milestones

santa’s little buddies

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

You guys!?!?  I want to cry when I look at these pictures!

How is it possible for 2 little guys to change SO much in 3 short years?!  For instance…Dexter didn’t even exist (okay, he existed but not on the outside of my body) and now look at this kid who wears big boy unna-wears to the mall when we pick out ornaments and visit Santa.  And don’t even get me started on Theo – he looks like he’s aged 8 years since last December.  Meanwhile, that mall Santa stays about the same.  

We made a big production out of going to the mall and it was a lot of fun.

Checking out the gingerbread house contest.

Checking out the little mermaid…haaay pretty lady!

The line was not long but it was kind of slow moving so the boys were excited to finally talk to Santa!  Theo was the teensiest bit apprehensive this time, wanting me to hold his hand as he walked up to Santa.  He asked Ryan if the parents are ever in the picture.  But he was fine – and told Santa he’d like a whole bunch of Legos and “maybe some key chains or somethin.”  Ha.  Dexter said he’d like a blue candy cane and some blue presents. 

Afterwards, they were given the choice of cookies or ice cream for a special treat and chose….

Ice cream!
At last, it was time to make final decisions for 2013 ornaments and get home to hang them on the tree. 

Picking the perfect spot…

And while we’re on the subject — can anyone solve this mystery:  The Case of the Disappearing LED Christmas Lights.  Evidence A & B:

Not really excited that half the lights on my tree disappear in photos?! WTH…help??

happy, happy –
~C~

smooth sailin’ today

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

I was mostly worried for Dexter today because he’s really never been away from Theo, but especially since he’s been old enough to know what’s going on in the world around him. For example, his brother going to an ultra cool new preschool while he returns to the babysitter. Alone.

There were no tears this morning.  None from Dexter, none from mommy or daddy, and certainly zilch-o from Theo.  He was pumped to get to school and get to playing.

And that he did.


When I picked him up, they reported that he was wonderfully behaved, kept very busy, and had them in stitches with his humor.  Couldn’t ask for a better report than that.  Ms. Darcy, one of his teachers, said that during circle time, they were teaching the new/little ones about raising their hand before speaking. This is new to him, as he’s never been in this kind of structured classroom setting.  Ms. Darcy said that after being instructed, Theo did raise his hand to speak one time, but did not feel that it was necessary subsequent times. She said he kept saying “but I already DID raise my hand.”  ha.  

Ready to play.  See ya, mom and dad!!

I can’t wait to see how much he learns and grows from this new experience.

our tenth wedding anniversary

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

To say that our ten year anniversary snuck up on us would be an understatement.  I remember when we were dating and talking about getting married, how it would be our dream to go to Hawaii for our honeymoon.  Well, we underestimated how much the wedding and everything else would cost.  We settled for Jamaica (no complaints, we loved it!) and said we’d go to Hawaii for our 5 year anniversary.  We didn’t really plan for a trip to Hawaii but during the winter prior to our 5th anniversary, we were presented with the opportunity to go on an Alaskan cruise shortly before our anniversary.  Amazing! But not Hawaii.  What is it about Hawaii?  I guess to us, it’s the ultimate vacation destination.  Anyway, it worked out best that we go to Disney this fall and sorry Charlie, but we’re just not the type of family that is able to go on two big vacations in one year.  So around March, I started looking for destinations for a romantic weekend getaway that were within driving distance.

I discovered Hocking Hills (in Ohio) and could not stop oohing and aahing over the images online.  So, I booked our trip to Ohio (again, not Hawaii) for the 4th through the 6th. Maybe it’s a more realistic goal to get there for our 20th anniversary.  Maybe.

On Friday, July 5th, we celebrated 10 years of marriage.  I kept saying “know what we were doing 10 years ago right now?”  And we struggled a little to remember the sequence and details throughout our wedding day.  We pieced it together and had fun re-living the memories together.

