The Weekend and Such

This weekend has been heavenly. Seth hasn't had to work even once and we have had absolutely no plans except me going to hang out at a friend's house Friday night. We just literally hung out, used the slow cooker a lot and watched some football.

On Friday, I made cupcakes for his teacher at school and to take to the party that night. When I walked into his class to pick him up (and holding the cupcakes), he MELTED DOWN because he wanted one. I promised him one when we got home, and I made good on the promise. :)

 

We woke up to about five inches of snow on Saturday, and I wanted to take him outside. We had gotten him new snow pants, so we pulled those out. Unfortunately, 3T was WAY too big this year, so he was swimming in them. Add on a mismatched coat and accessories, and he was a hot mess. Adorable, but hilarious looking.

We don't really have a small snow shovel so he used his beach shovel. He was none the wiser.

When we got inside (which was approximately five minutes after we stepped outside), we made a fort and the little man LOVED it. He played in there off and on all day. He refused to take a nap in his crib and I was about to set up a sleeping bag in the fort. :)

All in all, we had a great weekend. My back has been killing me so it was nice to just chill and hang out. Today, I even got to take a nap while Carter napped...and he decided to take a two and a half hour nap! Thanks, baby love. :)

Home Alone...and a Weekend Away

For the past two weeks (minus two weekend days), I've been operating as a single mother while Seth has been away for work.

I now have a whole new appreciation for single mothers.

And some gray hair.

We survived, and quite honestly, things went better than I thought they would. Aside from the fact that I had to take an hour of vacation every day at work because I had to leave to get Carter from daycare (something Seth normally does most days), the fact that talking to Seth was virtually impossible since he lost his cell phone at Cedar Point, and the fact that we had some interesting dinners, we made it and I had fun bonding one-on-one with my little man. We did a lot of outdoor playing, a lot of multi-tasking, a lot of book reading and ball playing, a lot less laundry, and some other fun mommy-son things, like a weekend away at camp with cousins, aunts, and great grandparents.

We headed to camp on Thursday and stayed through Sunday. Aunt Michelle, McKenna, Carter, and I squished in a teeny tiny room where I promptly began the prayers that Carter would choose these days to sleep through the night and not wake everyone up in our room and the rest of the cabin (note: he did sleep through the night each night, though the first morning he did get up at 5:05 a.m. My goodness.)

We took the kids to the playground, to the camp store for some fun new toys, and to play in the creek. We went for lunch at the camp lunch stand (where Carter refused chicken nuggets...what kid refuses chicken nuggets!?!?), took lots of walks, watched Veggie Tales, played in the water table, and went for a drive to a somewhat nearby mall for the 75% off kids clothes sale.

Carter did great while we were there, and seemed to really enjoy his second year at camp (we went last year, too, when he was only three months old!).

Here are some pictures of our time playing and splashing in the creek near the cabin - they both loved it!

Now, we're glad that daddy is back home!! This weekend, we are taking Squirt to Hersheypark. Should be a great time. I am so excited to see him on the kiddie rides. A post will surely follow after this!

Weekend Wrap-Up

I realized I never did a wrap-up of our date night from last Friday, so I will now! We had a BLAST. After work (I get off at 11 a.m. on Fridays), I drove Carter and Bentley up to my parent's and Michelle and Jason's, respectively. After getting everything all set up for Mr. Carter and dropping Bentley off at Michelle's, we had some lunch and I headed home. It was about 1:30 when I left. I thought to myself that I could swing into the roadside stand on the way home and get some mums and whatnot to decorate some more outside (and eventually plant). But then it hit me that I am downright crazy.

If I hurry home, I can nap for an hour IN PEACE before Seth gets home from work and we need to get ready to go out. Trust me, I blew off that road side stand in a split second. Who needs pretty mums anyway??

I got home at precisely 2:20 and was in my warm, cozy bed by precisely 2:23. Have mercy. I set my alarm for 3:23 and drifted off. I heard Seth come home around that time, but he was on the phone. I reasoned that I could get ready really quickly and reset my alarm to 4:00. It was heaven.on.earth.

