The Long Weekend – 4th of July Style

It doesn’t need to be said, but I’m going to say it anyway. I love a 4 day weekend. It’s even better when you really only have a small portion of it planned. We knew we’d be going to the carnival on Sunday, but that was it. So, I started our Saturday day off the best way possible. I took the kids to Costco. Not my best idea, but it needed to be done and we got a TON of water balloons. The kids decided we needed to have a water balloon fight at some point. They were not on their best behavior, however, so we ended up heading straight home after to Costco.

The kids could not have been more excited for Sunday to arrive, and it actually worked out really well because the carnival wasn’t nearly as packed as it is on the actual 4th of July and it was wristband day, which meant that for 5 hours the kids could go on as many rides as they went.

Phoebe wasn’t quite as adventurous as last year, but Enzo was even more so, which wasn’t the end of the world, but at times made it difficult because each kid wanted to be on different rides pretty much every time. We met up with my brother and sister-in-law like we usually do and their two boys, which is always great for the kids, but I think we were often split up most of the time. Ha! It was also surreal getting this glimpse into the future when our kids are even more independent than they already are.

It’s nice right now because neither of them really care whether or not they have to go on a ride by themselves, but I admit it was nice when one of them requested that we join in on the fun. All too soon they’ll be off on their own and not want us cramping their style.

We did have one scare (which thankfully I didn’t find out about until afterwards) where Phoebe wandered off. I was in line/on a ride with Enzo and Aiden and Josh and Steve were watching Malcolm and Phoebe when apparently Phoebe wandered off in search of me. Steve and Josh split up to look for her and thankfully found her quickly when Steve found a woman who was bringing her to Lost and Found. I think it’s time we have a set game plan and a long talk with both kids on what to do if one of them gets lost.

Back to the fun!

As we were getting ready to leave, this little robin wandered a little too close to the little kid rides and not surprisingly small children started chasing it, so Josh ran and rescued it from the fray and took it somewhere safe. I was about ready to adopt it, but after calling the Humane Society the woman assured me that our little friend should be flying in a few days and since we had no idea where his nest/tree was, the best bet was to take it a little away from all of the chaos of the carnival. So cute!

On Monday, I blissfully found myself alone at Target and it was quiet and empty and magical.

I later found myself at IKEA where they were temporarily out of the bed I wanted for Phoebe (boo!), but they had a fantastic cabinet almost 50% off for my office! Score!!

We also cleaned Bowser’s cage. (Not all of the lights are in use on top of the cage… they’re to keep Vega off. His new home should be arriving around the 14th next week and then we won’t have to worry about it!

Okay, time to wrap this up!

An Afternoon at the Arboretum

You know what’s awesome? Nice weather. The kids and I decided to enjoy some nice weather recently and go the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. We got a membership through Groupon and I have a feeling we’ll be going there a few times a month. There are fantastic paths and trails to walk and it seems like there is always something going on. When we went it happened to be a very popular weekend for weddings and I think there may have been two happening at the same time. The kids wanted to hang around and watch one, but I convinced them that walking around might be more interesting.

We may be heading back tomorrow, but the kids and I haven’t decided yet. So many choices!!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

CSA Update!

In all honesty, I don’t think it would be very hard for me to become a vegetarian. While I do eat meat, I think giving it up would be easier for me than say, giving up wine. Haha! That being said, we do eat meat and no one else in the house wants to give it up, so at the very least, I wanted to find an option that made me feel less icky about it. We’ve all seen and heard the articles about how animals are treated, so I’m not going there, but it’s always in the back of my mind and because of that we try to buy organically, but not all the time. Well, I decided that wasn’t enough, and decided to join a CSA for meat. If you’re going to eat meat, then grass-fed and organic seems to be the best option. I like knowing where my food is coming from and in turn we also help our local farming community, which seems like a plus. Also, farm fresh eggs!

Everything has tasted so good. We’ve had ribs, steaks, brats (different flavors) and burgers and we’re looking forward to chicken in July!

The eggs are also fantastic! They’re creamier, the colors are also fun, and I like seeing the chickens just out and about when I go pick up from the farm. This is how it should be!!

On that note, it’s been a heck of a technology week, so… over and out!

Buy happy food!

Week in Review – Pulled Teeth and Rain

Happy Monday!

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

The week started out not too shabby. Monday was nice and I worked from home, which is nice because I also have more time to get Bowser out so he can explore.

It’s also nice because I finish up work before the kids get home with Josh and it leaves me some time to pick up a few things and even put my feet up sometimes!

Tuesday, however, got off to a rocky start when we found out at the dentist that Phoebe had an abscess above one of her front teeth and the tooth needed to be pulled. In my wisdom I said sure, let’s just do it today so we don’t have to set up another appointment… well, Phoebe did great. Really great. I ended up with my head between my knees trying not to pass out. Not at all embarrassing.

Not surprisingly, Phoebe asked to go home after the procedure was done and I obliged. I already had my work laptop with me, and as I assumed she just wanted to lie down in bed and watch some TV, so I was able to get some work done.

Well, some work. My laptop also decided it need lots of time consuming updates. It really never fails. Ever. My computer really just hates me.

Uzi was quite happy to be snuggled between both of us, however, so at least I had a purring cat to pet while waiting for technology to sort itself out.

Lunch and then a new hairdo for me courtesy of Phoebe.

She was even feeling so well later on that afternoon, that we made some banana bread to surprise the boys with when they got home.

Had some rough nights with Enzo going to sleep, but had some decent mornings, so there’s that?

Other than that, we went to the zoo on Saturday (even though it ended up being windy and a little chilly and the rain started earlier than expected). Lots of dragon pictures as usual and planning out his new tank… still haven’t entirely decided, though.

I hope everyone had a fantastic week!

Random Road Trip Stuff

Somehow in the midst of writing all of the blog posts, a handful of photos didn’t make it into posts… still not sure how, but now that means I get to drag it out even more!

The highlight is always getting to see family that we don’t see very often.

I’m just going to say it… I really don’t enjoy having to climb up ladders and whatnot to follow the kids on these. I prefer to be within a foot of the ground!