Happy Easter!

From our family to yours...Happy Easter!  We are so thankful for the gift of Jesus and his unconditional love for us.  We know that is what the season and holiday is about but we did join in some other fun!  Here is a quick view of our weekend:

My Dad came up on Friday so the three of us headed to the zoo.  They were do a special event which involved vendors passing out treats and some of the animals were given special "eggs" filled with their favorite treats.  My Dad and Rory are quite a team and I mostly am the third wheel that takes pictures!  I love that they are buddies.

Our zoo has a few rides and it's one of Rory's favorite things to do.  He loves the carousel and the train is a must!  It's only $1 so we ride every time we go.  To Rory it is pure happiness and he gets me laughing every time because he has so much fun.

                                                                                                             

Dad and I stuffed eggs on Friday for our hunt on Saturday morning.  The weather was predicted to be a complete wash on Sunday so we did all of our outdoor activities on Saturday.  Mom and Uncle Seth were able to join us for the fun!

I wasn't sure what Rory would do this year with the eggs...as soon as he discovered there were chocolate M&M's on the inside he was all about finding the eggs.  It was fun to watch him dart from one end of the yard to the other to find his treasures.

Most people say Rory has my facial expressions but you can't deny that this one is all Josh!

Rory has just as much fun opening all his eggs and sorting his "m's" and coins into piles as he did looking for the actual eggs.  The closer he gets to 3 the more personality he has...he is all about making funny faces these days!

It was such a beautiful day on Saturday so all the boys went for a bike ride.  

High 50's+sun+bikes=happy boys!

This is the first year we colored eggs with Rory and he thought it was fun!  I think he was a bit surprised by the color.  

Uncle Seth and Rory had just as much fun coloring on the clean newsprint as they did coloring eggs!  I'm just now noticing...Superman and Batman...what a team!

I think Rory was a little confused about the Easter basket and he had just woken up but this is his attempt at a smile for me.

And of course, we went to Sunday morning services! What a handsome bunch!

Happy Easter!

Love, 

The Smiths

Bye Bye Condo!

The last week and a half have been crazy but as I sit here and type this, I look back and it was all worth it.  Our families spent many weekends helping paint, watching Rory and taking loads of things over to the "new house."  Josh was at the house most nights before and after work which meant some nights being over here well past 1:00 am and I was here before work, sometimes as early as 5:00 am to paint and get to work by 8:00.  It was a team effort and we are so happy with the outcome.

There was a lot of this....(A LOT!)

A little of this...

I did learn that if you take someone's picture while they are doing electrical work you should forwarn them.  I may have given my Dad a heart attack!

Moving Day went so well and much fast than I had anticipated.  The past couple weeks we had been taking a load of things over to the house each time we went.  We got up early on Wednesday and had pretty much everything moved.  By 1:00 were waiting on the movers to get the beds, mattresses and my piano.

I have also never been more thankful for pbskids.  Watching TV is a treat for Rory and we try not to make it a habit.  He was so happy that he got to watch TV all morning while we moved boxes.  In fact, if we got too loud he would let us know that he could not hear the TV!

The official moving crew!  This was at the end of the day and we were all tired...and Rory insisted on wearing pajamas.  Not sure why but usually toddlers don't have an explanation!

At the end of the day we did a lot of this....

I've had lots of people ask me if I will miss the condo and that is a loaded question.  Josh rented the condo and found it with his Aunt Sue.  I was busy in another city with Rory and trying to sell our current house.  The condo was like a little present that Josh picked out for us.  Although small, it was clean and in good shape.  It was in a perfect location.  So, will I miss the condo?  No.  Will I miss the memories that we made and that particular lifestyle?  Yes. It was the home that Rory learned to walk in and may be the first home he will have faint memories of.

Rory and I spent many evenings walking across the street to the grocery.  We could head either due east or west and be at an ice cream or yogurt shop in 16 minutes.  Yes, I timed it.  We made some amazing friends that were in a similar situation and moved in one week after us and one door down. I will miss the amazing park that was behind our house.  We spent many sunny afternoons and evenings there.  Rory loved the baseball diamonds.  We'd play ball or I remember one evening we spent nearly 30 minutes just picking rocks out of the pitchers practice mound.  I watched the sunrise on my morning runs and watched the sun go down as we tried to convince Rory that it was, in fact, time to go home.

It was time for us to go and I'm excited for the new memories that we will make in our home.  It's exciting to see the empty pages that lay ahead and I wonder what fun things we will do to fill them with memories.  The possibilities are exciting and endless!

