ten on tuesday 1/14/14

- i suck. last week really threw a weather fork in my plans. i was all out of sorts. and then last night, nick didn't play volleyball and amelia fell asleep at 630pm. i didn't know what to do! i will get on track.

- just watched my first episode of orange is the new black. obsessed.

- ben wants to marry baby. so cute.

- ben was 'playing' football in the house during one of the playoff games. he kept saying it was bears against peckers. ha! he meant packers.

- purchased an add on item from amazon. it didn't ship with the rest of the order. so my order came in two packages. doesn't that defeat the purpose?

- am grateful for my new iphone. thank goodness for warranties and husbands who took care of it. my battery was jumping from like 50% to 23% when i turned it on. i forgot what it was like to have a phone that held a charge!

- nick did a home improvement project already this year! rain gutter bookshelf next to ben's top bunk, so he didn't have to sleep with a million books in his bed.

- i think my force counts when i rock melie and when i play with her and raise my arms. i had almost 4,000 steps by 9am. i spent about 30-45 minutes rocking her last night... when she woke up at 2am after falling asleep at 630!

- my coworker kills me. today she said the computer says i'm 'o-beast.' um, i think you mean obese.

- i think this four day work week is going to kill me! haven't done it in like a month thanks to holidays and chiberia!

ten on tuesday 11.12.13

- what a fun date!
- i hate the darkness already. :(
- i miss my fitbit. but i don't think it would make me walk any more... just feels weird not knowing how many steps i've taken...
- thank you to the two people that admit they read this. hi carrie and tracy!
- having an online thirty one party. if you're intersested, let me know. it closes this week.
- heard someone say that 50 degrees in indiana is different than 50 degrees in tennessee. do you think that one pound of rocks is heavier than one pound of feathers too?
- i hate the new calendar with the iphone update. 
- got a new purse. ben noticed. is that strange?
- thinking wine is on the dinner menu for tonight. maybe with some popcorn. it's been a doozy at work.
- amelia is four months old tomorrow! hopefully, her update won't be too far off. yay for the daily postings to catch up!

ten on tuesday 11.5.13

- ben can't eat raspberries without chocolate chips inside them. what have i done?

- started the divergent trilogy. intrigued. love that it takes place in chicago.

- lost my fitbit at a birthday party this weekend. sad face. not sure i'll get a new one...

- my peapod addiction might be restarting.

- told ben i was going to fire him. he replied, 'no momma i don't want to be on fire. but if you're on fire, you stop, drop and roll.' good job sweet boy. way to pay attention in school.

- i have a new yogurt obsession.

- would like to know who reads this blog. apparently, there are about 100 visitors a day?!

- starting to become a believer in emergen-c. shhh, don't tell my husband.

- i forgot how sweet mcdonald's sweet tea is. got some today for the first time in like 6 months and didn't ask for half and half. holy!

- speaking of mcdonald's. mcribs are back. my husband and brother are ecstatic. they usually have a competition to see who can eat the most. nick found out today they were back, and he had one for lunch. my brother's response to my text, 'oh shit. my heart.' silly boys.

ten on tuesday 10.8.13

- started christmas shopping this weekend!

- love how ben says nothing. nuf-fing.

- melie was freaking out in the car. nick jokingly turned up the song on the radio, clarity, and shockingly she quieted down. she must have her dad's taste in music.

- ben watched me play candy crush a few times. one day he said, 'mom are you ever gonna beat that level!?'

- love that i can get a cut and color in my own home. is that super lazy to admit?

- don jon tomorrow!

- consistently clocking 7000+ steps on fit bit. weekends are my nemesis. well, at least one day out of the weekend. i get to rest one day, right?!

- i love fall.

- thinking it's going to be a bad blogging week. we shall see. my dreams of catching up on weekend posts are dwindling.

- ben is turning into such a big boy. he now asks to shower in the morning before school. sigh.

ten on tuesday 10.1.13

- whenever my mom cooked chili, when i was younger, i made her pick all of the beans out of mine before i would eat it. now, i'll eat beans. not sure what my deal was back then... now, when i make chili, ben won't eat it because, 'i don't like beans.' i think i'm experiencing bean karma. ;)

- why must britney insist on putting b!tch in all of her songs? seriously. so annoying. you would think a mom of two young boys would think twice about it... says the girl who cusses like a trucker.

- totally digging the tune in app. we used to be able to stream music at work through our computers. since we went to electronic records we can't. have gone through so many music apps. loving this one. maybe it's just because i can listen to wxrt all day now!

- my cat keeps attacking ben's window clings. poor beaners. gets so frustrated when kitty keeps pulling em down!

- had to update to a hella password at work. so hard to concentrate now when i log in! used to be second nature... not anymore!

- can't wait to see don jon with the girls! hoping the schedule allows for it next week.

- miss melie is so darn cute. loving the baby smiles. and she's sleeping for 8-9 hour stretches! working on that stretch being from about 8-5ish!

- last weekend for the drive in. trying to decide if we should go one last time.

- lost in fantasty football this week. wah! and it was to nick! double wah!

