i *heart* nyc

Rob and I were very fortunate to go to New York City this past weekend. He was at Honeywell's headquarters in New Jersey all week for training, so we booked me a flight (with points!) to come out for the weekend. Since Rob has so many Hilton points, we also got a room in Times Square. The girls headed to Nana and Papa's for the weekend and we were off to have an incredible time.

I flew into Newark where Rob was there to meet me. We took the train into the city and quickly checked into our hotel because we had booked a bus tour; a Night on the Town tour which left at 6pm. Unfortunately it was raining, but we figured that's fine since we'll be in a bus. It turned out to be kind of a crazy experience since before we even started, almost our entire tour group got lost on the way to the bus. When we finally found our bus, we took a spot up top. I'd never done a tour before, so it was nice to hear about some of the history that I otherwise may have not known. Traffic was bad trying to get into the Holland Tunnel so we had trouble making it to the piers to catch our water taxi for another tour. Fortunately we made it and the rain let up. The water taxi was awesome and the tour guide was hysterical. We went up the Hudson, getting a good look at the construction of the new trade center towers and then turned around to stop near the statue of liberty to have a champagne toast.

This picture is hilarious even though Lady Liberty is blurry. It sort of sums up the hysterical night.

After toasting Lady Liberty, we headed up the East River to get a good look at the Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Williamsburg bridges. When we returned to the piers we got back on the bus to head to dinner at an old restaurant in Little Italy. Unfortunately, our bus driver GOT LOST. We also thought we were going to kill about 50 people with the way he drove. We finally got to dinner where Rob and I sat with a nice Norwegian couple (I told them that their King and Queen were currently in Minnesota!). Most people were starving so dinner was quite dull as we were all stuffing our faces and wondering if we were ever going to get back in one piece. Our final stop was to be The Top of the Rock which we were all excited to see at night. But since the driver kept getting us lost, we didn't make it there before the last elevator went up. Several people were very upset since they were leaving the next day. Rob and I just got off the bus and left, planning on using our vouchers later. To end the evening we wondered around Times Square, taking in the the sights and lights.

The next morning we were so lucky to wake up to the best weather. It was going to be windy, but we dressed and layers and were just happy to see the sun. We started off the day with a latte and a walk in Central Park.

We came upon a big chess tournament in the park and it was the cutest thing ever to see so many kids so serious about chess!

This was my third trip to NYC, but I hadn't yet been to the Brooklyn Bridge, so after wandering the Park for a while, we took to the subway to Brooklyn. We enjoyed some VERY delicious Grimaldi's Pizza (that was well worth the hour wait) and then headed back to Manhattan over the bridge. 

You're supposed to be able to see the Statue of Liberty behind us, but the lighting was kind of bad!

We hadn't planned on it, but since we ended up close the World Trade Center sight, we walked over there to see if we could get a look at the new 9/11 Memorial. We hadn't gotten tickets so we didn't plan on going in, but we just wanted to see what we could see. Unfortunately there were so many people down there with the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations that it was so difficult to get around. We decided instead to get on the subway and head to Greenwich Village. We shouldn't have been surprised but we found more demonstrators at Washington Square Park as well. It was really interesting to see and it was kind of cool to be there for it all. 

We kept walking, admiring everything we saw and wondering what it would be like to live in NYC. We tried to guess real estate prices and tried to figure out what area we liked best (just in case we won the lottery and had the opportunity to buy a place there). Soon we grew really tired and we just wanted to sit and have a beer. We found such a place in Bryant Park; a cute little outdoor cafe/bar that had fire pits and Adirondack chairs. We got a couple of ($9!) beers and enjoyed some people watching, more fresh air and big city life. By this time, the demonstrators had marched their way up 6th Ave and we got an incredible view of thousands of people chanting and waving signs. (Word is they were heading to the Upper East side to protest near some big bank executives homes).

 We were getting a little nervous because we needed to get back to our hotel to get ready for the show, but we weren't able to cross the street until all the demonstrators marched by. After it was clear we started walking back to the hotel only to find that Broadway was also entirely blocked off. We literally became part of the group and had to figure out a different way to get across Broadway. Fortunately we made it and we were back at our hotel to get changed.

