller full of faves:

Decs trick or treating our street. Big boy!

Mark's creation. He was proud.

We held true to our dogless couch oath for, um, 2 months:

Sophie Mae and those big brown eyes.

Typical in our house. Little man obsessed with "doing dishes":

love.

splish, splash

30 Days of Thankful - Day 4

2011-11-04T22:39:00.000-05:00

Today I am thankful for laughter. After being trapped inside due to croup and deciding it was the perf time potty train, I am thankful that I can laugh hysterically to the point of crying and feel restored. The happy tears were due to this little gem. Watch and enjoy and then watch again.

30 Days of Thankful - Day 3

2011-11-03T22:51:00.000-05:00

Today, I am thankful for community. My life group gals and I came together tonight for some coffee and discussion over the book Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow. It was refreshing and real and needed.

"Most of us base our contentment on our circumstances, on our feelings, or on other people. However, true contentment is separate from our circumstances. Contentment is a state of the heart, not a state of affairs." (Calm My Anxious Heart)

"God...is the blessed controller of all things, the king over all kings and the master of all masters."

(1 Timothy 6:15 PH)

30 Days of Thankful - Day 2

2011-11-02T17:57:00.001-05:00

Today I'm thankful for SNOW. Yes, don't hold me to this in January with 2 feet of snow on the ground but today big, beautiful flakes fell for the first time this year.

This little guy was not happy that I wouldn't let him go play in it. We had a scary night last night dealing with an un-welcomed guest named croup. Bleh. Decs seems to be doing okay today.

Halloween

2011-11-02T00:05:00.000-05:00

Hands down my favorite picture of the week!

30 Days of Thankful - Day 1

2011-11-01T16:38:00.001-05:00

It's so important to remember what we are thankful for and I'm going to take the next 30 days to celebrate my blessings - big or small.

Day 1:

Today I am thankful for being the mother to only 1 child. Yes, I know, I'm desperately wanting another child but then I get smacked in the face and reminded how sweet these moments are with my 3 year old side kick. We have so much 1 on 1 time where we play, sing songs, cuddle, test wills, laugh and run errands easily since it's just us. I'm thankful for this season of Declan being our one and only.

It's about that time..

2011-10-30T23:24:00.000-05:00

...to start stressing about Christmas cards. Oh, yes, I will admit it. I spend waaay too long obsessing over the issue. I remember getting a card from a friend last year and loving not only the card but the back of it (a cute pattern). It's all in the details, peeps! So I took a mental note of Tiny Prints and knew they'd be the first I'd stalk this year. Without further adieu, my faves:

I love all things yellow right now. And that pattern? So fab.

I love the simple punch of this card.

I've never been the "tell the story of our year" type of person but this card about converts me.

So simple and clean! Love!

I like how the picture is the main focus in this next card. The back has me pretty smitten too. Another cool thing about Tiny Prints is that you can add pics and writing on the back of all cards too.

We have family pics on Tuesday and I'm trying to decide on what card before then so we can coordinate to the card. Nerdalicious? Oh well. Check out the rest of the cute collection! Do not forget the cutie patootie address labels like these:

Friday Dump

2011-10-28T17:18:00.000-05:00

I decided Friday will be my official day to dump the photos I've taken with my iphone. It's been so fun to have such a portable camera with me since I'm a little - ya know- obsessed with pictures.

mmm...pumpkin muffin:

just lovin' on mae mae:

some snuggle time with baby Soren:

Decs love to stack blocks!

more mae mae cuddles (on the "dogless" couch..um yeah...):

after a seizure scare last week, jack seems to be feeling better:

gorge! (taken from the car when waiting for Mark to get off work):

this is a notable moment b/c the dog beds are usually empty and they are on the couch:

Decs wasn't so sure about the car wash:

our favorite cold morning b.fast- oatmeal and blueberries:

Happy Friday!!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-24T16:47:00.000-05:00

Fall is my absolute favorite time of year and I always look forward to memory filled family outings. The pumpkin patch has become a staple. Declan talked about it for weeks leading up to it (when will I learn not to share plans with him so early?) Some highlights:

Riding a horse for the first time!

They had huge bouncy pillows that the kids flocked to:

Pig races (though Decs was totally distracted by a near by haunted house):

Papa and Nana joined us!

