lego mania

I am not exaggerating when I say that the girls spent the entire weekend playing with legos.  They built, sorted, and made an entire little village on the one side of our playroom.

Two funny/scary things came out of this.

First of all, Olivia obviously walked through one area of the village and wasn't quite as careful as she should have been.  Amelia commented, "I think a tornado came through here!"  Meredith responded, "I think it was a Livi tornado."

Second story:
Did you know that you can download lego plans from their website?  People are pretty rough on their instruction guides around here.  So, when the girls were putting together some of their older sets this weekend, they had the computer sitting down low on a kitchen chair so that they could see the plans from the computer.

Our laptop typically sits on the counter right next to where they have been working this weekend.  At one point this morning, I heard Olivia say to one of her sisters, "I held the computer, and I didn't even drop it."

Cue pride from the child.  Cue panic from the mother.

We then had a very serious discussion about how "you may NOT move Mommy's computer! You may ask Mommy to move it for you, but you may not move it yourself!"  ...followed by prayers of thanksgiving that she didn't drop it. :)  Whew!!

the half marathon: training

Yep.

So, after I ran a 10K (6.1 miles) a couple of years ago, I started believing that I might be crazy enough to try a half marathon.  I wanted to do it last year, but it just didn't work out with the events that we had on our schedule.  This year was the year.  

I used Hal Higdon's novice training schedule, and overall I was very pleased with the training.  Our neighbor-friends were kind enough to let me run on their treadmill for the first several weeks, and they hooked up a t.v. with both Netflix and Amazon Prime AND added an earphone jack.  Guess who was spoiled?  Me.  And I happily indulged myself with the first two seasons of Downton Abbey.  (On a side note, who has the remaining seasons that I can borrow?!)

About a month into the training, I had to run a 5K race.  Thankfully, there was a free one being held nearby, so I signed up.  About a half mile into the race, I decided that treadmill running and outside running are two very different events.  Not that I didn't already know it...I did.  I just didn't think it would make that much of a difference.  I ran the slowest race of my life.  This was humbling to say the least.  

Oh, hello, motivation...nice to meet you.  

Thankfully, the days were getting longer and the weather was improving, so I moved my training to the great outdoors.  I did a 6 or 7 mile run by myself and decided I needed some running buddies to help me along the way.  I knew I would never be able run week after week without a little encouragement.  I walk waayyy too easily when I'm alone.  

So, as always, my facebook friends came to my rescue.  My friend, Shannon, told me that she would be happy to do my 7 mile (I think) run with me the following week.  My faithful running buddy, Kristin, also joined us for a few miles (and Kristin did a lot of my shorter runs each week with me).  

Let me take a minute to tell you about Shannon (who has still not run her first official road race...she's going to kick some major butt when she does).  Shannon is a few years older than me, faithfully runs 3-6 miles a few times a week, and is a complete drill sergeant when it comes to running.  Throughout the remainder of my training, she encouraged me, often made me run farther than necessary, and refused to let me walk.  She.was.incredible.  

She ran my long run with me every weekend for the remainder of my training...7, 8, 9, 10.  The week we ran 9 miles was the worst.  We ran it on a Saturday evening, and it was brutal.  I remember asking her at one point how far we'd gone.  When she told me 3 miles, I wanted to lie on the road and cry.  We made it, though.  When I got home that night, I was shuffling around like a 90 year old woman.  (I almost wrote 80, but I was certainly not moving that well.)  My back hurt like it did a few summers ago when I pulled something.  I was actually afraid that I had damaged myself in some way.

I remember telling Josh that night (on the verge of tears), "I can't believe that I have to go 10 miles next weekend.  I just want to run the race next weekend.  I don't want to feel like this again.  I just want this training to be over."