- 10,000+ steps on my fitbit today. boom! now only if i can get exercising back in my crazy schedule. last week was bad, hoping now that i've been back at work for almost a month, it'll be easier to get up earlier to squeeze in some time before i start the day. we shall see.

wordless wednesday. yesterday kicked my ass!

yes, that's my fit bit.:)
work was insane. love that i now have proof than i run my ass off most days. couldn't believe it when i looked down at 4 and saw that i had 8000+ on the day. unreal!

ten on tuesday 9.17.13

- happy to say that the exercising is still going strong. kind of surprised myself since i thought it would be a bit much with starting work too. taking it in baby steps. finding myself with more energy!

- first pint ride. i'm getting a new bike now. just saying.

- got my fit bit. i'm in love. totally makes me want to move more!

- how come miss amelia will sleep 6-7 hour stretches on the weekend and not during the week? murphy's law of parenthood?

- have gotten back into cooking again. feels good.

- i miss daylight.

- ben got two ribbons in swim class last week. so proud.

- going to a drug rep dinner meeting tomorrow. it has been years. bad nurse.

- trying to plan our halloween costumes. really thinking it will be the last year i can pull off a theme.

- we're famous! :)

ten on tuesday 9.10.13

- thinking i was overly ambitious to start training for a 5k the week i returned to work after maternity leave!

- ben is on an einy meiny kick. so cute. yet frustrating when i need him to decide in a hurry.

- ben also has been saying hip hooray. he tends to forget the second hip!

- was randomly telling a story at work and one of my coworkers was like, 'it is nice to have you back.' glad to know i liven up the work day! shortly after, one of the doctors said the same thing!

- going on a field trip with ben tomorrow. holy crumbs it's gonna be hot...

- miss melia is still cute as ever. even cute when she wants to be fed every four hours at night... i think it's easier this time because you know there is a light at the end of the tunnel. and that i know she's my last babe so i best enjoy every moment.

- think that nick and i are going to be spending monday evenings doing some sort of physical activity: bike rides or indoor volleyball. ;)

- my brother detailed my car this weekend. it looks so super shiny and awesome!

- ben takes milk {in a sippy} and cereal or a cereal bar to school in the morning. today nick accidently gave ben the milk from yesterday... ben took two sips and said, 'daddy, this tastes funny.' ew! and thank goodness he didn't have an upset stomach at school.

- hoping to find my back to work groove within the next few weeks. think it totally helped that i started getting up at an earlier time last week and cut out the daytime naps!

ten on tuesday. 8.27.13

- meant to work on the hella fourth of july wip post yesterday, but i attacked my closet instead. {2 giant bags for goodwill! and that was just stuff i knew i didn't want. will go back through for ill fitting items in a bit. it's only been 6 weeks since baby, can't get too crazy!} yay for retired mom's wanting to watch miss melia for a few hours during the day so i can get stuff done before i go back to work.

- it's official. i go back to work 9.9. i'm excited yet sad.

- rode my bike this evening. 5+ miles in 35 minutes. i was impressed since it had been forever.

- i forgot how bad hybrid cars are when you have a baby. she wakes up every time the engine turns off and the battery kicks in.

- ben told nick he wanted some monsterella cheese. so cute.

- had a fly in the house and ben said, 'i'll get a tissue so you can get it momma.' explained to him that flies are tricky to catch, so he walked over to chewy and said, 'kitty. can you catch that fly for me?'

- so close to having chewbacca shaved. i cannot handle all this fur!

- started watching the league. thanks raquel! getting ready for my ff draft! i think nick is going to be in two leagues again this year. his draft is this weekend for the one and i don't think he's done any research.

- finally signed up for amazon mom again. subscribe and saved diapers, formula, and wipes. saved over 20% and i didn't have to go to the store. awesome!

- my mom comes back tomorrow. trying to figure out what project i want to tackle. i have two... maybe i'll be super productive and get both done... a girl can dream, right?

ten on tuesday 7.9.13

- baby bug's arrival countdown has entered single digits. zomg! i'm kinda going to start freaking out now.

- in all honesty, i'm more excited than freaked. especially since summer has finally decided to join us and i am hot!

- stumbled across this show yesterday. ben was obsessed. wanted me to fast forward through the commercials. love that we don't watch much live tv! kept asking what the name was... didn't want to tell him and have him go to school and tell them he watched 'oh shit' instead of 'oh sit' last night!

- wendy's has a new pretzel bacon burger. was pretty tasty. everything is better with pretzel bun/bread, right?

- have my pedicure and prenatal massage all set up for this weekend and next week. hoping she cooperates and i get to enjoy both before her arrival.

- two more days of work! looking forward to two days of maternity leave before baby bug arrives.

- excited about exercising. what is wrong with me?! clearly, being pregnant in this weather has messed with my mind. {also the bed rest in the beginning really limited what i could do the entire time.} so ready to be active.

- i ate an entire box of cereal in about a week. i could go years without cereal. refusing to buy another box. not sure it was the healthiest option! :)

- loving that ben is such a helper. hoping it stays that way in a week or two!

