Messy Hospitality June 12th, 2014

No photos, because I am so not THERE yet, but I made a major step today in overcoming my fear of people seeing the inside of my house. Usually, you tell me you're coming, and I spend 3 days cleaning, and the night before running around like a maniac, bursting into tears because I'm overwhelmed, and being rescued by Mike because he loves me. Can't believe he's put up with my quirks this long, but God love him, he has.

So when people just casually ring the doorbell my heart stops. I try to decide if I HAVE to answer or if I should just hide. If I'm not expecting someone I hide. I'm not ashamed to admit it. First of all, who rings your doorbell in the middle of the day unannounced? Unless you have some Girl Scout cookies I'm not opening the door anyway. There was that one unfortunate incident where the lawn guy rang the doorbell, and I hid, because 1) I was not expecting him and 2) I was in my pjs. Then he rode the little tractory spreader thing in the yard and he could see me in the back windows, so I threw myself to the ground and army crawled to the basement steps and hid down there for a while. My pjs are my own business yo!

Annnyyywwaayyys...I have been praying about being more open. Being a better friend, trusting people to like me warts and all. Not hiding that I am a real person, and that means my house isn't always clean and my hair's not always brushed. I dropped Olivia at a friend's for a play date today, and my friend came by to drop her home. Normally IF I hadn't frantically cleaned, I would hold the door open a few inches with my foot behind it, conduct a quick convo, and get the door closed. This time I tried something different. I invited my friend inside. I was sweating, literally, taking this big step. Guess what? She didn't scream in terror or call CPS on me. In fact, we just carried on talking and enjoyed hanging out for a bit. Maybe 10 minutes, but that was 10 minutes of quality time I would have missed out on had I not opened the door all the way. 

I know it doesn't seem like much, but one baby step at a time and I will get to the finish line. And when I do I'll throw a party in my messy house!

I've heard of Christmas in July, but Frozen? June 11th, 2014

You never know where you might meet a star, and I ran into one today picking up Clara. Look who greeted me! Elsa!!! I know, right? Okay guys, calm down, it's just Clara doing a very realistic Elsa impression. It's like Clark Kent takes off his glasses and BLAM, Superman. Only here it's my super Clara. She's in the angsty part of the song, and she even popped a shoulder out (because she's way too classy for a dress slit up her thigh). 

We left the blue tulle at school, but we keep the memory forever. 

Eat Mor Chikin June 10th, 2014

Mike's off on travel, so the ladies are eating out :) Clara's pick, Chick Fil A. Just so happens that the cow was here, even though it's not family night. The girls got a kick out of getting their picture made with him/her.

The Zoo is for the Birds June 9th, 2014

Soooo.....there's this one section of the zoo I don't like. You walk around a corner and all of a sudden there are signs, warning you about the lions. And the warnings aren't about the lions eating you or anything semi "normal" that you might expect to fear from a lion. Oh, nooooo, nothing that mundane! The signs warn you that the lions like to "spray" (fancy zoo term for SQUIRT PEE ON YOU) and to watch how close you get to the cages. Most days the lions are chilling out on their one lion rock in our somewhat sad zoo, but there are days where they're pacing, and they do this growl thing, that I would never in 100 years guess was a lion (except now I'm totally in the know, so I WOULD get that question correct if they had a sound category on Jeopardy) and I can just see them waiting and watching and hoping my girls get close enough to get hit with some pee.

Due to my semi rational fear of getting a golden shower lion style, I rush my girls past this part of the zoo every time. It's not hard, since the giant carp pond is right past them. They have these little machines where you buy some pellets for a quarter, throw the pellets on the water, and watch the carp basically crowd surf to get your pellets. These are some hungry carp people.

There's a warning sign by the carp too, and I've read it but I've never paid much attention, since we JUST made it past the lion threat and the carp are so cute. Well, not cute precisely but cool in their own way. This sign says to watch out for the red wing black bird. I guess this is the area they like to nest, and  they don't like peeps up in their grill. I look at this sign and smile, because I love red wing black birds. 