I dreaded the following weekend.  I was out of town Thursday night through Saturday night.  I hadn't slept well Thursday or Friday night, and I didn't get home until after 11:00 on Saturday.  I contemplated skipping church just to get more rest, but I didn't.  All I wanted to do when we came home from church was take a nap.  But instead, I put on my running clothes, and drove down to a new area of town where we hadn't run previously.  We decided that we needed some new scenery if we were going to go 10 miles.  And we added an extra running buddy as well. :)

Shannon brought along her runner-neighbor, Cate.  It was fun to have an extra buddy along for our 10 miles.  Cate is super energetic and decided that we should line up and high-five any other runners that we met along our path.  This kind of fun was right up my alley.  I loved it.  I could hardly believe it when Shannon looked at us and said, "We just hit 5 miles, girls!!"  It felt like 2.  

The first 8 miles of our 10 mile run felt good to me.  The last two were rough...the last one especially.  I found complete joy in the fact that this was my last training week and the following week I was actually going to run my half.

I couldn't believe how great I felt after that last long run.  It was phenomenal compared to the previous week.  I was actually looking forward to my race!!

Next up: the race.

summer in pictures

Potty training.  We spent most of the summer working on it.  We're quitters.  Cleaning up Olivia's number twos a few times a day for 10 weeks straight makes us quitters.  I'm okay with that.  We certainly earned some points for our effort.  

{these two}

These two.  

-very headstrong

-want their own way

-want to sit next to each other at meals

-aren't allowed to sit next to each other at meals

-can't stop touching

-can't stop bossing the other

-want to always play with the toy that the other has

Next summer?  Only time will tell.

They obviously love each other a bunch.  Really, they do. :)

fun.with.googly.eyes

So what do you do when it's rainy outside? Play with googly-eyes, of course!!

Amelia was the funniest! We decided that pinching your eyes shut was the best method. {I could barely take pictures because I was laughing so hard!}

I asked my facebook friends, and now I'll ask you...what do you do for fun on rainy days? I'll post my finalized list soon!

olivia.noelle

I have to start by apologizing for not posting this earlier! Sometimes I forget that there might be other people that read my blog other than my mom and my sister! :)

We welcomed Olivia Noelle into the world on Tuesday morning! She was 8 lbs. 9 oz. and about 20 inches long. We can hardly believe that we're the parents of 4 little girls...how great is that?!

The c-section went very well, but my recovery wasn't so great on Tuesday. The pain meds that they gave me following the c/s made me very sick. I vomited 6 or 7 times through the afternoon, and I could barely hold Olivia. Each time I sat up, I threw up. It wasn't a very fun day.

The doctor ordered a very strong anti-nausea medication which completely knocked me out and made me say really crazy and funny things. I'll share a few:

My nurse asked me: "On a scale of 1 to 10, what would you rate your pain?" My answer: "106/107". Ouch...I must have really been hurting! :)

Later, Josh asked me how the medicine was working. I looked at him, held my hand up in a fist-like shape, and said, "Better than this stapler!"

After a few hours, I woke up and realized that I was saying off-the-wall things. But, I still couldn't help myself! I was falling asleep in 10 seconds, having a dream, and waking back up to comment on it. I remember looking over at Josh at one point and saying, "You have to kill it!" I then apologized and told him that I was dreaming that there was a praying mantis on the floor. He had picked it up and thrown it into the trash without killing it. I knew if he didn't kill it that it would climb back out...hence the comment! :)

Anyway, that medicine completely worked, and I felt just fine after it wore off. I felt much better yesterday and today. They're struggling to find the best pain meds for me right now. The ones I'm on just don't seem strong enough with my current pain levels. The nurses are checking my past charts with the other girls to see what worked best with my other c-sections.

The girls loved meeting Olivia the other night. As you can tell by the pictures, Olivia has 3 very proud big sisters. I'm pretty sure she's going to be the most popular girl in the house for quite some time! :)

crazy.days

So, Tuesday, I had an OB appointment.  I gained 8 lbs. in November which is, by far, the most I've gained all pregnancy.  My favorite part of the visit?  When my doc walked in, the first things she said was, "I see Thanksgiving was good to you!"  Love it. :)

The baby was hilarious.  We were trying to find the heartbeat, and he/she was not having any of it.  The whole time the baby was kicking and bouncing around trying to get away from the doppler.  I couldn't stop laughing!  I love my baby.

After my appointment, we headed to Steak 'n Shake to have lunch with my mom and my aunt.  Claire had been complaining of stomach pains all morning, and she wasn't sure if was going to #2 or puke. 

