33 and Easter

Good afternoon,

Apparently, blogging hasn't been on the priority list.  Life has been a little overwhelming lately for a variety of reasons.  Everything is fine, it's just a few things had to fall by the wayside for a little bit to get some other things accomplished.  Plus, really there hasn't been anything too special going on so we've been just getting some chores done and fitting in a few fun things.

First, my adorable family on Easter morning:

Reed got a haircut and when asked if he wanted it styled, he replied with "I want a mohawk". 

Getting warmer around here, the kids pulled out their summer toys.  Nora loves driving her car around.  She takes her stuffed animals to school, work and home.

Nora and Gracie

Gracie turned two and we went to celebrate with her.  They are such cute little friends.

Gracie got this adorable car.  She hasn't quite figured out how to drive it yet, but Reed sure did jump in there!  He enjoyed driving her around.

Reed got a new little jacket and he looked so adorable.

On to my birthday.  I had one.  It was good.  We went dirt biking at a track in the morning.  It's awesome cause they have a large grass area and a playground, so the kids actually like going.  We take turns riding.  I love my new bike!

In the afternoon, I ran a few errands, treated myself to some goodies and came home to open presents from the kids.  Reed got me this doll and said that he thought that I needed a new toy.  He wrote "mom" on an envelope and signed the card with his name.  Nora picked out these wings.  I opened them and she said "I wear them now?".  Apparently, she'd been waiting for some time to use them.

Did a little photo shoot on Easter with the kids.

Then we went to a friend's house for Easter dinner and an egg hunt.

Off to more fun stuff - cheers~

Yurt

We trekked up to a yurt this weekend near Evanston, Wyoming.  If you are unaware of what a yurt is, it's a small round wooden and tent house, typically in the mountains.  Google it if you want to see what it looks like. We headed up on Friday early afternoon, loaded up the sled and got ready.  Here is our set up:

 We had the snowmobile, holding Fogg and the kids, Reed in back, Nora in front.  Then pulling a sled with food and gear, and pulling me skiing behind. 

Worked out pretty well until we had a few route finding issues.  We passed the trail that we should have gone up and Fogg disconnected us to scout around a little.  Meanwhile, me and the kids made snow angels, they thought that was great.

After this, it got a little hairy.  We got the snowmobile stuck after some time trying to find the correct trail.  It took hours of digging it out, then trying up the trail that simply wasn't working for our load.  The snow was rotten, and it got late quickly.  The kids were troopers, as the sun went down and they got a little cold (never seriously though) and hungry and tired.  Fogg and I pulled it together, and got our family out of there.  We got back to the truck late and decided to drive the 1.5 hour home to sleep in our own warm beds for the night.  We felt bad about leaving our friends in the yurt without half of their food and water (which we were carrying for them) but they were going to survive.  In the morning, we trekked back up, found the right trail and were there before lunch.  In fact, we ate our breakfast there.  All was good!

Anyway, the area was beautiful, we had a warm place to hang out, play games, take naps, eat snacks and meals, laugh and have a good time.  The outside was fun too, with a fun snow cave and a fantastic sled hill.  Reed was outside quite a bit, he sure loves the snow!  Here they are in the snowcave.

 The opening was quite small, perfect for little kids, a bit tight for a mama.

Reed went sledding on the nice groomed trail to the yurt.  He went down it a ton of times.  He even pulled Nora to the top so she could ride with him.

Nora sacked out after we arrived.

Reed and I played a game that I used to as a kid.  Reed won as you can see.  His number at the top is 47 if you can't read it, mine is 38.

Gracie and Nora played a little together, also fought over a few toys.  Nora is telling me in this picture that she doesn't want me to take her picture.

James brought sparklers and fireworks up which was awesome.  The kids loved it all.  

The next morning after breakfast we packed up and headed back to the truck.  Nora obviously found the snowmobile soothing because she fell asleep on it 3 different times.  She took the rest of her nap in the truck after we got back and packed up.

Reed went sledding some more and figured out how to jump.

It was a fun weekend, a little difficult at times, both Fogg and I were a bit sore from our hard work.  Fun to hang with friends and nice to disconnect a little.

Here are a few other pictures hanging around.

They hold hands in the car sometimes.  Nora gets upset and Reed will hold her hand.

They got new shoes!  Here they are showing them off.

I love little kid poses.  That would kill my knees and my feet would be asleep in minutes.  It's so cute when she does it though, isn't it?

