She didn’t want anything to do with me at Owen’s baseball practice…but as soon as daddy got there…
Author Archives: Jen
Size 14 slims!
WTF? 14s?! I haven’t seen 14s since…possibly college but high school for sure! I’m unbelievably geeked about this!
In my mind, I’m probably still a good 5# away from being able to wear them nicely—but I actually think it’s time to start wearing them so I’m more apt to watch my food intake. I’ve been wearing my comfy 16s and yoga pants for two weeks (and have been maintaining more than losing) so by wearing pants that “fit” (i.e. are a little snug) hopefully I’ll get off the maintenance bandwagon and start losing again! I know I want to lose more, but right now I’m just very comfortable where I am. I’ve actually said that if I never lose another pound, I’d be perfectly happy…except…I know my body can get thinner. I’m not even technically to Overweight yet if you can believe it (though I’m close)!!
Interestingly, all the size 14s I bought (three pair last night) are tight in the thighs and calves…while the good ol’ Costco Gloria Vanderbilt faves of the same size? I can barely button them. Tom says they all look good—and, considering where I started, yes I guess they do look good—but to me, if I saw someone looking like I look in them, I’d probably think they needed to lose 5-10# or wear a bigger size. 😐 All I can see from the side is my huge thighs. And I’ve always hated my calves (they’re HUGE and oddly-shaped) so to me, the clingy denim just accentuates that flaw even more. That said, I know we all see the worst in ourselves, so I’m trying not to let that bother me and just enjoy that I’M WEARING A SIZE 14. And know that I’m just (still) not used to tight-fitting clothes and this is the style these days!
Snow Day 6: Flight
I had to get them out of the house to burn some energy. Thankfully it wasn’t crazy busy when they first opened.
She really catches some air when she jumps. It’s VERY impressive!
Owen catches some decent air, too!
Katie really wanted to play basketball with the kids, but they were older and weren’t interested in giving her a chance. The few times Owen gave her the ball, she immediately handed it off to someone else. 🙂
Katie’s fall really looks much worse in slo-motion.
Mommy at breakfast vs. Mommy at dinner
BINGO.
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I’m amazed Charlie allowed it.
Damn blurry photo!
And then of course she moved a second later so I missed it and had to set up the shot and it wasn’t as cute.
Jonas: Snow Day 4
It really warmed up today so with the melting, we FINALLY had the perfect snow to build a snowman! The government is still shut down as well, so daddy was home again, too! YAY!
While Owen and I were starting to build the snowman on the deck…
…Katie was building her own little mini snowman. 🙂
Putting on the headband that came in Gramma Jean’s Snowman Kit.
Dressing the big snowman!
Owen wanted to build “an ice wall” so I helped him. Meaning I pretty much did it all while he played. 🙂 Of course, it’s hard to see white on white, but it was a pretty impressive wall.
Sea Cow progress!
Progress! It’s slow going because he keeps stopping to play with the pieces and build other stuff with them. And while I hate telling him to stop being creative, he also keeps losing pieces. And we’d much rather have him build/lose random pieces instead of the $250 set of pieces.
Owen made a difference.
We were grocery shopping today and Owen asked what the bags were for at the end of the register. We explained they were bags of food for people who didn’t have any. He seemed interested so we asked if he wanted to get one as part of his birthday present (or using his birthday money). He eagerly said yes. 🙂
Jonas Day 3 / Snow Day 3
After MUCH drama getting dressed—in which Katie almost got banished to her room—we made it outside. We had hoped to be able to build a snowman, but the snow just wasn’t good. AT ALL. And Owen lost his boot again within the first five minutes…so I came in and let them play in the back yard. After about 20 minutes they wanted to go to the front, so they had to trek through the house (since there’s no way to open the gate, and even if we could get it open, the snow is 3′ deep between the houses). They played out front for probably a half hour before Tom went to check on them and then I went out to take a few pictures.
And this would be why we can’t see anything out our bedroom windows!
2 + 2 + 2 = wine
Two snow days down. Two weekend days down. Two more snow days to go.
Time for wine.
Jonas, Day 2
Subtitled: Too. Much. Damn. Snow. And that’s coming from a Michigander.
Plowed and sanded…but only one lane.
So here, the kids are technically playing in the street.
The bus stop is still a little buried.
Looking up the main street.
Snow angel…in the street. 🙂
Taking a flying leap…
The landing!
Rule breaker!
Playing across the street.
Tom wanted to check out the town…and see how his new car did on the roads. 🙂 (He said it did great!)
The Wall O’ Snow.
Pouting because I wouldn’t give her the water spray bottle she remembered using this summer.
Using a net as a shovel.
Brushing off my tires with a scrub brush.
So this keeps happening.
So this is what Katie does just about every night now. Yep, won’t stay in bed and falls asleep at the top of the stairs. GRRR.
I have NO idea what’s going on. She’s been amazing at bedtime forever so I guess it was only a matter of time before it went to shit for some unknown reason. Hopefully it will rectify itself or we figure something out. (Owen went through something similar and we ended up having to sit by him at bedtime and rub his arm for 15 minutes…for about three months.) I actually wouldn’t mind if this happened every night and we just picked her up and moved her to her bed…if she stayed in bed after we moved her there. But most times she wakes up, whines some more, and leaves her room again. Gah!
More lounging in front of the fire…
Katie says “These are my animals!”
Owen’s thank you to the Mythbusters
We watched a recent Mythbusters with the kids. Owen drew a picture and wrote a thank you to Adam and Jamie and wanted me “to send it to them in California.” I told him I’d take a picture and tweet it to them. I briefly thought about asking a friend for insider info to get it directly to Adam (they’re acquaintances) but figured I’d save any potential favors for something a bit more…serious. 🙂
So I tweeted three different times:
And a few hours later, we got this:
How cool is that?! Owen was super excited!