Grandma (and Aunt Colie and Asher) joined us later as well:

Uncle Erik, Aunt Jess and baby Evie came too! (Here I'm with my sweet niece, Evie):

This is my favorite picture ever!! Declan and his cousin Asher adore each others company. It's so fun to see them do life together. This picture makes me smile every time- such pure joy:

Asher, Evie Decs (missing 5 week old baby Soren):

Our little fam, Roca 2011:

Fall Friday

2011-10-21T17:07:00.000-05:00

It is an absolutely GOR-geous Fall Friday here today. Fortunately, I got to spend it with this cutie patootie:

In his "pirate ship":

I love the beginning of cool weather...cuffed jeans and long shirts. By Spring, they are high waters!

So blessed.

Pumpkin Muffins

2011-10-19T14:48:00.000-05:00

A friend introduced us to these easy peasy pumpkin muffins last year. They have been favorites of ours and rarely last more than a day around here. Declan is all over all things food prep related so we made these together, or as he says "doing the recipe".

Brace yourself, it's hard:

Pumpkin Muffins

-1 box of yellow cake mix

-1 can of pumpkin

-dash of cinnamon

Heat oven to 350 and bake muffins for 18-22 minutes.

Inhale before gone.

a check off the ole bucket list...

2011-10-16T21:55:00.000-05:00

A few months ago some girlfriends and I were hanging out when the idea of running a 5k came up. We all enthusiastically jumped on board. None of us had run a race with the exception of one gal who is a running rockstar and had lots of advice to share.

You know when you have an idea that sounds super fun until you actually have to put it in to action? Yeah, that was this. Several of us started the couch to 5k program. About 6 weeks in, I was getting frustrated with the run/walk set up and not feeling like I was accomplishing much (except utter exhaustion and soreness in areas that have never been sore). Out at Mahoney.State.Park this year, I stepped out on the trails for the first time (I had been training on the treadmill). That is when things changed and I ditched the program and, for the first time in my 30 years of life, ran a mile straight without stopping.

Today was full of excitement and anxiety. All of us girls had nervous tummies but were pumped to get underway.

Once the race began, I immediately realized it was going to be harder than I expected. There was extra energy in the air and that was helpful but it was tough. Right before mile 1, I had chest pain (um, yeah, never good, right?) After a little slow down to make sure I was going to drop right then and there, it was back to the road. See the little cheerleaders, below?

I'm not going to lie, 1.5 miles-2.5 miles were brutal. If you are a runner, that is probably your warm up, so don't judge. But, when I saw the State Capitol, I knew I was almost done. Hallelujah! I rounded the corner to the finish line and I saw my family and friends. What a rush! My best friend ran out, grabbed my hand and filled my ears with encouragement as we sprinted over the finish line.

Tears were streaming down my face and it hit me: I did it. The girl who avoided running at all costs while playing sports, did it. At the beggining of this year, I wore a 70+ pound fat suit that I worked my butt off to shed. This was the perfect punctuation to that journey.

Success! A plan was made, worked hard for and obtained! It is a feeling that is difficult to explain. I wish I could bottle it up and revisit it when needed.

I couldn't have even started to do this without Mark's support. He put up with my training schedule even if it meant inconveniencing his plans. Tonight, after the race, he pulled me aside and gave me a big hug and said he was super excited and proud to see me cross the finish line. Makes me choked up to have made him so proud.

And how blessed to have parents and in-laws that have cheered on the journey, too?!

So, first and only 5k? We'll see...

sweet moments

2011-10-12T22:55:00.000-05:00

Of our two dog children, Sophie Mae (aka "Mae Mae") is definitely the most patient with Decs. Since we moved next door, her favorite spot is Declan's bed when we're upstairs. He takes full advantage of wrapping her in blankets and cuddling her. Last night he asked me to take a picture and after taking these 3 he said "I just looooove Mae Mae". Presh!

Oh, Pinterest, how I love thee...

2011-10-12T16:23:00.000-05:00

I'm pretty sure y'all all know about Pinterest, right?! If not, it's the amazingly addictive fabulous virtual pin board. This past week the following pins came to life in our household:

Deeee-licous:

Source: the-girl-who-ate-everything.com via Tiffany on Pinterest

How I got ready for the day in peace several times:

Source: no1hasmorefun.blogspot.com via Ashley on Pinterest

Printed this off and started checking things:

Source: i1101.photobucket.com via Ashley on Pinterest

This is barely scraping the surface. I'll keep my projects/recipes/light bulb moments updated on this blog. Any awesome pins out there?

