We had a great weekend!! Brian came home Friday evening after 2 weeks in Iowa! We ordered pizza for dinner and enjoyed all just hanging out together. We also decided it would be a good time to try to transition Adam into a ‘big boy’ bed! We took the railing off his crib and he now has a toddler bed. He thought it was a lot of fun to help Daddy use the screwdriver to take his crib apart. So far, the transition has gone well! He climbs out of bed every now and then, but nothing too terrible.  *KNOCK ON WOOD*

Saturday we hit the Pancake House! It had been a few weeks since we had been there, so it was even tastier than usual! We did some work in the yard and spent more time just hanging out together. Saturday night I went to the So You Think You Can Dance Season 7 Live Tour with my friend from work, Amber. We had a blast! It was an amazing show and the dancers are so incredibly talented! Here are a couple of my favorite dancers, Lauren & Kent

Sunday was Halloween! In the morning we carved Adam’s pumpkin, then we went to Sever’s Corn Maze in Shakopee for a couple hours. They had various activities as well as the huge maze to explore. Adam had fun running around, petting animals, going for a pony ride, and playing in the giant corn pit.

After nap time we watched the Vikings lose (again! bummer!). Then I took Adam out trick or treating while Brian passed out candy at home. Adam had decided he wanted to be a puppy dog and he looked adorable! We only made it to a couple houses and Adam said, “Now we should go home.” I talked him into going to a few more houses, then we went home. He had even more fun helping me hand out candy to the other kids.

Brian had to leave again this morning for Iowa. He’ll be back on Friday cuz I have to work next weekend (DAY shifts!! YAY!!!) I’m working on potty training Adam. This morning was rough. He wasn’t getting it. He went in his pants twice. I finally (after consulting with Shannon) decided to strip off the pants and just have him sit on the potty while watching TV & snacking. He went twice between 11 & 1!! Hopefully we’re on to something.

Big boy bed, and potty training all within a couple days of each other. Hopefully we’re not asking too much of our dude.

Have a great week!

We had an absolutely wonderful time in Phoenix over the weekend! We went to visit our friends, Brent & Becca and their 2 year old, Brady. They are college friends of ours. Becca & I were roommates, and Brian & Brent were roommates. They were in our wedding and have been together ever since. They moved to Phoenix after college so we don’t get to see them very often, but when we do, it’s great!

We flew out early Thursday morning. Adam was so excited to fly on a plane! We rented a minivan and it came in super handy to haul around the 6 of us. We spent our time hanging out, going to parks, eating yummy food and enjoying lots of good laughs. The kids played great together and were on the same nap/bedtime schedule, so that worked out great for the parents!  It was such a fantastic getaway and we’re so glad we were able to visit!

Here are some of my favorite pics:

We got home on Sunday, did laundry & unpacked. Brian had to turn around and head back to Iowa bright and early Monday morning. He’ll be gone until at least the 29th, maybe longer….

Adam and I were discussing Halloween costume options tonight and he has decided he wants to be a puppy dog, so now I must shop!

Have a great week!

Hummus. What a yummy and interesting snack!

Obviously, it’s been a while. I see the last blog I wrote was about my birthday and that was well over a month ago! Sheesh. I’m a slacker! So that means this will probably be kinda long. Here goes:

Brian has been in Iowa most weeks since August. Either he has come home on the weekends, or Adam and I have driven down to visit. We were down there this past weekend and also 2 weekends prior to that we went for a visit. Adam has a blast when we visit Daddy. We get to stay in  hotel with a pool, so he gets to swim twice a day. We eat out at favorite restaurants and he’s allowed to have some of his favorite treats! I know Brian enjoys when we’re able to visit, and I think it’s nice to be able to hang out too! Adam has mastered jumping into the pool by himself while one of us catches him! He also likes to jump in holding onto Brian’s hand. I’m sure you want pics of this so here ya go:

Let’s see….oh, yes. The State Fair. Adam and I went for an afternoon with my parents. We took in a Kare11 news broadcast. I thought that was pretty cool. I had never been to one before. I also took Adam on the giant slide. That was a hoot! He was all excited to go on the slide…until we got to the top. Then he decided it looked too scary. I was able to convince him to ride down with me. I thought it was super fun!! My mom said Adam smiled the whole way down, however, after viewing the pictures she took of us coming down the slide, I would have to disagree. What do you think? I think the poor guy looks terrified!

