Renovations, 7 months, 36 years, Pool

It's been a big week for the kitchen.
Two things have happened.
1. We found a new stainless steel microwave while rummage saling ... for $10.
2. Wade and Lynn are remodeling their house and are updating their stove/oven so they are giving their double oven to us.

Both projects took a bit of finessing. The best part is the financial commitment to these upgrades. After selling our old microwave and updating parts and needed pieces... the whole set up cost us $27. Wade even came over to help unload and get it into the house.

Ainsley is continuing to grow into her personality. Her new "thing" is to
scrunch up her nose when she gets to smiling or feeling cheeky!

I think we are close to saying goodbye to summer for good. E and I went for a bike ride this past week. She's really gotten very good at her glider. Grady hasn't really ridden his lately. I'm hoping he comes back around next spring when he's feeling more confident with it.

We also celebrated my birthday and it was sweet to have people think of me..current
and past coworkers, the kids, and my family. We had pizza and donut cake to celebrate. For my birthday, E and I went to a Mommy and Me painting class. When I got there I was thinking I was a bit over my head BUT E did so well. I helped her get started and worked on putting the breaks on every once in awhile to ensure that she didn't have 2 inches thick of paint BUT she mostly did it all herself. She had to stand sometimes or get down and go see the "inspiration" but I think we both enjoyed ourselves.

Rick, Shantelle, and Alice were also in town for the weekend, we were hoping to take in the pumpkin patch but the weather didn't cooperate. Instead, we went swimming in the pool. E swam circles around everyone, G was over it pretty quick, and A thought it was fun! It was really nice to catch up with them and see how much Alice has grown.

EER: Mister Uncle Wade, you want to see my bedroom?
Uncle Wade: Why, yes I do.
Up the stairs they go.
Chatter is onoging.
Uncle Wade: Yes, that is a nice closet.
Chatter ensues.
Uncle Wade: Oh, yes, that is your bed.
More chatter.
Uncle Wade: Yes, I see, you don't need to take your clothes out. Yes they are very nice.
Everybody comes downstairs.
EER: You stay with us forever?

36

Getting old is all about the numbers... you go 365 days to add one more year to your tally.

This year it's 36. There are other numbers that are important in my life or cause me to stop and think.
3 - yes, the obvious is the three kids in three years but we also were married three years before we had our first kid.

48 - the number of the first cow that I ever owned. To be honest, I can't remember if I ever bought said cow or it was gifted to me in exchange for labor.
Ironically, when I started riding the bus, the first bus that I rode was number 48.

37.50 - the amount that is paid out to a top bet ($25) blackjack. Whenever I hear this specific amount I appreciate the work and hours that I put in myself to help put myself through college.

236 - the address of the first house that I ever bought - and bought by myself. The first house that I bought with Matt was 635.


4 - the number of houses that I have bought, either alone or with Matt

5D - the number of my grandfather's racecar... but also the number of one of my dad's cows that shaped the direction of his herd. I never saw the racecar but I remember hearing about it from my mother and hearing the memories in her voice.

52 - the street address of the house I grew up on.

100 miles - how far I've ever lived away from home - Minot and Dickinson both fit in that radius.

8 - England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, St Maarten/St Martin, Guatemala, Mexico, Canada, the number of countries I've visited... and twice to England and St Maarten both.

24 - the age I thought I'd be when I'd have my schit together. I didn't.

1 - the number of husbands I've had.

I don't know why 36 years makes me suddenly feel oldish. Don't get me wrong, I don't think I'm way old or old but I have become very aware that I'm not as young as I once was.

MJR walks into daycare with G wearing a headband (which is his sister's)
MJR: So, the headband, don't worry about it. He's in this Bret Michaels phase right now, we are just going with it.
Daycare teacher: who's Bret Michaels?