At the restaurant, they thankfully sat us in a booth, and Claire pretty much laid down most of the time we were there.  We had plastic bags just in case something came up!! 

While eating lunch, my mom looks down, and Amelia was pottying in her high chair.  Lovely.  Thankfully, I had packed extra clothes in my purse the day before.  Yay for being prepared!  I got that all cleaned up, and it was time to leave. 

On our way home, I made sure Claire was set up with her bags since she still wasn't feeling well.  We're about 3 minutes into our trip when Meredith starts complaining that her stomach hurts as well.  About 2 minutes later, she shouts, "I need a bag!  I need a bag!"  Totally pukes...thankfully in the bag.

Great.  I thought Claire was sick, and it turns out to be Meredith!  Have no fear.  Claire did not disappoint.  About 8 minutes later, Claire puked as well.  About 30 seconds after that, Meredith puked again.  Mind you, this was all in the van! :)

I was extremely impressed with everyone's ability to effectively hit their bags!  We had more rounds of vomit throughout the day and evening, but we all survived with minimal clean up. 

Thankfully, it was short-lived, and everyone is now back to normal.  The moral of the story is this:  Puke happens.  Potty happens.  And there is definitely a place in this world for plastic bags.  (I'm pretty sure I used about 6 of them in that one hour.)

meredith's.shoes

These are Meredith's favorite shoes. She wears them everywhere. Everywhere....and with everything. I picked them up at the resale for a couple of bucks. I figured she'd like them.

I didn't know how much. She's been wearing them for months. I thought they were probably getting too small. I think she's stretching them out.

This particular picture that I've posted was taken at some point over the summer. The girls love taking pictures of their feet, so I assumed that I would be able to find a picture of these shooes in my files. It was easy.

Well, our little Meredith is wearing a hole right through one of her shoes. What do I do? I encourage her to put on different shoes, but they just don't "feel right" to her. She's particular like that.

They are Circo brand (Target), but I know they don't sell them any longer. So, I jump on eBay....really what can't you find on eBay? I don't even know what to type in. I try "Circo Black and White Shoes". No size, no girl, no nothing fancy.

It was like a sign from above. Up pops 1 listing for Circo Black and White Shoes size 9 (like new)which was ending in 3 hours. She's currently in size 8. Wow. They were only 89 cents...of course the shipping was almost $6.

Pure craziness. She is going to be thrilled.

 

silly.girl

We have a rule in our house: If Amelia has a tiny toy in her mouth that she can choke on, it will be thrown away.

Most of the time, when this happens, I take the toy and toss it. No one even knows because they don't see it.

Today was a different story. A teeny, tiny My Little Pony Plate ended up in Amelia's mouth. I took it out and threw it away.

Meredith was sitting there and asked what it was. I said, "It was a little white plate that goes with your ponies."

"Mom!" she protested, "that is my favorite plate, but I don't know which one you're talking about!"

She proceeded to tell me at least three more times that it was indeed her favorite plate although she wasn't sure which one it was.

Finally, I said, "If you don't know which one it is, how can it be your favorite?" She replied, "I think I know which one it is now."

Suuuurrrre.

oh.amelia

Today, while I was on the phone with my mom, I hear Amelia crying in the back of the house. I walk into the hallway to try to find her.

She had shut herself in the bathroom....with the light off....and had opened one of the left side drawers in our vanity.

No big deal, right? Well, it wouldn't normally be a big deal, except that when you close the door AND open a left side drawer, you can't open the door to the bathroom. The door opens into the bathroom and the drawer blocks it.

Hmmmm....I had to think about this one. There is no other way into the bathroom besides through the door which was not opening because a drawer was blocking it.

Poor little Amelia. I had been really good about closing that bathroom door because of her obsession with the toilet. I guess I forgot once today.

Me: "Amelia, can you close the drawer? Close the drawer sweetie!!"

Amelia: Cry, cry, cry.

Me: (thinking) That was a total long shot. She obviously doesn't know how to close a drawer in the dark or the light for that matter. (Although she did figure out how to open it in the dark.)

