When you think back when you were little-then think about it as a parent...

As the kids get older and finally to an age to remember information when they are adults I get more and more sentimental and overly excited that they will finally be able to recall what we do. On average a persons first memory (aside from picture reference) is 5ish. Some people can recall earlier times and some cannot really recall until 6/7 years old. I can remember a lot from preschool and my 4 year old year but mainly 5 years old. I have a superb memory for useless information. One reason I excelled at being a biology major is because I can read something once and memorize it. Vacations from here on out should be a permenent memory for Dev----YAY.

You never think that when you are 7, 8, 9 years old you will think about your actions and events that happened and smile. Its the little things....for example when I get Devin up in the morning if he sleeps in I tell him softly, "its time to wake up." The first time I said it I immediately smiled. It brought me back to when I was ~9 and sleeping over my friend Julies house. We used to sleep in her basement and her dad would come down and sing in the stairwell that it was time to wake up and come up for breakfast. He did this every sleep over for years.

When I was really little our best friends were the neighbor hood kids and our cousins. I really hope that some younger families move into our neighborhood as the years go since a lot of our neighbors are my parents age. There are a few kids here and they are nice-but we need enough for flashlight tag! Our houses are not really "sprucer tag" friendly but they can definitely play flashlight tag and simply ride bikes to one another's houses to play. We used to play as kids with not a care in the world. Climbing trees, swinging into the creek behind Wilson field, bike riding, walking to 7/11-Riv....and of course each others back yards with forts and turtles and GI Joe vs Barbie battles. I mean what kid did not love growing up in the 80s in small down America. Yes I live very close from Philly and NYC is just a hop skip and jump away but my lil town was and (kinda) still is small town life. Kids still ride their bikes to school on nice day---but is this realistic with what just happened on Friday? Newtown was a small town...

You cannot keep your kids home all day-they need to live and experience life as a kid. I know this. But then you think of the parents who sent their lil guys off to school, kissing them and waving as they went on their way to the school bus. Somewhere you should never think twice about when it comes to their safety. As a stay at home mom watching your kid pull away in a bus is heart breaking but you are happy for them since they are so excited and so proud. You get used to it since it's part of the every day routine and you enjoy your alone time with the second born since its the first time you really get more than the 2.5 hr preschool day. You then you love to watch him come off the bus and wave daily to his driver and then his friends as they continue down the road. He does this EVERYDAY. He gets off the bus, runs across the street to our driveway and then stands and waves. It really is so sweet and so kind. So innocent and so loving. And some asshole had to take that sweetness away from 20 parents. I have not watched the news about it nor do I plan to read any of the articles about the funerals and press releases about the school as it plans to reopen. Why? Why watch it? I can sympathize with the feelings but I truly hope I NEVER have to experience what they feel. There is a lot of arguments about letting your kids know what happened. Almost every parent I talked to or who has messaged me said (if they discussed what happened) they were very simple and no details were given. People with 8,9 10 year olds and up can obviously discuss what happened but the parents with 3,4,5,6 year olds gave no details or simple events. There is one person that told their young child what happened and I do not agree with it. That is their way of parenting and I have my way. Neither is wrong or right but I feel good about my decision knowing that people my parents age, most of my friends and every educator I have spoken to all agree that they do not need to know and if they do keep it very simple.

Christmas is going to be here in 5 days and I want Devin and Riley to focus on that and what it means for Christmas. Its not just about Santa and gifts. Too many parents now a day do not focus on anything but presents and Santa. I want my  kids to know what Christmas is (even though we are not religious) and to appreciate time with family and friends. My kids are not allowed to just go into a present opening frenzy. They take turns and say thank you after each gift-if its from someone else. I find it appalling when kids just tear through everything like its a race. Why are parents not teaching them manners? And how can a kid see; really see what they are receiving if they are opening and then moving on to the next so fast? When I ask Riley what Christmas means she says "Its Jesus' birthday and we celebrate him." This is the first year I am not ready. I am usually done every preparation by the first week in December....but with Frank traveling with work and being so busy with dumb things I fell behind. Christmas cards just got finished Monday. Sad sad sad.

So now I get my day started with Riley wanting to watch yet another Christmas movie since that is what she only wants to watch these days and I get things together for the day. Devin has his serious Santa count down and is very excited to wear jammies to school on Friday for Kindergarten pajama day. Yesterday he was questioning if a bad man would come into his school and although he did bring it up again today, I was able to divert him to finding Missy his elf. 5 year olds should be focused on playing and enjoying life-not worrying if a gunman will be busting into his school and killing him. Yes there's protocol to practice drills in case of emergency now...but he does not need the fear of what happened Friday to plague his daily life.

