So Busy!

I have forgotten what toddlers are like - or maybe Norah just wasn't as busy as Lucy, but oh my goodness! Lucy doesn't sit for long - well, except to read books. She is on the go all the time and she has no fear, which is totally different than Norah. Norah has always been reserved and hesitant. If I turn my back for 2 seconds, Lucy is climbing on the arm of the chair in position like she is about to jump off!

Right now, Norah is with my parents at my sister's so Lucy has the run of the house. She has been running circles since she woke up from her nap. She pulls all the books off the shelf, dumps out the Little People, dumps the blocks and turns the TV on and off. As soon as I get everything picked up, she does it again. She will sit for a few minutes at a time if someone is sitting with her. I can distract with a book - she has about 4 favorites - but then she wants me to read the book about 20 times in a row. Whew! She wears me out!!

Lucy is a very happy little girl and she sleeps great at night so I think I can handle the activity!

Beth Moore - Believing God

Just wanted to tell you about a Bible study that I just started. It's an online Bible study called Believing God by Beth Moore. It is great! You download and watch a video clip and then you download the weekly homework, broken into 5 days. If you have ever done a Beth Moore study you will know that she is a very dynamic speaker and really speaks to each person personally. I hope you'll check out the Believing God Web site (http://www.lifeway.com/believingGod) and see if you'd like to join us in this study. You can enroll right there online. My friend, Cherie, has set up a blog for weekly discussions. She is going to post a question or thought and is encouraging anyone doing the study to post comments. I am really excited about this study because I am not able to do the women's Bible study at church (picking Norah up from school conflicts with that study). I can do it all on my own time - but I am still in the Word.

Is it Fall or Summer - I don't know!!

Yesterday, the girls and I had to deliver Usborne books to my sister in Clayton and Kevin's brother's child care center in Richmond Heights. Since we were making the hike into "the city," we went to the zoo first. I LOVE going to the zoo during the week, during the school year because it is never busy!! It was warmer than I expected, but the girls had a blast. Lucy was totally excited about the elephants and the giraffes - I think she actually recognized them from some books. Norah's favorite thing was the primate house. There were 2 monkeys chasing each other and she thought that was hilarious. After we delivered the books, we went to lunch with my sister. After multiple diaper changes - we finally headed home about 1:30. Lucy slept on the way home for about 30 minutes and Norah did not sleep at all. I convinced Norah to nap when we got home, but Lucy was apparently done napping.

We had 2 babysitters (sisters) come over last night while Kevin and I went to the Cardinal game. Ummm . . . what's the deal with our Cardinals? The game was not very exciting - the pretzels were great, though! When we got home the babysitters said that Norah was asking to go to bed around 8 - it had been a long day!

This morning we went to Eckerts in Belleville. Again it was warmer than we expected, but we survived the heat. We went with our friends, the Harpers. Norah and Kate rode a couple of rides, fed the goats, road the ponies and ate lots of food. We never actually made it out into the orchard to pick apples because the girls were ready to crash. Both girls fell asleep today, but only for about 30 minutes so we are in for early bedtimes!


Now the girls are playing dress-up - surprise, surprise! Kevin and I are just sitting - trying to catch our breath after a couple of busy days.

A Little of This and a Little of That

Just going through our normal everyday stuff. Norah went to school this week and she is doing great! We are so proud of her! She actually said she wants to go to school all day, everyday - and on the bus, too! I don't think she really knows what she is saying! She brought home this picture today. Notice the hair on all of us - "Lucy has a ponytail in the middle," Kevin has "short, spiky hair," Norah and I have "long straight hair" - quite detailed!

Norah also has been experimenting with her markers - she has never done this before. I thought it was more of a 2 year old behavior, but whatever. We made her scrub the chair herself - sadly, she thought it was fun. I should have her scrub the bathtub, or maybe the floor!!

We babysat 2 little boys yesterday - 4 mo. and 3 1/2. Things actually went fairly smooth. At one point the baby was the only one awake. I slept better last night than I have in weeks!

One last picture - Lucy's hair! What am I going to do! This is from the humidity!

Pumpkin Festival

We spent the last several days in Morton for the annual Pumpkin Festival! It is fun every year for us to go to my parents for the parade and all the festivities. Norah and Ryan are at great ages to enjoy everything - well, most everything. Norah was not a big fan of the mini - rollercoaster. Actually, she screamed her head off. She also was not a big fan of the crowds and the noise.

