Category Archives: minnesota

Week In Review – Make that Two…

Happy Monday!

Linking up with Meghan from Clean Eats, Fast Feets for another Week in Review!

I ended up not doing a week in review last Monday since it was a holiday and I had the day off and usually don’t blog on those days.  So… that means this week in review has double the fun!  Honestly, though, it’s been a nice mix of productive, restful, and fun.  I think I’m trying to fit in as much as possible while it’s so nice out.

Starting things, out we had a busy, but fun Labor Day weekend.  I talked Josh and the kids into dressing up and going to the Ren Fest and we had a great time.  Every year gets a little bit easier with the kids as they are able to walk more and enjoy exploring and people watching.  More on that later…

Then the kids and I had a play date with a friend and three of her boys.  The kids had a good time hanging out while Josh and some friends hung out at our house playing video games. We were able to hit up a splash pad and I am so happy that swim lessons has given them more confidence and there were no tears when water got in their eyes!

The guys continued game play well into the wee hours of the night, so I had some hang out time by myself once the kids went to sleep.  Can’t argue with that too much.

My shadow joined me as she usually does.

This past week we have finally gotten a few things put away and rearranged.  It really is never ending.  We also filled a few bags with stuff to donate, which is always a good feeling. Somehow Enzo still had size 2T pants in the back of his drawer.  Whoops!  Thankfully Phoebe was more than happy to claim some of Enzo’s hand me downs, but with how fast they’re growing, I had to make use of some Labor Day sales to start stocking their closets for cooler weather. Someone is just as excited as her mama about unicorns.

I had every intention of spending all of this weekend being super productive, but amazing weather on Saturday was calling me and I dragged everyone on a nature walk, which ended up being a fantastic idea. Aside from some bug bites, it was a great day and we will absolutely be hitting up these trails again.  There were these fun floating boardwalks that the kids loved and some flora that was completely new to me.

Now, to make this week more productive and I’m going to start my evening off right by hitting the gym later!

Have a fabulous week everyone!

Summer’s End

While Summer may not technically be over yet, it certainly feels that way.  School buses are in full force now and the leaves are changing on some of my favorite trees and temperatures are beginning to cool as well.  Enzo hopped on a bus to Kindergarten today, taking a piece of my heart with him as his smile practically exploded out of his face.

It was kind of perfect then that this last weekend before school commenced was so nice.  On Monday (after a couple of long, busy days) all the kids wanted to do was hang out and after I returned from shopping we went outside to enjoy that beautiful weather.

I was a little disappointed that we didn’t seem to have any monarchs this year on our Milkweed, but we still saw plenty this weekend, nonetheless, and some happy little bumblebees.

It says Mom ♥ Enzo ♥ Phoebe.  Sure, kiddo, just melt my heart a little more.  My eyes are watering because of allergies.  Allergies, okay??

This little lady also moved into the Preschool room this week. She still seems to think she’ll be going back to the Pre-Preschool room, however, and it’s taking some time to convince her that her old teachers are not her teachers anymore.

Thanks for a fabulous day, Universe.

The Zoo! Again!

I know what you’re thinking… the zoo again?  Well, that’s what happens when you have a membership.  You tend to go a lot.  Plus, I really wanted to see the new baby tiger, and the kangaroos will be going away soon, so it just seemed like the right time to go back. Also, I kind of insisted on it since everyone was cranky and I will not be trifled with!

Besides… isn’t she adorable?  I should have brought my better camera, but didn’t, so I guess I’ll just have to go back soon. Granted, it’s also hard to shoot through glass that is smeared and has a ton of glare.  Serious cute aggression happened, though.

It was overcast and we seemed to have arrived during nap time for most of the animals… again. Haha!

These kangaroos were not about to get up and I found it amusing that there were just a bunch of kangaroos lounging on a hill that usually has bison hanging out on it…

Sometimes it’s really just best not to ask what they’re doing.

Also… note to self that it’s time to invest in better anti-aging creams… Seriously??

Excitement, however!!  I have NEVER seen the beaver out when we’ve been to the zoo and there he/she was!

And then more animals slept…

We did get to see the Lynx stalk a bird, which was fun.  It was so cute when it’s butt and little tail started to do the whole wiggle.

They had to climb and fight over every single one of these damn statues throughout the zoo.  WHY???

Cuddle party, Lemur style!

The bats will never cease being cool.

Another guy we often don’t see up close… both of them actually. They don’t move and they always look fake.

A bigger version of Bowser. Ha!

And a flamboyance of Flamingos.  They are such a strange, but glorious bird.

And that is all I’ve got for this slightly overcast Wednesday.  We have Enzo’s Kindergarten open house this afternoon and then plans to go the gym, so we’ll see how that goes. We’re going to drop the kids off in gym childcare and see how the evening progresses!

Water, Water, Everywhere

I think we’re down to only one lesson left of swimming for the kids.  At least for now.  We’ll enroll them into the next level as soon as registration opens since we don’t want them to lose momentum at all!  Has it been worth it?  Ultimately, they may not have learned much this time around, but it’s amazing how much more willing to try new things kids are when someone besides their parents asks them to.  They’re putting their mouths in the water, blowing bubbles, willingly getting their ears and heads wet… it’s a big step forward for sure.

Soon enough they’ll be able to rescue me if I fall into deep water!  Haha!  In all seriousness I should probably work on my lack of swimming skill. I can do your basic back float and some kind of strokes, but I can’t tread water and honestly have a slight fear of deep water anyway.  All the more reason to make sure our kids know how to swim!

Week In Review – The It’s Hot Outside So Let’s Stay Inside Edition

Happy Monday!

Linking up with Meghan from Clean Eats, Fast Feets for another Week in Review!

It was one of those weeks… nothing super exciting going on, and yet it seemed exhausting as well.  Phoebe has been having some rougher bedtimes as we attempt to get her to stay in her own room.  I was okay when she would wander into our room after we had all gone to sleep, but that time got earlier and earlier until some nights she’d go to sleep between 7:30-8:00 only to wake up at 9:00 or so and want to sleep in my bed.  We are trying to break that habit and it’s not easy.  I set up a cot in our room so if she does have trouble sleeping she can come sleep on that, but the novelty wore off and she doesn’t want to sleep on the cot anymore.  SIGH.

On Tuesday I got a hair trim, and while I wasn’t sure about the short bangs at first… I grew to like them.  Har har har.

On Thursday, Enzo randomly threw up at day care several times, so I went to pick him up early.  He recovered quickly and was perfectly fine, but still had to stay home with Josh on Friday. At least the cats were happy?

On Saturday a friend of Josh’s drove out (he was picking up an arcade game that Josh had found for him) and spent the night.  Enzo didn’t want to leave the house, but Phoebe was antsy, so we had a little Girl’s Day complete with annoying puppet shows that she insisted we watch and lots of sleepy critters at a very hot day at the zoo.

The best part was getting a glimpse of the new Mountain Lion cub, though!!!! He/She was passed out and part of me wondered how hard it would be to break into the enclosure and steal the little guy away.  I’m not crazy.

Can’t forget hanging out with my favorite lizard. 😉

On Sunday we started putting together Bowser’s new enclosure (still waiting on the new light strip) and then it was swim class time!  Afterwards we played in the pool with the kids and then let them play in the play area before heading out to dinner because I had zero desire to cook.

Phoebe ended up falling asleep in our bed while we were watching The Great British Baking Show.  Even though it completely negates what we’ve been trying to train her to do, we left her in there.  It’s a new week, right?  I’m sure tonight will go swimmingly with zero issues!

Happy Monday everyone!