Week in the Life: Day 2

So far, so good.
I'm not getting every picture that I've hoped for, but happy with being able to capture and record those moments that I have.
It is ok.

My creation
Originally uploaded by emmayrand

Notes from today:
Ryan made the kids waffles for breakfast while I was getting ready upstairs.
Aidan got dressed, then undressed, and then had to get redressed before leaving for school. Left the house without a jacket or sweatshirt and was cold on the way to school.
It's definitely feeling like fall, cool breeze today and only a little sunshine.
Olivia went to play at Coco's house this morning while I did my training for the Fire Safety House at Roosevelt. Had a pumpkin muffin at the Romant's house when I was picking Olivia up.
Came home around 10:30am and was still really hungry, so I had some leftover pasta from last night. Olivia had PB&J, some yogurt and a fruit snack. She also broke a pink Fiestaware plate too. Oh well.
She watched Wallace & Grommit this morning. I spent a lot of time on the computer trying to update the blog with yesterday's happenings. Finally got the whole photo mosaic thing figured out again.
Quiet time this afternoon while Olivia napped upstairs in her "nest". She didn't want to sleep in her bed, and instead made up an area on the floor with a bunch of blankets and stuffed animals. After hearing her play upstairs for a while, I told her she needed to quiet down and go to sleep. Checked the Studio Calico MB for a while. People were listing their favorite adhesives, so that lead me on a chase to figure out why my ATG adhesive gun doesn't work. Finally got to another site, where they mentioned that some were defective. Contacted 3M, hoping that they will be able to replace it for me....really, really hoping for this!
Picked up Aidan from school and played on the playground for a bit before going home. Kids are watching cartoons from the PBS afternoon line-up. Next up, homework, then dinner...
Apparently, Barack Obama has the first grade vote. According to Aidan, everyone in his class is voting for Obama, except him and Elliott, who are McCain supporters, HA!
Homework went well, no opposition today.
I took a quick shower before dinner. As I was finishing up in the bathroom, I could here the kids out in the kitchen. I figured out that they were setting the table together. When I walked into the kitchen, they had it finished and it looked really great. Love that they didn't need to be asked to do this and that they did it without fighting!
The kids helped me make Chicken Alfredo pizza for dinner. Really it was just looking through my fridge and finding things that could be cut up and put on a Pillsbury pizza crust. I think they enjoyed being involved in the process. Aidan spread the alfredo sauce, Olivia added the chicken, Aidan & I finished with tomatoes, zucchini, and a little chopped broccoli. It was quite tasty, even though Aidan didn't want any of the zucchini.
After dinner, Olivia summoned us for family time reading books. I think that we are beginning to establish an evening routine that doesn't involve the TV. After reading Dora, Knuffle Bunny & Three Billy Goats Gruff (one of my childhood favorites) it was time to get ready for bed. Ryan got the kids to bed for me so that I could drive over to the Wolf's house for a Silpada party. Spent about an hour there and had a brownie too. Came home to a quiet house. Ryan was working on the laptop as usual, and watching Battlestar Galactica, season 2. T-minus 2 days of having the laptop at home. Looking forward to less working from home with the new job.
Finished up the evening by sorting out 2 huge baskets of laundry, watching this People magazine weight loss show, and the news. I also had a glass of Bohemian Highway cabernet that the Breitzmann's brought over last Friday night. I opted out of a second glass, although I was very tempted.
Lights out at 10:30.

Week in the Life: Day 1

So here's a little project that I will try my hardest to participate in all week long. Ali Edwards, the scrapbooking genius, was my inspiration for this. Please check out her blog, if you're interested.

So rather than keep notes on a million little pieces of paper, I decided that I should utilize the ol' blog to put down my thoughts for the day.

