{halloween buildup}

Randall was traveling for work this week and then in Denver for a guys weekend so the girls and I had some quality girl time.  We kept ourselves busy with lots of fun halloween activities.  The weather was gorgeous during the week so our evenings included walks with friends to get ice cream, pumpkin decorating at preschool, cleaning up leaves and even dinner outside.  We don't get 80 degree days often in October so took full advantage of them.

With the weekend came rain and an end to warmer temperatures, but we didn't let that dampen the fun.  It was pouring on Friday evening when I got home from work so we decided to make it a girls night in.  My little princesses were playing dressup when I got home.  We all changed into our pj's and then cooked spaghetti and meatballs together, because the girls had been asking for meatballs all week (for some reason this word has taken on a hilarious meaning for them.  They will say it randomly and break out into a fit of giggles).  After dinner we prepared "Boo" packages for a couple of neighbors.  The girls are very excited to "surprise" a couple of their friends on the street.  Because it was still raining at bedtime (& Kenzie is scared of the sound the rain makes on her window) we ended up having a sleepover in my bed... a girls weekend tradition :)

Thankfully it had stopped raining by Saturday mid-morning, so my little butterflies & BIG caterpillar could go to Hyde Park Square for the costume parade & trick or treating in the square.  They were very excited to finally get to wear their costumes!

We ran into Hayden from their preschool class right away and between her "screery" dragon costume and full face paint the girls didn't even recognize her.  But when they realized who it was they were so excited and had fun chasing each other around the fountain. 



We also met up with George & Skylar and the girls had a blast walking around collecting treats.

Not sure what Kenzie & George are doing here, but I love how they are both eating a lollipop while balancing on one leg :)

We went straight from Hyde Park Square to the fall festival on Mt. Lookout Square.  The girls were very excited that there was a bouncy house and had fun doing the cake walk.

After naps we went on a mission to "Boo" our neighbors.  It was a good thing that neither of them were home, because Kenzie did not really get the concept of being sneaky.  If they had been home, her giggle would certainly have given us away :)  After 2 successful BOO's we continued our walk to the park.  The girls are really into pretend play right now.  They played store/restaurant for over 30 minutes.  They were cooking things out of wood chips and then selling them to me.  At one point Kenzie said, "Mommy, you want a Diet Coke?"  To which Lexi said, "that will be five dollars."  They crack me up.  We then walked down to Zip's for dinner before heading home for story time in mommy's bed.

The fun continued on Sunday with pumpkin muffins & pumpkin carving for breakfast.  Since I knew it was just going to be me doing this solo with the girls I prepped the pumpkins the night before, cutting the hole in the top, removing some of the guts and pre-cutting the face.  That way the girls were able to participate more on Sunday morning and managed to stay interested the entire time.  They removed the remaining guts ... although Lexi was not a fan of this "mess."  Then they were able to use they little toddler knives to remove the precut shapes.  They LOVED this and felt like they were really "carving their pumpkin" themselves, so it worked out fabuously!

After carving pumpkins we headed out to meet friends for HallZOOween at the zoo.  The girls were beyond excited to see George (&Skylar) again!  The 3 musketeers (or should I say 3 stooges) had a blast being silly together.  They were all hyped up and were running around like mad men/women.  At one point they were all bear walking through the zoo.  It is so cute to watch them together and I can't wait until Skylar is big enough to keep up with them. 

We pretty much covered it all in the 2 hours that we were there.  Saw all of their favorite animals, including Lulu the baby giraffe, the bears eating pumpkins, and Whodey the tiger, and rode the train & the carousel.

After naps we had some quiet time at home reading books about New York in acticipation of our big trip next weekend.  Let's hope that Hurricane Sandy doesn't do too much damage and that things can go on as planned as the girls are VERY excited to go an an airplane with their princess suitcases to the big city!  We are praying that everyone stays safe. 

We then went to Dewey's for dinner ... the girls request cause they wanted to watch the pizza man, made a stop at Target (cause what girls weekend is complete without a Target run), and came home to light our jackolanterns so that the girls could really see the result of their hard work that morning. 

They were impressed :)  It was a perfect fun-filled weekend.  I think it is fair to say that we were all exhausted.  I felt like I had run a marathon ... and then had to remind myself that no, that is next weekend :) I am looking forward to Randall returning tomorrow because as much fun as we had this weekend, things are always more fun when we are all together.... plus I need to try to rest up before the big run next Sunday :)



{first field trip}

I accompanied the girls on their first field trip on Tuesday.  It was a beautiful day out at Parky's Farm and the girls had a great time with their friends and teachers - and I loved being a part of it.  I had been looking forward to this day for some time as I have been so curious to watch the girls in their preschool environment (or at least with their "preschool people").  They have been telling us about their friends and teachers for over a month now and it was so fun to finally get to see them interact.  I was especially anxious to see how Kenzie handled herself since she is the one who stuggled a bit with preschool at first and still gets a little anxious at drop-off in the mornings. 

