Too Cute Not To Share!

Caroline has really started to pick up on lots of words. I had to get a video of her showing off a few!



And Soren is loving track! His favorite event, I think, is Discus.



However, he also enjoys Shotput!



At the end of the day, my kiddos are two of the cutest people on the entire planet!



Being a mommy rocks!

Response to the Complaints

I've recently had quite a few people tell me to update my blog. To you I say - please, get on Facebook, add me, and check Facebook. Hahaha!

But seriously. I need to be better about blogging. And I know I've been saying that for nearly 18 months, but it still remains true and it is also something that continues to be added to my to-do list. Man that list is long!

Life is pretty much the same, which is probably why I don't think to update my blog much.

Alan is still working hard, commuting a ridiculous distance, and racing to get home to his family each night. We cherish the time we have with him and love the wonderful things he does for our family. Like this weekend when he made Gyros on Saturday and Clam Chowder on Sunday. He won lots of points because that had to have been one of the best food weekends we've had in ages around here. That not to say he doesn't make delicious food every weekend, but he just out did himself! Love that guy!

Soren is keeping up with school and doing quite well. His grades are better than they've been all year and he was just recently accepted into the National Junior Honor Society. He started participating in Track for the first time and is loving it! His events are shot put and discus, but he's also going to be attempting high jump and 100m. Track has him very busy, but he's also been continuing with his piano lessons (he's becoming an amazing musician!), is a Boy Scout, and is playing the trumpet in band. He continues to be an awesome big brother and tries to squeeze in lots of time for his sister.

Caroline remains our pretty little pixie. She's taller, but she's still just as petite as ever. I'm so grateful they invented those pants that you can make smaller and larger as needed. They've been a lifesaver! Not surprisingly, we can't seem to keep that girl quiet. She loves to talk and while most of it is still gibberish, she's mastered a few words including: cow, kitty, mama, daddy, please, thank you, ball, no, and yum. Her smile still melts our hearts and her laugh is contagious. I can't believe how much sign language she knows and how it still does not curtail the screaming. Haha! Nothing beats the way she looks at her brother. So much love between those two!

As for me, I officially completed the Couch to 5k program this past Friday. It's unfortunate that I was not feeling well this morning because I missed a morning run for the first time in 10 weeks. I am hoping to make that up tomorrow, but we'll just have to see how I'm feeling. I am grateful that I can be an "At-Home" mom (not a stay at home mom, because - let's face it - that's rarely where we are!) and be here with my babies. I sure love them! I am very blessed.

I suppose our biggest news is this: My parents received their mission call and will be heading into the Missionary Training Center on June 28th! We are so happy for them and look forward to hearing the stories they will have to tell once they reach the Philippines. We are also glad that we can be of service to them while they are gone and take care of things on the home front for them.

I think that sums up the big stuff. I'll do my best to try updating with the little stuff soon. Like how when I was downtown today I saw a very large robot walking around Pioneer Courthouse Square. Yeah, that was random! Keep Portland weird, indeed!

It's Me Again

I know, I know. I never update. Well, hey, deal, kae? I have a lot going on in my life! Well, that's not entirely true. I have kids. Is that a good excuse?

Anyway.

I had to post today because I'm so proud of myself. And, I know, pride cometh before the fall. But fall is like, 5-6 months away, right? I'll be over it by then, I promise.

So I've been doing this whole Couch to 5k thing, right? If you haven't heard, then obviously you don't follow me on Facebook or read my sporadic updates closely enough. Get with the times! Haha! Anyway, today I accomplished what just 5 short weeks ago seemed impossible. I did the following:

-Ran in the pouring rain
-Ran to the top of the 1/2 miles hill I live at the bottom of
-Ran 2 miles
-Ran for 20 minutes straight

For me - this is a huge accomplishment. Huge. I've never been a runner. I've never enjoyed running. I've never really eve run to the bathroom (thanks for the joke, Marie!). My exercise of choice has always involved a pool. But all of that is starting to change. Man, you should have seen the crazy grin on my face as I came to the end of my 20 minutes. It's pouring down rain, I'm dripping wet everywhere, and I had the cheesiest look on my face and was so proud. I did it. And I'm going to keep doing it. Because wow did that feel awesome.