 Reed made some chalk drawings on the driveway.  I love his little mind and evolution of his art.  There is a bike in there, actually two, which is pretty impressive.  He is learning to write his name in lower case letters so it now reads like reeb foee.  He's got the d backwards and the lower case g's as e-ish.

That's all for now! Cheers~

Survival Mode

I'm not starting off the year real great in blogging.  I have felt as though I have been functioning a bit on survival mode.  Every other week (for the most part) there is a group of working mama's that all get together to share our struggles with being a working mom, and to encourage each other.  We have a mentor who commented to us how we all seem put together and how she always felt like she was functioning on survival mode.  We collectively laughed and said that we feel like we are on survival mode too!  But I'm guessing that's not just a working mom issue, that is probably a mom issue. And frankly, it's not just a mom issue, it's a human issue.  Our "survival" is different, but in a way, we are just trying to get from one day to another by making money, keeping house, assisting in keeping our children alive and healthy, nurturing a marriage, feeding those around us, maintaining friendships and so forth.  My life is seemingly always busy, in different ways at different times of the year but always pretty busy.  And like pretty much everyone else, my priorities change frequently.

I'm working extremely hard on my new years resolutions and I'm pretty proud of myself.  They are a daily thought to me, and a weekly check in to my journal has been very helpful.  I make mini goals every week to work toward the greater goals of improving health, fostering intentional relationships and saving money.  I'm doing better at the first two, but it's always a thought.  So I'm taking time away from things that don't directly effect the outcome of those goals.  Unfortunately, blogging has suffered.  Fortunately, my relationships are improving.  In addition, work has been super busy and chaotic and hectic, so that has been taking quite a bit of my energy.

So, to catch up on the past few weeks, here are a few more pictures. I haven't been very good at pictures lately, but honestly, it's not like anything very exciting has happened either!

Reed drew a picture of his family.  I'm the one on the far right, I have no hair because "I didn't feel like giving you hair".

I went skiing by myself one day instead of going to work.  It was nice.

Does this get any cuter?  She just looked at me like this and I quick snapped a picture.  She is getting so adorable.

Our family valentine's date with some new friends (not pictured).  We went to the monster truck rally.  Our favorite part was the half time dirt bike trick show.

Despite Reed's face, he actually really enjoyed the trucks.

Have skied a few times.  Nora's friend Lucy came up to hang in the lodge with her.

Fogg went out of town for work last week.  One morning I took the kids to get some Dunkin Donuts.

Our friend Nik returned from Afghanistan and brought us back this beautiful scarf and neat stone.

We have SOOOO much coming up in the next 3 months.  We are very excited about many trips and events.  In March we have a yurt trip that I'm very much looking forward to.  Lots of things in April, many more things in May, a few things in June.  So, there will be many more stories and pictures to come in the next several months.  In addition, work is in it's slower time, so I'll have time to catch up on some projects (and hopefully blog).

Things that Nora is up to:

• Nora knows all of her colors and getting pretty darn good at shapes.
• She is pretty close to consistently counting to 10.
• She loves her paci.
• She loves playing with her brother - the two of them laugh a lot.
• She often says "I did it!" even if she didn't do whatever she claimed to have done.
• She will look at us and say "I not funny", which makes us laugh.
• She is very opinionated when it comes to her clothes and shoes.
• She loves two shows - Yo Gabba Gabba and Team UmiZoomi.

Things that Reed is up to:

• Reed loves to color and draw.  Pretty much brings home 5 or so a day from school.
• Loves playing with his sister.
• Has started helping with his chores, picking up toys, helping with London. He loves to help with his sister, put on her diaper, pick out her clothes, play babies with her.
• He loves playing with cars and trucks and planes.
• He is getting very creative in his play, making forts or roads or trails for his cars.
• Loves to go outside and play with his friends.  He can ride his bike, or sled or run around outside for hours.
• Looking at kindergarten's for the fall - crazy!
• Very excited for his 5th birthday in May.

The two of them are my joy in life and I love them for it (even when they drive me crazy).  The two of them are just the best brother and sister ever, I hope they stay close as they grow up.  The like each other so much, they decided that they wanted to share a room.  So we moved Reed's bed into Nora's room and they sleep in there.  I actually love it because they keep each other company and we have had a significant decrease in middle of the night awakeness and "scared of my room".  It's good for the both of them.  When Nora is ready to be out of a crib, we will look for some bunk beds for Reed's room for them to share.  For now, it's ok as is. 

