Monday Picture

Nana and Pockets

I can still talk about last weekend right?  It is only Thursday?  I guess it is my blog so really I can do what I want.  Anyway, last weekend was jam packed.  Brad's dad and step-mom were in town (Mickey and Tammy, or Nana and Pockets if you are little).  We started the evening off at Epic Pizza and subs which just happens to be attached to ITap (a local bar that boasts a huge selection of beers).  After finishing our pizza, Brad got word that a few of our friends were next door so we headed over to say hi.  Luckily this bar is relatively kid friendly, so the boys happily sat on couches and watched TV while we chatted for a while.

Saturday morning I met up with some friends to prove that "Dirty Girls Have More Fun" and did a 5K, women's only, mud-run.  We had a lot of fun and we got very dirty.

After a long shower, a quick nap and a little bit of relaxing we all headed downtown to watch the Rams take on the Packers.  Mike was really interested in the game for the first quarter and asked Brad a million questions about what was going on.  By the second quarter he was really interested in a big bucket of popcorn.  Both boys did great, and much to Ryan, Tammy and my delight the Packers won 19-7.

On Saturday we started the day off a bit slower and hung out around the house waiting for the rain to clear out before we headed out to Mount Pleasant Winery. 



Monday Picture

Monday Picture

Running

Brad and I have been running a lot more lately.  I guess "more" isn't necessarily correct, as we have never really run before, but either way we have started taking family runs pretty much every weekend (and have been keeping it up for close to three months).  We run anywhere between 3-5.5 miles while taking turns pushing the boys in a double jogging stroller.  Pushing that stroller makes normal running seem SO much easier (60 pounds of kids plus 30ish pounds of stroller is no joke).  Anyway, the boys have been troopers and for the most part happily take in the scenery as they roll by.  Mike likes to ask a lot of questions (shocking from a three year old I know) and I can't count how many times I tell him I can't answer his question (while gasping) because it is "really hard for mommy to push you and run and answer questions all at the same time, can you PLEASE just be quiet, or talk to Ryan."

Brad showing the boys a bumblebee and explaining why we like bees

This past weekend Mike noticed a bridge as we were setting out on our run.  We promised him we would let him explore the bridge when we finished running.  When we got close enough to see the bridge he jumped out of his seat and ran over to the bridge, Ryan, of course, had to follow suit.  The two of them proceeded to excitedly chatter about the bridge and the rocks and the water.  

A flower for DA! (which is what Ryan calls Brad - always in caps, with an exclamation point, or three)

On the other side of the bridge they found a field of wildflowers and excitedly kept bringing me their "treasures" at the end of the excursion I had a slightly smashed bouquet of wonderful wildflowers and two very happy boys.






Juggling

Being a parent is hard.  Whether you are a single parent, a working parent or a stay-at-home parent the job is hard.  Parenthood is a constant juggling act of trying to fit it all in, get it all done and not screw up the important stuff.  I work full time and Brad works way more than full time which creates stressful situations when something happens outside of the norm.  Earlier this week I got the dreaded call.  The one that makes your heart sink and your stomache turn when you see it pop up on your  caller ID..."DAYCARE."  Usually they are just calling to tell me one of the boys had a little fall, they gave him some ice and he is fine, but sometimes you get the "So and So just doesn't seem to be feeling well" or "So and So threw up twice" or "So and So just isn't himself, says his tummy hurts and feels really warm."  When that happens you know that one of the kids has been kicked out of daycare for at least 24 hours (technically 24 hours after the fever stops, or whatever ailment subsides), which means I generally will be working from home for 1.5+ days.  Kids don't understand "busy season" or "deadline" or "mandatory meeting" all kids know is that they don't feel good and need someone to play the role of "baby mattress."  I luckily have a wonderful group at work that allows me to work from home when an illness strikes, unfortunately it always falls on me, as most people would frown on a surgeon working from home. 

How to keep baby busy when you have a conference call

For me working from home is super stressful.  While I KNOW my coworkers understand that I am home with a sick child and can't possibly be available 100% of the time, I feel like I need to be available 100% of the time to prove that I am actually working.   Over the years I have learned some tricks for actually getting a lot of work done.  First: get as much as you can done while your kid is sleeping.  Whether that be before they wake up in the morning, during nap time, or after they go to bed.  Second: Break the rules and bust out the big guns.  Water table in the house, sure!  (Semi) unsupervised painting, why not? Juice, just this once!  Third, try to remember that the little person in front of you is what is really important.



Monday Picture