We then headed to dinner. I ordered fancy meatloaf. I almost couldn't believe it myself because I am picky about my meatloaf. And with good reason. This meatloaf wasn't so good--it was weird. But everything else was yummy. Then we headed over to the Giant Center for Jeff Dunham where I saw the stereotypical people you would see at Jeff Dunham....central PA rednecks. :)
I was almost giddy to be out on a date with Seth - so much fun to just hold hands and talk (and do some SERIOUS people-watching) for hours! The show was hysterical and we had such a blast. It started late at almost 8:30 so needless to say it went much later than we're used to these days. But since Carter was with my mom, we got to sleep several glorious uninterrupted hours Friday night. Then I headed to get Squirt on Saturday morning while Seth was at work.

We had so much fun but I really did miss the little guy after only one night. I couldn't wait to kiss those chubby little cheeks and tickle those chunky baby thighs. And to see Bentley, of course.

I love my boys.

On Sunday, we met a bunch of friends from Messiah for lunch and then they came back to our house. Cheryl is in massage therapy school right now and I made a remark about how she can "practice on me if she wants." And do you know what she said?!?!?! "Oh definitely. Lay down, and I'll give you a massage." She proceeded to give me a full body massage, complete with the head and feet. Again I say heaven.on.earth.

We had lots of fun with everyone and it was great to see everybody, too!

Date Night/Carter Travels to Gramma's

Tonight, Seth and I are so excited to be having a date night! We are going to see a comedian, Jeff Dunham, in Hershey. Beforehand, we're going for dinner at a place we haven't been to in a long time!

AND, perhaps most exciting, Mr. Carter will be staying at Gramma and Grampa's house overnight (and Bentley at Aunt Michelle and Uncle Jason's), which means Seth and I get a full night of uninterrupted sleep. Hallelujah. We'll miss the little squirt, but he'll be in perfectly capable, spoilable hands, with lots more perfectly capable and spoilable hands next door in the form of Michelle and my grandma. :)

Of course, I'm sure he'll make us look like liars again and probably sleep through the night. My mom can only hope. ha!

Have a great Friday!

TGI...Almost the Weekend!

I'm drained. My head is spinning from how busy we've been at work. But thankfully, tomorrow is my FRIDAY! I have off this Friday, which will be spent sleeping in (well, my new "sleeping in" of 7 am probably ha!) and hanging out with Matt, Erin, and Logan who are coming tomorrow night.

It's a packed weekend -- Aunt Polly and Uncle Dirk are coming for dinner Friday, Seth's parents are coming Saturday, and we are having brunch and apple picking on Sunday!

And, believe it or not, I've NEVER been apple OR pumpkin picking and I'm pretty sure the place we are going has both, so I can start those 2 traditions at once! :) And we're taking Bentley in hopes of capturing an adorable fall picture. I feel some coordinating orange and red clothing coming on....and with a brown dog?? Hmm, it just screams fall, doesn't it?

So that's about it -- make it through work tomorrow without falling asleep at my desk or losing my mind, and it's the weekend!!!!

The Plans for the Day

Updated: For those 3 of you out there who did not know this already, oil-based paint most certainly does NOT come off with soap and water. One cup of olive oil and salt and 35 minutes later, my top layer of skin has washed away and I look like I have a total body sunburn. Write that little tip down; it will probably come in handy someday.

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It is supposed to be GORGEOUS today. So it totally stinks that Seth is at work all day and then playing in his school's dodgeball tournament tonight. I'm going to be (semi) productive today:

1. Go to Home Depot and pick out silver fence paint to paint the rusty spots on the fence in the backyard. I realize this sounds risky because it's me picking out the paint, and you'd be right. Because there are no chips of paint I can take with me to match, I am going to memorize the color and then attempt to match. Trust me, I'll take before and after shots. You won't want to miss this.

2. Possibly pick out dark green paint for the shed door and trim around the top, since it faded and has begun to chip. This will also be interesting, since there are chips I can take to match but Seth says he doesn't want that green anymore. He'd prefer that it match the shutters (which I agree). Problem is, he's at work already and I have no idea how to take down a shutter to match the paint. Again, I'll take before and after.