Unfortunately, we haven’t “heard” anything from Jamie yet, but we’re still crossing our fingers. 🙂
Q&A with the kids
A friend posted this on Facebook and I did it with the kids: Without ANY prompting ask your kids these questions. It’s a great way to see what they think. (I asked them separately but they were in the same room at the same time.)
Owen, 6
Katie, 3
1. What is something I always say to you?
Owen: I love you.
Katie: Be polite.
2. What makes me happy?
Owen: Being nice.
Katie: Being polite.
3. What makes me sad?
Owen: Not being polite.
Katie: Not being polite.
4. How do I make you laugh?
Owen: Telling jokes.
Katie: Like this <cackles>. Donuts.
5. What was I like as a child?
Owen: Reading.
Katie: Playing dinner.
6. How old am I?
Owen: 42
Katie: I don’t know.
7. How tall am I?
Owen: 4.5 inches.
Katie: I don’t know. You’re big.
8. What is my favorite thing to do?
Owen: Going to the beach.
Katie: Play games with me.
9. What do I do when you’re not around?
Owen: Watch Ellen Degeneres.
Katie: I don’t know.
10. What am I really good at?
Owen: Reading.
Katie: Putting the tv on.
11. What am I not very good at?
Owen: Playing video games.
Katie: Making dinner.
12. What do I do for a job?
Owen: You don’t have any jobs.
Katie: Something amazing.
13. What is my favorite food?
Owen: Pizza.
Katie: Chicken dog. I mean pizza.
14. What do you enjoy doing with me?
Owen: Playing board games.
Katie: I don’t know.
The Effects of Jonas
So, it’s hard to tell in the pictures because everything is white on white on white, but trust me, there was A LOT of snow out there. The end of the driveway was plowed in with at least 3′ of snow (and, unfortunately, we couldn’t find ANYONE to tune up the snowblower, so Tom has been shoveling for about two hours). It wouldn’t be quite as bad if there was somewhere to actually PUT the snow. The yards are so small there’s no room for any of it…and we’re not supposed to put any of it in the street (which would, really, make the most sense, so the plows could take it away).
I have a few pics of the kids, but it was blowing so much when we first got out there that it was difficult to take anything good. The kids were excited and did have fun (and at least we were outside for longer than it took to get them both dressed) but of course Owen had snow up his gloves and arms within the first five minutes (even though I carefully tucked everything in) and then proceeded to lose a boot within the next five minutes (which necessitated a trip inside to change socks and get a new boot—thankfully he has a backup pair). They loved sledding down the hill and it would have made for awesome pictures…but you can only do so much when you’re fully bundled, it’s snowing, and you have to catch the sled before it gets to the main street.
Snowed in…from brushing off the car itself.
Just a little bit of drift.
Not as bad as I’d expected but…still…YUCK.
Lounging
We made a bed on the floor a few days ago with about six blankets and a bunch of pillows…and everyone loves it. If a kid (or two) aren’t in it, an animal (or two) are. Or both.
A few days ago (a better shot of the whole thing):
Welcoming Jonas
From Tom on Facebook: Jonas is coming? Good I am grilling steaks and there is plenty of beer!
Starting the 2700-piece Sea Cow.
Then of course sister wanted to do hers, too. Which means I get to do it…because Owen is normally the one to help her.
Taking his first break:
They HAD to go out and play in the snow.
We had a 2-hour delay that turned into a full snow day (the first of the year!). We didn’t have much snow, but what little we did have made things super slippery. Of course, the kids had to go out and play in it. 🙂
Star of the Week project
So, aside from printing the pictures he wanted/needed, I decided I wasn’t going to help Owen at all on his Star of the Week. I mean, it’s his project and he should be able to handle it. Except after a mere 10 minutes, I was getting jittery just looking at it.
And I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t let it go. Yes, it was his work, but I knew he could do better if he took more than a haphazard attitude.
I asked if he liked it and was proud of it. He said yes. I asked him to get last year’s and see which he liked better. Once he saw them next to each other he realized he didn’t like his first effort at all.
So all I did was gently guide him and suggest he place everything first—in groups—before gluing.
And now we’re both happy. 🙂
And then what happened this afternoon…
For three hours!
What Tom found downstairs this morning.
Notice the time stamp of this post: Just after 4am. 🙁
Someone hasn’t been staying in her room until her clock turns green…so she got up at who-knows-what time, turned on the kitchen lights, was up for who-knows-how-long doing who-knows-what…and fell asleep on the couch.
Stinker.
Dancing Fools
Who knew an old desktop would be that fun?
Tom is getting rid of an old desktop and just had it sitting temporarily in the living room. The kids were completely enthralled with it. I was at my computer and I heard Owen behind me clicking away on the keyboard, saying he was texting dad and playing music. He also kept plugging and replugging the mouse and keyboard cords.
Then, of course, Katie got involved. When she wasn’t clicking away she was “on the phone” (the mouse). 🙂
Frosting Licker
She licks all the frosting of and then eats the cupcake.
Katie’s turn on the video camera
The only help I get.
Of course they both say they’re going to help make cupcakes, but this is about all they do. 🙂
Us: January 16, 2015 & 2016
Facebook has a feature that shows you what you posted on this day in past years. So, tonight I learned that one year ago we took a family picture (the day we all went to the Pentagon to see Tom get his award):
So we took a similar one tonight:
I posted this on Facebook:
I liked what my friend said:
