Weekend Highlights

Friday night- my sister Sarah treated me to dinner and drinks in celebration of my 32 years on this Earth! As always, there was plenty of laughter and silliness. We drank wine and ate yummy food at the Cheesecake Factory and then headed to Barnes and Noble where we each purchased a book. I started mine immediately upon returning home. Jodi Piccoult's Handle With Care. It's a page turner!

Saturday- I spent the first five hours of the day alone with the boys. They were actually quite pleasant. I was able to play with the boys, clean the house, and even read a little bit before Mitch returned home. At 3 p.m. Mel and Brianna arrived to babysit the boys. Mitch and I made our way to Penn Cycle where we learned that my new road bike was not quite ready. So we raced home, grabbed our regular bikes and then headed up to Lake Harriett, where we road. We circled Harriett, Calhoun, and traveled quite far on the Midtown Greenway before we turned around. Sweaty and covered in dirt, we headed to Sandy's Tavern in Richfield where we enjoyed the World's Greatest Hamburger- literally! I totally agree! I don't think I've ever enjoyed a hamburger so much! Afterwards, we went home, showered, and then met Sarah and Tyler at Southdale AMC for a movie- "Angels and Demons." I had read the book six years ago, so I was anxious to see how the story would translate on the big screen. It was entertaining.

Sunday- I spent the first four hours of the day alone with the boys so Mitch could work. We went to Target and purchased some essentials and non-essentials. When we got home, we found Bruiser having a seizure. He had gotten sick on the couch and the floor so we had a lot to clean up. Luckily, this seizure did not last very long at all. This afternoon, we set up our little pool in the backyard and ran through the sprinkler. Hopefully I got some sun on my face, arms, and legs. It's truly shocking how snow white my skin is right now! Tonight after dinner I ran 3.1 miles in 30 minutes. Not too bad! 10 minute mile is really good for me, at least right now.

An Eventful Trip to the ENT Doctor

After five years of wondering and numerous trips to the pediatrician, the Ear, Nose, and Throat Specialist confirmed today that Hunter needs tubes in his ears and perhaps his adenoids removed. The ear infections he has experienced in the past months (and years) has caused some scarring on his eardrums. In consequence, he has also experienced some hearing loss that this procedure will hopefully remedy. While Mason's hearing is better than Hunter's, the doctor did say that Mason would also be a good candidate for the procedure as he also has some scarring on his eardrums. Sooooo, on June 30th we will be heading to Children's West where both Hunter and Mason will get tubes in their ears. I am really hoping and praying that this helps Hunter out especially as I have talked to numerous doctors about my concerns regarding his ears and his hearing. That's a long story overall..... It wasn't until last month that our pediatrician finally agreed that enough is enough and referred us on to a specialist. I have some bad feelings about all that.... Another long story.....

So guess where my Q-Comp money is going---- "new ears" for the boys! :) Better take a trip out to the money tree in the backyard. I say this but also realize how much this is going to help my little guys, especially my oldest little guy!

Celebrating 9 Years of Marriage

9 Random Things about Mitch and Beth's 9 Years of Marriage
Happy Anniversary Mitch! Married on Saturday, May 20, 2000

1. Our honeymoon occurred almost a year after we married. We headed to Las Vegas and drank ourselves silly!

2. Our second honeymoon occurred in 2002. I won a trip to Nassau, Bahamas. We saw Incubus play in a private concert on the beach.

3. After having children (and we waited quite a long time to have children), we headed to Las Vegas again for my sister Sarah's wedding. We realized during that trip that when we have the chance to escape the stress of everyday life, we are actually the best of friends.

4. One of our favorite things to do together is play Scrabble. We fight when we play, but we also have fun when we play. (Mitch makes up words and according to him, he wins more often then me, and I am an English teacher- a detail he really likes to rub in when I lose)

5. We are really in no way alike-- that must be what brought us together!

6. We both think are kids are the greatest two people who have ever walked the face of the earth. We talk about how awesome we think they are pretty much everyday. We wonder how many people feel the same way about OUR kids :) !

7. Mitch put lilacs in a vase for me this evening, knowing that it's one of my favorite flowers/scents. We had lilacs at our wedding.