You need a little back story. I moved to the cornfields from the desert. The desert people. Where the warmest jacket you'll ever need is a hooded U of A sweatshirt. Where we treat frost on windshields with awe and glee. Here in Michiana, we are at the bottom of a lake. A big lake. Some might say a "great lake." Get it? No, get it? Moving on. This lake, Lake Michigan, contains lots of water. The way the wind blows makes it go right over the lake and then comes down on us as "lake effect snow." It sounds all jolly and magical, until you live through it for 6 months, and then it starts to wear you down. Last winter we had a glorious 100 (that is not a typo) inches of snow. The irony is that it was too cold to build a snowman. (all that great snow with nothing to do). The moral of the story is, winter here wears you down. You get to a point where you think you may never feel the sun again. Or be able to go to the store without a full set of car emergency gear. You start looking for signs that spring may come. 

In lots of places robins = spring. Not here. Not sure why, but our robins seem to like the cold. You'll see a robin out in December and be like "dude?" and he'll be like "duddddeee," and you'll wonder where in the world he's getting worms this time of year. So the robin is unreliable, but the red wing blackbird is the man. Or the bird. When you see these guys, you know spring is on it's way. So I've always looked at these birds with a little glint of love in my eyes. 

NO MORE. Oh my gosh, these birds are psychos!!! PSYCHOS....Luckily I was with a group and a friend warned me, but anyone not warned who happened to walk too close to the birds got attacked. There was no concern for age or ability. Old men, children, everyone, everyone got a big up close of red wing blackbird in their face. The birds attacked people's hair, pulling it out and making some people bleed. Blood...eww. They came back second and third times, and they were mean. Can you tell I have PTSD over this. My friend the red winged black bird is a cold hearted killer. Or at least a cold hearted scratcher. So next time you're at the zoo make sure it's not nesting season, or just avoid the lion/carp area entirely. Your choice

The kiddos

Obligatory turtle picture. Some day this will get old for them, but for now they still fight over who sits in front.

Crazy Weekend, Day 2! June 8th, 2014

Today was the culmination of our crazy weekend. Mike and Olivia returned from camping around 6am, they had gotten rained out and slept in the car until sunrise.

I got Olivia up and ready for church, but poor Mike needed the sleep, and I think he deserved it! The girls and I went to church, which was pretty cool since the message was presented as a drama. I don't know how people memorize all those lines. Seriously, we tried to do a skit once at our old church and it was Bad. Yes, with a capital B.

After church we hit the AT&T store to try to fix my phone. It is still broken but receiveing texts and calls again, so a step in the right direction. I'll be making a trip to the Apple store Tuesday, when Clara is otherwise occupied.

We went home, changed, and went down the block for a graduation party. A lovely young lady who the girls adore graduated, and we got to spend some time checking out her cool time line photos, talking to neighbors, and eating some tasty food. Then we rushed home so Mike could get to the airport for his flight. I guess we needn't have rushed, as the plane never landed in South Bend and he was eventually bused to Chicago for another flight. Sounds fun, right? Sometimes I wish I traveled for work, but most of the time it seems like a major pain.

The girls and I had a nice dinner, and after baths and stories everyone is in bed. I have absolutely zero photos to share today, I was too busy living my life to document it, but I think those are some of the best days. Tomorrow we have a trip planned to the zoo :)

Another Busy Weekend Saturday June 7, 2014th

We over committed this weekend. I am the first to admit it. But we committed to the the things that were more optional before the musts came across the schedule, so what can you do?

Yesterday was fun and busy, making the cake and dinner out. It lead to a pretty late night though, and then we were up in the morning to get to an awesome Frozen bday party. I practically ran to the fridge to check on the cake. Everything looked GREAT. Well, except Sven. For some reason he only has 3 feet on the ground, so he's pretty unstable. I returned him to his spot with a little more frosting and we headed to the party.

The party was so much fun. It was really cute with the themeing, and the kids had a great time. The cake suffered some damage on the car ride, and then some MORE damage s it sat outside, but I think there were photos before the inevitable happened. 

Olivia's cute Olaf

Clara refuses to get her photo made. Why, only she knows

This is the best we could do. Squinty McSquinterstein and me eating my hair. But, eh, it's a picture.

After the party we headed home for a little break. I made a brownie trifle, and we headed out to Olivia's Brownie picnic. After the picnic Mike and Olivia stayed to camp out, while Clara and I had a girl's night in. On to more craziness tomorrow!