So, I hang up with my mom and go into problem solving mode. Meredith brought me a flashlight, and I picked up a butter knife.

There was about a 1/2 inch gap to work with once the door opened, so I shined the light in and slowly closed the drawer with the butter knife.

Thankfully, Amelia had stopped crying and I didn't have to bust any doors or drawers. Overall, a pretty good day. :)

 

running.story.1

The couch to 5K program that I trained with was pretty great. If you've ever considered running, it is fantastic! It is a walk/run program where you run for so many minutes and walk for so many minutes so that you get walking breaks within your training program.

So, one Sunday afternoon I was going out for a run. It was a run 8 minutes/walk 5 minutes/run 8 minutes. It was the farthest I had run all at once up to that point. I was feeling pretty good with my 8 minute run.

Once I was through the first 8 minutes, I started to not feel so well...stomach grumbling and such. I was glad that I had 5 minutes of walking to recover for a bit and start feeling better. Unfortunately, the 5 minutes was not enough.

As soon as I took my first 3 running steps to start my second 8 minute stretch, I really had to #2. (Sorry if you don't like blog posts about #2s...you can quit reading now if you're one of those people.) So, I stopped running and continued walking for fear that I wasn't going to make it back in a cleanly manner.

The problem at this point was that I was 8 minutes (running) away from home. I was afraid I wasn't going to make it back home even if I didn't run. The running was jostling my insides a bit too much, and the walking was slowing me down. What to do, what to do?

I tried (unsuccessfully) to begin to run again and that lasted about 2 seconds. I made it back to the driveway, but that's still a quarter mile to go. Who chose to live so far off the road? (Not mentioning any names....(cough) JOSH.)

I was miserable. One of the most miserable times that I've experienced in my life....seriously. It was borderline worse than labor...not more painful, mind you...just almost as miserable.

Thankfully, I made it home...barely. I took a few days off at that point to recover from the traumatic experience.

Any of you runners care to share running bathroom stories? Anyone else care to share regular bathroom stories? You know you have one.....maybe you don't want to share it, but you do have one. :)

can't.sit.still

Little Miss cannot sit still to save her life! This picture pretty much sums up TWO attempts to take her 1 year pictures (and we're a month behind already!).

AND, if I can get her to sit for two seconds, she doesn't smile. We'll try again soon! :)

 

boston.wednesday

Let's just say that this day was one that needed patience.

Before you read this post...if you have 4 minutes...watch this clip. I was trying to keep it all in perspective as my day was unfolding.

1. We woke up at 5:40 a.m. to leave for the airport by 6:00 a.m. for Julie's 8:00 flight.

2. Right before we left, I had to hit that bathroom. Rachel graciously loaded my bag. She, thoughtfully left my purse out so that I could have it with me in the car.

3. I, absentmindedly, didn't ask for my purse when I got in the car. I guess I thought it was in the trunk.

4. We drove to the airport...1 hour away.

5. About 5 minutes before we arrived at the airport, Rachel said, "Where's your purse?" I said, "I thought you put it in the trunk." She said, "&*#%!!! I'm sure I set it on the garage floor thinking that you'd walk right by it."

6. Good news....my flight isn't until 10:15. Bad news....now we have to drive 1 hour back to Rae's house and another hour back to the airport. Stink.

7. Rachel feels really bad....I feel really bad. Double stink.

8. Drive back to Rae's...drive back to the airport.

9. Check in and learn that my flight is delayed until 11:30.

10. Hear my name called..."Ma'am, yes, we don't think you are going to make your connecting flight at 12:30, so we've bumped you back to the 1:50 flight." Stink.

11. Board the plane. Head to the runway. Stop. Announcement: "We've been delayed yet again. Please sit tight. We'll be on our way in about 35 minutes." Stink.

12. Make it on the next flight. Didn't have much time to eat...so I didn't. And should have.

13. Starving Jackie. I do get a teeny-tiny bag of pretzels and a sprite on the plane. I think there were 6 pretzels in the bag...maybe 7.

14. There was a lady sitting one row back with 2 small children (obviously travelling alone). I say, "If you need help with anything while we're on this flight, let me know. I have 3 small children, and I've travelled with them before. It can be crazy sometimes!"