When we got done, Adam looked at me with a quivering lip and said, “I don’t want to go again!” He figured he’d let me know that before I tried to talk him into another ride!

I ended up not running in the Carver Steam Boat Days 5K. I had hurt my knee and I wasn’t able to run or walk very well. I was really bummed!! The boys and I went to the race to cheer on my friend, Shannon, who was my training buddy and inspiration to start running in the first place! She finished her first 5K and I’m so proud of her!! I’m slowly getting back into running. I just go on the treadmill now and I don’t run as much….more walking. I’m scared to hurt myself again!

The weekend of September 25th, the boys were in the wedding of our friends, Allyson & Steve. I have some good lookin’ guys in my life! Brian was one of the groomsmen and Adam was the ring bearer. Adam did great walking down the aisle by himself at the rehearsal, but when it was time to go down the aisle at the wedding, he froze. I think he was nervous about all the people looking at him! Poor guy!! I couldn’t convince him to go get Daddy up at the front, so I ended up holding his hand and walking him down the aisle. I dropped him off with Brian at the front of the church and he was absolutely fine after that!  Here’s a pic of my little dude:

and the 3 of us:

a group shot of the wedding party:

My boys drinkin’ at the reception:

My super happy exciting work news: I don’t have to work night shift anymore!! I have been rotating Day/Evening shifts during the week, then working 12 hour night shifts every 3rd weekend. After 3 years, I’m FINALLY back to working just straight day/evening rotation and I get to work 12 hour DAY shifts every 3rd weekend. I’m ecstatic! It was really starting to get to be too much to work all 3 shifts and I was over it.

In sports news: Randy Moss has returned to the Vikings!! This is so exciting for us!! All last season, Brian and I kept saying, “Imagine if we had Moss back….” So now I’m curious to see how the game goes on Monday night!! Wahoo!!

Brian is scheduled to be in Utah for a huge demo from Oct. 18th-Nov. 5th. That is going to be a long haul for all of us! He has been gone for several weeks leading up to this demo, so I decided it was necessary for he and I to take a long weekend in Mexico! We’re heading there the weekend before Thanksgiving to just hang out together. Adam will be with the grandparents.

Next week, we are heading to Phoenix to visit our friends there, Becca & Brent & their little guy, Brady. I’ve been trying to talk with Adam about flying on a plane and how all that will go. He’s pretty excited to fly and we can’t wait to see our friends!

Brian has been in Iowa for the last 2 weeks, and he is coming home tomorrow! Yay! It’s supposed to be beautiful weather this weekend, so I’m sure we’ll hit the park a couple times and of course, the Pancake House!

Have a great weekend!

Sunday was my birthday! I’m 32! Crazy!

I worked a 12 hour night shift on Saturday night, and I got to take advantage of double pay (in honor of my birthday!) for 8 hours! It helped make the night shift a little more tolerable.

After I slept for a while on Sunday, the boys and I went and picked out a new bike for me as my gift! I haven’t had a new bike in about 20 years, and I haven’t owned one in I don’t know how long! I wanted a pink bike with a comfy seat, so that is what we found. I love it!

Then we went out for supper at Cuzzy’s…a family restaurant in Chaska. I was in the mood for something pretty low key and casual. We had a yummy supper and a dessert! They brought out the dessert with a pink candle in it and Adam helped me blow it out.

After supper, we went fishing. Brian needed to stock his bait tank. I hate bullheads, but the boys have a blast, so it’s fun to go with and watch them.

We got home and got Adam to bed, then Brian and I hung out together and watched the Twins game. It was a wonderful day with my two favorite guys!!