Wednesday afternoon we went to Ackerman Farms to check out the pumpkins and animals. Lucy has gotten very good at barking, however, she barks at all animals - not just dogs.

Wednesday night Denise, Contessa, Norah and I went to the Pumpkin Princess Pagent. I thought Norah would love it, but she was a little overwhelmed with all the people. The little girls were very cute. We went for ice cream, then headed home. Max and Denise live just a couple of blocks from downtown - where the PF takes place - so we parked at their house whenever we went down.

Thursday morning, I had breakfast with a friend while my mom watched the girls. Later Alison and the boys came to town so the kids hung out and enjoyed being together. Kevin also came into town (on the train) on Thursday night. The girls were very glad to see him!!

Friday, Norah, Ryan, and Will went to the park with Grandma Jackie and Alison. Rick joined then later for lunch - apparently Norah talked his ear off. Kevin, Denise, Contessa, Lucy and I went to Peoria to pick up Denise's car (it died on Max earlier in the week). We grabbed lunch then headed home.

Friday evening, Kevin, Norah, Alison, Ryan, Denise, Contessa and I went to the PF. The kids rode some rides and checked out the pumpkins in the pumpkin decorating contest. We grabbed the famous pork chops from the food tent and headed home until the kids went to bed. Denise, Max, Kevin and I headed back to the PF for a little while. I am a total wimp these days when it comes to rides. We rode the Pharoah's Furry (which took 2 tickets per person so basically $18 for all 4 of us) and I thought I might puke. I didn't, but others said I was a wimp because I closed my eyes and held on as tight as I could. LOL. I enjoyed a piece of pumpkin pie before heading back. Kevin had a pumpkin cookie and Denise had pumpkin ice cream.

This morning was the 10K. My goal was 62 minutes and we ran it is 59:30! My legs are tired and sore now, but I am glad we did it. Kevin was great to stay with me - I don't know that I could have kept the same pace the whole time. We headed to my parents for pumpkin pancakes and then we were off to the parade. The kids collected way to much candy. Ryan was much more aggressive at catching candy, but he was very kind to share with Norah.

We had lunch at my grandma's and then headed home. The girls traveled very well today. Kevin went to the Cardinal game tonight. Tomorrow, after church, we are going to have a very lazy day!!

Out of Touch

We have had a crazy week! I will post details probably tomorrow, but for now, just touching base. My 10K is tomorrow!! I think I am ready for it. My goal is to run it in under an hour. I'm sure that seems slow to some, but good enough for me!!

Until tomorrow. . .

Check This Out - So Funny

If you haven't seen this - A Native's Guide to St. Louis - check it out on my sister, Alison's blog.

If you live or have lived in St. Louis - you will find this very amusing!!

God Promised the Rainbow

After several days of rain, we saw a rainbow tonight! Norah was very excited about it!

We have finally had a couple of days at home - with nothing to do except play (well, I had cleaning and laundry to do).

The girls were playing dress-up! Dress-up is Norah's favorite thing to do,

I'm not sure what Lucy thinks, but she usually goes with the flow.

Lucy's new favorite thing to do is turn the TV off and on. I think she did it like 100

times today. Norah watches TV when she does her breathing treatments and Lucy won't leave the TV alone. I don't think there is any way to block the power button. The funny thing is, she turns it off and then runs away and laughs! She is a feisty one!

Healthy Eating

Since I rarely get involved in the Thoughts for Thursday, I thought I would attempt tonight. If you have been reading my blogs, you will have noticed that I have been running. I don't always enjoy it, but I do it. I almost always feel great after a run, getting started can sometimes be challenging. Now that the running is becoming a habit (and has been a habit for Kevin for over a year) we decided it was time to start eating a little better. We decided the Tuesday after Labor day was a great day to start. Today is only Thursday and we both had ice cream tonight. Not a small bowl, but a large bowl with magic shell on top. I love sweets!! LOVE them! I can hardly go a day without eating something sweet. I am not a fan of depriving myself completely because then I crave sweets even more. On the other hand, if we have sweets in the house, I usually overindulge. I also like to snack. If the girls are having Teddy Grahams, I will have some, too. Well, not just some, but half a box. The running is seriously the only thing that has saved me from putting on like 25+ pounds:)
Cooking healthy meals is not difficult for me. I love to find new recipes or find new ways to make something a little healthier.
So if anyone has any suggestions for me to help me curve my sweet tooth, I would welcome them. Is this normal to want something sweet everyday? The only time that I didn't want something sweet was when I was pregnant with Norah - and that's only because I was sick so much.
Anyway, I guess I will try to do better tomorrow!