Summer Break, Here We Come! June 6, 2014

Today was the last day of sccchhooolll.....I'm singing!!! I am so ready for summer. Clara and I had a nice day together, we got our playdough on and made this fabulous dragon. Or, something. We're not exactly artists!

When Olivia got home we celebrated for about half an hour and then she had a massive meltdown. I think she was overtired and needed a break. She went to her room and slept for a while, when she woke up she was feeling much better.

Mike and I got the chance to go to dinner with some old friends. Not that the friends are old. Well, we're all getting a little older, we need to face it head on. But these were friends that we've known over a decade, but haven't had the chance to spend time with them as much these past few years. We had a nice dinner and sat at the table talking until the restaurant closed. 

When we got home I put the finishing touches on the Frozen cake. Hopefully the figures and rock candy are still standing in the morning. Next year, royal icing!

Christmas in June? June 5,2014

It's the most, wonderful time, of the year! Where you trip over boxes and people lose sock-es cause Mommy's not here . It's the most wonderful time of the year!

I'm going to sing that to myself anytime someone complains about the resale stuff EVERYWHERE. Well, not everywhere. I do have some standards people. There is absolutely no resale stuff in the bathrooms, that's a hard and fast rule ;) But the house is getting slightly crazy as more people drop off and eBay boxes arrive. I am super organized though and I know that my system is solid so I don't fear the resale stuff. I know soon it will be converted into cold, hard, cash, and not a single complaint will be heard then!  

No photos. Come on, do you really think I'd share a photo of this? Love you but keep dreaming.

June 4th, 2014

Oh these girls....

That's all <3

June 3rd, 2014

So this month of 7 is possessions. This is a month we are all participating in, because we all have WAY TOO MUCH STUFF. Yes, I said it. The goal is to give away 7 things a day, and to direct the giving to the people that really need it. None of this dumping a bin off at Goodwill, it's more than that. It's connecting in our giving. 

The girls gave away their first item tonight. Our amazing sitter brought a Goldiblox set over for the girls to do together, and she gave it to Olivia. It was sent to her by USC (smooth move, dirty Trojans, smooth move) and the note said to share with a young girl to help them become interested in math/science, but I think our sitter was a little sad to see it go. I mean, Goldiblox are super fun. And if you don't own any, you should immediately order one on Amazon Prime for your daughters. Or your sons. Or yourself. You know, we don't judge. 

Anyways, back on topic. Olivia had been gifted Goldiblox and the Spinning Machine from her Auntie, and since she'd used it and enjoyed it she felt good passing it along. When our sitter came she insisted both girls sign the box so that she could remember it was from them always. Also, let's face it, one of my kids is going to be be either famous or infamous, with those clever little minds, so this is actually an investment in her future, when she can sell the box on eBay to the highest bidder. 

Here's the box in question.

Mike & I headed out to workout at the Y, and while we were there we got in a little social time with the Williams. Yep, we're on fire today!

Clara June 2nd, 2014

Love this girl, love this dress. Our last Monday together alone as Olivia's summer starts at the end of the week!

Month of Mike June 1st, 2014

This is the month of Michael. Just in case you didn't have it on your calendar. Go ahead and write it in, I'll wait ;) Of course Mike would never declare his own month, which is why he pretty much deserves it. It's his birthday AND Father's Day both this month. Last year Father's Day was on his birthday (true story). It should have been an extra special Mike day (sleeping in, donuts, total remote control domination). Instead I was in North Dakota with my family and he was here with two princesses. Basically you can see I have a lot of making up to do.

The month of Mike started on a Sunday, so we all went to church. There's a big ol' celebration going on at Clay Church for the next month or so, and we don't want to miss it (maybe they heard about Mike?). It was extra special today because friends joined us for the first time. These are special friends who we have loved for years, and it was pretty awesome to be in worship together again. If you're reading this and thinking you'd like to come worship at the party, or maybe you're just feeling that tug of the spirit, curiosity, whatever, please, please join us. Clay has 2 services but we long ago gave up being ready for anything on a weekend that starts before 10. The second service is 10:45 and it's contemporary. So if you like traditional worship best get your buns out of bed and hit the 9:30 service instead.