As our first holiday week back east (in 6 yrs) approaches I am getting excited for the kids to experience it all with family. Most of our friends in Las Vegas traveled to family for the holidays so it was typically just us...and now they have a line up of events. Its festive and fun and mom and dad will be drinking lots of wine :) Hooray for being back east where it all is so much more festive with cold weather, fire places and that cozy holiday spirit! Except the weather has been screwy and my irises and daffodils are coming up already!

Kids like to sleep in same room-is that ok?

Devin and Riley have recently started to ask to sleep in one smothers room. They usually request devins room and Riley sleeps on devins trundle bed. They still go to bed at 7/715 and do not fool around talking or playing. I'm not sure if this is normal or ok. I know I shared a room with my sister growing up but that was bc of lack of bedrooms. I do make them sleep in their own rooms every other night or so, but even then I still sometimes come up stairs to them having a slumber party.

I won't allow them to sleep in my bed with me so maybe that is why they want to have slumber parties? Devin requires a night light and his door open while Riley just wants a night light door shut. I figure letting them sleep in the same room is ok since they are able to sleep apart??? And they're at an age that devin isn't going to want his kid sister around sooner than later.

Riley also has started this odd separation anxiety thing in certain instances. She asks me if I'm ever coming back. She friend the last two days at preschool drop off and has cried when I leave her with frank or my mom to go to volleyball. She never cared before and never batted an eye esp at school. I have no idea why she all the sudden has this odd fear that I'm not coming back. She said the same thing to Kelly when she left from staying w kids over the weekend while frank and I were away.

She's in tumbling now and is just the cutest lil thing. Here's her walking backward along the tape...she's hit some killer calf muscles for such a lil squeak.

Cleaning out the playroom-sick again

In Las Vegas we had a huge toy room-20*25 I believe and it was only for the kids since we has a seperate living room down stairs for frank and I to watch tv in. Their toy room was upstairs which is even better and was a open loft so we could monitor them since they were so young.

When I was packing the house to move I did get rid of a lot of toys and misc stuff we didn't need/use as well. Their toy room here is the front living room and is significantly smaller than our Las Vegas house. Although a decent size (20*16isj) it is tight w their stuff. I do not even try to clean it up half as often as I used to. This house is larger than our last and the kids do not seem to spend as much time alone in there as much as the used to. I need to do a better job of NOT allowing them in family room to veg. They have their own room....right?

That said, every Christmas I have the kids go through their toys and get rid of some. This was super easy in the past since we had so much baby/toddler stuff but now the have less stuff and its more age appropriate to grow with. I have a few things I want to hold on to for them to have when they're older and have kids of their own, but most of this stuff I just want to give to a younger guy that can use them. I want the kids to know that they need to give to those less fortunate and be 'ok' with letting things go.

Riley had a tough time with this but managed to let go if two Minnie toys, three babies and a toy lunch box. She thinks that the amount of toys that she put in the box means that's how many toys she gets from Santa. Devin told her that the toys from Santa are a surprise and you may get 3 or 37 but you never know. He told Riley that we donate to kids who "can't have enough money to pay for toys. " Devin is getting rid if a collaboration of two play tool sets and tool box. I suggested it and he said "of course mom, they don't work anyway." Now this kind of pulled my heart strings. I remember when he got his first part and the second set came when he was 27 months old and fully potty trained. It was what he chose for his special gift to be in undies. He used to get his tools and help daddy when he was just a lil guy. Now he knows they're toys and don't work. Sigh.

Went to dr today after not being able to handle being sick anymore. Double ear infection and full blown sinus infection. She was surprised my ear drums had not bursts yet since they were so inflamed. Got some crazy oral steroids to take down ears which I have to take 6 tablets on day one along with levaquin. Dr reminded me that I was just in 8 weeks ago for this same issue and maybe I will be primed to sinus/ear infections since relocating back. She also commented that although I've lost 8 lbs (saying yay as she said it) that I still need to continue in that direction to get to the ideal weight for my height. Umm thanks lady-I'm well aware.

I wish I had a bottle of wine. Office space is on so that makes tonight bearable.

Welcome back

I haven't posted in forever....few reasons- first frank has been traveling a lot. While he is gone I don't have a lap top and blogging on phone or tablet is not the same. 2. Where has the time gone-how is it December 4th? 3. I just suck.

Kids are so excited for Christmas. They live looking for missy their elf every am and it's so cool that they truly believe she's real. Talk about a million or better yet, billion dollar company. Ya know pbk carried clothes for elf on the shelf? The love to look for Christmas lights at night if we are in the car and I finally finished ours here. Timer is set for 5 since it gets dark here beginning at 4:30 which is just crszy.

