Story time Success

Taken from Tree City Coffee FB page

(Can you find us? Hint - I'm looking down.) 

Story time at the library is currently on break until April, but during the break, a special Story time was set up at Tree City Coffee, in Kent, which partnered with the library. It was this morning at 10, and I decided to take Avery because I thought she might do better in a different location,and let's be honest, it gave me a reason to get a black squirrel mocha :)

We left our house around 9:15 because I wanted to get there early enough so that I could get myself some coffee, and maybe a snack for Avery. I also wanted to be early enough to beat the crowd, so Avery wouldn't be overwhelmed right away. Plus, I know that parking in Kent on weekdays is sometimes a struggle because many lots require a pass. Luckily, we found a parking place on a street not too far from the coffee place.

When we arrived, there were maybe 5-6 kids there already, and plenty of seats. We bought some coffee and a blueberry scone. I also gave Avery a small cup of water, which I promptly spilled all over myself (luckily I didn't put too much in.)  Avery got her hand stamped, which she actually likes now (thanks Little Gym!), and she would later be able to get a free drink if she showed her stamped hand. We took our seats and watched as the room filled with kids and their parents. I was surprised how many people showed up, and I was glad we arrived early. Avery did great and said hi to many of the kids. She did, however, stay very close to me. They read two stories, and they brought really large books so that the pictures could easily be seen. Avery actually participated in making animal sounds and movements. She also surprised me by really watching and looking at the pictures in the books. She enjoyed the stories, and we had a great time!

Afterward, she got a free chocolate milk, and she drank most of it. Then she let me know she was ready to leave by saying bye bye to everyone, and pulling me to the door. We had a great morning, and hope that they'll do Story time at Tree City Coffee again sometime!

Basement Bathroom

We finished putting in the bathroom in our basement, and I love how it turned out!!  It was such a quick and easy project, and Travis and I worked together very well with very little fighting haha. I picked the paint color, and it's also one of my favorite that I've picked! The vanity is more beautiful than our 'Ryan Homes specials' in our other bathrooms. There wasn't much room for pictures, but I did the best I could!

To see more on how we finished bathroom (and what it looked like when we started) click here.

Family visit

This week has just flown by! My sister, Lindsey, and her new son, Cooper visited and stayed with us for several days this week, and we had a great time! Cooper is only about 10-11 weeks old, and Lindsey's husband was out of town for the week so she decided to come here so she could spend some time with us and we could help each other out.

Avery and her Aunt Lindsey

She arrived on Tuesday afternoon, and had dinner with us. We were able to go outside with Avery and Cooper for about a half hour after dinner to get some fresh air, and play! Avery is still jealous when I hold Cooper, but she got much better after a few days. On Wednesday, we made French toast and hung out in the morning. Then we went to Target and Carter's to pick up a few things. It was nice to get out and walk around the stores. Avery does pretty well, and loves going to Carter's because she can run around there and it's a small store so I know she won't go far! That was pretty much our day on Wednesday. Thursday was much of the same, but we went out to lunch at one of my favorite burger places...Bar 145. Avery and Cooper both did well in the restaurant, and then we walked around a local store that carries Vera Bradley bags. When we came home, Avery went down for a nap, and I actually watched Coop while Lindsey went for a run. Friday it snowed again in the morning, but it stopped and Lindsey and Cooper went home in the afternoon.

Me and Cooper (not so happy)

Lindsey has Cooper on an 'easy' routine which stands for 'Eat - Activity - Sleep - You,' and this has made Cooper much more predictable during the day. It was easy for me to step in and know if he was ready to play on his activity mat, or take a nap, or when he needed his mom for food :) When they were here a month ago for Avery's birthday, Cooper had a "fussy period" in the evenings, but now that's pretty much gone! He was a great baby for the week, and I'm really looking forward to Avery and him playing together more!!

Shamrock 15k

I ran my first race of the spring today at noon, and I mean, exactly at noon. You're probably wondering where I'm going with this...

Well, the race was supposed to start mid-day, which I thought was nice because I didn't have to rush out the door early in the morning, and Travis and Avery were able to come and support me. I picked up my race packet, shirt, and number/timing device yesterday in Tallmadge. I got a bright green shirt, which I ended up wearing under a black jacket. It guessed it would take about 30 minutes to get to the race, so we left at 10:45 to allow enough time to use the restroom, stretch, and relax before the race. 

About 5 minutes after we left, I realized I forgot my iPod, but we had enough time, so we came back home to get it, and left again. About 10 minutes away from the race, I realized I left my running bib (and timing chip) on the kitchen counter!! At this time it was between 11:10 and 11:15. 

I immediately started crying. I couldn't believe I had done that, and I've NEVER done that before!! Travis calmly turned around and said we could still make it...we had plenty of time. Hahaha. We drove home and grabbed the bib (and I took a pit stop knowing I wouldn't have a chance to pee again before the race), and we were on our way AGAIN! A few minutes into our drive, I mapped out how long it would take, and it said 22 minutes, and it was 11:38!! We actually made up some time at some lights that were luckily green for us, and I figured we'd make it, but I'd literally be running out of the car. I was really hoping that it wouldn't start on time (like most races...but no such luck.)

When we got about a mile away from the start, the road was closed, and a cop came over and asked where we were going. I yelled "the race" and he let us through (and looked at us kind of funny.) Travis pulled into the parking lot and dropped me off, and I ran over to the start line. I heard them announce "two minutes til start " so I stretched briefly, and was off! The only good thing was that it was only about 20 degrees when we started, and everyone looked freezing because they had been waiting outside, and I had virtually NO wait time.

The race started out pretty easy. I started in the back with the twelve minute/mile pace group but quickly made up some time. I had researched the course ahead of time and knew that the first several miles were mostly downhill. They weren't kidding! My first four miles were about 33 minutes, which put me at about an 8:15 pace. It felt awesome running downhill for that long, but I knew the second half would be back uphill. At around the halfway point, there was a giant hill, big enough that mostly everyone around me was walking. I know that is sometimes a strategy, but I hate walking, so I just jogged slowly, and made it up! My 5th mile time was around 11 minutes. The next several miles were mostly up hills, but slightly rolling, so I had a few chances to recover. Knowing that the hill would just continue actually allowed me to not stress about it too much, but just settle in my pace and breathe. The course flattened out for the last 2 miles, with just a few uphill and downhill 'grades.' 

I felt great overall and my time was around 1:25:30 or so for 15 kilometers or 9.3 miles. I don't have the official results yet. That puts my pace around 9:10/mile. It's not my fastest, but given my pre-race stress, the cold, and wind, and the hills, I'd say it's pretty good.

When I finished, I grabbed a banana and bagel slice, and we headed out pretty quickly. Travis and Avery were cold, and ready to go home. It was definitely a race that I'd do again in the future.

New Bedroom furniture

Recently, Travis and I decided to do some updates to our master bedroom. We haven't had a television in our bedroom for years. We've talked on and off about getting one, but I always just felt like it would be an eyesore in our already pathetic master bedroom. Our bedroom previously consisted of a king-size bed on a frame (with no headboard), dresser, bookshelf, and nightstand from my old bedroom furniture, and a mismatched nightstand from IKEA on the other side. We also have a large dog bed for Ranger. A recliner was also in there, and we are still considering if it will come back in now that the new stuff is here.

Anyway, at the same time we were talking about putting a tv in our room, we started thinking about getting new furniture for our room. This is something that we have put off for years! We've looked around at furniture stores, but normally it was for something else, and it was never the right time. I have always wanted to get a complete matching set, and I never wanted to only get one or two pieces, only to have them mismatched with other pieces in a few years. I feel like we made the rest of the house the priority since that's what other people see, and our bedroom was just "fine."  Additionally, we like to think about big purchases a lot before we make them, and choose carefully (especially Travis!)