Lately

2011-10-10T23:50:00.000-05:00

Lately our Saturdays have continued to be full of micro soccer and college football.

This little man has been in much better spirits (the pre 3 funk has faded, thank you Lord).

We've been soaking up the last few good zoo days. The membership we invested in last year has been the best decision ever.

With the gorgeous Fall weather, my photography business has kept me SO BUSY. Loving it!!!

Lastly, I've been training for my first ever 5k. This gal does not run. I would rather work out any other way in fact. Stay tuned for the follow up. ;)

Prayers

2011-10-04T22:08:00.001-05:00

There is nothing cuter than the sweet prayers of a 3 year old old.

For reference- Jack and "Mae Mae" are our dogs.

The camera made Decs act a little extra goofy but this is pretty accurate. There is always a long rambling of who Declan's thankful for. Nothing wrong with that! ;)

Yes, I know.

2011-09-28T22:26:00.002-05:00

I've got to be real. The wait for baby #2 is tough. I'm such a planner and so you'd think that going through infertility and adoption would prepare me for tossing my plans way out the window. More than anything, I know God's plan is way bigger and more beautiful than mine. I can not imagine Declan not in our lives. Declan is the direct result of MY plans failing and God's plan for our future PREVAILING. So, it's been proven in the past. I've already gone through this. Trust, and God will blow my mind with blessing.

Yet, my heart still aches. There are babies and pregnancies everywhere. And it's not that I'm not thrilled for those who's families are expanding. It's just that I still fail to understand why it's so hard for us to expand. We are good people. We love the Lord, love each other, love our families. We're established and thriving in life. Then when I come back from my pity party the same thing in me arises: "yes, I know." I know there's a plan for me. For our future child. For our family of however many. I know God has it all figured out and I need to trust. I need to ground myself in the contentment of our current world: our happy family of 3. So blessed. Just need a knock on the head to remember it sometimes.

Mahoney Adventures

2011-09-28T22:14:00.002-05:00

This year marked 26 years of Mark's family and two others getting away for a long weekend and invading Mahoney.State.Park. Boy, has it changed! My first time out was pre-dating (ya know, the "we're just best friends" stage of things) 11 years ago. We sat around in sweats, played games ate junk and relaxed and morphed in to slugs. This was the pattern year after year until Declan and his screaming lungs joined us at 4 weeks old. He had a (so far undiagnosed) milk protein intolerance that made him, well, not-so-pleasant to be around. That year was a blur.

The next year was fun but it was hard to do anything but try to keep a busy 1 year old from getting in to all things un-childproofed (which was the entire cabin). Last year was more of the same with a super active 2 year old where most activities were a bit too old for him yet. This year was da bomb! Yes, I busted out some 90s slang. But, it was. Loved loved loved it! Declan had an absolutely blast and is still asking to go out to "howne-ee". It was 70 degrees and sunny every day (amen) and so there were loads of outdoor activity. We covered a lot of ground: climbing the tower, indoor play place, paddle boating, fishing, craft making, made up out door games (including a giant branch...don't ask), etc. The little man pretty much melted in to a pile of exhausted by night time. Which was good considering we all 3 shared a room.

Several activities listed above were done with just Mark while I got to snuggle my week old nephew, Soren, and log some good Kindle time. Bliss, I tell ya.

Showing off his leather stamped bracelet (arm band to Decs). If you run in to us ever this week, he's still wearing it on his upper arm. What a fashionista.

How are these boys so old already?

First time fishing with daddy.

Declan loves his new cousin Soren (and his grandma)!

Ipad with Grandpa. I remember my bother-in-law showing me his ipod 10 years ago. I was like "whaaaaat"...it seemed SO high tech. :)

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-28T10:22:00.000-05:00

"big" zoo

2011-09-27T23:09:00.003-05:00

We live less than an hour from the fabulous Henry.Doorly zoo in Omaha. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, we haven't ever taken the little man. It's been too hot, Decs has been too much of a busy body, one of us has been too sick, blah blah blah. Well, this last Thursday we had slotted the day for our annual Mahoney.State.Park trip so we stole another family member's idea and tacked the zoo on to the beginning of our long weekend away from home.