15. She is so sweet, and we start talking. Her little girl (Jassie...not sure if that's how she spells it) is 6, and her little boy (Jason) is 5 months. So adorable.

16. She is on her way from Germany (where her husband plays professional basketball) to come back to the US for a few months while he's off. Wow.

17. So, I ask if her daughter is in kindergarten in Germany. She says, "We home school." Us too!!!

18. Then, I say to the little girl..."Your name is Jassie? My name is Jackie, and it kind of sounds like Jassie!" Mom says, "Your name is Jackie? My name is Jackie!" Now this is just getting crazy!!

19. I make a new best friend....and I get to hold baby Jason while Jackie and Jassie were in the bathroom. He was soooooo adorable. He even giggled once.

20. We finally land. I'm starving.

21. I go to the McDonald's in the airport to eat because I think that I'm about to pass out from lack of food.

22. I order a value meal and eat the whole thing...something I never do.

23. I go to get my luggage which I assumed came in on the earlier flight.

24. The man says, "I've been paging you." Uh-oh.

25. Local time 5:15....he says, "Your luggage got put on the wrong flight, and it won't be here until 6:30." I still have 2 hours to drive home from the airport.

26. I feel tears welling up in my eyes because I've been travelling for about 12 hours straight at this point. I am so tired. Deep breath....composure....no tears.

27. The man says that once the luggage arrives, they'll get it to my house by the following day.

28. Ok, I can live without my luggage for a night. I drive 2 1/2 hours home.

29. The following morning, a man comes to my house with my bag.

30. My coat is falling out of the bag....this doesn't look good.

31. My zipper is destroyed and the back of my bag is torn open.

32. I called the airline right away, and they're still working on it. I guess. That was last Thursday. I got a call yesterday afternoon, and they said they are still trying to figure out what to do.

33. Is it that difficult? I really just want a new bag.

So, on the bright side....Rachel and I got a little extra chat-time in, I made a new best friend on my second flight, and I think I might get a new piece of luggage. Not bad for one day.

one.year

This weekend marks the one year anniversary of us moving in to our house. Josh and I have been reflecting over the happenings of this past year a lot.

In some ways, we thought we'd be way ahead of where we are in the finishing of the house. However, when we look back at all of the things that ARE done (especially all of the unexpecteds...a lot of them!), we've (really mostly Josh) have done a ton!

Two weeks ago, Josh started painting the kitchen. Some of you may ask...Jackie, why have you not picked up a paintbrush and painted your kitchen? You've been complaining about those white walls for a year! Well, for those of you who don't know my hubby, he's a bit of a perfectionist. And not only that, he is a perfectionist who painted his way through college.

That's right...I've haven't touched a paintbrush since college. And, really, I'm ok with it!! He does a fantastic job at painting! Everything looks sooooo unbelievably good when he's through with it...he even is fab at picking out colors. And he's colored blind. I know, crazy isn't it?!!

So, without further ado...here is the kitchen from day of purchasing through construction to this week (please ignore the fact that I didn't clean off the counter or empty the sink of dirty dishes or move the highchair out of the way before I took the last picture):

This is the kitchen the day we bought the house.

This is after all of the walls were torn out and the beam was put in.

Drywall up.

Cabinets up...look at all that dust!

The week we moved in.

This week. And the one below is for your before/after look!

so.much.fun

What a fun, fun weekend I spent with Josh's cousins! We were celebrating Teresa's (see picture below) 40th birthday! Teresa turned 40 a couple of weeks ago, and we had to wait a couple of weeks to celebrate...although her family threw her a surprise party a couple of weeks ago. (On a side note, we watched a 40th video montage from that party that was awesome...it was made by one of their friends' kids who is only 12! Kids these days have some serious technology skills.)

We all stayed in a bed and breakfast that is totally outfitted for scrap booking. Most of the girls are all about scrapping and card making. I'm more about sewing, so I took my sewing machine and made 4 adorable pin cushions. (I'll share that post soon!). Anyway, so we went out to dinner, played a ton of games (I learned 3 new ones), and stayed up WAY too late.

