A moment to breath

Honestly I don't know if I am coming or going lately! As I sit down to get our life updated, I feel like I should be doing a million other things, but after taking a deep breath, I realize jotting down a few thoughts on our crazy life is worth the time. One day when I am old and gray with no kids around, no where to be, no work commitments, no house to keep clean, no choice of what color of granite or siding to pick, these few random thoughts will bring a smile to my old wrinkled lips. Bear with me as I play catch up! 

MOTHER'S DAY

The Friday before Mother's Day, Claire's preschool hosted "Muffins for Mom's" This was the best way to start the day with my best girl! We enjoyed a yummy breakfast and she showered me with gifts! They interviewed her about me and these are her responses: 

My mom is 28 years old (love this girl :)

My mom likes to read books

The best thing my mom cooks is spaghetti

Her favorite food is pasta

Her favorite thing to do to relax is cook ???

We like to make supper together

My mom is really good a baking

My mom is special because she plays with me! 

Do you see a theme here? :)

The boys giving momma a foot rub! They actually do a great job! I was so slick with lotion afterwards I was sliding all over the place! 

BASEBALL

We spent Mother's Day weekend at the ball field. Carter is playing tournament ball this year, so we get all of our ball playing done on the weekend to free up  our week (in theory). He is a Cobra this year and even though this team was sorta thrown together the last minute, it is a great group of boys and parents. They placed second in their first tournament with very few practices under their belts! Tournament ball differs somewhat than little league as some rules are different, and they groom the players to learn to play 1-2 spots, instead of all over. It is somewhat more intense than little league to say the least! He has done great considering he didn't pick up his glove or bat all winter! 

MS CLAIRE

Claire had her first dance recital this past weekend! Her class danced to "It's a small world" for their tap routine. She kept telling me she was scared, but she did great and was definitely the cutest thing ever shaking her booty up on that stage! Many hours of dance class, practice making hair buns, putting makeup on, and rehearsals for a 2 minute routine paid off for a flawless performance. 

HOUSE UPDATE

After 9 years of living on Florence Dr, our first house as a married couple, the home we brought our babies to, it is time to move on. We've simply outgrown this house. We thought long and hard about what we should do, stay and make some changes, buy a house, build. We LOVE our neighborhood and school district but our options for staying didn't outweigh moving. After spending many Sunday afternoon's going through open houses, we just couldn't find something to fit our family. We knew we weren't going to find the "perfect" house, we just needed more space. We came across a house that fit all of our "must have's" but the location was bad. After talking with the realtor at the open house, he steered us toward using the builder of this house and pick a lot more suitable for our family. We did just that and are very happy with our choice! The work is underway for our new home, with a target closing date around July 31. The foundation is in, the floor is in and the goods have been delivered to start the framing. We started the selection process last week to pick out the big things like siding, windows, stone, granite and kitchen cupboards. It has actually been really fun! It is hard to see how it will all come together but I can't wait to see the progress! Our new house is about 3 minutes from our current house so it is very tempting to drive by all the time! We listed our house last week and have accepted an offer! Thank goodness because I couldn't have kept this house clean much longer! Everything seems to be falling into place nicely! 

FAMILY FUN

Amongst the craziness of late, we have had a couple of free moments to just enjoy ourselves. The local ice cream shoppe is open for summer business and we are proud to give them lots of business! 

Each spring Carter's school hosts a family fun night at the YMCA. It gives families a chance to hang out together, play carnival games, swim, eat, drink, win prizes. The kids' favorite activity is always the swimming pool! How cute are my pale toe head babies? 

Although life is crazy, I wouldn't have it any other way! We are all on board for this journey! We are in the process of compiling our summer bucket list ( Carter only has 2 days of school left!) which will help us fill up every free moment we have! Bring it on! 

18 (+++) months!

Our baby boy is not longer a baby....sniff sniff. He is an ambitious toddler who has seemed to grow up within a blink of an eye. I ask him daily, "How did you get so big?" He is the resident comedian, lover of all things electronic, future pitcher for the Chicago Cubs, climber of all furniture, and paci hoarder just to name of few of his antics. He had his 18 month check-up last week weighing in at 27.2 lbs (83%), 33 inches tall (62%) and a noggin of 19.5 inches (97%) We attribute the big head to his wicked smartness! The check-up went well with the exception of Dr Steve warning him he didn't want to see the paci next time he saw him. He is like a dog hiding bones with them. I swear I have them all picked up and he seems to find one stuffed under a bed, in the cupboard, in the cracks in his car seat, in the toy box, etc. 

Notice how many paci's he has here? 4!!

Goofball in the bathtub! 

 The weather has finally started to cooperate and one word he has down pat from his limited vocabulary is "outside" 

Every once in awhile he'll slow down long enough to cuddle with his favorite blanket, or better yet...

with grandma in the rocking chair. Not sure who is more worn out here! 

Girls Get Away

The first weekend in April my awesome friend Jeri and I left our husband's, kids and all the responsibilities that go with them behind and had a "Girl's Weekend" I think all mom's and wives can agree, these special times spent with close friends are so important to recharge our batteries! Jeri and I met 14 years ago while working our way through college at Red Lobster. We immediately hit if off, and realized we have a ton in common! Even though our lives have changed a ton since we first met, and we don't get to see each other often, we always pick up right were we left off, just like great friends do. 

