Why we love the weekend

BBQing many steaks on the charcoal grill to share with great friends.

Going to different parks so the kids get to try "new" slides that go "super fast."

Even if they never actually go down the slide because they are sure there is a bug on it that they can't see. And they really want to go face first, but Mom keeps saying that is a bad idea.

And finally getting to do all those crafts you have been dying to do, but Mom keeps telling you that it will have to wait for another day because she wants reinforcements when it comes to clean up. I love the weekends. I am so excited the next one is only a day away!

Good Times

Today, after swimming and biking, I decided to get on the treadmill. I had my ipod going, listening to whatever Mike had downloaded, it was something like "she ain't nothing but a gold digger" nice beat on that one. Anyway, I pushed the "5K" button, because, heck, I need to run a 5K after swimming and biking in 60ish days. Picture it, I am trying to get the ipod attached to my shirt somewhere and hitting a brisk walk when the thing turns up to 5.6. Well, that's a little faster than I prefer, but I am feeling adventurous. THEN, it kicks up to 8 miles an hour. Hello, did Jillian Michaels program this thing? I begin frantically hitting the down arrow only to have the thing kick back up to 6.6. I find the manual button, laugh to myself, and run for 4 minutes at 5.o when I notice my shoe is untied. I get off, tie my shoe and restart. 3 minutes later my other shoe unties. I get off retie and start over. I think it was a sign from the Almighty that I had done enough! I lasted another few minutes and called it a day. I'm glad that I don't have to use a treadmill on race day. Those things are nothing but trouble!

America's Favorite Sport

Planting Season

I do not have a green thumb. In fact, as far as potted plants go, I have a zero percent success rate. Call me a fool, but I planted four pots of flowers this week anyway. We do not have any sort of curb appeal. It doesn't look bad, it just looks ehh. We just haven't added much to what the builder's provided for us on move in day. Last year I bought two lovely red pots and put them on the porch. That's as far as I got with the project. So this year it was time to fill them. I planted 10 pansies in each one and hope they really take off and fill the space. We'll see how it goes. I realized later that you can spend a little more and get a well established assortment of flowers and transplant the whole thing into your own pot. Oh well, in a month mine will look like that too... I hope.
I had also bought a couple of pots for the backyard last season, but those never made it out of the garage! My mom suggested planting a perennial in the middle and surrounding it with annuals. That way I only have to replant the edges each season. It's a good theory, well see how it plays out. I had eight pansies left, so I put four in each pot and some sort of blooming plant in the middle. We'll see. I really hope to do a follow up post in a few months when they are looking fabulous. We'll see how it goes. Next on the docket, planting the 6 shrubs that we bought yesterday. I really hope we live here a LONG time so we can see all of our itty plants make it to the five feet the tag says!

I know I keep saying it

But these two little girls are each others world. They find so much joy in each others company.  I feel so lucky to get to witness their growing friendship daily.  The other day Aubrey took a much loved nightgown and told me that Ainsley could have it because it is getting too small for her. Now this might not sound like much, but this was a kind gesture.  I need to remember to treasure these days and years.  I know I will miss them greatly when they are gone.

Blessed!

Mike and I had the privilege of going on TWO dates this last week. On Saturday we went to dinner at PF Changs with our friends Gary and Amanda. We had a great meal and even got to play a couple rounds of Rook when we got home. The girls and guys each won a round so everyone left happy. Yesterday we went to dinner at a Sports Bar in Downtown Denver and then went to the Rockies Game with some of Mike's co-workers.
It has been years since I went to a bar for anything, let alone a delicious burger. Dinner was great, the game was exciting, the company was entertaining, it was a great night. It has been so fun to date my husband again this year. We have finally reached a point where we can trust that our kids will be breathing when we get home, and thankfully we are also at a place where we can pay a babysitter from time to time without skipping showers for several days to make up the difference. I have one more potential date planned for May, now to figure out if three dates in a month is too indulgent.

Well...