I'm fully aware that I'm a ma'am in customer service terms. I see a generation of girls younger than me either driving cars, soaking up white claws, and I'm not jealous of them. SURE, I'd love their freedom... to come and go as you please, to not be accountable to anyone, to think your problems and drama are huge, but it's all relative. I am okay with my problems, I'm happy to have little phases to come home too (I'd like those little faces to sleep through the night) but there's something about a little boy begging for a kess that I wouldn't trade for anything.

So there it is. I'm 36. Entering Middleaged-ness. I have mom jeans and mom shoes to go with my mom-bod and mom mentality. I can't complain I even got to share my birthday candles with a singr and a spitter!

WFHR, Badlands Camp

Matt played warrior this week while I played in Grand Forks. I took off Monday for the Workforce and HR Conference. It was odd for me as this is the first time in 5 years that I haven't been actively planning the event. We were going to the event to work a booth and help out a bit. It was so good to see some of the people that have been with the event for so long. I also took in a few good locations including Rhombus Guys, Bonzers, and Crooked Pint. I did manage to catch some bug and ended up losing my voice! UGH!




 

The best part of the trip was coming home to see some smiling faces - I had really missed them and it seemed like quite a long time. E went with her class to her first movie - a Trolls Movie. It's hard to believe she was ready but they said she did really well.

The weekend kept trend with a lot of the month of September - wet and rainy. It's probably been the wettest Fall ever and nothing is changing colors - it is so green. On Saturday, Matt and Eleanor took off for the badlands to do a scouting trip for deer hunting. They camped out for the weekend and did some planning for where Matt would be able to go in November. They slept in the tent, made a foil pack for supper, and also covered some ground. They saw some deer but also saw some antelope.

G and A stayed home with me. We had a lowkey day on Satuday... tried to get out for a walk but on Sunday we headed to the zoo for some fun, we event invited Mom and Dad to join us. Grady was excited to share mini-donuts with Grandpa and ride the train.

EER at bedtime.
ALR: I'm so glad that you and Dad spent the time together.
EER: Yes, we went camping and hiking in bad land.
ALR: I know. I heard you did so well.
EER: Yes.
ALR: What was your favorite part?
EER: Burger King.

Lemon CakePie, Air Museum Gin, Pumpkin decor

It's been a crazy week... Policy Summit was this week and it was a flurry scurry at the end. AND we celebrated Matt's birthday. Matt has never been super excited about his birthday but I want the kids to also get that it's important so I bought balloons and got him a special cake - or a lemon pie, and also got a few presents for him to open. The kids thought it was fun to blow out the candles with him.

We also finally celebrated our anniversary this weekend - sure it was last week but we weren't in any place or condition to really take time for ourselves. Michele and Randy came down and spent the night with the kids and we took off for Fargo and went to the Fargo Air Museum's big fundraising event, we were given tickets from Kim and Jon so it was a triple win. Good supper, fun event, and getting to catch up a bit with good friends. We did bid on a few silent auction items to no avail BUT the highlight was Matt buying a ticket to for the Aviation Gin and winning it!

We bummed a bit in Fargo - had brunch at Granite City and also took in Costco (isn't that what all party people do). When we got back, we said good bye to Grandma and Grandpa and decorated the front steps with pumpkins and gourds that we got from neighbor Vern. Here's hoping all the dropped pumpkins will survive!!

ALR and GRR getting ready for GRR to take a nap.
Reading Brown Bear.
Door swings open.
EER: Mama - can I get some books to take to Dad?
ALR: Yes, you can.
EER grabs 6 books and walks back to the door.
ALR: Eleanor, please close the door.
EER sets books on the floor. Door closes.
GRR: Bye, ElNor
Door swings back open.
EER: You have a good nap, buddy.
EER walks back.
EER: High five?
High five ensues.
EER: Knucks?
Knucks ensues.
EER: Okay, you have a good time and I'll see you in a bit.
EER grabs each side of his face and kisses him
GRR: Bye ElNor.
EER walks back to the door.
EER: Okay, I'm going to go check on Dad. You have a good night.
GRR: Bye ElNor
GRR waves.
EER: I'll miss you, Grady.
EER walks back in.
GRR grabs both sides of her face, kisses her.
ALR: okay, okay. Go check on Dad, Grady needs to take a nap.
EER: Okay, I'll see you in a bit. You have a good rest....
Chatter continues as door shuts.
GRR in a quiet voice: Bye ElNor.