Let me just say that there is no way we'll ever halfway recreate the experience we had. Not only was it the first time for Declan to see some amazing exhibits (there's nothing like a million "wows" and curiosities) but there was NO ONE there. Seriously--we had several "are they closing this place down early??" moments. Apparently 2pm on a Thursday is the exact time to have the zoo to yourself.

So, to conclude my ramblings, it was fabulous. Declan was in awe, we were loving it and it couldn't have been more fun for our little family.

testing...testing..

2011-09-21T00:31:00.002-05:00

Sometimes when your mama is a photographer, you get volunteered to test out a photo shoot concept. Sunday's was a "splish splash" shoot. I don't think Decs minded a bit.

No way!

2011-09-17T23:02:00.000-05:00

Several people have told me that when they turned 30 the lines started to appear and joints started to ache. I'm in the best shape of my life so I shrugged those comments off UNTIL this picture from today punched me in the face.

Well, helllooooo CROW'S FEET!

Yikes.

It's just "character" right? ;)

30 Feels Good

2011-09-17T22:58:00.000-05:00

On the 4th of this month I said sayonara to my 20s. I have never felt so loved and celebrated! Last weekend my husband gathered both sides of our family to celebrate [my dad's famous] fajita style. It was fab. Earlier that week my girlfriends took me to my favorite little place to eat too much, Lazlos. Such fun.

Never too old for party hats, right?

My bestie and shindig organizer:

I very much look forward to this next season of life. I feel like my 20s was such a time of change and self discovery and I'm ready to coast along for awhile. Don't get me wrong, I love certain change (hello!! can't wait to be a new mama again!) but feel good at where I am and where I'm going. Cheers to getting older!

Goooo Biiig Red! Go Big Red!

2011-09-17T20:53:00.001-05:00

Is there anything better than a football Saturday? We headed down to Memorial Stadium with 85,000 others to cheer on the Huskers this afternoon. It was chilly but so worth it (and nothing a little Runza and Vals couldn't cure).

The student section concocted a balloon rainbow.

soccer star

2011-09-15T23:52:00.000-05:00

After a little searching, I found a micro soccer league that allows 3 year olds to play. It happens to be in a nearby city (only about a 25-30 minute drive from our house). Being the soccer mom that I can't wait to be and having the budding soccer star that can't wait to play, we make the drive. Last Saturday was Declan's first game. I was so proud of my little man. Oh, and can I mention 3 and 4 year olds playing soccer is adorbs?

Papa & Nana came to cheer him on!

Can't wait to cheer my little star on! Go team blue!

19. Check.

2011-09-07T23:12:00.000-05:00

Declan rocked it at the dentist today. Such a brave little trooper. Thankfully all 19 teeth are accounted for and we got a "good job" on the brushing because his pearly whites were plaque-less. So glad Decs loves his bi-yearly visits because I've seen kids that don't. Tonight while we were praying and thanking God for people he is grateful for, Declan put "Dr. Marty" at the top of his list.

Our dentist office has a train theme and they fully commit to it. The waiting room has a huge train and train tracks along the top of the wall with a child heighted button that gets pushed all.day.long. Appointment reminders come in the form of a ticket for the train. So cute. Declan got a sticker that said "my teeth were just washed, wait to eat/drink until 2:15" (due to the fluoride treatment). He showed it off to everyone while we were running errands. We'll also receive a hand written card from his dentist in the next week or so with a picture of Declan (that they took this afternoon). Great touch. Did I mention we love it there?!

Weekend Roundup

2011-09-04T23:16:00.001-05:00

We had such a fun filled weekend. Mark swept me off to Omaha for a quick overnight birthday celebration. We stayed in the Old.Market and walked to a yum-o restaurant where we settled in outside for a relaxed dinner. Mother Nature had other plans and our food was packed up and we were nudged out due to an incoming storm. The skies indeed opened up 10 minutes later and we made it back to our hotel with minimal near death lightening strikes.

