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!

Friday, March 30, 2012

Happy Birthday To You!

This is for Grandpa Jack H, from one of your biggest fans!
Liam of course expresses the same sentiments to you!!
Happy, Happy Birthday!

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Braden John: 2 years + 6 months



Mister Braden, AKA "The Big Brother" is a whopping two and a half years old! Braden seems about five years old to me with his questions, social skills, vocabulary and ability to understand things. Braden has turned into quite the social butterflly these days. Every time he sees someone in the neighborhood outside he asks, "Can I please go say hi to _______" (insert name here). A few times he has even snuck out of the house and crossed the street on his own to go say "hi". So yes, we are working on his listening skills. The fact that I constantly tell him to stay inside until I am finished doing whatever, or that he can play in the garage or driveway until I can get outside hasn't resonated quite yet. Hopefully it will soon or the neighbors will get sick of seeing me sprint across the lawn yelling his name because he is gone in the split second that Liam distracts me. These boys are alreading ganging up on me, I just know it! :)

Braden is still an unbelievably good big brother. This week Liam had his second flu-shot and while Liam screamed, Braden kissed his leg and said "it's okay brother, I love you." I really couldn't ask for a better big brother for Liam. Braden is constantly making Liam giggle, giving him toys, and he runs downstairs in the morning looking for Liam so he can say good morning to him. This is a Mom's dream, I am sure once Liam is more mobile they will continue to have more fun together (and I am sure fight over some toys but let's not worry about that yet).

What else is Braden up to at two-and-a-half years old? He loves puzzles, books and movies. He can put together puzzles all by himself. I come into the YMCA to pick him up at the daycare and every time he is doing a puzzle. Every morning when he wakes up he grabs a book from the shelf to bring downstairs. I took him to see the Lorax and he sat still for the entire movie and didn't say a word! He also loves going to SkyZone to bounce on the trampolines, well so does his Dad (like a lot)! I take him to toddler time and it's awesome. There's only so much jumping you can do at home- couch, bed, cushions, steps, etc...so SkyZone helps cure his jumping ails. Braden loves to run (yes, something mom loves to do too), play baseball (of course), and play with his dinosaurs or cars. We go outside to play baseball at least 2-3 times a day. When we ask him at night what he is going to dream about, his first answer is always baseball. We are also getting out for tricycle, scooter, coup car and big wheel rides. This is going to be a great summer for Braden now that he is able to do more things!

As you can see above, Braden flew his first kite the other day and loved it. He loves going to ECFE class where he gets to paint, play with play dough, and learn about so many things.  Braden is still excited about anything he sees outside- from geese swimming on a pond to construction trucks. He amazes us with his language, his quick learning and his personality. We can't wait to keep being amazed by Braden; it has only just begun.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Liam Jude: 7 months




Our little guy is 7 months old! With this milestone, he is growing by leaps and bounds. He says "ma", "ba", "da" and "ga". He rolls, is trying to crawl and absolutely loves taking steps when you hold his hands. Liam is on the go, never sitting still for a minute. We call him "Happy Feet." His feet are always kicking, making circles or moving. He wakes up in the morning wiggling his little feet in his crib and that continues all day long. In the car he often kicks off his shoes and socks, or even pulls them off. What can I say? He likes his feet free and on the move!

Liam is sleeping through the night- woo-hoo. Sometimes he wakes VERY early (like at 5:30) but typically he will sleep from 7 or 7:30 until anywhere from 6:15 to 7. Of course the 5:30 wake-up days are always when I am up late, go figure. I think the birds chirping outside his window might wake him up on these earlier days, so I turned his fan on a little louder and now he has slept a little later. We will see if that continues to work. I am not an early morning person, but I'll take it- the boy is sleeping through the night finally. I wasn't sure that would ever happen- ha!

What else is Liam up to at 7 months? He will let me know if I am late with his breakfast, lunch or dinner! He loves being outside watching the cars, people, dogs and anything else that happens to be in his sight. If I go for a jog, he will gladly sit in the stroller peacefully just taking in the surroundings. He loves eating all the new foods that we have been giving him. He loves playing trucks with Braden, he is working on his motor skills each and every day- picking up things with his pincher grasp, squeaking toys, or spinning a wheel on a car. Each day is new and exciting for Liam. He is growing before our eyes. He and Braden are still two peas in a pod, lovin' that they get to share their days together. "Happy Feet" is our smiley, active and fun 7 month old!

Monday, March 19, 2012

Irish Eyes Smiled - March 17, 2012







O'whatta fun St. Patty's Day we had! It started out with a 7K race downtown Minneapolis along the great Mississippi. Our boys stayed home dressed in green, and played with Cousin Cathi who decked them out in hats, ties and even sparkly leprechaun shoes. They even went on a hunt for gold coins. I am sure they didn't even realize we were gone they had so much fun. Meanwhile, my hubby, my sister, my sis-in-law and her boyfriend braved the running crowd downtown Minneapolis- close to 10,000 runners I think joined us?! Some of the highlights were: I ran my personal best time, although Joe still beat me. Shawn did awesome and all of her training paid off. Jess and Adam, well they are natural runners and make it look so easy. After the five us got done with the run, we headed to the Local for our first St. Patty's Day brew. So many people were decked out in costumes, and the weather was in the mid-70s so we were all in t-shirts and shorts. What a great way to start the day!

Then, that night Jess was nice to come out this way to hang out with the little lads while Joe and I joined some friends downtown St. Paul for some Irish cheer. (Two babysitters in one day, that is unheard of! Lucky us!) It was my first St. Patty's Day out in years, and what fun we had. Can't wait to do it again next year!

Friday, March 16, 2012

Mealtime Fun!

These are my two boys playing while they eat lunch together. Liam was a little distracted with me standing there holding the camera though. Typically this game involves high-pitch laughter from an infant and a loud "peek-a-boo" from a toddler. They make me laugh!

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Any-Time-of-Year Salad



I am trying to step up my fitness and eating regimine right now, experimenting with new recipes so I can get in my daily allotment of veggies, fruits and proteins. I found this recipe on Pinterest (gee, imagine that) and have had it for lunch every day this week. It is great! I often add different veggies in there- cucumbers, tomatoes, avocados. I also use turkey bacon and haven't even added chicken in yet due to lack of time. I just swapped out the romaine lettuce for dried coleslaw- to get my cabbage in and it's still just as good. It's a must try! I had to pass it along.

Ingredients
*6 to 8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
*2 medium pears, chopped
*1 cup dried cranberries
*1 cup chopped pecans
*8 slices thick-cut bacon, crisp-cooked and crumbled
*4 to 6 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
*Poppy seed Salad Dressing (I like T. Marzetti)
*Balsamic Vinaigrette (I like Newman's Own Light Balsamic Vinaigrette)

Instructions
*On a large platter, combine the lettuce, pears, cranberries, pecans, bacon and feta cheese. Drizzle generously with poppy seed dressing, followed by some of the balsamic vinaigrette. (I would estimate that I used about a cup of dressing: 70 percent poppy seed dressing and 30 percent balsamic vinaigrette) If you prefer your salad to have more dressing, feel free to experiment with the combination.

Enjoy!