Since I don't have class on Mondays and Cole didn't have school today, I'm still calling it the weekend. So as promised, here is an update on my boys.

The weather, until today, had been relatively warm, for January anyway. We had fog every day, all day last week and rain the last couple of days. We did get a little break long enough to make this snowman. That's the first peek of sun we'd seen for a week.

Cole had a blast being outside. He likes to go help Grandpa during chores and usually tells me "I don't want to help you." How nice?
Tate is quickly becoming a little stinker. He knows exactly how to set his brother off. His new favorite thing to do is squeal every time he sees the cat, or just for fun. He's not quiet about it either. He's been busy playing in the toy wonderland downstairs now that he's figured out how to go down them without falling, for the most part.

This is what happens when you fall asleep with Daddy and then Daddy leaves. Kinda reminds me of this picture:

Tate also had his 18 month check up last week. He weighs 24 lbs 11 oz and is 31 3/4 inches tall, which is about 5 inches shorter than his brother. He is in about the 35% for both height and weight. Can you believe he was ever that small?

Back to School

So my semester started last week. I have three classes, each runs one day a week, and they are all different days. It's been working out ok. My Tuesday class only meets every other week, the alternate weeks we post online. My Wednesday class was cancelled this week due to the weather, only I forgot to check my email and went in anyway. It wasn't a total waste since my student teaching application is due this week and I needed to take care of a couple of things on campus anyway. We hired a babysitter since my classes are all during evening chores. The boys like her. She drives and she feeds calves! Hopefully we are making it worth her while and she keeps coming back. My classes are all education classes which means a lot of classroom time and a lot of papers. Luckily we know what the assignments are well in advance so I've been trying to stay ahead of the game. I have my methods class which means lots of lesson plans. I have 2 due this coming Tuesday that I am hoping to get done this weekend. I really don't mind doing lesson plans. It's actually kind of fun seeing what kinds of things I can put in there to mix it up a little bit. They are very time consuming, though.

I also have been running on the treadmill. I've gone 4 times in the last week and a half. I chickened out on Monday, but went today and Wednesday. It's been so foggy here. After I took Cole to school on Monday and nearly missed my turn, I didn't really want to go out again. So when Pat called to say he'd pick up Cole, I decided to stay home. That's about all the news from here. I will try to blog and post pictures of the boys this weekend. I haven't really blogged about them at all this year.

And You Are???

It's national delurking day. Leave a comment to let me know who's reading (and why, since I sure don't understand)

Thanks!

Training Day 1

So I finally bit the bullet and went to work out today. I dropped Cole off at school and Tate and I headed to the fire hall. He walked around shoving his tractor and truck into small places while I attempted to use the tread mill. It took me a little while to figure it out. I even called Pat to ask how to turn the thing on, which was stupid because like he would know. The only time he runs is to chase cows when they get out and even then running is iffy. His advice was to plug it in, to which I wanted to reply "do I look stupid." I did not. I just said good bye and hung up. I'm still trying to be nicer. Anywho, once I figured it out I ran for about 20 minutes, which was plenty for the first day. I can already feel it in my knees. My plan is to go back on Friday and maybe even get my old cross country skis from my parents sometime. Lofty plans, I know.

What did you do today, Fatty? (that's for my sister, I'm not calling all 3 of you lovely readers fat)

I Guess I'm Not In High School Anymore

My sisters and I are running a team marathon in May. What does that have to do with high school? All 3 of us ran cross country in high school. Jenny, from here on out referred to as Fatty (she asked for it), worked her butt off and made it as an alternate to State (we had a really good team that year, I think they took first or second). Kristen just had fun. She was a middle of the pack runner (although I remember her trading last places with her friend J) and was proud of it. We all ran for different reasons and we all enjoyed it.

I ran my first season because my sisters had run and we didn't have soccer, which was my true passion at the time. Turns out, I ended up with the natural ability. I ran 4 seasons on varsity, never lost a JV race (my first season I ran about half the season on JV), and ran in the state meet twice with our team. I loved it, and I was good at it.

After that I spent my first 2 years on my college track team and was in the best physical condition of my life. I'm not 18 any more. It pains me to admit that. I'm knocking on 30. Good grief, I turn 30 this year! Aaack! Anywho, let's not dwell on that. Needless to say, I am not in the peak physical condition of my high school and early college years. I haven't run competitively since college. After my competition days were over I ran and worked out occasionally. Other than a brief stint (like a week last summer) I haven't run a step that hasn't involved chasing after my children. I know that I can run, and I enjoy running, but there are always more appealing options, like napping. So when Kristen brought up this team marathon, I jumped at it. I need some motivation to get me going. The problem is that the marathon is at the end of May and with all this snow on the ground our road won't be passable for cars, much less running, until July.

Kristen uses their local Y and works out a lot, which is ironic from her high school days. Fatty gets paid 3 hours a week to go work out at her job. She gets to take 3 hours out of her day and spend it at the gym, and get PAID for it. She doesn't use it and wants everyone to feel sorry for her. I don't. Our closest gym is about 20-30 minutes away and it just isn't feasible for me to take advantage of it. I'd love to, but it just puts too much strain on everyone else for it to be practical for me. So I don't know what I'm going to do. I used to be able to train like the week in advance, but I just can't do that anymore. I'm hoping to be able to take advantage of the equipment at the fire hall, since Pat is on the VFD. If not, I'll be the one panting and walking after a mile next May. Ok, I won't walk, but I'll be the one that pukes and passes out. I may not have the endurance I used to, but my competitive spirit is still as strong as ever!

My Cat Plays Fetch

What can your cat do?

New Year's Resolution

I normally don't do resolutions. This year I have decided to be nicer to my husband. Long before Pat and I started dating, we were typically our friends' entertainment. We ripped on each other constantly. After 2 years of dating and 5 years of marriage (today!) it's really starting to wear on our relationship. We've had our fair share of problems, so this year, I am going to make a conscious effort to be nicer to him. Right now that's been fairly easy since he threw his back out a few days ago and can't do anything. I've had the bed to myself the last 2 nights (and looking like again tonight) since he's been sleeping in the chair or couch, which is apparently more comfortable for him. I don't get it either. But anyway, back to the nice thing. It should be easy, but I am trying to be nice without criticizing. That's hard. I'm hoping that my being nicer will cause him to be nicer, and our kids to be nicer. I'm also trying to stop yelling, but I really struggle with yelling at Cole to stop yelling at his brother. Oops. Wish me luck!