I Still do..

EXIST!! I swear I'm here, it's been a lil crazy.

About a month ago we purchased vinyl fencing (thank you Lowe's for changing suppliers and marking all your current stock 80% off) to go around 3 sides of the pool the north, west and south sides. We will then put chain link on the east side (so we can see into the rest of the yard from the pool area), we will also chain link the entire backyard.  The project was planned to be completed by last week, however as it is with many projects things came up.  Like a cut tendon in Marcus' left thumb resulting in requiring surgery to repair, the weekend before surgery we managed to get 3 panels installed on the north side and every weekend since we have managed put up 4 more panels on the west side, I'm the post hole digger and I'm proud to say I dig 4-5 holes in an hour, once that is complete Marcus takes over with placement and ensuring things all line up and I turn into just the post holder.
 
Then our fence project got put on hold again for another week when our renter from our 1st house moved out. I swear cleaning never made it onto the "to do list" for the tenant.  So we spent everyday last week at the house. Some days Ian and I were there for 10-12hrs other days about 4-6hrs.  Marcus came every evening after he got off work (the thumb situation also prevents any shifts being worked at the fire station for 3 months so as least we didn't have to battle the house with shifts or else there would have been some all nighters). The one thing that was the same was that every night we weren't getting home till around 10:30 and we ate out every night. Our house turned into sleeping and showering quarters only.  I'm glad last week is over and new tenants have moved in with strict instructions to CLEAN!!!

This week has been spent playing catch up, since I was busy at the other house our house didn't get cleaned, laundry piled up, food went bad in the fridge.

Hoping for a bit more of an exciting post next time.

Goggle boy

For Easter (which yes I know still need to blog about) Ian got goggles.  While Sis was here for swim lessons she had a pair that he would wear so it only made sense to get him a pair of his own.  I took him to an indoor pool close to our home to give his swimming skills and goggles a test! He swam great cried a little as the pool edges were different than what he was use too.  And upon leaving I asked if he would like to swim again another day and he said but asked if someone could come watch him swim.  He also loved his goggles so much that he wore them for an ENTIRE day. We to grocery #1 he wore them, grocery store #2 he wore them, and grocery store #3 he wore them. He did take them off for a little while at home and then when it was bathtime he wore them again.

Easter Morning

Easter Evening

Monday after we went swimming

This is at store #3 he wore his goggles into

and now bathtime of the same day

Remember my post about his choosing to wear what he wants, again we accomplished our to do list tear free and tanturm free.  Other little boys told him he had cool goggles and he put a smile on the faces of fellow shoppers so there ya go everyone WINS!!

13.1

2 weeks ago I marked another thing off the 2013 list and that was to run another 13.1 miles (1/2 marathon).  This is my 3rd time running a 1/2 and my 2nd time running a solo 1/2.  Since the treadmill entered our home back in December it gets used on a daily basis.  I found myself running 6 miles so I looked at the 1/2 training schedule and was more than half-way through the training.  After a quick look at the calendar I was to be running it this week instead of last week.  But 2 weeks ago the weather was sunny and temps were a bit a chilly but decided that since I was to run 10 miles what was another 3.1 so I trekked out and pounded out the mileage. Had a couple technology issues 1) my app's GPS was off and mis-tracked the entire 1st mile 2) battery on phone died after 11.26 miles (I reset the app when it messed up the 1st mile so technically battery died at 12.26 miles) meaning I had .84 miles to go. Meaning I had to totally wing it and use my best judgement as to where my finish line would be I bascially just took the long way home from where my battery died. My pace average was 8min 30sec, finished in under 2hrs. 

was able to take this once I got home to my charger

traded gross gel stuff for yummy baby food

and a selfie post run (can you say shiny?!)

So until next year, I will continue to run my 27 miles a week either on the treadie or on the road.

many outfits

Ian likes to pick his clothes so we let him, he was just getting into a rut of wearing the same shirts every week when the child have way more than 7 shirts to wear. So as I would do laundry those shirts would get "stuck" in the laundry room forcing him to pick something else.  Well...pick something else he has done:

 

As you can see from some of the pics I actually take him out in public with his outfit choices on.  If you are a parent you understand, all that really matters is that your child is dressed, happy and you made it out of the house!  Some days its the small things:)

same across the board

I feel I have may have blogged about this topic once before but I am not in the mood to go back and search through previous posts so yeah you can either keep reading or close out now.

If you are still reading...
and you were to look in my closet you would see 3 different brands of jeans all different sizes, yet I could wear all the different brands in one day and they all fit. So, if you are a male and you are trying to understand how your wife or significant other can't just go into a store pick up a pair of jeans and buy them direct you to go back and re-read the 1st sentence of this paragraph. The real question should be why can't all brands/designers get on the same page with their sizing.  I have sizes ranging from 4-10 in my closet (they all fit) it's really quite annoying and I dread when I wear a pair out because it's irritating, exhausting, often depressing having to try on jeans.  Another thing I don't get is that in a size L belt I am on the very last hole and could use more holes so I go and try on a size M belt and I can barely get that sucker in the 1st hole. Explain me that???

And while I'm on the topic of shopping and trying things on.  I recently went bra shopping which can I just say is LAME!! The cost of a bra beyond double letters is ridiculous so I would like to thank sister sizes and Target for saving almost $40 on my bra purchase.  And dear bra manufacturers let me give you a reality check people who require more a double letter bra are not made out of money nor do they all choose to be beyond double letters, some people have actually inherited what they have. So how about some moderately priced bras beyond double letters:)

Sorry for going off the Ian track but the above is something that irritates me A LOT that it deserved it's own post.

And one time...

Ian has started to "read" based on the pictures illustrated which my teacher friends inform me is a precursor to reading.

Here are a couple of his story times:

and he totally sneezed and wiped it all over the counter. 

 

And can I mention how much I L.O.V.E technology, Marcus took the 1st video and sent it to me while I was on my run.  Needless to say I paused my run sat on a curb and watched even though I only had less than 2 miles left.  Videos of my boy get my immediate attention!

still here

Not to worry I'm still but you remember that 2013 post? Yeah, I've been tackling that on top of being knocked by the flu. Luckily, Ian has some super human immune system and as only gotten a cough.  I hope to do a post filled with photo's of our progress, we've been working away in the playroom in the basement.

In the meantime, here is an interview I did of Ian last week.

For the past I don't know 6mos or so whenever we were in the car, Ian would ask me if I knew where we lived and I would tell him over and over we live in Granger, IN he would never repeat this info back to me so I felt like what I was saying was going in one ear and right out the other.  Well, guess what he was listening and processing and it stuck!!

And I'm off again to tackle another to do on the list today!