3. Keep reading The Da Vinci Code and continue trying to figure out all the puzzle pieces. It took me approximately 40 minutes to get to page 29 because I was like huh? What is going on? What just happened? But now I'm rockin' and rollin' since I finally figured out--generally--what is going on. I will do this in shorts and a tank top to get some tan on my pasty white legs.

4. Which leads me to this...I thought it would be a great idea if I tried Jergens Gradual Glow lotion with a very gradual (hence the name) self-tanner. I have followed the directions to a tee and it is starting to work, yet somehow the top of my feet look very odd and um, orangish. We'll take care of that this weekend with real sun. Seth laughs everytime he looks at them. A photo will not follow ;)

5. Go to Kohl's to spend a free $10 off coupon (on any purchase, even $10) I got in the mail. I'm going to see what kind of sales are going on to see if I can get something for the house or a pair of earrings totally free.

6. Go out for dinner with one of my bestest friends, Elizabeth! We don't see each other nearly enough so I'm pumped to see her.

What are you planning to do on this gorgeous day?? Will it get to 86 where you live?

Almost Here...

Summer is almost here. Check out the 7-day forecast for our area. I'm sensing a good book, some iced tea, and laying out on the chaise lounge.

Friday night, Michelle and Jason (and their dogs) and my parents are coming down, and we're going to grill out for my dad's birthday. Saturday, I fully intend on planting flowers, taking Bentley on a long walk, reading outside, and enjoying the nice weather.

What are you up to this weekend?

Weekend Wrap-Up

We had a busy weekend this weekend. For lack of anything better to post, here is what we did!!

Friday night was our date night. I was super excited all day! Plus, I had my hair cut in the afternoon so I knew I'd have a new hair cut to sport for our date too. My hair cut turned out to be cute, but I definitely didn't have time to relax or style it before we went for dinner. Luckily, the stylist learned that my hair has odd curls and cowlicks (sp??) quickly and compensated for them.

Before

AfterIt doesn't look that much different, but the "before" picture was back at Christmas so add about an inch or so to that in your mind. She said she cut 6 inches...plus layers!

Then we went for dinner. We had a $25 gift card from restaurant.com and we used one of the two we bought back in January. The place was yummy so I was so excited to go back. Well, I'll save you the details. I had an "ew gross" moment and our gift card was apparently a duplicate of the one we used in January so we couldn't use it. Super. I was angry and disappointed but still had fun with the love of my life. And I tried flounder for the first time, which turned out to be great.

Saturday, I went shopping for baby stuff with my mom and sister. Her twins are due in a few weeks so she had to buy the rest of the essentials off the registry. The babies got some SUPER cute clothing, though no bikini for the girls. Darn it! I'll have to keep looking. After I got home, Seth and I made homemade soup and took a long walk.

Today, we went to church. Then we went to a pasta fundraiser that is raising money for Lou Gehrig's disease research at the Medical Center where I work. We came back and rested and then finally went on the hike I've been begging to go on for weeks. Not this kind of hike, though. It was absolutely gorgeous weather for hiking--like 67 degrees. It was sort of muddy though, which you'll see on my Nike Shox. I was not impressed with the mud. I'm more of a...hmm, fair weather/fair conditions hiker.

Here are some pictures of the hike:

We had lots of fun. After some yard work and fajitas, we are RELAXING because it's back to the grind tomorrow--a full week of work for me, but only 3 days for Seth! Then we'll head into NJ for Easter.

Sunday Silliness

"Now I'm all ready to go on the annual camping trip and shoot guns with the boys!"

Weekend Ramblings

There isn't a whole lot that is new in Ran Land. It seems as though "daily life" has crept in--work, sleep, clean, eat...and then do it all over again. So this weekend, we wanted to have a date night that was a little different than the usual go out to eat, and rent a movie thing.

Friday night we made a nice dinner at home (steaks!) and then we went BOWLING! We haven't been bowling in a long time and the last time we did, we surprised ourselves. This time we surprised ourselves too, but not in a good way. I mean, a child could bowl a better score than I did. If I remember correctly, I bowled a 75 the first round. Seth had maybe in the 90s. What a joke. Bumper bowling didn't sound like such a bad idea at that point.

But we came back the second round to at least make it into the respectable range of the 100s. We had a lot of fun though!