The Couch to 5k program is 9 weeks long. I've just finished Week 5 and have 4 weeks to go. I'm excited to finish and start training for my first 5k race, which I hope will be the first week of June. I don't expect to finish first. Heck, I don't even expect anything but last. But I will finish. And 5 weeks ago I would never have said that - never even THOUGHT it!

Also, I'm going to be attempting to drink a green smoothie this morning. Nervous about that one. Really nervous. Hope it tastes good. I need a quick, easy, and nutritious breakfast option. I hope this is it, but if not - I shall keep trying!

In non-"me" news:

- Caroline has entered the clingy stage of life. Separation anxiety is huge for her right now. So that's fun. However, she has been known to fall asleep on people recently, which is strange.
- Soren was invited to join the National Junior Honor Society. Yep, he's brilliant. I think he's finally getting the hang of this middle school thing. His grades this term are better than they've been all year!
- Speaking of Soren, basketball ended about 2 weeks ago and track starts in a week. He's decided to give track a try and actually wants to start running with me. Awesome!
- Alan is my hard working man and I love him. Between work and the commute, he doesn't have much time, energy, or brain power for anything else. We're grateful for the sacrifices he is making for our family and love him like WOAH.

It's hard to believe March is over. I WILL MISS YOU, MARCH!!!! Now, on to April.

HAPPY EASTER! :)

Such An Irish Lover!

HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY!!!

Ahhhh, one of my favorite days of the year! Unfortunately, today was a little different than usual. The past 3-5 days have been a little busier than I expected, so I didn't get to do any grocery shopping until today. Result? A fairly simplistic St. Patty's Day feast. It was still NOM, though! Just not traditional. That's ok, though!

Here's the menu:

Reuben Sandwiches
Tater Tots (Hey, at least it was potatoes! haha!)
Juice (with special "sprite cubes" that didn't quite work out)
Coleslaw
Lime Cheesecake

And here's the pics:



Here's the table partially ready to go. It wasn't quite ready when I was taking pics, but I knew I had to do it so I didn't forget!



Corned Beef and Swiss Cheese. I took a shortcut today and just went to the deli at QFC. Of course that was after I tried the deli at WinCo and Safeway. I missed Wegman's today like crazy. Mainly because I went to FIVE different grocery stores looking for everything on my list.



Here's the (homemade) Coleslaw and Rye Bread, along with sandwich toppings.



Here's our special juice. Pineapple Starfruit Limeade with fizzy soda and Lime Sherbet. OH what I went through for that sherbet!

And here's our little Irish Pixie all dolled up and celebrating!



She fell in love with my Irish Bears, both gifts from awesome friends who know of my deep love for St. Patty's day. :D

My lime cheesecake (another experiment) is still in the fridge. I'm nervous about it. I really don't experiment that often in the kitchen, but the past month or so I've been going a little crazy. Overall, dinner turned out nicely. It was definitely "St. Patrick's Day Lite" at our house, but that's ok! Next year I think we'll host a huge party and invite lots of friends. Mark your calendars!

A Few Things

I have some things to throw out there and there is no good way to segue between it all, so bullet points it is!