When we pulled into the parking lot at the Farm, the girls immediately spotted Mrs. Berry and got very excited.  We then went over to the gathering spot and the girls were happy to see Hayden and Isabelle.  They started playing a little (self invented) game of picking up leaves and placing them into the hole on the top of a traffic cone.  Lexi, being the rule follower that she is, would get very concerned when anyone tried to go out of turn or move the traffic cone.  She definitely likes to make sure that others are following the rules - especially her sister.  As they were playing this little game Graham arrived and the girls were very excited!  He joined in the game and fell and bumped his cheek on the cone, which caused all of the girls - but especially Lexi to be very concerned.  Lucky little boy :)

Suddenly Kenzie started giggling out loud.  "Mrs. Putman is here!" she yelled.  She ran around with excitement and her infectious giggle.  Soon many of the other kids had joined in.  I wish I could bottle her giggle - it is the best sound in the world and a sure cure for anyone having a bad day.  Mrs. Putman came over to me and told me how she loves that Kenzie giggles everytime she sees her.  "It makes me feel so good.  She is such a happy girl," she said.  Mrs. Berry also told me how proud she is about how far Kenzie has come over the course of the past month.  She said that she can totally relate to being the shy one.  The funny thing is, that now that Kenzie knows her classmates and teachers I wouldn't really describe her as shy anymore.  She was outgoing and bubbly the entire field trip.  She just needs to feel comfortable before she lets her silly little self shine :)

The girls had a great time brushing the sheep and goats, playing in the indoor play barn, and going on a hayride to the pumpkin patch.  We probably could have done without the puppet show (which was about 25 minutes too long)... although it did keep Lexi's interest the entire time (Kenzie, not so much).  Whatever they were doing they were always seeking the approval of their teachers.  It is so cute how much they adore them.  They also definitely have their little group of core friends - Hayden, Kylie and Graham - and I loved watching them play together.

It was a fun morning out on the farm with my girls!  I love them so much and will never tire of watching them learn and grow. 

{fall funday}

Sunday was a gorgeous day so we decided to pack in as much fall fun as possible.  We drove up to Lebanon first thing in the morning to catch the Pumpkin Express train.  The girls were so excited to ride of a "real, big choo choo train."  And when the conductor actually said "All aboard!" when it was time to board the train they could hardly contain themselves. 

The girls had a blast riding on the train.  They loved when the train blew its whistle, saying "that's my choo choo train making that noise!"  They enjoyed getting popcorn from the snack car.  Kenzie like the open air car, but Lexi was not a fan.

The train took us to Shappacher Farm and we had a great time there.  The girls loved the cows, donkeys, horses and goats.  They had fun picking out pumpkins and running through the corn maze.  They enjoyed some yummy pumpkin cookies and apple juice.  And when the train blew its whistle, letting us know that it would be departing in 15 minutes their faces lit up with excitement and we hustled back to the train.

When we got back to Lebanon we decided to take a walk through the historic town.  We ended up having lunch, followed by ice cream, at the Village Ice Cream Parlor.  It was such a fun outing that the girls were asleep in a matter of seconds once we were in the car on our way back home.

After the girls woke up from their nap we decided to continue the fun by going on a family bike ride.  We went out on the Loveland trail and enjoyed the beautiful warm fall evening.  Doesn't get much better than this!

It was a perfect Fall Funday Sunday!

{be well}

Thankfully we all started feeling better quickly after starting antibotics. 

The girls had fun celebrating Sara's birthday with her on Monday.  By Tuesday they were back to their typical energetic silly selves ... thank goodness Tobi is the most patient brother (dog) in the world :)  On Wednesday I took the morning off so that I could fit in my 20 mile run that I wasn't able to complete on Saturday.  It was a gorgeous morning and while I still wasn't feeling 100%, I did it!  This helped me regain a bit of my confidence.  While I was running I saw the billboard below that states "Be Well."  This is my mantra between now and the marathon.  I just want us all to be well.