That night we got all dressed up and saw the production of Wicked. I LOVED it! I was so glad we went because I was kind of bummed that I didn't see it when it came to Minneapolis. Plus it was so fun to see a Broadway production on Broadway. Even Rob liked it. At the suggestion of a friend, we went to Becco for an after show dinner. The food was so yummy and the experience was wonderful. 

Sunday morning was our last so we used our Top of the Rock vouchers and got there before the big crowds. It was an incredibly beautiful morning. I thought that the trees would have been changing colors by now, but they were still green. (I really wanted to see the city engulfed in reds, oranges and yellows!)

We spent the rest of the morning perusing the shops on Fifth Avenue before heading back to get packed up. 

It was an AMAZING weekend and I'm so glad we had the opportunity to go. 

But we were so EXCITED to come home and see our girls!

a big fail

I'm putting it on the record...after 6 months of trying, I have failed at potty training the girls. When the girls are 13 and I'm dealing with teenage girl issues, I want to come back to this and laugh at myself for thinking this was the end of the world.

But, I'm losing my freaking mind. I feel like I have tried everything. I feel like I've read and used all possible suggestions out there. My only conclusion is that they are not ready.

But how can that be? When I go through the "checklist" of "is your toddler ready?", I answer yes to everything. Well actually, I don't think I can say that they have ever had a dry diaper for more than an hour. But if they are ready and willing, then how come that doesn't fall into place? Is there something physically wrong? 

Little Bird did really well for a really long time, having only 1 accident a day, but now she has given up. I can't motivate her with anything. She will use the potty, but still have 4 or 5 accidents a day. Not just little accidents, but change the undies and pants accidents. Sometimes she'll refuse to go on the toilet when I ask her and then 20 minutes later when I ask her again, she is soaked. On the bright side, she does tell me when she has to poop.

Little Pie was doing well with the potty, but still not pooping in it. I thought that was fine, thinking it would come soon, but now she is constantly peeing in her undies and never in the toilet. She poops in her undies 3+ times a day. I can't begin to express how frustrated I am with cleaning up those messes.

I think I'm so frustrated because I feel like the girls get what they are supposed to do. They always say, "I'm supposed to tell Mommy or Daddy when I have to go pee", but they never do it. They say, "when I'm dry all day, then I can play Candy Land/wear princess crown/eat candy corn/etc." but they are never dry all day and they don't care when they don't get to do those things.

Sticker charts don't work, new undies don't work, picking out your own undies doesn't work, reading  potty books doesn't work, telling them we can play Candy Land or Chutes and Ladders doesn't work, talking about it doesn't work, telling them they can't play downstairs doesn't work, not letting them sit on the couch doesn't work, changing them out of their favorite pretty dress doesn't work, pretending to cry because I'm so sad doesn't work.

I even jokingly said today that we were going to have to take money out of their banks to pay for all the pull-ups and Little Bird excitedly ran to her room to get hers. Ugh! You are supposed to not like that idea!!

So my conclusion is that they either have a physical problem in that they cannot hold the urine or they are somehow trying to control the situation. 

If it's a control thing, then it's off to the parenting section of the bookstore I go!

Sundresses

We went to the park today. It's 80 degrees. On October 8. We wore our Easter sundresses there. It's October 8!



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summer in october

I don't know how we got so lucky, but this week has been so beautiful. Not only has it been unseasonably warm, but it's been unseasonably hot (like 88 yesterday!). The girls have even wondered if we could get the pool out. I don't blame them since we are back to wearing summer clothes and eating outside. It's been a perfect mix of clear blue skies, bright sun, vivid reds oranges and yellows on the trees, breezes and NO humidity. We all wish this weather could last all year.

Because the whole week has been so beautiful, we have spent a lot of time outside. On Monday our group went to French Park to play and walk the trails. The girls had a lot of fun running (too fast) on the trails. They thought it was amazing that we had to cross two bridges to get to the lake. It was fun to be on the beach even though we weren't swimming. 

Little Bird is a bit behind because she had fallen and scraped her elbow pretty bad.