Menu Plan thru March 17, 2013

What a weekend!!  This is just a small glimpse of what my weekend involved.  We are down to "crunch time" with our move being 9 days away.  Other than the hall closet and the hallway itself the upstairs is done!  Hooray!  Painting is hard work.  I've done it before many times but it must be one of those things that I block from memory.  It also takes roughly double the amount of time originally allotted to paint!  My Dad and I were on a painting frenzy and able to get a lot done!  I never knew that my Dad has excellent paint rolling skills so he rolled while I trimmed.  Josh has painted all of the door frames white (which I think is the worst job every so kudos to Josh for taking that job) and once white doors are on it will feel like a completely different house.  I'm so excited!

With more painting/cleaning/moving this week the menu plan is about as light and easy as I can get it.  I do strive to keep a stocked pantry but I'm working to clear out what we've got because I really don't want to move food.  So, it's use it up week at our house!

Monday-Annie's Mac n Cheese
Tuesday-Toast/pancakes with strawberries
Wednesday-Spaghetti with meat sauce and garlic bread
Thursday-English muffin pizzas
Friday-leftovers
Saturday-take out
Sunday-leftovers

I'm linked up to orgjunkie and erinbrans.

Happy Cooking!

Stretching and New Kicks

I feel like I'm at the point in my training where I could easily turn back and say I'm going to quit.  The long runs (at least for me) are getting loooong!  We are so busy painting at our new house and life is just plain busy.  BUT, this is something I really want to do.  I want to cross that finish line and know that I accomplished something I would not have dreamed I could do.

Let me show you some sneak peeks at my inspiration...

I've had trouble with my knees in the past so I'm strict about making sure I stretch everyday, even if it's not a run day.  This is what happens when I stretch:

Sometimes I can convince Rory to stretch with me but mostly he just plays interference!  I love it!  Someday he will be too big to squeeze into my lap so I'm happy he still wants to cuddle up with me.

When he looks at me and says, "Mommy, you go running?" I know that I'm doing the right thing.  If I stick close to home him and Josh will wave to me out the window.  What better motivation is that?  I have to be his example and show him how to stay healthy.  It's no good to say be healthy and eat healthy but then not do it myself.

We've been increasing our veggies and healthy eating in general.  I realized that our veggie intake was severely low...like really never.  I was a little shocked but if I don't make a big deal out of veggies they do get eaten, or at least tried.  Last night, I set green peppers and ranch dip (just a little bit) on the table for a snack before dinner.  Rory and Josh both went right for them and they were gone!  I'm on a mission now to not only be active but serve healthy meals that our bodies need. 

And....not that I need more motivation than that but new kicks never hurt!

So excited because I have a long run tomorrow and I really just want to wear my new shoes!  They are so comfy and the fact that they are neon pink is an added bonus! 

Menu Plan thru March 10, 2013

This was such a busy weekend for us!  We spent most of it painting at our "new" house.  It's hard work but it's great to see progress and by next weekend most of the big items should be crossed off our list.  With that in mind, I'm going super easy on the menu and one night Rory and I are going out.  Although he's little I can tell he's stressed (it's safe to say that we all are!) and in need of some extra attention, so tonight I'm ditching the kitchen and we are headed to our local indoor pool!  Nothing like a good swim to release some stress.

Here's my lineup:
Monday-Chick-Fil-A sandwiches, veggie straws, pears and grapes
Tuesday-Waffles with fresh blueberries
Wednesday-take out and headed to the house to paint
Thursday-Homemade fish sticks, tater tots and applesauce
Friday-Rice with mixed veggies and baked chicken
Saturday-Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes, carrots with dip and veggie straws
Sunday-leftovers or pb&j

I'm linking my neu up here and here.

Happy Cooking!

Wallpaper, Paint and Trains

 

Oh my-home ownership is hitting us hard and it's been so much fun...work, but fun!  I can finally say that after this weekend the wallpaper is completely down and paint has begun!  Josh has been working so hard painting trim and doors.  I think him and his buddy are having a good time!

 

 

Today, Mom and I took down the last of the wallpaper.  I feel like a professional now...wallpaper is like a living breathing entity and you have to treat it as such.  I had to get to know my wallpaper and what worked and didn't work with it.  Happy to say that it is now gone! 

 

Dad took down the track lighting so the wallpaper and paint project would go easier.  I think we are going to put something up a bit more sleek.

 

 

 

Rory has begun a love of taking pictures.  He took this all by himself and I have to say his viewpoint is quite artistic!

 



 

He was such a good boy and played so well today.  I set him up with a movie, trains and snacks and worked in the kitchen where one of us could still see him.  It was a long day but he did a great job powering through and I'm quite proud of my boy!

 



More pictures to come of updates!