• Caroline had her arm tugged by mommy yesterday for trying to hoard all the snacks instead of sharing with our friend. As a result, she suffered something called Nursemaid's Elbow. Basically I yoinked her elbow out of socket. We went to the doctor (luckily they were able to get us in 15 minutes after I called) and it was popped back in. She's fine now and I think I'm over the "you're a horrible mother" feeling. It helped that the 3 medical people I saw all informed that it was normal and happened all the time. No one tried to cart me off to prison, so hooray for that!
• Caroline has learned to unzip her pajamas. Safety pin time is here! I'm having flashbacks to Soren stripping himself and pulling his diaper off. This would be why Caroline still wears a onesie underneath everything. So far so good there.
• I just finished my second week of the Couch to 5K program I'm doing. I know I went further today, too, so that was an awesome feeling. I'm almost to 2 miles now and over halfway to a 5k. I start week 3 on Monday!
• Jogging in the rain isn't so bad. Really. I've done it twice this week. Today I had a shower before I took my shower because I got that wet! Haha!
• I'm so grateful that Soren cuts through the church parking lot on his way to school. Three kids were hit (in a crosswalk!) yesterday at the intersection that short cut allows him to avoid. Ugh, I hate that intersection.
• I have an amazing husband who loves me, supports me, and is just generally awesome. My prayers are always with him, but especially today. I will share more if/when I can on this.

I think that covers all of my bullets for today. :)

Don't forget - Wednesday is St. Patty's day! Dust off your green and celebrate!!!! I've got to figure out what the feast will be this year. Woot!

Baby

I want another baby.

Isn't it kind of sad that after so many years of waiting and longing, I can't just appreciate my handsome, amazing, wonderful little (big, really) boy and my sweet and spicy little princess and not long for more?

I suppose it's because they are both so awesome. I want to add to the awesomeness.

Quite a few of the people around me are (apprehensively and most of the time saying DO NOT TELL ANYONE) announcing the impending births of additional children. I want so much to be in that crowd, to know that I'd have a baby for their babies to have play dates with and all of that fun stuff.

But here's the thing.

I know that my body doesn't do that whole "baby" thing without plenty of drugs and doctor intervention. And I know that at this point it would not be a good time (for various reasons) to go through all the treatments that would enable another kiddo to join our family.

So that's annoying.

Oh well. At least I have other projects to keep me busy. Like my running thing (week 1 went very well, by the way). And I'm knitting. Have I mentioned that? Well, yeah, I'm knitting. Once I finish my second project, I am planning on taking pics and posting all about my new found hobby.

I also have my kids. And just the two of them keep me plenty busy. Especially since Soren now wants to start wrestling AND rugby. He's already quite busy with his other activities, but that's ok, right? Oh, and Caroline is getting older and more opinionated, so that's fun.

But they are both so cute and fun!

Anyway, just needed to dump. :) Can't be too sad, though.

It's March, after all!

March

I love March. It brings with it a few things that I adore, including Spring and St. Patrick's Day. March is also when we went in for treatments 2 years ago so we could have our beautiful Caroline join our family. March is all about new beginnings and hope for me. And green. Lots and lots of green.

Man, I sure love St. Patrick's Day. Did you know? Well, if not, now you do.

So it's fitting that in March - actually on March 1st - I started something called Couch to 5k. Now, goodness knows I don't spend all day on the couch, but the concept is that you go from a sedentary lifestyle (which, unfortunately, is more true than I'd like it to be!), to being able to run a 5k. In 9 weeks.

Yeah, I said run.

I hate running. I don't want to hate it, but I hate it. Maybe because I've never done it correctly or because it's too much work or . . . who knows. But seriously? Running is so easy compared to some of the other options I have chosen in the past to be active. For example, I love swimming, but I don't have a pool. I've never had a pool! I've had access to pools, but that doesn't mean it's as easy as walking about my front door. My point is - running really isn't as horrible as I like to tell myself it is.

So I loaded up the IPod and off I went. And I actually liked it. I liked being out in the crisp, Spring morning air. I liked listening to music that made me want to dance. I liked the silence of the world at 5am. I liked being able to think and have some time to myself. So far, this program is pretty awesome. And I know, it's only March 3rd. But remember what I said about March?

New beginnings.
Hope.

I don't need January for that. I just need March.