On Wednesday evening we went for a family walk.  How amazing to be able to go for a walk in mid October after the sun has set and not have to wear a jacket.  On Thursday evening, Randall had a work dinner so the girls and I walked down to the "choo choo restaurant" (aka Zip's) for dinner.  They were being especially silly and I dscovered that they have learned 2 new things in preschool.  1) That poop is the most hilarious topic ever and 2) how to joke.  Throughout dinner they kept saying, "Mommy, you eat a poop poop cheeseburger!"  Followed by, "I'm just joking!" and fits of laughter.  On Friday night we met the Sieving's and Krause's for dinner and frozen yogurt.  The girls had a blast playing with their friends and I even had the chance to have a bit of adult conversation.

On Saturday I got up early for a "short" 12 mile run.  Randall and the girls met me for the last 3 miles despite the cold/damp weather.  As I was getting ready after the run, Lexi and I were having a conversation about going to New York in 2 weeks and suddenly a lightbulb went on in Lexi's head.  "Mommy, I need to get my princess suitcase to go to New York!"  She has been saving her piggy bank money for months ever since she saw a little girl with a princess suitcase at Nordstrom.  So we headed to the mall and she got to pick out her princess suitcase from the Disney Store.  She is very proud and ready to go to New York NOW!

The weather cleared up while the girls were napping, so Randall went out for a bike ride and the girls and I headed to Ault Park.  It was a gorgeous evening and they had a blast playing on the playground and in the leaves.  For over 30 minutes they pretended that they were working at a restaurant and cooked all sorts of different meals with the leaves.  Once Randall was back from his ride we went out for a late dinner.  We decided to try out Maribelle's in its new location.  It was great, but a bit more sophisticated than the old Maribelle's.  There were no other kids in the place, but thankfully the girls were on their best behavior :)  Kenzie (who also got a princess suitcase) insisted on bringing hers to dinner ... her bag obsession apparently translates to suitcases as well :)

I am so happy that we are all feeling well again and that we were able to have such a fun week.  Let's hope that this trend continues.  Be well. Be well. Be well.

{sick of the sickies}

I returned from Spain with a terrible cold.  I completely lost my voice the last night that I was there and the 10 hour flight home was pretty miserable because my sinuses felt like they were going to explode from the pressure.  I went to the doctor on Friday afternoon and she confirmed what I suspected - I had another sinus infection.  Ughh!  I didn't want my not feeling well to get in the way of a fun family weekend, so On Friday evening we went out to dinner and then to the Xavier mens soccer game.  The girls had fun cheering on the team (one of Randall's coworkers has a son on the team), and especially loved running up and down the hill ... so much so, that Kenzie threw up :(  At the time we thought it was just from all of the crazy running.

I got up early on Saturday for what was supposed to be my longest run of the marathon training program ... but I felt pretty miserable.  I decided to give it a go, but had promised my doctor that I would listen to my body and not push it too far.  About 9 miles in, my body told me to STOP, and so I listened.  While this did not do wonders for my confidence, I felt that it would have been worse to push myself too far. 

The girls were a little off all day on Saturday.  We went grocery shopping, played in the leaves, and prepared for company that evening and while we had fun, they were just not quite themselves.  Right before our dinner guests showed up, Kenzie threw up again.  Lovely.  The girls had a restless nights sleep and woke up a bit cranky on Sunday morning.  Randall had gone for a bike ride, so I decided to distract the girls by baking pumpkin chocolate chip muffins.  Kenzie is really into cooking these days.  She has become an expert egg cracker and stayed interested through the entire process.  Lexi helped for a bit but was then more interested in reading her new library books.

After baking our muffins the girls painted birthday cards for Sara, played in the back yard and then decided they wanted to jump in their bouncy house. 

Daddy got home from his bike ride just in time to join in on the fun!

At this point the girls seemed perfectly healthy, but they were exhausted and asked to go take a nap.  They slept for over 2 hours and then Lexi woke up screaming.  I went into their room and they were both burning hot and Lexi was yelling that her ears were hurting.  So we piled into the car and headed to the Little Clinic at Kroger to get their ears checked.  30 minutes later it was conformed that they both had ear infections :(

After a dose of Motrin and antibiotic, they seemed to regain their energy and insisted that we still go out to dinner as we had previously planned.  We went to Ruthai's and ate at the low tables for the first time.  This was a big hit with the girls!

After dinner we came home and baked and decorated cupcakes for Sara's birthday.  The girls used an entire container of sprinkles!  

So it was a fairly low key weekend due to the sickies.  They seem to have been invading our house too frequently as of late.  Now that 3 of 4 of us are on antibiotics let's hope the sickies leave our home once and for all ... cause we're sick of them!

{daddy's away ... mommy's away}

Last weekend Randall drove down to Mississippi to attend his friend Lee's wedding.  This meant it was a girls weekend for us.