Oh, I love this man. We had an absolutely blast eating takeout on our hotel bed, watching an overpriced movie, sleeping in, and over indulging in a hot breakfast. The day rounded out cheering on the Huskers as they made their Big 10 debut. Football season (i.e. Fall) is my favorite time of year. Go Big Red!! Can't wait to inhale college football for the next few months. Deckers rocking his Husker support:

Today I got spoiled all over the place. I turned the big 3-0 and couldn't be happier to welcome a new, fresh, exciting decade. Bring it on! My mom took me for a fab pedi and I came home deliriously refreshed because I thought it'd be a good time to sort through all of Declan's clothes (I'm going to consign some at a huge sale coming up). I quickly realized I have a serious problem buying clothes. In my defense, several totes are from him as an itty bit bit. As he got older, I knew his style and sizes better and the redonculous amounts I bought per season greatly decreased. Yikes, regardless.

So happy Marky Mark is home tomorrow. Looking to do a big cleaning and then chillax again. Did I mention it's low 70s with no humidity and sunshine? God smiling down, people. God smiling down.

3.

2011-08-31T15:46:00.000-05:00

So I've got to be completely honest. Age 3 (and those months approaching) have been really tough. Declan is extremely passionate, strong-willed and opinionated. These attributes will benefit him some day but these days it just equals what feels like locking horns all day long. Mark will call home from work and ask how things are and my answer is often "as long as we are doing what Declan wants, how he wants when he wants, things are fine." Every single thing is a battle.

I'm sure, to a point, this might be common 3 year old behavior. We repeat "this is a stage" and "this too shall pass" often. My frustration lies in the fact that I feel like I'm always telling him no and being firm with him. We can't transition to one thing to another without a mini argument. I'm not always proud of the mama I am to him right now.

We are being consistent with discipline using primarily time outs, calling and encouraging each other and riding out the storm.

Because, seriously, how can someone this cute be such a sassy pants?

Oh, and how does my baby look this old:

No matter the battles, I still adore this munchkin more than words can explain.

Repeat after me: "this too shall pass".

Meeshka, Mooshka!! It's a 3rd Birthday Bash!

2011-08-27T16:45:00.000-05:00

Declan with his Papa & Nana:

And with his Grandma & Grandpa:

Kids table!

A couple cute Mickey & Decs pictures from our 3 year shoot yesterday (more to come):

sweet joy.

silly monkey!

Surrounded by family we had such an amazing day celebrating Declan!

Here's to many more.

Then he was THREE

2011-08-25T21:35:00.000-05:00

Oh my stars. It has happened.

My baby is a little boy. Time did what people says it does with kids and flew by.

We are so very blessed with this spunky, opinionated, hilarious, athletic, happy, tender hearted, inquisitive, fearless boy:

Happy birthday, Declan Isaac.

Three years ago we never knew how rich our lives could be with you in it.

Weekend Rewind

2011-08-22T09:43:00.001-05:00

We had such a full and fun weekend! Friday night we saw Casting Crowns and they were fabulous.

Saturday myself and some co-workers participated in a Memorial Golf Tournament. In February 2010 a gentleman had a heart attack while driving and crashed in to our building. Only 4 of us were working at that time and lets just say the whole event made a lasting impact. (Read about it here) To this day, our company (especially those of with him when he died) mean a lot to his family. We were honored to be a part this annual tournament in his honor. I was just a cheerleader since I can't golf but it was super fun regardless. I realized I love driving a golf cart. Who knew?
Team BancWise:

Cheerleaders!

That night was "A Night at the Ballpark" with our son's adoption agency. We've loved taking Decs to games this year and this was the last home game. Such fun times.

Sunday was full of birthdays and more birthdays! We celebrated SEVEN birthdays in our family (me, Declan, my mother-in-law, my father-in-law, two sister-in-laws and my brother-in-law). The adorable cake:

silly cousins:

We left early from that party to go celebrate Ryan's birthday.

Phew. I'm beat.

(Especially beat because Declan got up on the hour last night. I'm inhaling coffee like it's going out of style).

Next weekend is Declan's Mickey Party!! Can't believe my baby is turning 3. If you run in to us around town, Declan will be sure to tell you all about his party. He's a little excited. Just a little.

Mmmm, mmmm, good.

2011-08-17T23:59:00.000-05:00

In January I began a healthy eating overhaul that has been the toughest but most rewarding journey. I'm phasing out to a less strict but still mindful way of eating and am developing some faves. On the mornings I run (I'm training for a 5k, Lord help me) I like this hearty breakfast:

I take a whole wheat English muffin (my fave is Trader.Joe's) and put it open faced with a fried egg and lean Canadian bacon on top. Pair with a side of fruit and I'm ready to burn some calories running!