Saturday Seth had to judge the history fair (fun, huh?!). Then we had a few hours before he had to be back at work again. Bentley and I had a laid back night at home.

Sunday we went to church, and then went out for lunch. It's no secret that I think going out to eat is a lot of fun, but there is something about going out Sunday after church that is even more fun! After lunch, we decided that we would try something new and take Bentley to the dog park near our house. Well, that was...interesting. Apparently, all of the dog owners and dogs that were there all met at the park and were all friends. So Bentley was totally the odd dog out. haha...it didn't take him long to get into the action though. He was chasing them all over the place! When some of the dogs started getting fiesty with him, we headed out.

Our camera batteries are dead so we don't really have any super new pictures of Bentley, but he's getting so big! He's almost 60 pounds. He gets his stitches out from surgery on Thursday so we'll get the official weigh in then! Hard to believe he was once this little:

Friday Night!

After a long, stressful week at work, it's finally Friday. And tonight, my good friend, Tricia, is coming over with her boxer puppy for a play date with Bentley. While they're playing, we'll have time to grab some take-out dinner and catch up! When her puppy, Elvis, and Bentley first met, they were great pals, so hopefully they pick that right back up.

Pictures to follow!

Have a great weekend! :)

Friday Happenings

Good news. I'm not paralyzed from Friday's trip to the chiropractor. I could move my fingers and toes right after he cracked my neck, which was all I was asking for. I did, however, lose two (yes, two) hours of my life there. What I was told would be a "one hour new patient consultation/evaluation" turned quickly into a "now turn this way"...."ok stand"..."ok sit"..."let's go for x-rays" and on and on. And I was starting to get mad because it was dipping into our date night!

When all was said and done, he said no wonder I have a sore back with the misalignment I had going on. They want to schedule me for 3 appointments this week (I guess at the beginning it can't be a once and done thing...takes a few times at first, and then can go to once a month, every three months, etc, etc.). I think the lack of excitment read on my face to the secretary because the doctor called me on my way home to explain why I need to come 3 times.

Anyway, when I was finally done, we went out for dinner to Red Lobster. It was yummmmmy! Seth got the "bottomless shrimp" and, if you know Seth at all, he definitely got his $16.99 worth. I'm almost positive the waiter thought I was helping him eat them or he was storing them in napkins like the elderly.

But no, he ate them all. And ordered. And ordered some more. And them some more. My dinner was practically digested before he decided he'd call it quits (which, by the way, was at the suggestion of his wife who was just looking out for his well-being, clothing, and the impending stomach ache).

All in all, he ate 54 shrimp. As in 4 1/2 dozen. And the side dishes that went along with it. It almost makes me nauseous just thinking about it.

I thought for sure he'd be complaining he was full or his pants were tight.

No, no he did not. He told me he was "content."

Happy Friday!

I am so giddy that I only work until 11 on Fridays, that I could squeal with excitement. Typically, Bentley and I take a pretty nice nap on Friday afternoons. And because it is raining and cold, today would be no exception. But I have my 70,000 mile service at the Honda dealership this afternoon, so no such luck. At least I'll be reading Real Simple and US Weekly though! Maybe I can squeak in a quick nap after my appointment.

Tonight, Aunt Polly and Uncle Dirk come for a visit. Tomorrow, Ben, Salli, Charlotte, and Calvin come and are staying until Sunday. I'm crossing my fingers that it doesn't rain tomorrow because we are all supposed to go to the Apple Festival. I've never been to this one, but I've heard it's great, so I really want to check it out this year. We are looking forward to seeing our next round of visitors! :)

Any fun weekend plans for you?

Ran's Dog Park

Tonight will be exciting. For the very first time ever, Seth and I will be hosting an outdoor extravaganza at our house with 5 (yes, I said 5) boxer dogs! My friend, Tricia, and her fiancee have 2 boxer puppies, and my sister and Jason have 2 boxers (one puppy, one grown), and they are all coming over for dinner and some puppy playtime tonight.

Please pray for my sanity. And Bentley. He has an upset stomach and I'm sure he won't want to miss the fun that arrives at 6:00 p.m. Many pictures to follow, I'm sure.

Enjoy your day!