After church I worked on a representation of the Frozen cake I'm making for a friend next weekend. There is no picture included because it was so far from RIGHT that it was veering into wrong. Buuuttt....I wanted to try some things and I didn't have time to do everything 100%, so it was a rough draft. I brought the cake to small group to find out what the birthday girl thought, changes to make, etc. I think we are definitely on the right path. After small group I forced a half a cake on every family. I love cake and it loves me back. So much so that it will hang out on my body for a long time after I eat it.

Incidentally, we wrapped up month 2 of 7 and started month 3. Month 3 is possessions. I'll tell you more about month 2's lessons and what month 3 entails sometime soon. For now, I'm off to iron some of Mike's shirts. 

Racing the Day Away! May 31th, 2014

If you read my blog, you know I like to run. You might even know that I set a goal of running 14 races in 2014. Most of these have been 5Ks, with the exception of one half marathon. Due to a side effect of a medication I'm taking, I can't run long distances without extreme pain. So yes, I'm running short races, but I still jumped at the chance to run a 10K with my running friend Maggi. 

We chose to run the Sunburst 10K. I think it's safe to say the Sunburst is the largest race run in the South Bend area, and it brings people from all over to qualify for some of the big races (Boston, etc). We got up way too early and drove downtown, then found our starting line and pace. Why they can't hold these races at night, is anyone's guess. My guess is they like to weed out as many people as possible, so starting the run at the butt crack of dawn gives them a reasonable starting pack of 10,000, versus my night time beer run, which would bring participants in the millions ;) When you steal my idea, at least give me credit.

Our goal was to finish in under an hour. This was Maggi's first 10K and I've run at least one other, maybe two. 10Ks just aren't that much fun. It's not cool to drop into conversations, I ran a 10K today like it is if you ran, say, a half marathon (some people would prefer you drop neither in the conversation, because they honestly could care less, but these people have no consideration for the training and effort a person goes through to run a race. To them I say, "good day!"  It's long enough though that halfway through you're wishing you ran the 5K, because you know you could be eating a banana and waiting for the times to come in, instead of having HALF A RACE TO RUN. I do have to give props to the Sunburst though, it was a fun race. People come outside of their houses to watch as the race winds through city streets and blocks of residences. Some people had their sprinklers on for us to run through for a cooling off, although it was pretty cool already for a summer morning, so we didn't avail ourselves of them. Maybe it was just fun because I was running with Maggi, and that made the time feel quicker?

We battled our way through the course. At times each of us got tired and weighed down by the demands of the race. Let me just say there's a hill, then you turn the corner and there's another hill. What the heck, city planners, don't you take these things into consideration? Not cool, not cool at all. Luckily we had each other, and we were determined, so we finished. We even sprinted at the end. That was more to show off than anything else though ;) 

Here we are, two tired ladies!

Achoo!! May 30th, 2014

Yesterday my eye itched. Just the left one. It bugged the poo out of me, to say it sweetly ;) I asked Mike if he had itchy eyes with his allergies, because secretly I thought I was getting pink eye again and I was hoping against hope that I wasn't. Pink eye isn't TERRIBLE, but with pink eye I have to wear my glasses, When I wear my glasses I'm exposed to a lot more glare. Being exposed to more glare gives me migraines. It's a vicious cycle. 

This morning I awoke to a lovely crusty, red eye. Yeah, not so great. Called the doctor for an appointment, skipped book club, and went in to get an opinion. The weird thing was the eye didn't itch or ooze at all the entire morning. It felt great.

I love my doctor. Seriously, if you live in the area, and need a doctor, or even if you don't need a doctor, please, try to become her patient. She takes time, listens, and really, really, cares about YOU. You know how many arrogant, know it all doctors I've met in my life? Being a nurse exposes you to all sides of health care, and most doctors are pricks. Yep, I went there. But notice how I said MOST. Not all. I promise, I know there are good ones out there fighting the good fight every day. 

Anyways, my doctor (Dr Elizabeth Weston, for those of you taking notes) listens to my symptoms, checks me out, and declares that I have allergies. I was like, "who the whaaaa?" I mean, I was hoping it was allergies, but I never in a million years thought it would be. I tease Mike that my strong Scandinavian genes are better then his polite Welsh genes and that's why I never get sick and am allergic to nothing. Well stick a fork in that because that's done. I am now a proud member of the allergic community.