Our Baby is Growing Up!!

Norah started preschool at Sunrise Preschool. She was totally different than the shy child with major separation anxiety that she used to be! Last year - at her mother's day out class - she cried almost every week when we dropped her off. She did great today! At her school, we just drive up to the door and one of the teachers comes and gets her out of the car. There were no tears and she has talked about school all day! You would think that I would be totally comfortable sending her, since I taught preschool for several years. However, it is a strange feeling to send her off and have no idea what she is doing for the 2 1/2 hours that she is gone! I know it is only 2 mornings a week - but it is strange.

Norah also started dance classes yesterday at My Kings Studio of Dance. Half of the class is tumbling and half is like an introduction to ballet, tap, and jazz. She hasn't said much about it, but she came out smiling. She sure looked cute in her little leotard! Lucy and I waited in the lobby with the other moms and siblings. Interestingly enough, the other siblings were all babies who weren't moving yet. I wonder, when other moms say to me, "Boy, she is sure busy." Are they just making an observation or are they saying, "Why can't that mom keep control of her child?" I would just begin a conversation with another mom and Lucy would be off and running. She was in and out of the dressing room, climbing on chairs, trying to lick the doors, eating crayons, chewing teddy grahams - then spitting them out, and screeching when she didn't get what she wanted. I did take a bag full of toys and books, but that only kept her busy for a little while.

Check out Lucy's hair. This is what it looked like when she woke up this morning. She must have had a rough night.

Playing Catch-up!

Well, after a week without blogging - I have a lot of catch-up to do! The girls are still sleeping (and will be for awhile, hopefully). Kevin is out running and I plan to run after him. I'm going to attempt 6 miles today! Thank the Lord that it is cooler out today. I am running in a 10K two weeks from today. It has been a long time since I ran this distance, so we'll see!


Anyway, Monday, our friends, the Diehl's came over to play. Luke is 4 and Ben is 2. The kids had fun playing and got along great! Our only downfall is that Lucy fell down the stairs to the basement. I'm not exactly sure what happened. She was hungry so she went upstairs and ran over to the pantry. I was my way up to follow her, but turned to tell Norah something, and as I was turning around, Lucy was rolling down the stairs. I was able to catch her about half way. She hardly cried! I don't think she hit her head or anything - but it was scary!

Tuesday, the girls and I went to the mall. We were on the hunt for a bag that has pockets on the front for pictures. Do you know what I mean? I've seen clear bags and black bags. I never did find one, so if anyone has any suggestions, let me know. I also needed to return a few things. We had an interesting trip. We have the stand 'n sit stroller. Typically, I don't buckle Norah in as long as she stays on the stroller. She apparently had no desire to stay on the stroller. Multiple times she would jump off while I was walking or she would step off while I was looking at something. I threatened to buckle her and finally had to follow through, only to have Norah scream, "I don't want to be buckled!" at the top of her lungs all throughout the mall.

Wednesday morning we spent the morning at home. My friend, Cherie, came over to hang out with us for a little while. Cherie has 4 kids - all in school at this point. She is a great encouragement to me as a mom!! Then after naps, the girls and I headed to the Harper's to play and have dinner while Kevin and Jeff both had to work late.

Thursday morning, we went to the park with the Brenda, Alex, and Sam Boydston. The weather here was absolutely beautiful! The girls seemed thrilled to be outside for a good chunk of time without getting too hot! Friday was a lazy day at home and then I had my book party in the evening. Usborne has some very cool books for kids of all ages! My favorite is the Tie a Bow book! Every page has ribbons to practice tying a bow! Very cute!

Also - Kevin had car problems this week and after putting $850 into it about 2 weeks ago, we were quite frustrated. The problem ended up being a part that was put in last time - so we don't have to pay for it.

We are glad to have a three day weekend to relax and have fun!