About Me

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I am a Mom of two young lads, a fitness fanatic and wife to a die-hard Packers/Brewers fan. I worked in corporate america for 12 years. Now I am on a new adventure - raising my sons and working part-time in the fitness industry as a Personal Trainer and Group Exercise Instructor. I hope you stop by and read my updates- family, fitness, or life related!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Liam: Three Months





Wow, Mister Liam is THREE months old. I can't believe how fast he is growing. I had to put away the newborn clothes already and some of the 3 month old ones too. He has started to wear some 6 month clothes- this boy is getting big!

What does Liam like at 3 months?
  • His family, he smiles so big when he sees all of our faces
  • When you sing songs or play peek-a-boo
  • His paci (he's probably addicted, hence all the night wakings...yikes!)
  • Being close to you so he can see you
  • To move around (this guy is BUSY and strong)
  • To sit in the exersaucer (yes, already..I prop a blanket behind him since he wobbles a bit.)
  • Taking baths
  • Waking up early, or waking up a lot in the night and early in the morning!
  • Smiling and giggling
  • Talking (he has a lot to say, even in the middle of the night)
  • His hands, he has found them
What doesn't Liam like?
  • Sleeping more than a few hours at a time- yikes! :)
  • Loud sounds
  • Bright Lights
  • Being overstimulated
  • Any disturbances while he's eating
  • Getting out of the bath
  • Being alone for more than a few minutes or being in the same position (gets bored and lonely easy)
Liam's personality is starting to shine. He is a smiley and giggly little boy. He definitely lets you know when he doesn't like something, or when he's tired or hungry. He loves to watch Braden and wants to be a part of the action. I predict this one will be a busy and active boy- more than Braden even! He tries to stand and takes little steps when you hold him...he may be an early walker. Watch out world, here comes Liam. It will be so fun to have our newest addition here for the holidays this year!

Monday, November 21, 2011

Braden: 2 years + 2 months

Making brownies (or eating them) with Mom.
First official haircut at the Barbershop!
New haircut = smiley boy!

It's that time again, time for the boys' monthly updates.

This month Braden is two months past the big TWO! He is still amazing us everyday with the things he says and does. Braden is speaking full sentences now which is so much fun because we can have full conversations. He is very eager and is always asking, "what is this mommy?" and of course his favorite question, "where are we going?" Whatever I am doing, he watches closely and says "I try it now."

Braden is loads of fun. He loves his sports (of course baseball and football are still his true loves)- but he has added basketball and hockey to the list now that it's winter. We have two different basketball games in the basement, so he asks to play that everyday. We went to open gym time the other week and he loved playing hockey for the first time. He also loves to run (just like his Momma). With the nice weather this fall, he and I would do sprints out on the front sidewalk and run around the bases at the baseball field up the street. Other than sports, he loves to color, play with play dough, build towers (and knock them down), play cars, play Lego's, laugh at his little brother and he loves his teddy. Lately he wants to bring teddy everywhere, but we have made sure to just keep teddy housebound. If we lost him it might be the end of the world! He also can do somersaults and loves dancing. With the first snowfall this weekend, he has been obsessed with wanting to go outside. This weekend he helped Joe shovel and put up lights. He also took his first trip down the hill in a sled. This winter will be tons of fun. We got him a new winter coat and boots so he is all ready to go! The holidays will be so much fun for him since everything is still so new and exciting for him.

I'm sure like any other toddlers out there, Braden's eating habits perplex me a bit. He turns down things that every kid would love- like PIZZA. He often doesn't eat meals and we have to fight him to get him to take bites. He will inhale certain things and other things that he would normally eat he suddenly refuses. What really cracks me up is the stuff he really likes and eats on a regular basis: green olives, avocados, tomatoes, mandarin oranges, and grapefruit. I love all of those things and ate them while pregnant too, so maybe that's where he gets it from. So funny that he eats non-typical kid food but turns his nose to things like burgers, chicken or pizza. Oh well..that is probably why he weighs 24 pounds at 2 years old!

We are working on teaching him manners, so I get a lot of "oh, thank you's" throughout the day but then get a "get it" when he chucks his water. I must have spent too much time on the thank-you's and not as much on the pleases! ha!

Braden's biggest milestone this month is his first REAL haircut. I have trimmed his hair quite a few times...but it was starting to get a bit crazy so today I took him to the barbershop. He did so good. He didn't move one inch the entire time. He did exactly what the lady told him to do, didn't make a peep and was happy to watch cartoons. They even shampooed his hair and gave him a mini massage. He was such a good boy. It feels like our boy is really growing up in the past few months. I wish I could freeze this age for a while!