Looks like Allegra and I are going to become really good friends.

April Showers Bring May Flowers May 29, 2014

This girl. Oh this girl!! Super proud of the "braid" she made from the flower stems. Love her gap toothed grin.

Sweet Tooth May 28th, 2014

I spent part of the day in the kitchen. I love to cook, but I especially love making desserts! I think mainly because I like to eat them. Chocolate cake.....yum. Anyone with a sweet tooth, or with teeth for that matter, will tell you if you eat too much of something, you might find yourself in an uncomfortable situation. 

It's like this. I have friends I love. I would go almost anywhere with them. If they suddenly decided to take me to a Jehovah's Witness convention, I might be a tad uncomfortable (nothing against any JW's, I just have this traumatic door answering experience from when I was about 12 which made me refuse to answer any door unless I'm expecting someone, and even then I'm usually sweating). 

Somewhere, we got away from food. I think the comparison I was trying (badly) to make is that even though I love chocolate chip cheesecake, if I eat an entire cheesecake, I'll have a cheesecake tummy, and thighs, and maybe even cheesecake under chin wattle. Okay that last one is a bit of a stretch, but you get my point. 

The best way to eat my favorite foods while still being able to button my pants? I make them to take to/share with other people. Tonight I'm headed to a little girl's night out, and I'll be taking my lovely cheesecakes with me. Hopefully I'll get one or two before they're gone, they are THAT good ;)

Three pans of these little gems!

Aches & Pains May 27th, 2014

I am in pain. So, so much pain. I haven't said much about it on here, but I am taking a medication temporarily that causes muscle and joint pain. If I exercise, I make it worse. But I am stubborn. I refuse to let these transient pains stop me from being the athlete I want to be.

Today I went for a training run with my friend Maggi. We ran more than 6 miles, and I think we both felt great doing it. But now I'm paying for it. As I sit here I am fine, but every movement has me hunched over like an old lady, trying to loosen my joints to the point of tolerability. It's Tuesday, and I put on my workout clothes to hit the gym with Mike, but he saw through my brave front and said we were skipping class. Somehow, after 12 years of marriage, and when I finally figure out he CAN'T read my mind, he suddenly has the uncanny knack of seeing into my head. We went to the Kroc Center instead and signed up for the summer. I can't be in the sun much this year, but the Kroc pool area is inside, so the kids can swim to their heart's content. And I'll be on the side, stretching out my achy joints.

Curly Q May 25th, 2014

Clara and I went to church today, alone. Olivia is suffering some mystery illness and we didn't want to infect anyone else, so Mike stayed home and I went. I couldn't help but take a photo of Clara's hair. Oh her hair!!! I just want to eat it up. How these perfectly wavy/curly haired children came from my super strong straight hair genes is beyond me. But I'm really glad they get their hair from their dad.

Here's Clara in the parking lot. Remember, Clara despises light? If you forgot go back and read yesterday's blog. I ended up carrying her in on my back so she could keep her eyes closed against the offending light. Hey, I get it, I have sensitive eyes too. 

Germany!! May 24th, 2014

Here's Clara in her special shirt from Germany. Peter, Auntie Rachel's fiance brought it for her when they visited, and she loves it :) Plus I love it because I'm German! Well, actually, to be completely honest, I'm American. Bbbbuuuutttt....my ancestors were German and Norwegian, so I claim Germany as mine

Here she is just chillin' She has that squinty eye look because she's afraid there's going to be a flash. No matter what, I couldn't convince her otherwise today. If she were a Muppet, she'd be Animal. CLARA HATE FLASH!!!!

Delays! May 23rd, 2014

Tonight I have no dining out stories to regale you with. Mike was scheduled to return home at noon, and we had invited some friends over for a casual cookout. Well, I got the dreaded call from Mike in the morning that his flight was canceled. Again. See, it was canceled late last night due to fog, and then there were no planes at the airport to take people on their rescheduled flights. This seems like something the airports would have figured out earlier, but Mike still had to get up at the crack of dawn, drive to the airport, and THEN be told there was no flight. I would have probably lost it but Mike keeps his cool.

