Fall Fun

It's so much fun to get out with the kids and enjoy the unseasonably high temperatures for Fall! We went to the farm in Xenia we have been going to for the past 3 years with the kids to pick out pumpkins. It's so fun to tell Maddie that we've been taking her here since she was born, although we realized she was only 1 month old in October of 2008 so we didn't take her to the farm then. They have all kinds of animals and a very fun play area with a bounce house, corn maze and hay bales! We had so much fun we almost forgot to pick out pumpkins!

We also had a chance to play in the leaves on our annual walk down Scarecrow Row with Ya Ya in Oakwood. I'm sure the people who lived in the houses thought we were crazy to play in their piles of leaves on the street, but we don't have that many leaves  in our yard and the kids had a blast!

Mad Dog's 4th Birthday

I used to think people who celebrated their birthday week were silly but in our house, it's become pretty common. Since we are only having birthday parties for 1,5,10 and 16 year birthdays, we let the birthday kid pick their activity to do on the other years. Maddie chose to go to a Reds Game as soon as we gave her the open choice. We asked her where she wanted to eat and she said at the stadium so we ate at the Champions club which has a great view of the field. Maddie loved every minute of it.

Since her birthday was on a Sunday, we spend Thursday at the local "Bounce House Land" as the girls call it. Leap Frogs is in Miamisburg and has 2 rooms of inflatable bounce houses. I went with Sally and her son Will who had a birthday the week before so we had a double birthday celebration. There wasn't much for the babies to do but they were good sports for Maddie and Will.

Then, on Friday, Maddie spent the day with my grandparents who helped her bake cupcakes and a doll cake that my Grandma used to do when I was a kid.

Saturday we had a birthday bonfire with Maddie's cousins and a couple other friends. She passed out the cupcakes which had a balloon in the middle. The kids loved eating smores and running around the backyard.

It was a great weekend and Maddie had such a great time! She got some great presents and I think every single thing she ever asked for! Kalee was also a great sport with watching Maddie open her presents and never once asked "Where's mine?". I hope it will be the same when the roles reverse in January for Kalee's birthday.

Charlie's first haircut

We're so blessed that Matt's mom is a barber so she gives all the kids their first haircut. Although I don't keep their hair for the scrapbook, I make sure to take pictures with their own personal barber for some great memories.

Grandma Diane and Charlie

Charlie doesn't sit very still during a haircut but he's more curious than upset. He kept turning his head to try and see what the clippers were. I can't believe how much older a haircut makes him look! (And I'll be honest again, this was his third haircut but the first two were very small trims and I didn't have my camera so it doesn't count! :)

Oldie but Goodie

We met up with my college best friend Jill at a park in West Chester. It was another great day for the park and the kids love exploring new areas! Combined we had 6 kids under the age of 4 so it was a busy, fun time! It's been so fun watching our kids grow up together and they enjoy playing together too (although Maddie couldn't remember Connor's name and kept calling him Bronson--who is another friend we play with)


5 of our 6 kids under 4 years



Charlie and Catherine were born just a week before Ryan (who is walking like a pro). I tried to pay him to teach the twins how to walk but he wasn't having it.

This is pretty much how every park experience goes...the babies climb UP the slide while Maddie, Kalee and everyone else at the park tries to go DOWN the slides.

My first 5K Race!

My mom, me and my sister Kara who ran her first race too!

It was such a blessing to be able to run my first 5K for my Mom's organization, Ovarian Cancer Awareness. It was a beautiful September day and a great day for a race!

Since my Mom kicked cancer's butt in September of 2010 we've added lots of teal to our wardrobe!

I finished the race in 30 minutes and 20 seconds. My goal was 30 minutes so I was extremely happy with this time. I'll be honest though I think I took it a little too hard because I felt like I ran a marathon the very next day!

Buckeye Game Day

Our Saturdays (and Sundays too for that matter) are now filled with football. We were so blessed to have the opportunity to purchase season tickets for THE Ohio State Buckeyes so most Saturdays one or both of us are at the game. The other one gets to stay home with these Superfans!

We've been going to Buckeyes games since Matt went to school there which was around 10 years ago!

Not quite 10 years ago but in the 2008-2010 era

We've had the same seats since then and get a great view of the field, covered seats, and regular fans that sit near us.

Since Matt knows the streets of Columbus so well we can score a parking spot for $Free 99 and are avoid the traffic after the game is over.

Matt's notorious Fall moustache that helps navigate through the streets of C-bus

A little street meat (sausage sandwich from a street vendor, stop in at the Thirsty Scholar and reminiscing about college while we pass all the campus houses is our usual routine. It's the beginning of the URBAN ERA and shaping up to be a great season!

OH

IO!

I like to Lose it Lose it!

     I've been doing a lot of "blog browsing" recently and am going to try and branch out with some fun posts instead of "here are my kids and here's what we did". I hope you'll hop along for the ride...
     Recently I stumbled upon a blog Mama Laughlin and was motivated by this working mother of two to do some lifestyle changes. I started being more mindful of what I was eating, made exercise regular and even picked up running! (don't worry, I still hate almost every minute of it). 20 pounds lighter, although I could technically claim 58 pounds lighter if we count my weight with my two bambinos last August full term

but they were worth every pound of it!

Now I'm thinking of running a half marathon in May! (uh oh, now that I said it in the blogosphere, I'm held accountable!!!) My favorite assistant that I discovered on my own was the app Lose it! which keeps track of your daily calories according to your current weight and weight loss goals. I use it only on my phone and it definitely keeps me accountable!

Also, I've stumbled upon some great fitness blogs which I read daily in addition to my Absolut friends (Jill, Sarah and Liz).
The Hungry Runner Girl is a daily visit, she loves food (like me) and loves to run (well, 1 out of 2 ain't bad) so it's fun to read her posts that she updates sometimes 2 and 3 times a day. She just had a baby, so there's some fun, multi-tasking mom stuff in there too!
Peanut Butter Fingers I found through Pinterest and she's a great inspiration. She shows pictures of what she eats every day and has lots of different workout ideas.
J's Everyday fashion has some great outfit ideas by mixing TJ Maxx finds with Tar-jay bargains. It's a great site for me to reference when I feel like I'm reading too much Mom stuff :)
3 little men and a Mommy is a blogger with twin boys and another boy, I can't imagine all boys but she has some great insight on family, faith and love. She recently had an inspiring guest post here about the sacrifice and dedication it takes to be a Mom of little ones. It really hit home for me and is a great read for all Moms out there, regardless of the age of your children.

Thanks for sticking with me through my first "different" blog post and here's to hopefully more to come!