On Friday evening we went to the mall to pick up a Halloween costume that they were holding for me at Pottery Barn Kids. The girls also declared that they needed a belt because their pants were falling down. So we did a little shopping, had dinner and celebrated the kickoff of our girls weekend with a little ice cream (they both slept in their beds all night on Thursday evening so they had been promised a special treat :)).

Since Thursday night went so well, I was hopeful at bedtime on Friday. But it was raining, which meant that “somdybody was making noise on her (Kenzie’s) window” (that’s what she says when she hears rain on their skylight and somdybody is how she says somebody :) it makes me smile every time.), which meant that Kenzie refused to get in her bed. She begged to sleep in mommy & daddy’s bed. So I gave in and laid down with her in our bed. It wasn’t long before I could hear Lexi whimpering in her bed. “Sisie needs your help,” Kenzie declared and soon there were 3 of us in bed together. I guess my girls thought that a girls weekend called for a sleepover. I had intended to do laundry and clean the kitchen after the girls went to bed, but I decided to forget about my to-do list and snuggle with my girls. And I am so glad that I did. As the 3 of lay there in the darkness on the verge of sleep, Kenzie traced the contours of my face and said “I love you Mommy. You’re beautiful.” And I melted at this perfect compliment from my daughter. After they went to sleep I just lay there for a long time watching them sleep, in complete awe that they are MY daughters. I love them so and I love these moments with them. I need to forget about my to-do list more often and just be 100% present with them.

On Saturday morning Cara came over to watch the girls for a bit so that I could complete my 14 mile training run.  They were excited to see her, not excited when I went to leave, but cheered up very quickly and then had a great time with Cara while I ran.  It was a gorgeous crisp fall morning and I felt good.  When I started this training program I thought that by the time the mileage got this high that I would be anxious to train with a group, but I have come to find that I really enjoy running alone.  It gives me time to think, time to pray, time to just be and not have to concerned about whether my pace is too slow or fast for someone else.  I feel very free when I am running (slow as I may be).

When I got home the girls were happy to see me and we went out for a nice lunch together. After they napped we took a trip to Target and then came home and had dinner together. Not a very exciting day, but we were all happy to just spend time together. They did have a bout of missing their Daddy when they awoke from their nap, but we fixed that with a phone call to dad, followed by some snuggle time with Tobi on the couch.

Sunday morning we woke up and decided to make pumpkin waffles for breakfast. The girls love helping and are even getting good at cracking the eggs. After breakfast we got bundled up for the Hyde Park Art Show. It started raining on our way there so we detoured with a trip to the craft store – which is always a hit – to get some supplies to paint pumpkins later in the day. Then we were off to the cloudy, drizzly art show. The girls were pretty cold and their whining was not making it very easy for me to actually enjoy any art, so we decided to head indoors for some lunch. And while we were having lunch the sun came out. This made it much more pleasant and after lunch we spent some more time checking out the artist booths and even had some frozen yogurt. While we didn’t purchase any art, the girls did score some new Tiny Toms from Morrison & Me … complete with their own mini shopping bags. They were happy and were quite the hit.

After naps we painted our pumpkins.  This was a fun but messy project J  Then we went to Dewey’s for dinner as the girls wanted to go see “the pizza man.”  They love watching the guys make the pizza.  And they were even more excited when daddy joined us at Dewey’s just in time to eat.  A perfect finish to our weekend.  We were happy to all be together again ... at least for one night.

On Sunday after the girls went to bed, Randall unpacked his suitcase so that I could repack it for my trip to Madrid on Monday. It was a fairly last minute work trip and while I was excited at the opportunity to go to Spain, I am never excited to leave my girls.

They were okay when I left on Monday, as I promised them that I would be back in a few days just like Daddy had been. It seems that they have been pretty good for their daddy. I have talked to them on the phone a few times, and last night they were very excited to show me that they had learned some Spanish in school and were shouting, “Hola! Adios!” the whole time :)

I didn’t get to see much of Madrid as I was staying in an industrial area in the suburb where our office is. I did find time to fit in my runs, and we did get a chance to head into the center of Madrid for dinner and a bit of sightseeing on our last night there.

Apparently last night while the girls were on a run with Randall, they spotted an airplane and Kenzie said, “Mommy’s plane!” They were both very excited until the plane flew out of sight and then they both started crying. My sweet baby girls. I miss them too and am so happy to be on the plane on my way back home to see them.

I received the best surprise when I landed in Cincinnati - Randall & my girls were there to greet me at the airport!  The excitement on their faces when they saw me brought tears to my eyes.  It felt so good to all be back together again. 

Looking forward to this weekend of being home together!