Have you made my favorite chicken tacos? If not, you should. They're redonk. Ditch the tortilla (who needs carbs for dinner anyways?!) add a little avocado (alert: they are uber pricey these day) and you have a finger licking, tummy pleasing meal.

I have an honorable picture-less mention. The mornings I go to work I make a little parfait to die for. Super simple...just put a cup of Greek yogurt in the bottom of a plastic container. Add 1/2 cup of granola (TJ's pecan maple...mmmm) and a 1/2 cup of fruit. I lurve raspberries and blueberries these days. The drive to work softens the granola perfectly - not too crunchy, not too soft.

Enjoy. Guiltlessly.

comfy.

2011-08-12T22:43:00.000-05:00

This is exactly how I watch t.v. too. Keeps those hamstrings loose.

the big move

2011-08-09T20:50:00.001-05:00

When we bought our home nearly 6 years ago it was perfect. Fabulous old neighborhood, woodwork everywhere you turn, nice and roomy. Then Declan entered our world and the "low maintenance" (i.e. super tiny, non-existent) back yard became a huge drawback instead of a sweet plus. We bounced around the last couple of years from trying to sell to figuring out ways to just be content and make it work.

After an unsuccessful few months on the market, we had finally come to a conclusion: we'll finish the basement, thus solve our need for a 3rd bedroom and 2nd bathroom and just stay 5ish years. About a week before the framer was going to begin, I struck up a conversation with the investor that bought the house directly next door. He was doing a major reno which meant we were being woken up too early by the sounds of hammers, saws and who knows what else. Come to find out- he was renting it. My wheels began to turn and I asked for first dibs. He gave me a crazy look and agreed. About 3 weeks later we walked through, loved it, and put down a deposit to rent it.

CRAZYCAKES?! Maybe to some. Why would we want to move from homeowners to renters? Why move directly next door? What about our house? It made complete sense to us. We'll move to meet our family's needs, stay here a year or two or six. All the while, we add "landlord" to our description and nurture a new investment opportunity. Risky? Hopefully not too much.

We found amazing tenants very quickly (in 12 hours on craigs.list we had 33 viewing requests) and solidified the details. We took off for Vegas knowing keys to the new place awaited us with a cushy 2 1/2 weeks to move before our tenants took possession. The call that shook the plan came as we boarded the airplane. Our tenants, who were moving from Texas, got a job and needed to be here ASAP. Like, as in, a week. Keep in mind we were walking on to a plane on a Thursday, returning on a Sunday and, now, handing over keys to our old home that next Sunday. Not a single thing was packed.

It wasn't easy. In fact it was completely horrible. BUT...we made it. In 7 days we packed, moved, unpacked, prepared our old house and collapsed every night in sheer exhaustion. Not even 2 weeks later, we feel 80% settled. We absolutely love our new home. There is a big finished basement where Declan can play to his heart's content, Mark has his own bathroom which is fabulous in too many ways to name, our backyard is getting great use now that it's not 100 degrees outside and we're just flooded with contentment.

Sometimes those nutty ideas just work themselves out. It took me about 2 days to get over my pride about renting (I sell real estate so I get some grief for being a renter). Why so short? Probably because the water heater went out, the basement flooded twice and a floor drain had to be busted out. The peace of calling the landlord and knowing the repairs were not on our dime was confirmation enough. Renting, for now, is a fit. (Please send good vibes that, as landlords, we don't need to fix anything big anytime soon.) Ha!

So, I give you, the BIG move:

obligatory potty post

2011-08-08T15:37:00.000-05:00

I have a little pet peeve. Just a little one. I absolutely hate reading potty posts on Facebook. Therefore, in order to not be hypocritical I will celebrate on my own personal blog......

DECLAN WENT POTTY ON THE POTTY YESTERDAY!!!

Let me back up. About 6 months ago, Decs seemed interested in the potty. We went out and bought the Froggy potty, Deigo rim thingy, lots of underwear, prizes, a potty reward chart, etc. The excitement faded and we pushed it to the background. I decided, for now, I'll let him lead this ship. Now, all these months later, he's been asking to sit on the potty again. For the record, I've sat his cute little buns on the potty per his request hundreds of time with no success.

Well, a couple weekends ago, he pottied for my mother-in-law. YAY! The child knows that sitting on the potty isn't just for kicks. Woo hoo. He hasn't asked much since then so we didn't push. Then, at church yesterday morning, he asked his teacher to take him potty and he went.

