First Brewers Game - And 4 Months Old

Adam passed the 4 month mark on April 11. To celebrate, we went to our first Brewers game. It was Brewers vs. Cardinals, so really, Alex and Adam couldn't lose. (For the record, I'm a Brewers Fan. Craig and I agree on the Bears and Bulls. Craig likes the Cardinals, so the boys cheer for both Brewers and Cardinals. And I get to have the college team influence... with the Hawkeyes.) So we got Adam suited up in his itty bitty Brewers gear.A kind Brewers fan offered to take a family picture for us outside of Miller Park. If you haven't been to a game here, I highly recommend it. It's a beautiful stadium-- really a great stadium to take kids to.
Adam was cheering on the Brewers! He was very comfy in the Baby Bjorn... but was holding on for dear life to my fingers. He fell asleep in the second inning. One of the bonuses of working for a company that sponsors the Brewers is discounted tickets. We're hoping to take more advantage of that this season. We only went to two games last year... well, I went to two. I think Alex and Craig hit a few more than I did.
Another family picture. I've found these are few and far-between lately. I'm trying harder to get pictures of all of us. Also wanting more pictures with one of us and the boys... not just the boys. We made it through the 8th inning, then had to leave. The Brewers almost blew it, but they managed to hang on and win 8-7. It was a very exciting game. Best of all, the boys had a great time!

Catching Up With... Easter

We had a great Easter weekend. My parents came up for the weekend. I got out of work early and we had some fantastic early spring weather. Alex and Adam posed for a great picture.
We even managed to get a family shot. I hope eventually we'll get a picture of the four of us where I don't look like I'm going to crack from stress!
The weather was even nice enough for us to have our Easter egg hunt outside. Rather nice considering the last two Easter's here in Wisconsin have included snow on the ground. (Note Alex's new shoes. He says they make him run super fast. I may have to look into a pair for myself. Maybe that will help me bump up my running speed.)
He had a blast looking for the eggs. I had a blast deviling the eggs and eating them up. The remnants of Easter are in a giant bowl on top of the fridge. We ended up with WAY too much Easter candy. Darn you, Reese's and your pastel wrapped peanut butter cups, eggs, and pieces. The jelly beans and peeps didn't help much either. It's almost gone now, thank goodness.

Long Time No Post!

It has been forever since I've posted, but I've been a little bit busy with the new baby, the holidays etc.

To catch you up, Adam is one month old today! I can't believe how fast time is going. We're all doing great so far. I'm very thankful to have so much time for maternity leave (I'm taking nine weeks) but also a little sad because my leave is nearly half over. Also sad that we don't get adequate maternity leave in this country. Other countries allow up to a year off... some with partial pay, some with full pay! But I can't complain too much. My employer has been great so far.

We survived the holidays. We had a week of non-stop visitors. It was fun, yet exhausting all at the same time. It was great to see everyone though. We were glad people were able to drive up to visit us and that the weather wasn't too awful. Craig went back to week the week after Christmas, so I had one week with both boys home. Then Alex went back to school the first week of January.

Alex is adjusting very well. He's having the usual challenges of a 4 year old: not listening, needing multiple reminders to do a task, sassing, etc. But he is great with Adam. There really hasn't been any jealousy to speak of. Alex adores his little brother and we are glad for that! Alex is also doing really well in school. His teacher has commented to us that he's doing much better with listening and focusing on his work. So again, hooray for that!

I haven't read many blogs, and don't know when I'll have time to catch up. So I'll comment when I can and I hope you'll tune back in to mine. I hope this is the beginning of my getting back in the swing of things.

Where did the last week go???

Good grief... the last week just flew by in a blur! Work has been insanely busy. Working in Public Relations for a retailer the week before Black Friday was quite the experience. I felt like a cross between a news producer and a telephone operator. I spent most of the last week doing what I love to do work-wise... working with the media. But the days were long.

Pregnancy-wise, still doing very well. I've been telling myself all along I just need to make it through Black Friday for work, and to December 1 so I can get my Christmas shopping done. So far so good. I've got a few more things to pick up this weekend, the rest I think I can do online, then whatever's left I'm leaving Craig in charge of. Ooh... that reminds me... need to get stocking stuffers! Anyway...