They all swore they saw a turtle, however the moms had a hard time locating it.

Yesterday was unbelievable hot so when it finally cooled down after supper, we went out to the driveway to draw with chalk. Since we had gone to gymnastics that morning, the whole day was spent talking about gymnastics. The girls wanted me to draw a trampoline and a balance beam. I also drew some stairs and we practiced climbing, balancing on the beam and bouncing on the trampoline. Little Pie and I worked on drawing "E" and I was so impressed with her results. She mimicked my movements really well and I caught her practicing on her own, talking herself through it with my descriptions. Poor Little Bird didn't have a lot of patience learning her "S". "S" is a hard letter to draw anyway.

Rob came home just as we were about to go in, but the girls had to show him our creations. They wanted him to jump on the trampoline over and over and Little Pie giggled so hard at his animation of it. She kept telling me "it's fun out here Mom!". Surprisingly they obliged when we finally said they could do one final jump before going in for a bath. They both matter of factly said that we would come back out tomorrow when Daddy got home.

Balance beam

Action shot! Little Pie is hysterical with laughter while Rob jumped on the trampoline. Also, you can see a few of her "Es" (they are the orange ones). I wanted to get a close up, but my camera died after this picture.

kitchen duty

The girls haven't napped in a long time. Well, technically Little Bird hasn't napped in about a year and Little Pie is only taking a nap if she is sick. So, the days are getting long. I've stopped trying to put them in their rooms for "quiet" time because I can't figure out a way to enforce it. I feel like we fight so much and it's not worth it. They play together fine and I typically don't see any orneriness until late afternoon. I actually don't mind closing their bedrooms doors for bed time at 7pm (or earlier!) and having the rest of the evening to myself. It's working out fine for us. 

But, like I said, the days can be long, so trying to figure out things to keep these two "entertained" and engaged can be stressful. 

Today I put them to work in the kitchen. I needed to make some cupcakes to bring down to the neighbors tomorrow, so I enlisted their help. They weren't too interested in mixing the ingredients (Little Pie is kind of afraid of the mixer), so I waited until they were baked and the real fun began.

The girls were in charge of putting the candy corns on top of the frosted pumpkin cupcakes.

I'm afraid to know the number of candy corn they snuck into their mouths when I wasn't looking. It seemed like Little Pie could hardly speak she was drooling so much sugar.  (Notice she put an extra candy corn here and there). Believe it or not we didn't eat any cupcakes today and I didn't hear too much whining about wanting one.

Later on, we took to making pizza for dinner. Since the girls were going to need to go to bed early (hello 6AM wake up!), we started fairly early. 

Little Pie could hardly contain herself. "What will I do first?" "Now what will I do?" "Can I eat it now?"

While I cooked up the sausage, I had the girls trim the spinach leaves. I wasn't sure how well it would go, but I was completely impressed with the results. All I did was ask them to take the stem off the leaf, put the stem on the counter and the leaf into the bowl. They did AMAZINGLY well and it kept them occupied for a long time.

Next we needed to brush a little olive oil on the crust. Little Pie would have put a whole bottle on if I would have let her. She was so anxious to dip and brush, I had to slow her down quite a bit. Little Bird was a little more reserved about the olive oil, thank goodness.

Next we had to top off the crust with our sausage, spinach and cheese. I'm not going to say I didn't have to pick up pieces of sausage off the counter, but the girls did pretty good spreading it about the entire crust. We finished off by putting slices of provolone cheese on top and they were pretty disappointed that step was over so quickly.

The final product was DELICIOUS! Little Bird ate three pieces and if Little Pie hadn't had so many Goldfish and carrots earlier, she would probably have had more than her one piece. We saved a plate for Rob and when he got home the girls were so excited to tell him that they made the pizza. 

Yum yum!

target, strangers

The girls are almost three years old so that means they have been to Target somewhere between 150 and 200 times. Yes, I know that is a lot. But that is where we do ALL our shopping; grocery, toiletries, housewares, clothes, shoes, birthday gifts and cards, crafts, bedding, diapers, pull ups, bibs, socks...OK, you get the idea.