Jeri drove down from Minneapolis Friday night and we headed to Kansas City for the weekend. Our first stop was in Osceola at the casino for the prime rib and crab leg buffet. This was quiet the people watching experience for sure! With our bellies full, we headed down the road. We got to KC just in time to have a couple of glasses of wine and lots of giggles before calling it a night. Saturday morning we had appointments for pampering at a highly recommended spa in the Country Club Plaza area where we were staying. It was completing amazing and so relaxing! While I was waiting for Jeri to finish her massage I was able to finish up a book, have a cup of tea and just sit and enjoy the quietness. Pure bliss! After the spa, we explored the Plaza area, did a little shopping and ate an amazing lunch at a place called Spin. After lunch we shopped a little more and then headed back to the hotel for a nap...yes a NAP! Not just lying down and thinking about the stuff I should be doing instead, an actual NAP! We had made a reservation for dinner at a recommended restuaranct and were able to enjoy a beautiful night out on the patio. AMAZING food, wine and atmosphere! 

Sunday we slept in...almost until 8 am! Woo hoo! We grabbed a hotel breakfast and headed out.

It was such a great time to reconnect with my friend. Thanks for a great weekend...can't wait for the next one! 

Easter blessings

Easter was early this year, I am late in blogging! We had a busy weekend, enjoying an amazing church service on Saturday afternoon (our church held 9 services with nearly 24,000 people attending Easter weekend). It is so amazing to go to church on a Saturday afternoon thinking you will have a great seat only to feel the love and presence of God at a full house! 

The nearly impossible task of capturing a decent picture where everyone is looking, no sun in the eyes, eyes open, no hair in the face, no goofy smiles, yep these are my blessings, imperfections and all! 

After church we changed out of our Saturday best and dyed our Easter eggs. 

The beginnings of a meltdown as he is impatiently waiting for a turn with the dye. He has perfected the pouty face lately! 

All better! 

Easter morning Carter and Claire were up before 6.  They patiently waited until 7:15 when we decided to wake up Prince Charming from his beauty rest 
(yes both Case and Jeremy) The older two had fun passing the time spotting eggs outside while waiting for their brother and dad to join the festivities. 

Claire trying out her "Stompee's" the Easter bunny left for her! 

Chocolate for breakfast anyone? 

Special homemade Easter baskets from Grandma Berry. 

After the morning festivities, we met my parents, grandma Mehlmann and my sister at Prairie Meadows for Easter buffet. It was completely amazing! We stuffed ourselves silly. At one point my dad asked, " I wonder how long we can stay here?" I don't even want to know how much weight I gained. I still feel full 2 weeks later! I have also decided I need to hide the Easter candy out of my reach...I can't stay out of it! Those darn Cadbury Creme eggs and jelly beans just call my name....I hear them now.....

2013 Super Pee Wee State Championship

The first weekend in March Carter competed in the state AAU Super Pee Wee wrestling tournament. It is a great way to end the "official" wrestling season ( it never really is over) I know I sound like a broken record, but both Jeremy and I couldn't be more proud of him! After a VERY long day of wrestling, he ended the day with a 4th place finish. He did it the hard way, winning his first match, then losing his second match (his first loss of the season). This means he had to go into the loser's bracket and keep winning to earn a qualifying place in the double elimination tournament. I think after his first loss, both Jeremy and I were thinking, " he might not even place this year" The competition was super tough, a 29 man bracket, 10 of them, including Carter, all place finishers last year. He proved us wrong. I saw something in him the next match that I have never seen out of him, he got a little angry! He put his game face on and decided he wasn't going to get beat. He won the next 5 in a row to finish 4th. The best match of the day was a revenge match from the previous year. He had to wrestle a kid that finished ahead of him last year, in second place, and basically beat Carter by using an illegal "groin squeeze" Carter HAD to win this match to place, and sure enough (although it was WAY to close for us all) he won 2-0! I was SO proud of him! Initially I think Carter was a little upset he finished a place lower this year, but we reassured him of all he has to be proud of. He finished the year 30-2, never missed a practice, spent extra time working on moves after practice, ate whatever Jeremy told him to, stayed healthy all season and always gave 110% in practice. Most importantly, he always showed good sportsmanship, helped the younger kids in practice, and was always was a good wrestling partner. I'd say that is a winning season! 

Date night!

A couple of weeks ago our church hosted its annual "Daddy Daughter" dance. Claire was over the moon excited about this all week! She tried on many dresses ( right up to the minute they had to leave!) to make sure it was the perfect one! I even let her put on a little of "mommy's" makeup to make her feel extra special! 

I couldn't wait for them to get home to see how it went! I knew this was way out of Jeremy's comfort zone but he was a great sport and even let her eat 2 cookies AND a cupcake at the dance. She was more excited about this than seeing 2 "real life" princess' there! They busted a move until Claire's feet starting hurting! I am so glad they got to spend this one on one time together! Jeremy admitted to having a blast and vowed to take his princess on more dates!