Week in the Life: Day 1
Originally uploaded by emmayrand

Our Monday went a little like this:
Cereal for breakfast, Aidan off to school, come home, finish getting Olivia ready, drop her off too. Come home, check e-mail, blogs, etc. Remember that I need to start taking pictures for this project.
Dishes, laundry, pick Olivia up from preschool.
Go directly to McDonald's for some lunch. Olivia 4-piece nugget meal with "lullaby munchkin" as her toy. Me Double Cheeseburger, fries, and sharing some of Olivia's lemonade. Spent a long time at McD's. Practiced writing her name on some scraps of paper from my purse. Thanked a worker on the way out for her food. Went to Target, and spent a long time browsing the aisles. The main purpose of the trip was to get fabric softener... and $50 later we left. Didn't splurge on too many things though.
Met a rapper/r&b singer named "Young Voice" in the Target parking lot--kinda strange, but whatever....
Olivia almost fell asleep on the way home. Got inside and made some coffee. Olivia had me make her a cup too. After I finished pouring mine, I couldn't figure out where she went. I called to her, and there she was already perched in front of the computer ready to check e-mail. (She knows this is "my thing". Coffee & computer.) Hung around the house for a bit, then it was off to pick Aidan up from school. Had to make sure I was there on time, since it was the first time the first-graders were coming out of the building by themselves.(kinda a scary thought!)
Went to Sendiks after school. Had to figure out what to make for dinner--the end results was rotini pasta with Italian sausage crumbles, red bell & onions, a little mozzarella baked on top. Broccoli for the kids, and zucchini for me & Ryan.
Squeezed in a couple afternoon cartoons, a little math homework, and then ate dinner. After dinner we read 3 books together as a family. No TV. Was nice to have "quiet" for a change. Early bed time since Olivia didn't have a nap, and Aidan was being pretty teary tonight.
Finished doing some more laundry. Ryan worked on his lap-top. I looked through some old journaling form my semester in Germany in 1997. Interesting to see everything that I had done while there. Called to Mom and talked for about half an hour. Trying to finalize plans for camping this weekend. Looking forward to that upcoming adventure. Ryan came upstairs to spend a little time with me before heading back down to work again. He had me laughing so hard that I started coughing and had to use my inhaler! 10:30 in bed, ready to sleep.

thankful for us

layout made with Studio Calico September kit, Iconic

These pictures aren't the greatest, but I decided to use them on this layout anyhow. I figure that there's not nearly enough pictures of Ryan & I together. Photos are from Trisha & Matt's wedding in November of 2004. I was 8 months pregnant at the time, and wore this really pretty paisley print maternity dress. I know I never wore it again. So this is the only way to remember it.

In other news, Ryan quit his job this week after receiving a job offer from Kohls. This will be a major change in our family, as he's only worked for DS since college, almost 10 years at the same company. I'm hoping that the transition will be smooth, and will be beneficial for our entire family. In addition to a raise, I'm mostly looking forward to more family time. (Really, really hoping for this!)

Congrats, honey. I'm very proud of your perseverance.

Looking back on first day photos.

1st grade(2008)



Senior Kindergarten (2007)


Junior Kindergarten (2006)



I didn't realize it was our tradition to take a picture in front of the big tree until Ryan mentioned it on the first day of school this year. Looking back, I think Aidan looks pretty much the same. Taller, of course. And a couple less teeth this year!

A day of endings...

So far today I've...
Walked Aidan to his last day of Summer playground.
Went to Olivia's dance recital on the last day of class.


And in the midst of the fun stuff I've also...

Showered.
Done 4 loads of laundry.
Swept the basement steps.
Swept up all the dead ants from the kitchen floor (seriously, it's been an infestation since yesterday...really, I don't know why they've decided to come indoors now)
Helped Aidan build a new lego truck.
Made PB & J for lunch.
Had 2 giant cups of coffee.
Managed to get Olivia to take a nap.
Uploaded pics from the recital to post on the blog.
Checked e-mail. (And I also promised a quick trip to the library...I must be crazy!)

Pretty soon I'll have to start getting myself and the kiddos ready to head up by Ryan's work, so that I can go to work tonight. Boo! to having to work tonight, but Yay! for getting so much accomplished today. And just in case you want the quick highlights of the dance recital, here you go:

Summer update...

Okay, this first picture is for all the grandma's that will be reading this!!!!
Yes, Ryan is responsible for Aidan's new summer haircut--so what do you think?
Although it probably won't last very long it's kinda fun for right now. It definately will be gone by the time school pictures roll around in September!



I can't believe how the summer just keeps screeching forward. One day before August. The last month of vacation. Aidan's summer playground will be finished next week... and then I'm afraid the days may begin to start dragging.
It's finally getting HOT around here...The dog-days of summer as it may be. I'm definately not a big fan of the hot weather, but I guess that's what summer is all about. I gave in and turned on the air conditioning this morning, the humidity was killing me! The hot weather gives us an excuse to hang out inside for a while today...then maybe the movies tomorrow...or maybe the pool!


A couple weekends ago we were at my brother & sister in-laws for a picnic and fireworks and my brother was so kind to take me for a ride on his new motorcycle, (and I arrived back in one piece too!) Aidan also got to try out my nephew's mini-motorcycle with training wheels! Who knew you could do that?

Happy 4th!

Auntie Amy came bright and early this morning to wake up the kids and then head off to the parade. Luckily we live just 3 blocks away from the parade route, so we walk down and visit with the rest of the neighbors.
Off to a little party (hopefully some swimming, if it's warm enough) and then fireworks tonight!