- cannot wait to see turbo. thinking that will be an august outing since it releases on baby's eviction date!

wip 8.18.12

friday:
girl's night out with nick's mom and family. was surprised at how many people were at our usually party of four, girl's night.

only have pictures of my food.
my favorite was the appetizer. a tapenade is a surefire way to this salty lover's heart. 

beef brisket and orzo. 

creme brulee. 

called it a night early. came home to hang out with nick. it's hard being apart since we spent every minute together for a week! taking some getting used too.

saturday:
nick had mentioned going to the renaissance faire.  we hadn't been since college? and the weather seemed like it would be perfect to spend the day outside walking about. so we did it.

someone was crabby. he just woke up from his nap. so happy that he slept all the way there though! i'll take a grumpy pic for a happy kid!

watched the mud show. i don't believe much has changed since the last time we saw it. ben enjoyed it. until he thought he was going to get muddy!

where's ben? couldn't believe he wanted to venture up there and give them his $1. would have thought he would have waited for the guy to come to him. but again, maybe he was worried about the mud!

he wanted to ride rides. i was a bit disappointed with the fact that every ride you had to pay extra. i think the website states that some are extra. oh well.

i got to do swing duty with beaner.

time for mushrooms. so good. ben was totally interested in their 'forks' aka a stick. however, he isn't a fan of mushrooms, so he wanted to feed me instead of eating them himself. totally thought we might be able to get him to eat a few with the special fork. he did try one,  i'll give him that.

he preferred the bread.

his facial expressions crack me up. makes me super happy when i catch them on camera!

they had a small castle for the kids to play on. ben really got a kick out of it. we actually found ourselves there more than once!

i love their pickles! tried both dill and garlic. i think i liked the garlic more which kind of surprised me...

a fun little play area with boats for the littles.

got to see a parade. ben enjoyed everyone waving at him. he was a bit confused as to why they kept saying 'huzah' and 'god save the queen.'

someone wanted a sword. found a ben size one! and a cute little holder too. and double yay for not breaking the bank.

he likes it. <3

ben also wanted to go and see the animals. they had a small petting zoo.
he was unafraid. loved feeding all of the different animals. until some of those billy goats got a little pushy. {ugh, i'm still not a fan. have i shared here? oh well, another day...}

nick enjoyed himself as well!

ben's least favorite was the cow. i think it was because the cow had just finished drinking some water so it was an extra sloppy feeding! :)

once we were done and clean ben asked for some drink. he didn't want sprite or water or juice. wanted some more sassafras! who knew?! and momma was happy because it's only a $1!

i love the performers. while we were sitting here, there were two ladies playing dice to win the men that were walking by. totally had nick and i cracking up.

enjoying some frozen something or another in an orange.

sky chairs! we own one. so sad that we have no where to hang it. some day....

the funniest picture of the day. we tried to get a few. this one just makes me laugh. he had to show us the sword!

on the way out, there was a little area for excavating. the kids got to dig and find all kinds of hidden treasures. at the end, they could keep one.

ben didn't spend as much time there as we had expected. he didn't surprise us when he opted to take the necklace that he dug up!

daddy found some swords that he wanted to have! they're foam.

we did purchase two. of the smaller size. had to get two so the boys could duel.

pony ride! accessorized with a fabulous pearl necklace.

a better family photo. i think ben was in fighting mode.

and to blow off some steam before we headed back home, ben and nick had a face off in the grass just outside of the grounds. i'm sure the people passing by got a kick out of the boy in a necklace and his dad sparring.

action shot.

somebody died.

has to be awoken with a kiss.

all better!

nick and i had stopped for breakfast on the way up. were able to use our old containers to put some snackies aka cheez-its in for beanerman on the way home.

he didn't eat very many before he passed out.

got home after running a few errands and had movie night with some family. the sitter. it was okay. was a miracle that i stayed awake for the whole thing! i think nick's dad even commented that it might have been the first one i haven't fell asleep during. but actually, i think it was my second!

sunday:
up and at em early. nick had some work to do so we joined him. was hoping we could hit up the scrambled diner, no such luck! too long of a wait and we were hungry bears.

stopped at another local restaurant. ben didn't forget that he enjoys creamer. i totally remember my little brother drinking all of the containers when we would go out!

naps for all!
then birthday party!

the boys thought it was a good idea to chop wet wood. barefoot. thankfully, no one lost a toe or foot!

watching to see who will have the first injury.

wait! daddy play with me and my swords!

birthday cake!

ben wanted to help blow out the candles. the birthday people obliged.

was a bit chilly. but the coopers came over and they braved the waters. i did not.

they were supposed to jump together...

i do not see anyone hiding under the pool float. do you?

then it was time for water gun wars.

a quick warm up in the hot pool.

the kids playing on grandpa's chair. iphoto didn't want me to edit their red eyes, so they will all just look evil. sorry!

yup. he's a meyer. love that liquor is such a common theme for our birthdays. ;)

yay birthdays and spending time with family. and friends.