Here is my new bike:

And dinner with the boys:

As usual, I am a few days late at posting this! Now it is Tuesday night. After work, Adam and I got a trailer to hook onto my bike so I can take him with on bike rides! We went for a quick spin to test it out and he absolutely loved it!

Brian had to head back to Iowa this morning, so Adam and I are hanging out again til Friday. We have big plans though: tomorrow I am getting a massage after work. Thursday night I am going to ‘Wicked’ with my mom. My dad is going to hang out with Adam for the night. My parents will spend the night, then we’re heading to the State Fair on Friday!

It’s shaping up to be a busy, but fun week!! Hope you’re having a good one too!!

I see it’s been quite a while since I’ve posted, so this will probably be a compilation of the last few weeks of our ongoings!  😉

August 6th was the annual Relay for Life in McLeod County. We started participating in this event after Brian’s dad died in 2004 from esophageal cancer. It’s an all night event to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Brian stayed all night to walk the relay. Adam and I went to the Relay for the afternoon/evening then came back home to sleep.

A couple weeks ago, I decided I should take up running! I’m somewhat enjoying it. I’ve been doing most of my running on the treadmill because it’s been too hot, or I’m home by myself with Adam. Today was a beautiful morning, so I ran outside. Whoa! It’s an interesting difference. The treadmill certainly does a lot of the work for me, so I have a lot of work to do to build up my endurance. Oh, did I mention I’m thinking of entering my first 5K in September?! My friend and neighbor, Shannon, is also starting to enjoy running and she’s wanting me to do the Carver Steam Boat Days 5K with her. I’m certainly nowhere near ready for it, but I have a month to get there! We’ll see how it goes…..

Brian was gone in Iowa all last week again. I had most of the week off work so I had lots of hanging out time with Adam. I was so impressed and proud of him! He was such an amazing kiddo all week!! I didn’t have to put him in time out ONCE!! Amazing!!

We had a nice weekend together this weekend. I worked on Friday evening and Saturday day shift. After work, I drove and met the boys at Lake Minnetonka Regional Park. It was so nice! The humidity is finally gone!! Today we went to the park in the morning, then checked out the Carver County Fair in the afternoon. Adam loved feeding the animals in the petting area, then walking through all the other animal barns to say hi to all the other critters. We ate a ton of junk food, but it was great!! I’ll have to run a little extra tomorrow!

Here a few pics from the Relay and the Fair:

Now the laundry is all folded and it’s time to head to bed. I’m looking forward to sleeping on the clean sheets with the windows open wide!! Have a great week!!

Brian was gone all last week in Iowa for work. Adam and I made it through the week OK.

He got home on Friday evening right as I was on my way out the door to go work a 12 hour night shift. I was so happy he was home and so bummed I had to leave!  I made it through my shift, then slept for a while on Saturday.  After I got up we went over to Brian’s sister’s home for their going away party. They are moving to Virginia in a couple weeks! Boo!! We got all the Aanderud grand kids together to take some pictures before the party. Here are a few. Adam wasn’t super excited about doing pictures at first, but once he was on the swing, he had a blast!

I had to work for another 4 hours on Saturday after the party. I was bummed to have to leave.

We woke up this morning and as usual, hit the Pancake House! Yum!! After breakfast, we walked to the park and played for a quite a while. We walked home and had lunch. We convinced Adam to take a nap a little earlier than usual so we could go to the lake! He was so excited to go to the lake that he went right to sleep. He woke up 2 hours later, walked out of his room and announced, “I took a good nap! Now we can go to the lake!” So off we went. We went to Lake Minnetonka regional park. We had never been there before, but we really liked it! They have a man made lake with lots of beach space. The water is also chlorinated, so there are no weeds or fish to contend with. That’s my kind of lake!