We went out to an awesome chocolate store for a most wonderful dessert after the Saturday night dinner...check out the presentation below.

So, all in all, we decided that we should do this way more often than we do. We laughed until we cried on more than one occasion, and I almost peed my pants at least twice.

"Remember Whens" from the weekend

-Deanna: I'll never forget you rolling over all of the pieces of Loaded Question because you were laughing so hard
-Gina: you are by far the toughest Pampered Chef Pizza Cutter I know
-Amber: my two night roomie...maybe we won't stay up and talk so long next time :)
-Joni: my fellow comeback kid for that marble game (I can't remember the name of it) we played on Friday night
-Alyssa: my other fellow roomie...same comment as Deanna :)
-Allie: I believe you were my most successful Nertz partner.
-Jessie: although it may have been you. (I'm sorry that I wasn't paying better attention.)
-Allie and Jessie together (because they're twins and they're used to getting grouped together): you guys make me smile all over my face :) these girls make the cutest cards EVER!
-Teresa: the birthday girl....thanks for turning 40 so that we could all have a great reason to celebrate and spend the weekend together.

I can't wait until someone else turns 40 next...not mentioning any names...pampered chef pizza cutter.

 

seriously.february 25

This is what happens when one child (Meredith) throws a bag of powdered sugar at another child (Claire).

AND, even after you scrub the hard floor 5 times, it still has a sticky glaze to it.

(I informed Meredith that I was taking the picture to show Daddy, but I really wanted to blog about it!)

Seriously.

 

it's.alive

....the furnace, that is!!! And there was much rejoicing....seriously.

My favorite furnace man, Judd, came over this afternoon to give us another quote on the new furnace (that will be going in soon, mind you). He peeked at the old one and lead Josh right to the part that needed fixin'. $20 and 10 minutes later, we cheered aloud! So, we're praying that old unfaithful will keep plugging along for a week or two more.

Our house was down to 54 today....too cold for my liking. As I type, I hear the furnace kicking on. I've not heard such a sweet, sweet sound in quite some time!!! And there was more rejoicing!

Thank you, Judd!

b.r.r.r.r.r.r.r.

The morning started at 57 and we've risen to 59. It may actually get up to 60 today in here!

Let me start by saying that I think I need to call Ralph.

And today, I'd like to thank the following people:

My mom and dad...for letting us borrow the little space heaters.

Josh's mom and dad...for giving Josh Christmas money a couple of years ago to purchase the Mr. Heater.

Claire, Meredith, and Amelia...for not seeming to notice that it's cold in the house. (Meredith is searching for her tutu as I type.)

Josh...for putting doors up in the house to keep the warm air inside the bedrooms at night.

Aunt B, Aunt S, and Cousins K and D...for pooling your money together and giving us a warm down comforter for our bed as a wedding gift many years ago.

Old Navy...for making a warm hat, scarf, and gloves for me to wear in my house.

Kevin at Josh's work...who said that he can bring home heaters that were sitting in the office so that we can continue to live in our home.

And most importantly, the Lord...for giving me the patience to deal with the fact that our furnace died yesterday and we won't have heat for another week.


And today, I'd like to give dirty looks the following people (but I won't because that would just be mean):

The people who put the furnace in...it hasn't been working right for 3 weeks now, and it finally died yesterday. RIP 17 year old furnace.

The people who disconnected the ceiling heat in the house while they lived here...we had it in our last house, and we really liked it.

The people who installed the duct work...it all has to be rerun before the new furnace is installed because it wasn't done right in the first place.

And most importantly, to Josh...who talked me into buying this house that I've actually grown to love...even with spiders, ants, snakes, lack of heat, lack of air conditioning, disgusting attic, water leaks, icy driveways, unpainted walls, and more dust than I could ever ask for. I love you, honey, and I promise that I will never let you talk me into anything like this again. We're in it together, and I do know that we will, in fact, look back on this and laugh some day :)!

Patience is a virtue and heat is overrated.

pillows.are.overrated

2.for.1

When in doubt, combine two songs...by Meredith (to the tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat):

"Row, row, row your boat. Gently down the stream.
Mary, Mary, quite contrary. How does your garden grow?"