Just a cute picture from Ainsley's Birthday

I haven't been updating my blog too much lately because I am uninspired and really busy. Here's a few things that I can think of to blog about.
- I have doubled my time exercising from 30 minutes to about 60 minutes most days. I feel like there is a ticking clock forever pounding in my head with this triathlon looming in the distance and I need to step it up. That correlates to two events daily. Today it was strength training and a bike ride. Tomorrow is a 30 minute swim, Thursday is rest, and Friday is swim/bike combo.
- I know I am eating more too, and I am trying to stay away from those stick to your ribs foods and aim more for fruits and veggies.
- I really need to do another deep clean around here. Picking up only takes you so far and the bathrooms are screaming at me to clean them. I'm just ignoring them until tomorrow.
- Both of my kids hate bugs. I thought Aubrey would be over it by now, but no. It makes playing outdoors this time of year difficult. One little spider and they bolt for the house.
-Ainsley is hitting when she doesn't get her way. Aubrey takes it like a trooper, but it's not fair for her to be beaten every time someone tells Ainsley no. I wish time out was more effective at curbing negative behavior.
-Aubrey is such a kid. It's weird. She will be four in a month and most of her babyish characteristics have pretty much gone.
-Mike is busy, busy, busy. I kinda miss the days where he had nothing to do and could come home at 4:00.
-I haven't had professional portraits taken of the kids in well over a year. Maybe this weekend will be the weekend, but I kinda doubt it!
That's it, until next time...

All She Wants To Do is Dance, Dance, Dance

Take 2

Ainsley is showing interest in the potty again. Every time she GOES to the bathroom she wants to sit on the potty and get a "yem n yem." She wanted to sit on it forever yesterday to try to poop. But, she says "come with me, Mommy." I can't live in the bathroom, especially when I am trying to get ribs parboiling at the time, so I put the potty in front of the TV and told her to have a seat there. She sat for nearly 20 minutes, but no poop. It's great when Aubrey is willing because she sits in there with her and tells her to "squeeze." I have some great picks of that too, but they were not rated G and will be left off the Internet. I have not fully embraced the craziness, especially since she hasn't actually deposited anything in the potty this round, but I know it's coming. Potty training is not my happy place but I will grit my teeth and get through it. So maybe, sometime soon, I will give in and put her in underwear and give it a go.

Spring Time Revisited

Spring Time sucks. It's the time of year you walk to the park because it is beautiful outside. But you should have drove, because you had no idea that your daughter would trip and skin her knee, and FREAK out over a little blood. But you don't care because you told her to stay on the little playground with her sister for a few more minutes before going to the big slides AND she ignored you, so you figure she deserved it. Luckily, your neighbor happens to be there and she has a band aid. But the damage is done, park trip over. Your kid wants to be carried to the car, but you didn't bring one, which she just can't wrap her mind around, so she cries more. Your other kid is also crying because she wants to be pushed on the swings some more and Mommy is still trying to soothe a kid over a very small injury. So you take their hands and begin the torturous walk home with an overly dramatic limping child and another crying child because she wanted to stay and play. And the last time we walked to the park (I brought a stroller that time) one of my children had a major pooping issue and we had to sit in a nasty porta potty for 15 minutes before I ran home with the stroller hoping to make it in time. Remind me that the park is always a driving destination if I ever get delusional again.

Spring Time

I love this time of year, especially in Colorado. We have been hibernating for several months now watching too much TV, playing indoors, and taking lots of trips to the library. Now it's May, and even though we still have some chilly days, we have a fair number of beautiful ones too. We have three parks that we can get to fairly easily and are back to enjoying them a few days a week. It is so nice to be able to get outdoors for a bit here and there. We are hoping to make a trip again today when the girls wake up. The condition I set was simple, "If we can clean up ALL the toys, we can play at the park for a bit before dinner." Everyone wins.

2 year stats

Height: 34 inches, 50th percentile
Weight: 22.6 pounds, 5th percentile
Yippee! Ainsley is back on the growth chart and her doctor thinks she is doing great. He did recommend that I have her blood drawn to see if she has a cashew allergy (because of the hives she had earlier this year) and also to check her cholesterol since there is a family history. He recommended we have Aubrey's checked too. I am on the fence with this and will need to discuss it with Mike before we make any decisions. I just don't know if a 2 and a 4 year old need to worry about their cholesterol just yet! I will definitely put this off until Aubrey's well check in June when he asks me if I have done it. All in all, it was a great appointment and Ainsley was the compliant child I know her to be! She was terrific.