During the last two years that I've been a stay-at-home mom, we've actually been able to annually save the same amount we did when I was working. When we first decided that I would stay home with Avery, we knew we still be 'ok' financially, but we were careful not to make any really big purchases without really considering the cost. We had a budget that makes sense on paper, but life happens, and we always have to consider the possibility that something could happen to Travis's job (like it did last year when Lilly did layoffs.) Fortunately, we've been able to live below our means, and save a lot.

We made the decision to go for it, and buy a new bedroom furniture and get a new tv at the same time. Regarding the tv, we decided it would be best to get a newer tv for our family room, and move our current tv to the bedroom. We bought a bigger Samsung for the family room last week, and also bought Apple TV to go with it. We're still learning how that works. After searching several furniture stores, we bought our furniture on Sunday, and it was in stock and delivered yesterday! We went to Basista's (outside of Cleveland) and had a great experience. We had a great salesperson, and found a beautiful set. Honestly, I was expecting them to say that it would be delivered in 6-8 weeks, but it was 2 days! The only thing we are waiting for is knobs on the entertainment set, because the current ones don't match, and had to be ordered.

So here it is:

Storage bed and two night stands

Dresser and mirror

      TV stand                            Chest of drawers

 I love how the furniture looks, and I'm working on decorating the room now!

Another race...hooray!

I decided to sign up for the Shamrock 15k next Sunday, so I will have to find something green to wear. I ran 8 miles with Travis on Wednesday, and it went very well. Since it's only a little over a mile more, I figured I could handle it. I didn't exactly train for this race, but I've been running pretty consistently (given the freezing temps) and I'm excited for my first spring race. The only thing I'm slightly nervous about is that the website says that the race course is "very challenging" and "hilly', but I'm sure I'll be fine (famous last words...)

Since it was beautiful outside yesterday, I decided to take Avery and Ranger for a run. It was my first time running with the stroller this spring. I was worried that Avery would fight me since she hasn't run with me since December, but actually she was pumped! As soon as I got the stroller out, she pointed to her seat and was ready to go! She was happy the whole time and pointed to lots of geese and airplanes. I only ran 3 miles and remembered that it's a little more challenging running with the stroller, but I'll definitely take the warmer temps!

After our run, I decided Avery needed a little more exercise, so we played on her swing set for about an hour. She loved it, and I had to drag her inside to eat lunch. She looked super cute in her makeshift headband (it was too warm for a hat, but I didn't want her ears to get cold.) We are really looking forward to spring, but of course it snowing today, so I guess it's not quite here yet...soon!

Avery's closet cleanup

Recently, I've been trying to ignore the huge eyesore in Avery's room - her closet. She has a really great walk-in closet in her room, and it's pretty big for a kid's room. However, because of its size, it's easy for me to just throw things in there whenever I don't have another spot for them. I also like to keep her closet door open, because there is a heating vent in there. Her room tends to stay on the cooler side, and when the closet door is shut, it heats her closet, but not her room! I decided to tackle this project today, and have Avery 'help' me.

As you can see, it was a mess! I actually can't believe that I let it get to this point, but it's pretty easy  to do when I have a two-year old who wants my constant attention! Most of the things in here that  were in need of organization were clothes that she's outgrown, baby products that she no longer uses, and things I'm saving for her future (American Dolls, haha.) I also keep a lot of paperwork in here, such as product warranties and information, and her handouts from the pediatrician.

On of the problems was that I wasn't utilizing the space on the shelves (because they are so high and not very accessible.) I decided to box up all of her outgrown clothing, and put most of it up there, since I'm not needing to access it anytime soon. I also put her baby bath and jumper up there.

Before                                     After

The other problem is just the lack of storage solutions in general. I decided to wander through my house to see if I could find some shelving/storage solutions. Recently, I have realized that it's better for me to 'take inventory' of what I have before I go out and purchase something. I can almost always find some type of solution that will work. Maybe Pinterest is good for something, haha...I do seem to be a little more creative these days.