To keep our mind off Mike NEVER returning home, we kept busy. We were invited to a bowling party in the morning and it was so fun! Bowling shoes just look better on little feet. Plus, they put up bumpers and a ramp so the kids actually knock things over. Otherwise it'd be pretty boring. 

Clara Bowling

Even with our day occupied this still left the problem of the cookout. I can cook anything inside, but I am no grill master. In fact, I have no idea how to even use the grill since Mike likes charcoal and we don't have a gas grill. Luckily, someone stepped into the role of grill master and the evening was able to proceed. This was very, very, very good, as my friend made brownies that were TDF. Wow. Seriously, I could wax poetic about these all day. To spare you, since you didn't get a chance to eat them and never will because I'm not sharing, I'll just say they had chocolate, caramel, and nuts. Add that to Mike showing up around 10, and I'd say it was a pretty great day :)

Just Like Mom May 22nd, 2014

I love Olivia so much, and would love her no matter what. It's especially cool that she's my little mini me. I don't know what my girls will look like when they're older, but Clara looks like me as a baby/child and Olivia looks more like me as an adult.

She has a lot of my same qualities too. Some of them she picked up because she sees me doing them every day. A lot of them, no, most of them, are good qualities. She empathetic, helpful, and energetic. She loves to read and watch cooking shows. She is always ready to share what ever she has, even if it means biting her last skittle in half.

She also got a few not so great qualities. I don't think this is the time to list my kid's shortfalls (we ALL have them), but one is her complete klutziness. She, like me, can hurt herself in the safest of situations. We could be sitting in a room full of cotton balls wearing a suit made of bubble wrap and still find a way to get injured. It's a gift. A gift I wish I could return, but a gift, nonetheless. 

Today Olivia was out riding her bike. As I mentioned she's on a big bike now with no training wheels. I watched her go around and around the cul de sac, riding great. She and Clara were thirsty so I went in the house to grab water and I swear, I wasn't in there 30 seconds before Olivia comes in, crying, both knees bleeding. It's like dejavu from the running incident. She saw something in the road and tried to avoid it, and this was the outcome. Poor child.

After we got Olivia's knees cleaned up we went to Cici's Pizza for dinner. I swear, that place smelled like hard boiled eggs and old dish water. There will be no more Cici's in our future. But as we were driving there, Clara kept saying, "I can't wait to eat at Z Z's pizza." No amount of arguing that it was CiCi's pizza would make her budge. As we drive up to the building she points and says, "SEE!!! It's Z Z's pizza. She was looking at the z's from the word pizza. Her brain remembered there were z's in the name. Sometimes, that kid amazes me!

The Feeding Trough May 21st, 2014

I remember as a child my grandparents taking us out for special occasions at King's Table. It was a buffet restaurant and it had, wait for it...an ice cream machine!!! I know, stop being jealous already. I always equated buffets with special occasions. 

Years later I married Mike. Mike abhors buffets. First of all, he doesn't eat enough to make them worth the cost. See, the real premise of the buffet is that you go and stuff yourself. Then you don't need to eat again for a few days, or something like that. Over the more than 10 years we've been married, my tastes have been somewhat, well, refined, and honestly I don't enjoy buffets all that much anymore either. Except maybe Pizza Hut's buffet. Yuuuummmm....pizza....

So when Mike travels out of town, I let the girls pick a restaurant to eat out at. I refuse to cook, and we have fun "girl's nights" out. I am living to regret this decision. Usually the girls can be counted on to chose La Esperanza at least one night. The other night is a gauntlet of McDonals, Chick Fil A, Chipotle, or CiCi's Pizza. It's like spinning the big wheel of food and praying it lands on something that takes more than 45 seconds to deliver to your tray.

The girls had been talking about their choices, and they had decided on La Esperanza and Cici's. Whatev, it was an okay grouping. Olivia and I went to pick up Clara from school and we let her decide on the venue for dinner. I was secretly hoping La Esperanza would be first because I basically love it there, and wish I could eat their food every night. 

Then, it happened. Tragedy struck! Some evil child in Clara's class told her about Golden Corral and their chocolate fountain. It was all she could talk about. It was all she could think about. We had to have it. So to Golden Corral we went. Yay *insert sarcasm here* The food there is just, well, awful. I know some people love it, but to pay $24 for the three of us to eat what amounts to cafeteria food is just outrageous. At least Cici's is cheap.