Riley is really enjoying school and is getting much better with writing. She actually enjoys it now when a few months back she was discouraged since she was not "good like devin." She loves crafts especially perla beads and coloring. She is such a sweet little girl with a great personality. She is excelling at tumbling and come spring I will probably get her on to a "preteam" team per suggestion of her coach. As for now, she's learning the fundamentals and loves it.

Devin is doing excellent in kindergarten as expected. He is a type a achiever and social butterfly. He is writing phonetically and doing a fantastic job at spelling words by sounding out the sounds. He is reading much better now and enjoys figuring out what the pages say by himself. He has met some great friends in class and finally has drop off play dates! Hallelujah for those!!!!!

Just to keep this post short and sweet we are getting ready for our first Christmas in nj in 6 years and acclimating to a wet winter instead of the dry desert winter.

Funny things to make the crappy ones go away

My kids are very comical and that really goes for kids in general. They are so matter of fact and so genuine.

We were getting ready for the movies last week and I was in the shower with Riley. I told dev he needed to get in when I get out. He said no. I told home he needed to shower and please hop in. He looked at me and said, "mom why would I take a shower and get clean before we go to the movies? You said that movie theaters are dirty places. Why would I get clean just to get dirty again? I should just stay dirty then shower before bed." I just looked at him and said "valid point and that sounds great." What else can you say to that rebuttal?

Riley asked to snuggle with me while I was sick. I told her I didn't want her to catch my sickness so she then told me , "I can run really fast mom, your sickness can't catch me." And promptly snuggled in.

Devin is a genius negotiator. I think he may end up being a lawyer if he doesn't end up in interior design or fashion. I tell him he needs to pick up his toys (none of rileys) and then I'll help him make a craft. His first response-" how about I clean up a few toys and you just have to set up the crafts? I replied w my original offer. He then replies, " alright how about I clean up no toys and you let me watch cartoons?" I again replied same original. He then comes back with how about I just Leave my toys in a disaster, forget about making a log cabin out of popsicle sticks and I just go and play outside?" we both agreed that was a good idea.

Riley asks great questions daily. Some today were "Why does devins toots smell so bad when mine don't?" and "since it is rainy out that means I get to watch Tangled and snuggle with cera right mom?"

Yesterday she was in a mood and didn't want to eat anything but yogurt, yogurt raisins, grapes and pineapple. The girl usually eats anything I stick in front of her but yesterday she refused. Why? No idea, but it was very frustrating.

I think the move here affected them more than I think. Riley cries for her old friends. She truly misses them. It's not every day, but often enough she asks when she gets to see them again. Devin drew a picture the other day of a moving truck outside of the house with stacks of boxes on the paper. They both seem to live it here and adjusted quickly, it's just sad to see this in them. It's been almost 8 months since we lived in Vegas already...which is amazing. I cannot believe how quickly that went and how much living there feels like it was forever ago. Crazy how time flies!

holy time gap-kids, activities, NYC love



waiting for bus



I had not realized it has been so long since my last post. I sit here in the family room in the dark, miserable, sick and listening to my two kids fighting and crying at one another. Now they are here next to me telling on one another. Come on antibiotics-work. I thought I was having a really bad case of fall allergies...nope. Full blown sinus infection with the added bonus a side of double ear infections and of course a third course of strep throat. I am not feeling on top of my game and really do not want to play referee right now.



ready for lunch at the club



Done complaining.

Dev loves kindergarten. Loves, loves loves it. He does come home tired and crabby, but he is always excited to go back the next morning. He is gone from 8:15-3:25ish and that is a long day for a just turned 5 year old. I was worried at first, but he digs it and I dig the quiet time with Riley. Dev got his time before she was born and now it's her turn. He has learned so much Spanish and art terms but they are still going over basics in the classroom. He's ahead on the stuff he is doing now so he did comment that he is bored when they do math and writing.

Riley loves her school too. She would like to go more often than she does. She has two very nice teachers and they seem to really like what they do. It is not as formal as Devin's old school was, but it still is regimented which is good. She is learning the days of the week right now and its funny to hear the songs they teach them to remember things. Some things you never forget...like ROYGBIV, or Oscar Had A Heap Of Apples (or Olive had a hit of acid) for sine, cosine and tangent. And of course no one can ever forget that 6.02*10^23 is a mole(in my sing songy voice.) Funny thing is I never could remember the song for remembering the classification of biology terms from freshman year b.c I HATED my teacher. I know its kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species but cannot recall the acronym. Riley is in the midst of doing this for days of the week, months and seasons. Its adorable....and the cycle begins with learning through creativity.