In the very early days we visited Target to roam the aisles so I could somehow maintain my sanity during those first cold winter months and sleepless nights. The girls enjoyed it too, mostly staring at the bright lights in the ceiling. Employees and patrons stopped us often to comment on how adorable they were (and sometimes to offer up weird comments and advice).

As the girls have gotten older, people have stopped us less. That is fine by me because now we have an agenda. I don't want to wander the aisles anymore. When you have two toddlers, you want to get in and  get out as fast as you can. 

Today we took a leisurely trip to a "different" Target because it was too WINDY to play outside and the girls needed some new shoes. For some reason the girls were very social today, seeking out conversations with  random people instead of waiting for people to approach them. I was laughing under my breath at what they were telling these total strangers until the 4th or 5th person when I suddenly realized we should probably   start talking about strangers.

Their talk was so innocent and in my presence nothing was scary or dangerous. But even though they were having fun talking with these people (LB randomly told an employee "my mommy picked up a snake and showed it to me." ...like, that was 3 weeks ago, but whatever), I started getting concerned that I needed to start having the conversations about talking to strangers. 

But I don't want to. That means the girls are growing up. That means that they will be out in the world without me some day. That means that they may encounter a scary situation and need to know how to react to protect themselves. I don't want them to know that the world can be scary. I want them to keep their total innocence and trust that EVERYONE out their is good. 

But reality hits us at the ripe old age of just under THREE. I can't believe that they have to know the truth already. It's not fair. 

---

With that said, it was still hilarious to watch the girls strike up conversations. I think everyone we talked to was surprised to learn that they weren't even three yet. TWO different people told them that they were SMART. 

I like it when OTHER people tell the girls that they are smart. It's so much better than hearing that they are cute. 

I mean, that's totally obvious.

apple jack's

First of all, where did September go?? I can't believe it's gone already. I feel like we are missing the best time of year. I really do hate how fall is so short. If only every day could be as cozy as a fall day. 

Our Monday play group took full advantage of the fall festivities and visited a nearby apple orchard. The 4 girls and Little Buddy had an incredibly fun time.

Oh wow, one day these three will be driving for real.

Carting Little Buddy around.

This truck was Little Bird's favorite thing at the orchard.

Check out the look between Little Pie and Little Buddy.

There is plenty to do at this apple orchard. Going down slides, climbing hay bales, checking out turkeys and goats, sampling apples, eating lunch and going on a wagon ride. We'll have to go back on a weekend when we can check out the corn maze and pony rides and whatever else they add for the busy weekend crowds.

Thankfully we were visiting after the school groups left so the girls had almost exclusive access to the slides.

Little Pie was very into picking up all sorts of pumpkins.

Little Pie was VERY against going on the wagon ride but I made her get on with us and as soon as we got going she was fine. She had to stay in my lap, but at least she was looking around and telling us what she saw. Afterward, I asked if she wanted to do it again and she promptly said NO.

Goofy posing.

"Let I pick up this pumpkin. Ooo. It's really super duper heavy!"

Too bad they can't update this bus with the correct year!

I'm feeling the pressure to get in all the fun fall activities. I just know October is going to fly by just as fast as September; and I'm not happy about it. I hate feeling rushed to savor the days of my favorite time of year.

We are so fortunate that the girls have four grandparents that will do anything for them. The girls love them so much and are so excited to be with them.

This weekend the girls are in Fargo with Gramma and Grandpa and they couldn't be more excited.

A couple days ago I told the girls they were going to Fargo and that Daddy and I would stay home. The response:

LP: I want to stay home with you.
LB: I want to go! I will drive there!
LP: I want to go too!

The girls really enjoyed packing their suitcases and stood by the window waiting for Gramma and Grandpa to come.





I tried to get as many hugs and kisses in as I could but Little Bird was too excited and wanted to get going. I'm going to miss them terribly, but know they will have the best time.

Meanwhile, Rob and I will go to dinner and a movie tonight and have a blast at a wedding on Saturday. We'll be dying to get the girls on Sunday though!


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run!