I got yelled at by a woman in a hair net because I wasn't sliding my tray correctly. I fed Clara noodles and dessert, because that's all she liked (kind of thinking she made a good choice there). I will say this for them though, they had not one, but two molten something fountains running, and the girls left smiling, which in the end I guess is the only win I need.

The fake happy sisters smile! We love being sisters! We love sitting next to each other! Clara will not actually eat anything on her plate!

Speeding Along May 20th, 2014

So I got this letter in the mail, from Chicago. Actually, it was two separate, very official looking letters. I was thinking, who in the world did I piss off in Chicago? So I open the letters and they are both to inform me that I was caught on their new, awesome, traffic cameras speeding. Which is redonkulous because a) I don't drive in Chicago and b) Mike always drives in Chicago, and if you've ever ridden in the car with him, you know he never speeds. Never. Unless there's a Top Gear he really wants to get home to. No kidding, not even then.

I called Mike and left the letters for him, and I went out with friends. While I was out I got a text from Mike that went something like this. "I looked it up. I was going 2 over the limit. You should look at pictures, new Jeep looks great in them!" 

We can laugh about this because Chicago is giving citizens a one month grace period to get used to the cameras. Otherwise it would have been over $100 in fines. For 2 miles over. Guess Mike needs to borrow those driver training videos from someone. Be careful in Chicago friends!

"All is Well" Visit Monday May 19th, 2014

Olivia had her 8 year well visit today. EIGHT...STINKIN....YEARS. Do you remember when we used to count their ages in months? Especially with the first. You wouldn't say she's one, you'd say, "oh, she's 14 months."  But where did eight years worth of months fly off too?

When Olivia was little she LOVED going to the doctor. You could never tell if she was really sick because she begged to go to the doctor all the time. She got her kindergarten shots at her 4 year well visit because she wanted to have them done. She still loves the doctor.

Her visit today went well. She is already 53 1/2 inches tall and 78 pounds. She's in the high 90th percentile for growth and my guess is she'll be a tall lady ;) I sat back at the appointment as the doctor asked her questions and she responded in her confident way. I remember the baby in my lap and the worries over feeding, sleeping, potty training...now look at her, she's an independent little person. No matter how old she gets, she'll always be my baby.

People think I dress her weird in Matilda Jane. Here's an outfit she picked out on her own. See, we're a great match!

Race #5 May 18th, 2014

After all the stress of Olivia's birthday, it was nice to wake up to a fun run! Granger Paths is one of my favorite courses, because it's flat and that makes it quick. They also have really great drawings at the end. This year I ran the 5K with my friends Maggi & Yoonhi, while Mike and the girls did the family walk.

Pre Race

I left my timing chip at home so I went from number 70 to number 353. I almost didn't get the chip on before the race started. Not usually a big deal but they don't chip time the start of this run, everyone gets the same start time no matter when you cross the line.

My family post run/walk. The girls got their faces painted. Apparently Clara is tired of the paparazzi in her life.

I won second place in my age group, and a new PR. Clara won 2 free pizzas. Not sure which of us had a better day ;)

Beauty School Birthday May 17th, 2014

Today we had Olivia's party at the beauty school. It...was...awesome!!! No other way to describe it. Yes, it was stressful and I was exhausted when it was all said and done, but it was worth every ounce of energy. Olivia loved it, and I think her friends had a pretty good time too :)

Glad we have 10 months before the next big birthday!

A few notes....there are a LOT of pictures. I took a ton, and I got tired of editing them out, so it's overkill. But it gives you a real sense of being there ;) Also, Mike doesn't usually dress all business casual for parties. It's still the clothes month of 7, so he's working with what he's got!

Some of our delicious "salon" goodies. The nail polish bottles were the big hit.

Sugar Scrub Station

Decorate your own Flip Flops

Butterfly Craft-Olivia had to have this, even though it has nothing to do with a salon. The other girls loved it too, so she was right!

Place Settings

Goofball

The Girls PreParty

Extra Goodies

The Group's All Here!

More pictures of the tables, because, well, because!! I was excited to use a mix of the glassware from my Grandma, my mom, and my china cabinets. Luckily everything made it out in one piece. 

Cake! (I didn't make this one)

Birthday Girl!