Friday, November 18, 2011

Life With Two

I often get asked, "How is life with two?" My current response is, "it's interesting" which evokes strange looks from people. I am just not sure how else to describe my life right now. I would not describe it as anything negative - I mean I have two wonderful and healthy boys and feel very blessed. I wouldn't say it's easy and stress-free either though. AND I most definitely wouldn't say it's a vacation- ha! For all you Moms who have been through this before, I have hit that stage where you say, "Holy *#$!". I am busier than ever. I am tired, or rather exhausted on a daily basis. I feel like I have 10 arms and need 10 more. I have NEVER multi-tasked this much. I never knew that I could! I wish I could be in two places at once. I wish I had time for myself (to shower in peace or read a magazine) or to do things around the house. I have to spend most of my days caffeine induced just to get through it. I have now become ONE of those moms who people feel sorry for in public. You may see me wheeling a huge stroller through a skinny hallway with a screaming baby riding in it, while holding onto 3 bags, AND holding the hand of a crying toddler because he wants to stop and get a drink from the drinking fountain and I don't have free hands to hold him up. Yikes. Sounds glamorous huh? :) No, it might not sound glamorous. I might wear spit-up on my clothes or not have time to take a shower until before I go to bed. I may have dried and cracked hands from changing too many diapers. But it's my life right now. It's my new normal. It might be insane most days, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. These boys are worth it. I will look back at this stage and hopefully laugh about the sleep deprivation and double diaper duty days. HOPEFULLY is the key here folks! :) Sure, this stage feels long when I am in it, but I know I will look back and wish it was back again...especially when my boys are at school and growing so fast.
What people have told me all along is true! Life with two kiddos is not twice as busy/crazy/hard, it is more like five times! Just when Liam is crying or needing to be fed, Braden then wants me to play or wants a snack. He has been pretty patient for the most part, but there have been more tears over my lack of attention to him in the past few days. I try not to be hard on myself but sometimes I do feel like I can't fully be there for either of them. Liam wants to be held all the time and doesn't like to be alone. I want to play with Braden and give him one-on-one attention, but he doesn't get much of that these days fro me. BUT I am doing the best I can. I just wish there was more of me to go around (like all Moms). I wish I could attend to a crying baby and play cars with my toddler at the same time. I wish I wasn't on edge and feeling frazzled when I am tired and have a hungry baby and a toddler meltdown to deal with at the same time. I am with them alone 12 hours a day and going places and doing things is exhausting, but I enjoy getting out of the house so off we go anyway and by 1 or 2 o'clock each day I want to drop over. I teach classes at the YMCA to have one little outlet, something that I enjoy and love to do. It takes me an hour and a half to get everyone ready and out of the house just to get to class on time. I still want to do it though. I love that one hour that I get to inspire and motivate others while releasing some stress myself.

Don't get me wrong, life with two is amazing. These boys are my pride and joy. I am so blessed and thankful they are healthy and they are mine. They amaze me each and every day. Being a Mom is wonderful, but it is definitely hard work. Especially when they are just two years old and three months. Bottom line, they need mom for everything right now. So, for now if I seem frazzled, have an extra dark circle under my eye, or can't remember things- you probably know why. I may even order the second glass of wine when I have that rare night out, just because I need to relax. It's just the stage that I am in right now. It sure is "interesting" for lack of a better word...but these cuties are worth it and I am glad they want to be with me so much right now! Soon enough they will be telling me to "go away Mom". Yikes. Stay small for a while buddies, but just let me get some sleep so I can remember this current ride better. :)



Saturday, November 12, 2011

Imagination Nation

So the day has come. I have been waiting for this moment since Braden's birth. He is now into pretend play. This is by far my favorite! He stands behind the little plastic counter at the park and asks me "what would you like to order?" I say what do you have today? He says, "donuts". I politely order the ones with sprinkles and he gives me my imaginary donut, takes my imaginary money and says, "thank you have a nice day." This melts my heart. I am REALLY good at toddler imaginary play and I can't wait to do it more. Now when we are in the car he even asks, "Mom, I'd like to order." So even though we don't have the little plastic counter in front of us, he still wants to play. I give him options from cheeseburgers, hot dogs to hot chocolate and donuts. What he orders depends on the day. It is a lot of fun to watch Braden grow and learn about the world. He is really able to hold conversations and understand everything I say. It is so much fun.

Mister Liam is growing in leaps and bounds too. He is such a smiley, expressive and STRONG boy. He kicks and talks loud. He grabs onto things. He dances in the bath and splashes around. He still is not sleeping so good at night, but what can you do. I keep telling myself he is only 12 weeks and I had it too good with Braden. We will hopefully get to a good sleeping place SOON. Please, oh please I ask. :) We had a really busy week this week- the Eagan community center for some gym time, a trip to MPLS to visit Joe and meet his co-workers, trips to the Y as I had to teach a few times, and I had an all-day training today where I had to take three cycle classes in one day. Needless to say, I am one tired Mama.

November is flying by. Thanksgiving is soon approaching. I hope you are all enjoying the pre-holiday time as it is soon going to get a little crazy!

Monday, November 7, 2011

Trick-or-Treat




So Halloween has come and gone. It was a great one for our family. Joe arrived home early enough to help get Braden ready into his costume. We lit the pumpkins and put our candy into the bowl. We came up with our plan of attack, who would stay back and who would take Braden out. We decided to take turns- Joe taking Braden out first and me staying back handing out candy with Liam. That plan didn't work out so well, because by the time Joe and Braden made it back from round one the little monkey was too tired to continue (and maybe a bit scared of all the masks). Oh well. Maybe next year I can see the kiddos run from house to house. My end of the deal wasn't so bad- I stood outside on the neighbors driveway next to the fire, with a glass of wine in hand and watch the kiddos come by and grab candy out of the bowl I set out. Now that's a great Halloween strategy if I do say so myself. So, we had a great first Halloween in our new house and look forward to many more.