I think tomorrow we are going to go and see Nemo in 3d since Dev's school will be observing Yom Kippur and we were not able to go to Baltimore like I had planned since I am sick and still contagious until tonight/tomorrow am. I am assuming the theater will be busy but not crazy since two rooms will be showing the movie. I know the kids have been amped up to see this since the previews started coming around we just have not had a chance to go plus it is forecasted to rain.



my all time FAV bridge



Activities wise-Devin plays soccer on Saturday ams. Its 30 min of clinic then 30 min of scrimmaging. Good for the lil guys since it is a cluster f on the field. It is painful to watch when you have an idea of what it should/could look like. He loves it and that is all that matters. Plus weather is amazing so any way we can get outside to play-I am game for.



Riley will be starting gymnastics in Oct. I was going to sign her up for ballet, but she told me she would rather do tumbling. She cannot do both so gymnastics it is! I am glad she will have an activity just for her. She had to watch Devin play tball and now soccer while she sat on the sidelines....now she will have her own. I have to grab her a leotard next time I head out. :)

 Other than that, gymbucks redemption and Janie and Jack's friends and family is this weekend. Baby Gap is having their big sale and I will be listing my eBay sales soon. Thank god b.c the kids need fall/winter stuff. This came around a lot sooner than I am used to since I am used to the desert weather. We have not had our heat/AC on for two weeks and it was 63 in the house this am. BUUURRRRR! I have been in pants and hoodies. Doesn't help that I am under the weather.

I did get to drive up to Long Island this past Saturday for the bridal shower of one of my very best girlfriends from college. She is marrying a man she met during her residency. He is from Flushing so there was a bridal shower in NY as well as Cleveland where she is from. It was so great to be able to see her and meet some of her inlaws to be. They are VERY Italian. Meaning most of the 50+ did not speak English. They thought I was Italian b.c of my dark hair, dark eyes and olive skin. I only wish. :( I am very happy that I am back by NYC. Love the city. Love all cities....but mainly two...NYC and SF. Sigh. Cannot wait until Frankie and I can go up sans kids for some adult fun. I will say I made it up to the city in no time...but took For-ev-er to get through Staten Island and midway through Long Island. Boo to NY traffic!





new trade center



Kindergarten-The "best school ever!"

Devin did not sleep well the night before his first day of school. He was too excited to get his first day going. He received sequins and a story from his new teacher to read the night prior and put the sequins under his pillow. He woke up early and said they did not help :). He got dressed and I got his back pack ready and off we went outside for pictures. Riley was very excited for Devin to get on the school bus too so she hurried outside with us. Devin's bus was scheduled to be at the house at 8:00am on the dot and due to first day delays at homes and a new route, it did not pull up until 8:21am.

Devin was SO amped up and anxious to for the bus to arrive that every car sound he was on full alert to look for his bus. Ever since he was 2.5 he has been waiting for his chance to board one....and yesterday was his turn. After weaving it's way through our neighborhood and picking up a few kids it drove up to our house. (Since he is in kindergarten, it comes to your house). He was adorable and waved the whole time the bus turned the corner and stopped out front. He got on with no hitches of course and went right into talking to and meeting "Driver John." Frankie, Riley and I walked around to wave good bye and all we could see was Devin standing next to John and talking to him. Who knows what he was asking him about but Lord knows by Christmas John will be ready for Devin to take a week off from sitting behind him.

Riley and I stayed home and got a lot of things done. Dev only had a half day and was scheduled to leave school by 1:10. I had no idea what time he would be home so I figured if we stayed home all day and got stuff done, I would not chance missing the bus drop off. He ended up getting home about 1:25 and I was out front waiting at the front door. He saw me and was waving his little heart out the whole way coming down our side street to turn to our actual drop point. He had a GREAT day and was so excited to show me his pictures he drew/colored and explain how "kindergarten is run by Mrs. Trauger." He got to meet the gym teacher and got his shuttle group. I am glad that he is in full day since that means he get to have all the enrichment classes. Gym, Art, computer, library, comprehension class and music. All in all, he loves it and cannot wait to get to go back.

 

First day of Preschool-Got to see AGT Live!

Riley woke up later than her usual yesterday at 8:07 am. She typically is up between 6:45 and 7:00. I guess the rainy dark day allowed her to get some extra sleep. She woke up, came in my room where I was getting dressed and simply said, "Mom, I am going to school today." I smiled, and said yes you are. She walked back to her room and got dressed in the dress she picked out the night prior. She came with with bow and cardigan in hand for me put in her hair. I of course started to get teary because my baby is no longer a baby and she is getting so big so fast. I did get all choked up when she asked if I was ready to go. No, I was not. I did not want to take her simply because that meant that she is slowly growing older and needing me less. We went out front, took the official first day of school picture and got in the car.