8. We do value the same things and have a similar belief system. Our personalities set us apart from one another.

9. Neither of us sleeps well when the other is gone.

Hot hot hot

I love warm weather! Now, hot weather on the other hand is a little bit tougher, especially when you add little ones to the mix. I held out as long as I could and then cranked on the air conditioner. The temperature in our house read at a sizzling 87 degrees and both kids were crying, about toys and each other (not the heat), and literally hanging onto my legs as I tried to have a phone conversation with first my mother and then my sister. I raised my voice (nice way to put it) and then got Mason into the bath, as he was covered in sunscreen and dirt (such a yummy combination). I admit, the heat brings out the devil in me. I'm a lover of the 70s and low 80s where the weather is concerned! :)

Happy Happy Joy Joy

We celebrated TGIF by taking the boys to DQ for an ice cream treat. Hunter ordered his cone and changed his mind twice in regards to the flavor- white, then brown, and then back to white (his words). I guess that is three times. I ordered ice cream in a cup for Mason and really, the cup accomplished very little as Mason very effectively had ice cream all over his body- hair, shirt, pants, etc. Being at the DQ took me back to my high schools days of employment at the DQ in Beulah, North Dakota. There was once a time when one of life's greatest pleasures was cutting the snickers and reeses peanut butter cups in small, bite-size pieces. Everyone who worked there loved that job. Lots of snacking going on.

Mitch worked on Saturday and I cleaned, in preparation for our babysitter. Mitch and I celebrated our ninth wedding anniversary (which is actually May 20) with our best friends from college, Brian and Ann. We had a lot of good laughs!

On Sunday, I woke up at 6 a.m. and headed to Lake Nokomis for my first real bike ride of the season. We biked 15 miles and then ran two miles. Mitch and I also took the boys to the zoo. Again, fan favorites went to the sharks and the grizzly bears, which were actually "fighting" while we were there. It was really something to watch. Hunter loved it and Mason looked a bit scared. At one point, Mason actually put his hand up and yelled, "Bear! No!" After getting home, I practiced anchoring my new bike shoes into my new bike pedals. I have absolutely no skill where that is concerned and it's causing me some angst.

Not much more to report. I guess I did pay bills tonight and drank. I find that paying bills and drinking really do go hand-in-hand. At least for me. :) Three more weeks of full-time daycare and then we get some relief! SUMMER!

It was a Zoo at the Zoo Today

I woke up this morning with big plans. I knew that I had quite the day ahead of me--Mitch and his brother and nephew had a full day of work on the siding-- and the boys were under my watchful eye. I decided an outing to the Minnesota Zoo would be just the ticket. So we packed up and were out the door by 9:30 a.m. We stopped by Target on our way to Apple Valley. We each, Hunter, Mason, and I, purchased a new pair of sunglasses. Hunter opted for Transformer sunglasses which he refused to take off, even in the darker exhibits. Mason grabbed the Hot Wheels sunglasses and I a pair of flashy gold ones. Upon entering the zoo, I decided that our family needed to become Zoo members so I paid the 85 bucks, knowing full well that trips to the zoo will be plentiful this summer. We visited every single exhibit. Hunter's favorite was the shark tank and the puma, which was eating a cantaloupe. Hunter thought that was quite funny. Mason was pretty much stroller bound the whole four-hour trip, though I did free him a couple times, once to play on activity equipment and again to play in the Farm area. We enjoyed pizza for lunch. Well, actually Hunter and Mason enjoyed pizza and for some reason, I just couldn't stomach it. I waited until we returned home at 2:30 p.m. to eat lunch. Mason stayed awake the whole trip, that is until we were about two blocks away from home. That made putting him down for a nap a bit tricky. He did sleep though, until about 4 p.m. Then it was a trip to Home Depot, where the boys enjoyed the truck cart and I scoped out new lighting for our entrance and garage. Dinner was from the crockpot and then the night really began. Mitch cleaned up outside and I cleaned up inside, with the boys crawling all over me. Overall, it was a good, albeit extremely busy, weekend. I truly enjoyed the two beers I gulped down this evening while watching "Desperate Housewives!"