Babies.  Just babies.
We stopped for lunch in Columbus and then headed south to Logan, where our hotel was.  I had never been to Columbus and noon on the 4th of July was certainly not the time to visit.  Deadsville.  But it seemed like a wonderful town.  Logan:  Not Hawaii.  I researched online and this town looked so cute with some of the neatest shops and restaurants.  In reality, the town was a dump.  Sorry, Logan.  I get the draw, the surrounding area of Hocking Hills is astounding.  Amazing.  But when we rolled into town, we didn’t know that.  Logan could do a lot to increase tourism in the area – or at least the tourists’ experience there.  We were lucky to have a delicious barbeque place called Millstone BBQ right next to our hotel.  It was the beginning of my undoing.  
Spiked Southern Tea (x2) and Apple Cinnamon Nachos.  Shew lawdy. 
I was too incapacitated (from the nachos, not the spiked tea) to go to the local fireworks, so we went back to our hotel to use the hot tub.  ‘Cept the jets weren’t working.  Cool!  
Friday morning (our actual anniversary) we headed to Lancaster for our big adventure of the weekend. 
It rained/drizzled throughout our 2 hour zipline tour, but overall it wasn’t terrible.  Most of the time we were protected by the canopy of trees.  I obviously wasn’t able to take my camera or phone so I was happy they offered a photo package.  We got to ride 11 different lines and rappel down from the last platform.  

Practice time – learning how to self-rescue.

Lucky me! I got to be the first one to go across the first line.

Before I figured out that you steer with your wrists, I was twisty-turny.

Zipping across one of the 1,000+ foot lines, over 100 feet in the air!

Racing.  (Pretty sure I lost).

Getting ready to rappel.
After ziplining, we were hungry so we went into the town of Lancaster, OH, where we SHOULD have stayed.  It was super cute and historic with the neatest buildings and homes, as well as a modernized area with all of the amenities you could ask for.  I already want to take the boys to the Hocking Hills/Columbus area when they are a little older so I’ll keep this in mind.  We found another neat spot to eat called Four Reasons.  So cute and delicious.  The rain let up so we stopped at the next attraction area on our way back to Logan. 
It was some pretty intense hiking despite this serene looking photo so afterwards, I was ready to do a bit of shopping and relaxing. 

Too bad these awesome-sauce boots were $130.
Friday night we ate at a Mexican restaurant near our hotel and it was delicious.  Afterwards, I wanted to die.  I ate way too much and am definitely going to have some make-up work to do for the damage I did this weekend.  Was it worth it?  Depends on whether or not I can lose this FIVE extra pounds or not… oh and by the way, the hot tub still wasn’t working.  WASTE!
Saturday we got up and headed to the heart of Hocking Hills. I have to admit that up to this point in our trip, I was feeling pretty disappointed overall.  Glad that we were able to get away but pretty bummed about the gloomy weather and the town we stayed in.  (P.S. As we checked out, we noticed that the jets in the hot tub were indeed working again. WTH).  So we found Old Man’s Cave which has several fantastic other spots to see, all within a 6 mile hike.  We did the entire thing and absolutely fell in love with the area.  It was gorgeous.  It seemed that there was a surprise around every corner.  The hike Saturday made the entire trip for me.  The ziplining was a fun adventure, but THIS was Hocking Hills. This is what we went there to see.  I again did not want to carry my camera, not knowing if it would rain, if I’d fall in the creek, or if I’d drop it in the mud so I went with only my cell.  If you have time or ever consider a day trip to the area though, please look up photos online.  Pictures can’t come close to standing there in the magical natural wonder of Hocking Hills.  Swear.

It was truly magnificent.  My opinion of our trip went from hum-drum/so-so to over-the-top-wonderful in the 3+ hrs we spent hiking there.  I would have done more if I thought my legs would hold out!  It was pretty rugged (and dangerous even) in spots with lots of climbing.  I’m sore today but it was so worth it.  
Can’t wait to take the boys when they get a little older. I thought of them so many times and how much they would love exploring the beauty of this place. We got home Saturday evening and picked up the boys first thing Sunday morning.  Oh, did it feel good to get them in my arms again!  What a fantastic break from work and reality for just a few short days.  So, was it anything like Hawaii?  Not a chance, and I’m okay with that.  
Having fun at Nana and Pop Pop’s.
xo,
A lady who’s been married for over 10 years