That's all for now - on to surviving!

The Past Few Weeks

So life has been busy, full of sickness, some travel, lots of work for both Fogg and I and general life as we know it.  I've got nothing in particular to share, so I'll just share some pictures of the past few weeks.

Reed took a nap on the couch one day, London snuggled up.

The next day, London took a nap on the couch, Reed snuggled up.

These two.  They really do love each other.  It's simply adorable to watch them be with each other.  Reed loves to make Nora laugh and Nora loves to laugh. 

And they have their own personalities.

One night, I was playing with the kids and we decided to play cafe/tea party.  One of us would be the server (I started to give them an example of what to do) and the other two would be served. Next Reed was the server.  He's making soup.

Nora was my little tea party date.  We had cookies before our soup.

The very next day, things took a turn for the worse.  Nora was the first to go down, she was wheezing, rattling, coughing and had a fever.  Off to the doctor and she had RSV.  Almost a week later we took her back when things weren't improving and she had a nasty double ear infection and bronchitis. Some antibiotics and breathing treatments and a few days later she was feeling much better.

A day after the above picture, I went to take Reed to school and I would stay home with Nora.  But as soon as we walked in Reed threw up right on the floor of the lobby!  Back home and he struggled a little with the pukes and some coughing too.  I put him on breathing treatments too, but he didn't improve much.  At the follow up appointment, he had a nasty sinus infection.  A few days on antibiotics for him and he was doing much better too.  In this picture, that's as much of a smile as he could muster.  I was tired too but luckily, I never caught it.  Fogg did though with an ear infection and sinus infection.

Reed's adorable drawing of "Dad and Me wearing Slippers"

Reed packed some bags.  I asked what for and he told me that they were for heaven.  What a heart melter!  Of course, I don't want him to get to heaven until I've been there for 50 years, but that he is contently ready for it without fear.  He missed the concept that you can't bring stuff with you.  He packed some coloring stuff, cars, and stuffed animals.  Clothes were not of importance.  I explained that he wouldn't be going there for quite some time but it didn't matter, he wanted to keep them packed and ready.

Went skiing with his friend Liam one day.  Reed wasn't a great friend though, didn't really wait for him, just took off.  Oh well, one day!

My sweet girl one morning.

The outfits were just kinda cute this day.  Pink and blue shirts and khaki pants.  

Nora got her first braids the other day!  I love it!

So everyone seems to be healthy again, and luckily I never caught it!  Hopefully things can settle down a little bit, both Fogg and I have been very busy at work which makes sick kids even harder to manage!  But we hung in there. I'm looking forward to continuing to work on my new year's goals, spending some more time with friends and catching up on some tasks that have gone by the wayside.  Oh, and ski, I want to do more of that too.

Cheers~

It is Well With My Soul

This song has been one of my favorites since becoming a Christian, but lately it is ringing true in my life and I've listened to it endlessly the past few weeks.  The words are strong, true, convicting and emotional.  It reminds me that it doesn't matter what happens in this life, what's important is that my soul is well in the truth.  To me, it's a reversal in thought.  In the past, I have felt that I had to right myself in life to feel my worth in faith.  Instead, I need to right myself in faith to feel my worth in my life.  By switching this thinking, I have found more satisfaction, appreciation and motivation to live my life the way I've wanted - happy and content. 

This song was written by Horatio Spafford in the late 1800's.  He lost financial wealth in the 1871 Great Chicago Fire (another famous song written about that would be "Miss O'Leary's Cow kicked over the latern....").  Then he sent his family ahead of him to Europe for a trip and all four of his daughters died when the ship sunk.  His wife was the only to survive.  While he traveled by boat to meet his wife, he wrote this song over the spot that the ship sank.  Later, they had three more kids, a son and two daughters.  The son died in 1880 from scarlet fever.  I can't imagine the pain this man felt and still he wrote these words:

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

It is well, (it is well),
With my soul, (with my soul)
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
<sup>Even so, it is well with my soul.

AMEN!</sup>

2013 Year In Review

Happy New Year 2014 everyone!

Boy did it sneak up this year or what?  As usual, I thought a little about what I was going to put into my new years post this year but all the sudden it's the 2nd? Well, anyway, here we are, going into another year. In my line of work we are always working about 8 months ahead so to me it's almost like "finally, it's 2014".  But then I look at Nora and think, wow, she was born in 2011, that will be 3 years ago in October - 3!

