36 Today

Today I turn 36 years old, I am no longer in my early 30's and I am closer to 40 than 30, YIKES!! I Love my birthday but am not enjoying this getting older business. So I decided that my favorite age is 25 and that is how I will act, like I am 25! Not like I did when I was 25 because I was single and still a little wild and do not wish to relive those days, I just do not feel much older than that. I know I am more active now than I was at 25 and much happier!! The boys were so sweet this morning, the first thing Carter did when he woke up was tell me it was OK for me to go into his closet where I found a balloon, a gift and a card that he wrote in all by himself. I wont' tell him this but I knew about the balloon because Griffin told me last night, got to love a 3 year old!! I love my boys so much, all 3 of them!!

This past weekend I spent in the Dells with 4 of my dear friends and we were kid free! We have not all be together for years so we had so much fun just hanging out together. We spent some time at a spa and stayed in a very relaxing cabin. Saturday we went out on the town but midnight was all a few of us could handle! I feel so blessed to have so many girlfriends, I love spending time with other women.

This week has already been full of Halloween celebrations with a few left to come. Carter does not have school on Friday and I am really looking forward to having him home, I still miss him a lot!!

Happy Spook Day to you all!!

What a Week!!

Last week was a busy week for us. Ty and I spent Thursday and Friday in St. Paul at our Pre-adoption classes. We got a ton of information an many questions answered. Here is what we know so far: We are planning on adopting a little girl from Korea. We picked Korea for several reasons but most importantly was because the babies are in foster homes until they are adopted and the foster homes in Korea are very well regarded. We have been warned that she will be spoiled when she comes home as in Korea the foster mothers sleep cheek to cheek with the babies. For us that is very different than how we have always been with they boys. We have never had them sleep with us so that will take some getting used to. It is very important so that we can bond with her and she feels secure. Also, they wear their babies all the time in Korea. The agency recommends getting a special carrier like they use in Korea and wear your baby on your back for a while when she comes home. She will be somewhere between 5 months and 18 months; most babies come home between 6-9 months. The process will still take the better part of another year or more but we are moving along which is all we want. We have a lot of homework to do then have to get a home study then it is just waiting! It would be so nice if we had a daughter by Christmas next year. It is all in God's hands!! Ty and I have no doubt that this is what we want to do and that this is what we have been called to do. We will keep you posted.

Griffin turned 3 on Sunday. Three is a big one because the baby is pretty much all gone. Although he is still a baby when it comes to his mommy. On Saturday we took the boys on the Pumpkin Train in Spooner. It was a nice day and we really enjoyed ourselves. It was perfect for Griffin being that he is obsessed with any type of locomotive. On Sunday we had a small b-day party for him with none other than a Thomas cake which was a hit!!

I am heading out to dinner tonight with several of my girlfriends and looking very forward to it. The only bummer is that we are getting together because one of them is moving and that makes me sad-we will all miss her but the move is great for her family!

Enjoy your week!!

Colors of Fall

What a gorgeous time of year and the weather is making it even more wonderful!! The attached picture of the trees I took at the top of the Big hill in Elk Mound, what a peaceful site!! If you want to enlarge the photo just click on it.

We had a busy weekend starting with a 4-hour trip to the Pumpkin Patch, 2 b-day parties and a couple of room overhauls at our house. Griffin moved to his "Big Boy" bed which meant we had to get Carter's new (from a garage sale, but new to him) bunk beds fixed up and moved into his room. First we had to take down the crib and move Carter's old bed into Griffin's room. Ty worked really hard and got it all done in just a couple of short hours. Both of the boys were to excited for their new beds. Griffin had no trouble going to sleep in his new bed. I was a bit nervous about Carter up so high but he did just fine. The plan is for the boys to share Carter's room when we have to get Griffin's room ready to bring our daughter home. Wow, does that sound strange, our daughter! It is still going to be a while so we thought we would leave them in their own rooms for now. Notice the font color change, representative of the Fall colors. Dorky, I know but that's me. Our weekend ended with a visit from our dear friends the Woodman's on their way home from visiting family and a delicious turkey dinner at Grandma's last night, Yummy!! We have a very busy week ahead of us so check back next week for an update!

By the way check out my friend Karrin's new blog; http://www.beadedblog.blogspot.com/, she makes and sells some of the most beautiful items, perfect for the holidays!!

Happy Monday!!

Nap Time!!

I love naptime!! Not for me, I am not a napper but naptime for little kids and mom's of little kids is priceless. I love it even more this week because last week napping was nonexistent and I was afraid it was over. As you can see from the attached photo, naptime is in full swing at our house!! I really enjoy this quite time in the house all by myself, I am sipping on a warm cup of coffee with the smell of cookies baking and downey coming from the laundary room; life's simple pleasures!! Again. I am so thankful that I do not have to worry about work anymore and can take some time just for me.

The other picture is of Griffin and his new obession, his airplanes. Now we have countless cars, trains and airplanes taking over our house, HELP!!!

The Price of Groceries--UGGG!!!

Those if you who know me well will find this strange but I am actually going to try and bargain shop for groceries!! We do something interesting at our house every week to pay for "normal weekly expenses", we have separate envelops of cash for things such as groceries, sam's club, target, church, and fun! We put about the same amount in each week and it has worked very well for a couple of years now. We have had to make adjustments along the way but nothing like we have had to lately. It is a great system because we rarely spend more than the cash we have and we all know how a $50 trip to Target can get out of hand! I owe this budget strategy to Ty (his mom while raising him, she has envelops for her car payment and mortgage). It took me some time to get used to it but now it empowers me! Anyway, back to the point at hand; over the past month or so there has not been enough cash for groceries, by a long shot. It is true we eat at home a lot. Carter has to take a lunch to school every day and Griffin, Ty and I are home for lunch daily but that is not new. We eat a lot of fresh fruits and veggies and I buy several organic products but again, that is not new. The point of this rambling is that I am going to try and buy some items at discount stores which I am not opposed to it just adds another trip to make every week. I know those of you that know me cannot believe I am saying this but the grocery bill is getting out of hand!! When Ty reads this he will be proud, he has been working on me with budgeting for years!!
If you feel my pain, know that you are not alone!!

Besides that problem, things are good. We are into a good school routine now and Carter is loving it. We have conferences this week so that should be interesting. I am happy to be back to my regular work out routine, I have even been able to fit in an extra work out of two a week. That always makes me feel good, I cannot believe I went for so long thinking about working out but not doing it because it is wonderful!! Griffin and I are having fun together and Ty is liking his new office.

Have a beautiful Fall Monday!!