It was almost 9 years ago that I first ran in the Twin Cities 10 mile race. In fact, the day before that race, I had my first (blind!) date with Rob. The race was a beautiful course and we ran it in good time, finishing with a lot of pride.

The following year I attempted to train for the Twin Cities Marathon but withdrew my attempts after my knees and ankles couldn't take a 19 mile training run. 

Since then I hadn't run, choosing to do some other form of exercise.

But this summer I got back into it after a friend encouraged me and some others to sign up for the Defeat of Jesse James' Days 15K (9.3 miles) in our college alum town, Northfield. 

The training started off tough with my back injury and the worst cold/flu I had ever suffered. But I got back into it and felt really good about the race. I was definitely ready.

I got up early and headed to Northfield to meet my girlfriends for the big race. We found that it was a small group (only 129 runners!!) and the course would be "challenging".

Challenging is right! It was basically up big hills, down a little, up a gradual hill for half a mile, up a steep hill, straight for miles, ending with more hills all the while looking at cornfields, blue sky and bright sun. There were water stations every 2 miles but that was it for people cheering us on. 

It was a lot more difficult than I expected, but I didn't quit, even after I felt like crying at mile 6. I just kept thinking about how far I'd come with my training and knowing that if I quit, I would regret it. I ran the entire time envisioning the girls and Rob at the finish line cheering me on.

Sarah, me and Maren coming across the finish line.

I finished the race in 1 hour and 33 minutes. Sarah finished a couple of minutes before me and Maren (who had not trained well!) finished after us.

The girls were so excited to see me running towards the finish line and I feel like they were even beaming with pride. It makes me feel good that I'm setting a good example for them; staying healthy, working hard, overcoming adversity and difficulty, and accomplishing big goals. I hope to continue to do this and maybe some day we will be running races together.

I'm really proud of myself and of my girlfriends for being able to take the time for ourselves, to get healthy, to do something that makes us proud. 

While we will not be running this course again (I will be looking for courses that say "flat"), we will be running again soon!

A mess

I was so excited. Our new hardwood floors were set to be installed on Thursday. We moved almost everything out of our main floor, cramming things into the garage and basement.

I wasn't excited about the mess and disorganization we would have to live through for a few days, but I was so excited to have the finished product.

Then, while we were out and about trying to keep busy while the installers worked on beautifying our house, I got a call from them saying I should come back and look at it. Something wasn't right.

I returned to find our carpet ripped up and part of the floor laid. But the new floor was all wrong! It looked nothing like the sample we picked out and ordered.

Long story short, the floor went back, a new one was ordered and we are living like this for at least another week.





I know we are very blessed to be able to do renovations on our home, but anyone who knows me knows that I don't do disorganization well. I mean, I'm the girl whose friends made fun of in college because I had a particular spot that I placed my chapstick every night.

This week is going to be a test of my patience but I can't help wishing it away.

I NEED my crazy organized house back!

The good news is the girls don't care one bit.

I guess I haven't entirely rubbed off on them ... yet!

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motivation

Apparently I was mistaken in thinking that after learning how to use the potty successfully more than 3 months ago, the whole idea of using the potty regularly would become second nature. 

Why do I think this way?

I guess the girls just need to have a "reason" to use the potty, and the reason isn't so they don't mess up their pants. They've become complacent and use the potty only when they feel like, peeing in their pants the rest of the time. 

The number of accidents has increased considerably in the last couple of weeks, whereas I thought by this time they would be virtually nonexistent. I'm constantly trying new things to motivate them to only go in the potty. Positive reinforcement hasn't been working. They already know we are proud of them for using the potty, so I guess they don't need to hear more praise. So I tried some different tactics...

1. If you have an accident, you have to go upstairs and get a new pair of underwear. I thought they would dislike doing this since it interrupted play time, but they don't care.
2. If you pee on the floor, you have to help me clean it up. They thought this was so cool and wanted to be the one to spray the Resolve on the floor. 
3. Since you have been having so many accidents, you can't sit on the couch anymore. OK, not a big deal.
4. I had bought these super ugly training pants that are so big and made of uncomfortable plastic so I had Little Pie wear them after her third accident in an hour. She thought they were so cool. Little Bird wanted a pair too.