I remembered a lot of my resolutions from 2013 but I went back to see anyway - 2013 Post.  I wanted to get healthy, spend money better and spend quality time with my kids.  For really the first time, I thought about these things all year long.  I started a work out plan in January with a high intensity interval training class and loved it.  Over the summer, I really fixed my eating habits and boy did the scale move!  I lost 15 pounds, my top goal!  I also started running and did 4 races over the summer, 2 5K's and 2 10K's.  I really enjoyed that and will do it again this year.  Unfortunately, the last two months I haven't worked out much, so I'm looking forward to getting back at it.  In regards to spending money, well, I did really good at that for some time as well, but the holiday's really had me falling off the wagon.  Quality time with my kids is something I'm always working on, but I think I've done alright.  When I spend time with them, I try to be aware of my actual presence and making it worthwhile, like teaching them words or colors or skills.  Reed is getting to be quite the artist and writing lots of letters. Nora is speaking a lot of words, though still working on her pronunciation. I did also want to get rid of stuff around my house and I sold some things and gave away some things, this will probably always be a work in progress.

This year was not particularly special in any way but I do see it as the seeds to what is coming in the next few years.  There seems to be a lot of little things that will grow into life long things, we will have to see how the next few years come about.  My kids continue to grow, Reed turned 4 in May and Nora turned 2 in October.  Fogg and I had our 9th anniversary.  Lots of friends had babies in 2013 and lots more to come in 2014.  We went on a few little vacations, nothing big, just drove around our area, some camping.  Both kids broke their collar bones, almost exactly 6 months apart from each other, Nora first from a fall off a bench, and Reed second with a fall onto a tile floor.  Though it seemed like a big deal at the time, just a blip in the road for each of them.  It's amazing how resilient kids are.

Around the world we had a bit more excitement, and not really in the positive way.  The Boston marathon bombings in April followed by a massive man hunt.  In Bangladesh, a factory collapsed and killed over 1100 people. There was a plane crash in San Fransisco, there was a train crash in Spain, and a massive typhoon in the Philippines. There was a shooting at the Navy Yard in Washington DC, the exact time that Fogg was there for work.  There was a mall shooting in Kenya, the same time a friend of ours is serving only miles away as a teacher. Nelson Mandela died this December.  Our government shut down for a time, affecting many people we know. More positively, there was a royal baby born and a new Pope was elected.

But you know what, I'm really excited about 2014, I think it's going to be awesome!  Those little seeds that I mentioned earlier will manifest themselves into some awesome things.  I am very very excited to celebrate our 10th anniversary in New Orleans this year.  We are leaving the kids at home and gonna live it up in the Big Easy.  One of my best friends just got engaged on New Years so hopefully we will be heading to a wedding this year.  And my other best friend is looking close to the same... we'll see if that'll be 2 weddings - so excited!  We are going to try to head out to Maine to visit Fogg's grandma and extended family as well. Fogg is planning on doing a big dirt bike race again this year and I'd like to continue doing some running races.  We have planned a yurt trip with some friends in March and we will try to take our camper out for several camp trips. I'm looking forward to traveling a bit this year! 

And yes, I'm into resolutions cause it gives you a new start.  Even if we've failed before, it gives us a chance to start again.  I'm not above setting new ones at any other time, but there is something about a fresh new year that gives you a chance to look back (as I do every single year) and make some new goals or refresh your excitement about old ones that didn't really pan out. So here they are, my new/renewed resolutions for 2014:

• Continue to be healthy - get back into a workout routine and work on eating habits.
• Work on spending - don't spend a bunch of money on little things, really think about it.  Also sell some stuff that we don't use anymore.
• Spend intentional time with my kids - put down the phone, turn off the TV, get on the floor and learn with them.

Fogg and I took a little time to talk yesterday morning about things we would like to work on as a family and here is what we came up with:

• Work on our marriage - spend time together, work together, communicate better.
• Make meal plans - we want to put together a bunch of meals and have a plan further ahead of time than in the past.
• Get the kids to bed earlier - both for their benefit and for ours.

I think that's a pretty good chunk of stuff but it's a spring board for what we really want in the end which is a healthy happy life.  If we accomplish half of this, it's better than what we started with. 

So onto a new year, where we get to move forward, move on, move up and enjoy life.  My hope is that every single person who reads this has the best year yet, as that's what I'm hoping for myself and our family.

Cheers~
Meg