Sitting Up, Big Boy Bed, Policy Summit, Preschool Change

Ainsley's had some big milestones lately... more solid food but also starting to sit up a bit on her own. She's wobbly as can be but she's wanting to sit up and see what's going on around her.

Grady also hit a milestone...he got upgraded from the crib to a toddler bed! He hasn't been actively trying to crawl out yet but we can tell he wants in a bit and we thought he may want his own corner of the world. He hasn't done too bad! WAYYYY better than E did but he's also got about 5 months on her from the timeframe. 

I've been super hectic at work. Our big event of the year, Policy Summit, is coming up and I haven't exactly felt prepared and with a new event, I'm still learning the ropes. The job change to the State Chamber has been a really good move for me. I've missed some of my co-workers and some of the colleagues and projects that I worked with but I've gotten along great with the new team and culture. That combined with the work makes me excited to go to each day. 

EER's self-portrait!

Her move to the preschool room has been good - we work on potty training but she's also curious to learn - numbers, alphabet, colors... She knows each of the letters - and has started working on writing them too. Her and I went for a walk down on Sunday to a rummage sale and it was chilly with the wind and the rain.... so when we came home we had some hot chocolate and cinnamon toast. She was pretty impressed.

Headed out to eat for breakfast.
MJR: Should we go to McDonald's?
Everyone: YEAH!
The next day running errands.
EER: Can we go to EIEIO?
ALR: What are you talking about?
EER: Can we go to EIEIO?
MJR: Oh, Eleanor, we'll go to McDonald's another day.
ALR looks at MJR: Oh, good job. How'd you get there so quick?

Hiking, Crab Boil, Corn, 6 mo

It's almost like you can feel summer winding down as we start the month of September. Matt is ready for Fall but I'm not. I want more sun, more summer, more pool splashes, more picnics.

We are still working on potty training - I feel like we are close to a breakthrough... we go a few hours with things "working" perfectly and then have a pitfall. I did have to make an emergency trip to McDonald's this past weekend because someone pooped in the potty - and I was ready to make good on a promise... no matter the time of day. We may actually get there... I'm just hoping it's sooner than later.

Matt and E also have started hiking to prep for Matt's trip to the
badlands. He has a meat-carrying pack and E sits on the perch while Matt hikes.

For labor day, we did a crab boil - the kids were very intrigued, especially E who was curious about all the things that went into the pot - shrimp, corn, potatoes, and crab. G ended up with a burn on his hand from the pot - but he was in heaven with all the food!

Since we used all our corn in the boil, we headed out to the farm to pick some from Grandpa's field. We got so much!! They had a good time running in the rows and pulling at the ears. We got 2 wagons full! The thing that did make me smile was as we finished and headed back to the yard, I looked up and saw E and G holding hands. They may not always get along... sometimes she bosses him or he pulls her hair - but that was one of the sweetest moments I've seen.

 

We also took A's growing pics - since I had a little help in taking the pics, they wanted to be included in a batch of their own.

MJR and EER on a hike, they are about 2 minutes in.
EER: We stop for a snack soon?
MJR: We will stop for a drink of water but won't have a snack until we get to the top.
EER: We stop for a drink now?
they've walked for 5 minutes.
In another 5 minutes.
EER: We stop for a drink?
In about 7 minutes.
EER: I'm thirsty.
3 minutes later.
EER: There's a biker coming, maybe we stop and get a drink?
5 minutes later.
EER: We stop for a drink?
.....