Had a fantastic Thanksgiving with our friends Hank and Sara and their kids. Since we can't travel too far from home with my due date so close (just over 2 weeks away) they graciously invited us over. We had turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn casserole, sweet potatoes, rolls, fresh cranberry-orange relish. MMMMM! Plus there was a ton of appetizers too... barbeque meatballs, meatballs baked in biscuits, and bacon wrapped waterchestnuts. I'm getting hungry again just typing this! Plus pumpkin pie and chocolate cake (shaped like a turkey) for dessert! It was great spending time with them. We've known them as long as we've been together... going on 12 years now, and they truly have become like family to us.

I've been working fast and furious trying to get two more baby gifts crocheted and some more Christmas things crocheted. I've accepted the fact I'm not going to get all the Christmas things crocheted, but I can keep trying!

I'm trying to think about what else is new? I think that's it for now! Hope you had a great holiday week!

Feeling the Need to Play Catch Up

I just clicked on my Google Reader (where I can read/track other blogs) and it said I have 313 unread posts. YIKES!


I looked at the DVR last night, and have about 5 hours worth of shows I need to catch up on... and that's only going to get longer after tonight/tomorrow. (Grey's, Project Runway, the Office, and Community - Thursdays are a blessing and a curse for great TV!)

I have at least 5 friends in real life and in the blogosphere having babies and I need to get crackin on gifts for them.

Christmas is coming... I have some gifts I want to crochet and I need to get crackin on those.

Oh... and I have several friends I haven't talked to on the phone in MONTHS who I need to call.

We've had a week of near-freezing temperatures, so most of my outdoor plants have bit it. Need to clean out my flower pots and put them away for the winter. Sounds like a good weekend project.

I'm not feeling overwhelmed... but it looks like I just made myself a to-do list!

Busy Busy Busy

I have been swamped at work... I'm in the middle of pitching about 6 different stories and dealing with other little issues that always seem to bubble up when we are busy.
By the time I get home, I'm exhausted! I haven't been online much outside of work the last week or so. I've been reading when I can find a few spare moments. But that's about all that's up with me.

Pregnancy-wise, the swelling of the feet and ankles has begun. I've been told by my doctor that I need to drink more water, so I've been working on that. I'm starting to feel something a little stronger than flutters from baby. I'm kind of nesting... this past weekend I finally took the down comforter off the bed, washed all of our bedding, did a boatload of laundry, and cleaned the bathroom... all in one day. In my defense for the comforter, it's been an abnormally cool summer. We haven't used the down comforter, but it's been folded at the foot of our bed all summer. So I swapped it out for the regular comforter... which we've decided to replace for our 9th anniversary.

(Which was July 29th. I forgot to post about it. We didn't do anything huge. It was the middle of the week... Alex had swimming lessons, so we ordered dinner from Noodles & Co. YUM! It was fun, really!)

I need to get back to crocheting. I've got friends who are having babies who I want to create things for. I've got projects half-finished that need to be finished. I have family members who I have yet to crochet things for... hopefully I can make them something neat... or at the very least a set of potholders. :-)

So that's about it for now. Hoping to get back to posting more than once a week soon!

Catch up post #3 - Alex's birthday

Alex is 4 years old now! He is such a big boy now. He has now moved to a big boy bedroom. (He'd been in a toddler bed in his old room.) He talks like such a little man... constantly narrating our lives in the most hilarious ways. He's still a total lover and snuggler. Up until last week, he still let me rock him for a few minutes before bed. It was our quiet time while we said bedtime prayers. Now my little boy loves Star Wars and pirates and everything boy-ish you can imagine! -sigh- The time just goes too fast sometimes! Above, you can see his big present, a big boy bike w/helmet.

He had a wonderful birthday with everyone from Craig's side of the family here. He has his friend party today. (Pictures to come. It's a "Star Wars" themed party. In my head it's pretty cool, so I can't wait to see it all come together!) So here are some pictures from July 5th. His actual birthday.

Alex with his cake
(frosted at roughly 11:30 p.m. July 4th, post-fireworks)

A sandbox from Grandma and Grandpa H.
The smile says it all.

First Star Wars toy, a Clone trooper.
They are way cooler now than my old Star Wars guys were!

The master present un-wrapper

You're how old today?

4!

Catch up post #2 - The Gang's All Here!

This past weekend, Craig's family came to visit. His brother Brian, Brian's lovely wife Sarah, and our adorable nephew Payton (Age 1) came Thursday night. Then Friday we were able to take the boys to the zoo for a bit. The Craig's mom and dad came Friday afternoon. There was lots of talking, hanging out, family bonding, story telling, and of course, eating. Saturday we went to the Wauwatosa 4th of July parade, had a great cookout in our backyard, then headed to the Wauwatosa fireworks at Hart Park. It was so much fun! I think we wore the boys out (and grandma and grandpa too)!