Finally, since none of the above seemed to work, I wracked my brain for something else.

And then, the Potty Princess crown was born.

 

 

"I stayed dry all day!"

If I can get just one of them to be accident free for just one day, I'm happy.

the great minnesota get together!

Today we took our second annual trip to the MN State Fair. I doubt the girls remember their first trip, but I think they may talk about this one for a few days to come.

This year was definitely more fun even though we went on a weekend when the crowds are ridiculous. Our first stop was the Little Farm Hands exhibit. It's kind of hilarious because all of the parents are rushing their kids through it so as not to hold up the lines. The kids are looking around like, "what the heck? what are we supposed to do here anyway?" and can hardly keep up with the volunteers' suggestions and parents' urgency.

Our next stop was the Kidway. We skipped this last year thinking the girls were way to small for rides, but I sort of had an inkling that Little Bird might be into them this year. Sure enough, any ride we pointed out to her, she said she'd try. We said she could pick three, and her choices were:

The Dora swings. She was immediately drawn to them (notice she's sitting in a yellow one).

She was so hilarious because she only had a little bit of a smile on her face, but you knew she just loved it. She wouldn't look at us either when she came around to our side; only a peek through the corner of her eye. It was hilarious!

\

The Giant Slide was another choice (notice she chose yellow again).

She was all serious about this one and kind of acting like it was no big deal. Maybe she was too cool for the slide?

Her last choice was the merry-go-round. She INSISTED that she ride the horse herself and that I ride my own. I kept a hand on her back most of the time, but she kept telling me to let go of her; she wanted to do it herself and she kept telling me she was holding on tight.

Little Pie was (not surprisingly) interested in the rides. We asked her each time if she wanted to go too, but she politely declined and said she would rather watch. There was a little train that I thought she might go on, but she declined that too. She just sat back and enjoyed her apple.

Of course we enjoyed some yummy bad-for-you food. We got some mini donuts, corn dogs, milk, root beer floats, cookies and cheese curds. (I forgot how I can only eat a few cheese curds before my stomach says no way, and I gave our basket away to an awestruck fellow fair goer). The girls tried a little bit of most of the stuff but certainly enjoyed their mini donuts and milk the best.

Showing off their all you can drink milk! (At least this year they didn't spill it all down the front of themselves!)

It actually rained off and on for a little bit and it turned out that we were in and out of the animal barns during this time so it worked out great in our favor. The girls especially enjoyed the goats and horses. I was disappointed that the big boar had gone home because that is my favorite. We were actually in the Miracle of Birth center when a sow was giving birth but it was so crowded in there we couldn't see anything; even on their closed circuit TVs.

All and all we had a great day. We were at the fair for more than five hours! The girls didn't have any meltdowns or potty accidents. In fact, we discovered a new trick: Rob takes the girls one at a time to the potty since the line for the men's room is so much shorter!

The girls were EXHAUSTED when we got home so were in bed at 6:30. I kept thinking as I looked around at the millions of other strollers passing us by, why can't our girls doze off in a stroller?? We did so much walking, they could have gotten a great nap in!

Finally, on the way home I asked the girls about their favorite part of the fair: Little Bird said the goats and Little Pie said watching Little Bird on the rides.

 

Here's a video of Little Bird on the Dora swings:

puppies and kitties

The girls got all dolled up and had a blast at H&M's 3rd birthday party this morning. The theme was Puppies & Kitties (in keeping with a boy/girl theme that would satisfy both) and it was a hoot!

The weather cooperated so we could be outside and not trash the house. First thing first was to get the kids involved in the theme with some face painting. Both of my girls picked to be a puppy. (Secretly I was quite happy as I am so not a cat person.)

The kids ran around the backyard on a scavenger hunt looking for dog bones and mice. H&M's older brother hid them earlier in the morning (and he did a pretty good job!)

There was some play time on their awesome play set as well.

 

The kids made their own pizza for lunch, H&M opened presents, and we enjoyed the most awesome cake.

The party made me so excited for the girls' birthday in just 2 months!!