Brian and Adam played in the sand and we all swam around for a good couple hours. We hit the road and grabbed some Jimmy John’s sandwiches on the way home. We continued to enjoy the gorgeous day by eating our sandwiches on the deck. Brian was planning to go fishing with a couple buddies, so Adam and I hung out outside while Brian got his fishing gear ready. Adam played with the bullheads and I tried to keep my sandwich down! He loves grabbing them and I think they’re nasty! Brian also had a big carp in with the bullheads, so Adam grabbed him with both hands too! Yuck!

Now Brian is off fishing, Adam’s asleep and I’m refusing to fold the laundry. It was a beautiful day weather-wise and a wonderful day with my 2 favorite guys!!

I just have to write this down before I go to bed….

Adam and I were out running errands and I have no problem bribing him to make him behave better. We went to Target first. He got a free cookie from the bakery and promised to be a good boy. However, as soon as he was done he immediately stood up in the cart and started being naughty. I quickly finished up in the store and got him to the car.

Next, we went to Costco. If you’ve never been there, they sell a ginormous cup of frozen yogurt for $1.45. Adam knows he can have ‘ice cream’ if he’s a good boy in Costco. So as we pulled into our parking spot, here is how our conversation went:

Adam: Can we have ice cream, Mom?

Me: You have to be a really good boy while we’re in the store. No running around; No screaming; No standing up in the cart. If you are nice to your mom, we can have ice cream. Can you be a nice boy?!

Adam: I AM!!!! Chrrriiiiiissssttt!

He used the word in an appropriate situation and it was so clear what he said! After I chuckled to myself (luckily, he sits behind my seat in the car) I told him that is not a nice word and it’s not OK to use it. He didn’t say anything in response, but he was thinking….

Hope you got a good laugh out of this one! I know I did!!

Have a good night!

So here I am being a slacker again. I figure tonight I’ll kill 2 birds with one stone! Let me apologize right off the bat for the 12 photos that are to follow!

Last weekend, Adam went to hang out with Grandma Dora and Fred. Brandon and Ellie were there for the weekend too, so they all had a blast together! Brian and I had a productive weekend at home. We had purchased 2 mature trees a couple weeks ago, and they were installed last weekend.

It was quite a production! The spade truck arrived at 8AM.

He dug a huge hole for the first tree. It was probably an 8 foot diameter:

I went to a bridal shower for a friend in Minneapolis. When I returned home, the first tree was in place and Brian had it staked down:

Shortly thereafter, the truck arrived with the 2nd tree. I got to watch the whole process for the second tree. It was pretty cool!!

He backed down into the yard:

After getting into place, he raised up the tree with the spade, then lowered it into the hole.

After the second one was in place, Brian got it staked in. It was a good thing too! We had storms that night!

Sunday, we spent putting in the edging, then putting down fabric and mulch. It was a ton of work and it was so hot and humid out! We are so happy to have these trees. The yards in our neighborhood are lacking any mature trees. These are each about 25 feet tall! We have envious neighbors.

Here are the trees after the mulch is in place:

Tonight, we finally had our first bon fire in our yard this summer. It was gorgeous night to be outside! Adam had fun watching the fire and then we made s’mores. The Aanderuds take great pride in their marshmallow roasting skills. I feel like I am almost good enough to live up to their standards! 😉

Here are a couple cute pics from the fire & s’more making:

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I’m planning to get in lots of time with my boys. Brian has to head to Iowa on Monday and he will be gone all week.

It’s official! Our contract is ratified and we can quit worrying about a strike for another 3 years! Yay!! The nurses overwhelmingly (97%) voted to accept the contract offer. Sweet!

We finished up our holiday weekend (I know, it’s already the 9th and I’m being slow again!). It was wonderful to see my brother and his family! My parents had a nice gathering of our family and Brian’s at their home on the lake. It was nice warm weather and we were able to enjoy the boat and each other’s company.

Here are a few snapshots!

Brian has been gone all week on travel for work. I have been here working and hanging out with Adam. Tonight, Adam went to Grandma & Fred’s for the weekend and Brian is on his way home. A weekend without the little man will be nice, but weird! I’m definitely looking forward to sleeping past 5:30! He’s been quite the early riser lately.

Have a great weekend!