Anyway, I took Avery to the basement and found a few plastic containers, and a coffee table that wasn't be used. I dusted them off, and carried them upstairs. Then I emptied out her entire closet into her bedroom. Avery was a little unsure of what we were doing, so she just kept picking things up, and handing them to me, or pointing at things and looking at me like "pick this up mom!!" Her room was a disaster, which kept me motivated to finish this project before her nap today. Avery has a little "OCD" haha like her father - not me - and I KNOW she wouldn't be able to nap if her room wasn't cleaned up.

I also used a filing container to store all of the product warranties and paperwork. I put the coffee table in her closet, and stored some bedding in and under it, in order to contain it, and overall it closet looks much better!

   

Before                                 After

Now I can walk all the way into her closet, and I know where everything is. I also have space on the coffe table to put some other things, like maybe some of her toys. I love days when I can actually be productive...because let's face it...they don't happen all the time!

New Bathroom project

Ok, so it's not much to look at right now, but it will be soon! Travis and I finished our basement several years ago, with a game room and living room. When we built our house in 2007, we had drain lines put in just in case we ever wanted to put a half bathroom in the basement at a later time (we figured we would.) We thought about doing it at the same time as the other rooms, but the other areas were such a large project, especially because of how our basement is designed...it's not just one big rectangle; it has lots of different walls and ceiling heights. We held off, but we did think ahead, and framed in a separate door for the bathroom, and made the sure that the water lines were accessible.

During our Christmas break this year, Travis built a new bathroom for his grandparents - in what used to be a closet! He also helped them turn a small bedroom into a nice laundry room, and moved the washer and dryer to the main floor, from the basement. It was a big project, because he ran all of the water and drain lines, and did all of the plumbing. It turned out beautiful, and motivated us to work on our own bathroom. He did all of the framing a few weekends ago.

This week we ran all of the water lines and made the drain lines accessible. We also did the electrical wiring, and we have a light switch (with no light) and an electrical outlet. 

Last night, we started on the drywall. We put two sheets on the ceiling. We'll continue to work on drywall this week, and I'll try to keep up with the progress!

12 years together!

Spring 2002 - Travis's dorm room

Travis and I have been together since March 1,  2002 - 12 years!! It's been a wonderful 12 years, and it's amazing to me how far we've come. We met at Allegheny College, and we got married three years later, and have created an amazing family since then :)

On Saturday morning, Travis ran 18 miles (training for his marathon) and I took Avery to Little Gym. I definitely had the better morning haha. Avery once again had a great time, and I was able to take some pictures of her this time.

After we came home from Little Gym, I took my turn and went for a 6-mile run. It was so nice outside, and the sun was shining on me the whole time. Forty degrees feels amazing compared to what it's been. Too bad it didn't last.

On Saturday afternnoon, Travis and I were able to get away for a night to.....get ready for it.......Cabela's in Wheeling, WV. Aren't I a good wife?? We stayed at a hotel across the street and made a night of it! Travis was able to get some new fishing gear, and we walked around all of the special attractions like the aquarium, Whitetail world, and the different animal displays.

Afterward we went to dinner at Quaker Steak and Lube. We enjoyed wings, magna fries, and beer...my kind of anniversary! Travis doesn't really count this as an anniversary, since we normally celebrate our wedding anniversary in September,  but it was nice to get away, and just hang out low-key. Driving home, we hit a big snowstorm, so it took us a little longer than normal, but it was overall a relaxing 24 hours.  Avery stayed at our house with Travis's parents and Ranger, and I heard she had a great time, which included Frozen Yogurt.

I liked having a night away with my husband, but I really missed Avery this time! I think if we plan another weekend away, we'll bring her with us, because she's at a really fun stage where she would have enjoyed our shopping trip to Cabela's and she does great going to restaurants too. We only do this type of thing twice a year or so, so we have some time to think about it.

I'm looking forward to see what the next 12 years will bring!