This takes me to last night. We were at a housewarming party and he asked to go, and went, stayed dry for awhile, asked to go again, and went. Fabulous pattern, huh?!

Today, most #1s have been on the potty but no #2 attempts. Oh well. I'm just happy to be moving forward with this big step!

What a big boy! So proud!!

*Declan will kill me for this picture later in life. I'll take the risk.

glorious

2011-08-08T12:44:00.001-05:00

I absolutely hate to fly. It freaks me out every.single.time. BUT, I love the glorious views from the plane. God's creation takes my breath away.

snap. crackle.

2011-08-07T22:40:00.000-05:00

Last night we were headed to a baseball game and caught wind (no pun intended) of a strong storm headed our way. We turned around and headed to the mall for a carousel ride and frozen yogurt instead. We were inside for an hour and came out to this:

VEGAS!

2011-07-27T10:17:00.000-05:00

Mark and I absolutely love going to Vegas every other year or so. We had a big itch to go this year and are glad we did! The first day we immediately headed to a sushi restaurant called RA that family told us about (they were just in Vegas last month).

The famous dish called "hot mess". Yumz.

If you haven't been to Vegas, here's a little insight. Everything looks so CLOSE but it's a loooong walk building to building. The heat had zapped our brains because we decided to walk from the Fashion Mall to the MGM after dinner. "Walk off dinner" we thought. Umm, well, over an hour and half later we arrived- exhausted, sweaty and ready to collapse. On the way we met Cap't Jack Sparrow!

And saw an amazing street performer:

The next morning we got up way too early (thank you 2 hour time difference). We loaded up on Starbucks and scones and headed to the pool: our home away from home.

We went around the lazy river 293 times and sipped on $56 drinks (seriously- $23/piece).

That evening was the centerpiece activity of our trip: GARTH BROOKS in concert. We've been anxiously anticipating this concert since we saw him on Oprah earlier this year. First, a fancy dinner at Nob Hill. The food was outstanding.

And what is there to say about the concert? It was a near out of body experience. It ended up lasting from 10:30pm to 1:30am. Garth told lots of stories, engaged with the small audience (about 1500 people) and we all sung out brains out. My face hurt from smiling and my throat from singing. It was once in a lifetime.

Here's a 2am shot in our hotel lobby.

The next day brought lots more pool time and a last minute decision to go see Carrot Top. He was surprisingly hilarious.

We loved our time in Vegas. We wandered around without a schedule. Ate amazing food and drank delicious drinks. Took taxis, the monorail and shuttles. Walked what felt like a million miles. It was fun to see so much in a short amount of time. In between the craziness we watched t.v. and ordered room service and tried to sleep in. What more can you ask for? Lasting memories with my babe. Now, back to reality. Our reality? Moving in 4 days. Zero packing done pre-trip. Whoops. Let the adventure begin.

What welcomed us home to Nebraska:

oh, how I love him.

2011-07-22T20:53:00.000-05:00

At quick glance through our family pic proofs, I died and went to heaven when I saw this one. A perfect capture of my sweet/spunky/fun-loving son. I'm pretty crazy about that guy in the background too. :blessed:

busy, busy.

2011-07-15T17:03:00.000-05:00

I have been a lazy blogger but not living a lazy life. We have been busy, busy! Definition of summer, right?

This week alone, I've been gone every evening.
Sun: open houses, work appt.
Mon: work appt.
Tues: STOP class (4 hours of torture for going 5 mph over the speed limit. boo.)
Wed: a fun repeat of STOP class
Thurs: work appt. then coffee with my girls
Fri: work appt.

I can't complain too much. I sell real estate so busy is good. I'm collecting acorns for the winter if-ya-know-what-I-mean.

Fortunately, I'm still getting pool time with my favorite little fireball. Life is good.

Stay tuned for posts about my husband and I's Vegas getaway for my 30th (next week!! weeeeee!!!) and our big move (yes, we're moving!!) followed by planning and executing Declan's THIRD birthday party next month (sniff, sniff). Rest is for losers. Just kidding. But I don't see rest in my future until September. :)

Homerun Derby

2011-07-04T00:47:00.001-05:00

These crazy kids organized a family outing to Omaha's Home Run Derby this Saturday. Decs loves his Uncle Jase & Aunt Kins!