Love those flamingos!

Alex, Payton, and Uncle Brian

Story Time

Alex doing a fan dance for Uncle Brian, Grandma, and Grandpa

Payton happy to be at the parade

Cousins playing pat-a-cake

Blowing bubbles

Finally a picture of Sarah and I! I think the last one is from her wedding!

Up next... Alex's birthday!

Catch up post #1 - Little Brother Visit

Okay, so he's taller than me, so I guess I really shouldn't call him my little brother, but my little brother Mike and his lovely wife Jen came to visit a few weekends back. We had a great visit... went to a little water park, hung out, did a little tailgating before catching a Brewers game (which the Brewers won 5-1!!), ate at Alex's favorite restaurant (Guadalupe) and stayed up talking their last night here till almost 2 a.m.! It might have been later, I was so tired I don't even remember. We always have such a great time when they come to visit. Here are some pictures from the Brewers game!

Alex didn't want to be in this picture. You can see his legs in between Jen and me if you look really closely.

I love this picture! Heading to the ballpark!

Mike and Jen... so cute!

Alex and Uncle Mike each enjoying a cool beverage in the shadows of Miller Park.

Up next... the visit from Craig's side of the family!

Old Friends Are The Best!

As a bonus to our weekend trip home, I got to see one of my best friends and her kids! Amy and I have known each other since grade-school basketball camp and College -for- Kids at Knox College. We were practically inseparable through high school, were bridesmaids in each others weddings. She the kind of friend who could write a book about you, but won't because she knows to much. We can go months without talking on the phone, pick right back up where we left off, and chat for hours! Thank goodness for email, so those marathon conversations only happen occassionally. (Funny that in high school we tried to dress alike, and now that we're grown up we still dress alike. Notice we both decided to wear grey sweaters.)

In a strange twist of fate, Amy lives about 4 blocks from Craig's brother and sister-in-law! So before we went to Payton's birthday party, Alex and I paid a visit to Amy, Brandon, Camille and Layton. It was great having this kids play and I hope they make good on their plan to come up here for a game at Miller Park this summer!

Don't the kids look just a little too comfortable bellied up to the bar? My excuse is every house in Milwaukee has a bar in the basement!

Wow... I took a week off from blogging!

I didn't blog for nearly a week and now I feel totally behind! We went to visit Craig's parents a couple of weekends ago. Our nephew Payton turned one, so there was a big birthday party for him. It was so great to see him, as well as proud parents Brian and Sarah, and the grandparents. We also saw Craig's grandpa, which was nice. He turned 86 last week and is still going strong!
I'm still working on upload pictures (I promise to send them!) but here are a couple from the weekend.

Grandma and Grandpa with their boys... Patyon and Alex. (Plus Maggie the dog.)

All of us post-party. It's hard taking a picture with wiggly kids!

Where did she go?

I just realized it's been over a week since I've posted anything. And I have a ton to catch up on!

We managed to test drive three types of cars, the RAV-4, the CRV, and the VUE. I think we're leaning strongly toward the RAV-4. We really like the hidden storage, the back gate opens to the side, and I think we'll be able to get the 4x4 version. (important, given last winter's 100+ inches of snow!)

I've had to reschedule getting my haircut 3 times, which puts me almost a month overdue. I'm going to attempt to get it cut tomorrow night, but may have to take Alex with me so Craig can go visit the car dealership without a 3 year old climbing all over him. JOY! I'll pack lots of snacks, books and toys.

My book club finally met last week, too. We hung out by the fire pit, sipping wine, snacking on smores, talking too loud (me) and discussing a pretty great book, "Belong to Me" by Marisa de los Santos. It's the continuation of her first novel, "Love Walked In." "Belong to Me" was good, but the author's style changed a bit. This one wasn't as lyrical as the first one. Still, it was a great story with characters we already knew and loved. It was my turn to pick, so I selected, "The Girls" by Lori Lansens. Looks like a good one!

So in case you've wondered what's been happening with me, I've just been busier than usual. Not a bad thing, but I've just been so busy I haven't had much time to read or write much of anything lately. My event a week ago went very well. I need to dig through and see if any of my pictures turned out. Race for the Cure is next weekend. I'm hoping to get in two or three more traning runs this weekend. Thanks to all of you near and far who donated! If you still would like to donate, check out my giving site by clicking here. I'm hoping I'll be able to run the whole 5K! I know I can do it! So that's it. Life is just super busy right now. I've got another post I'm going to schedule for this week. Hopefully October will be a little more calm!