How to get a 3 year old to sit still? Keep the food and drinks a comin'!

sis-in-law & mother-in-law:

Kinsey and I waited in line for-ever for a yummy fruit smoothie. Declan stole it and I never got it back. What the heck? ;)

someone had a blast!!

flooding the field for fireworks:

This was when we thought our 2nd level seats were pretty sweet! (Little did we know the fireworks would be shooting above our heads and dumping firework debris on us! Very strange experience. "Ummm...is it over yet??!"

Decs would not let me take my hands off his ears. Bless his little heart. He got a chunk of firework debris in his eye and it was all down hill from there. He clung to me like a koala baby the rest of the time. Today, we had to hit up Urgent Care because the above mentioned debris-in-eye incident was irritated today. He's fine but we're left wrestling him down every 4 hours for 5 days to put antibiotic drops in his sore eye. Super.

Overall, we had a blast. Nothing beats a summer baseball game with family. We've mentally recovered from the too close fireworks show and are ready for a (smaller scale + safer) hang out tonight.

Happy 4th!

fish.

2011-06-29T20:53:00.000-05:00

We are such fish this summer. The temps get hot and we get swimming. Decs is so confident in the water this year thanks to my favorite invention - the PuddleJumper:

We have planned pool days again this Saturday and Monday. Over 90 degrees and humid? No worries, we'll be in the water.

Isn't summer the best?

summer time, favorite time...

2011-06-23T23:41:00.000-05:00

I transferred some pics off of my phone from the last couple of weeks and it reminded me why summer is so fabulous.

Never a dull moment.

2011-06-20T22:09:00.000-05:00

Declan and his cousins get uber crazy together. It was stormy tonight and they were stuck inside which equals extra energy! A few notes: 1) watch for Declan to get stiff armed by his cousin Asher, 2) little cousin Evie pushing on Asher, 3) Declan getting a shiner from running in to a chair. Hilarious.

Father's Day 2011.

2011-06-20T00:37:00.000-05:00

Yes, we spent Father's Day poolside. It's super hot and humid in Nebraska...can you blame us?

This pool date with our littlest love was followed by a great date night (sans little love) last night complete with sleeping in. Now that's a celebration.

I'm lucky to be married to such a caring, involved, loving man. He's an extraordinary daddy. Declan adores him.

My dad's pretty fabulous too. We had the chance to celebrate him this evening as well. Hot dogs + pasta salad + watermelon + bike rides + popsicles + loving family = wonderful evening.

A shout out to my father-in-law who's touring Europe right now. [We're a little jealous, maybe.] He rocks too.

VERY blessed.

squeaky clean

2011-06-19T11:15:00.000-05:00

Maybe once a week Declan doesn't nap. He still has "quiet time" in his room where he looks at books in his bed. Over the monitor, you can barely hear anything. This brings us to yesterday's "quiet time" session which, in reality, was "Declan rubbing Desitin all over his scalp" session.

Dis.gus.ting.

I washed his hair nearly 10 times and didn't make a dent. We were one step away from his first and only buzz cut when I decided to see if Mr. Google had any wisdom for me. Wouldn't you know it that "how to get Desitin out of my toddler's hair?" had MANY responses. The overwhelming response was to use Dawn soap to cut the grease. Brilliant. They use that stuff to clean off animals after oil spills. I will say the first few washes had me doubting but after about 5 washes it started to come out.

Now, his hair, scalp and fingernails are squeaky clean. Lesson learned.

"What's the problem?"

zicam & watermelon

2011-06-15T12:33:00.000-05:00

Today I woke up with a super sore throat and the dizzies. I'd like to note that I haven't been sick since the beginning of January. Shouldn't illness be illegal in summer? It's 80 and sunny here and I'm forcing my energetic son to stay inside. Mommy fail. We did take a brief break outside before the dizzies struck again.

I'm still trying to come to terms with this bad color choice for the toes. In my defense, my feet were really tan when I got the pedicure and I was thinking the NEON green was a good way to go. Yikes. My money tree is running low so I'll have to deal for another 5 weeks until it's time to go again. Oh well. There are worse things like opening a door in to your big toe and losing your nail and having to wear a bandaid for a year until it grows back. Yeah, that would definitely be worse. Ahem. Off to pop another Zicam.