She walked right in, sat right down with another girl and started to color. She was ready, I was/am not. I met her teacher who seems nice (a little too much candy sweet for me) but great for kids. Riley is one among 10 kids in her class. She is March 13th and the youngest is March 17th, while the other 8 are this fall turning 4 and in the winter. There is another threes class across the hall and I am glad that Riley got put with the older group for a few reasons. 1. There were a lot of crying kids in the other class 2. The other class was more full. Riley has two teachers since the law cuts one teachers max at 9 students  which is awesome for Ri. I gave her a hug and a kiss and Dev and I walked out hand and hand.

He wanted to go grab a bagel and hang out so that is what we did. We had breakfast dine in at his favorite bagel store here and then went to the library. We spent about an hour walking around picking out books and reading in the bean bag chairs. We ran up to go to Trader Joe's and he wanted to go to Janie and Jack. I couldn't say no since it was his morning. He walked right in, walked to the back sale section. Then asked me if we are looking for clothes for fall for him size 5 or spring next year 6 top, 5 bottom. I was cracking up. The sales associate just looked at me and said, "so I guess he likes clothes and shopping?" I smiled and said yes, he loves clothes and picking out his stuff. I told Devin we were not shopping and told him I was waiting for Friends and Family to start in 3 weeks. He said he would "Look around to pick some things out." He found an aviator line with a button cap. He put on a tie, belt and hat and was walking around pulling things off the racks making outfits. The sales lady was a manager and was cracking up the whole time with how specific Devin was with what he wanted to coordinate.  We never made it to Trader Joe's since he insisted on looking at every line. I haven't shopped much there as much since moving to NJ since they couldn't wear nice clothes while playing outside all summer. Now that they are back in school I can dress them nicer again.

Pick up was fine and Riley told me that she met two girls, Melissa and Madelyn. She said it wasn't, "Her Maddie from Las Vegas or Madeyln from down the street but a new one." She said there are soo many Madelyns. LOL. All she could tell me about was they played duck duck goose and sang the ABC's and read a story. We went to lunch at her place of choice-PJ's and then we had a quiet afternoon since it was monsooning at our house! I haven't seen rain like that in a very long time. We had a river outside of our house!

Got to go see a live taping of America's Got Talent last night in Newark at the NJPAC. That was a super fun thing to see in person....I am anxious to see what the clips look like at the results show compared to what it was like live.  I think the "talent" at the other semi show was better than last night and my favs were in the last taping so I really just want to fast forward to next week to the finals :)
 Devin headed off to Kindergarten today. More on that once he gets home and tells me all about his first day. Bus was 21 min late and of course Devin was asking a bazillion times where it was

First room in new house-Rileys's room done (mostly)







before 2







before 1



We wanted to complete one room at a time and the kids were first. Two reasons-1. No wall paper and 2. cheap and easy. All we had to do was paint and buy new drapes, bedding and a few decor items. Riley chose the Camille set from Pottery Barn kids which I found on sale a few months back and I tried to entice her to have green or yellowey walls but she asked for pink so she got pink. I refused pink walls in Las Vegas but can't blame a three year old girlie for wanting pink pink pink.

Three of the four walls are pink and the one with the windows is white since she has pink black out drapes. Frankie and I painted it in about 7 hours since it required three coats of the paint with primer. That stuff sucks and is no different than regular paint.

Her closet had just a single shelf across the middle very high up and that just will not do since she cannot reach anything and it really was not enough hanging/organizing space. We took the metal bi fold doors off and bought 6 panel white sliding ones. They are 5/8 of an inch too big WTF! So, her closet is without doors until we figure out how to cut them down to make them fit? I think her room turned out great and she loves it. Its girlie and bright and not overly cluttered. I have one wall by the arm chair that i need to fill up and I will do that this fall now that I have a bunch of photos edited and ready to print. I can't wait to switch her closet over to her fall clothes! I am slowly pulling summer out that are still NWT and she never wore, but I cannot wait to get her into the deep purples and pinks I have for fall :) I really do not know how/why people keep clothes in kids closets that they do not fit into or are the incorrect season? How do you find anything? I know I am a lil anal that the lines stay together and outfits have to be hung together....but why have old sizes or even last fall's stuff still in there?

  

 

Devin's room is next and he picked out Batman as his new theme. Once school starts and he is gone all day I can focus on painted his room. He has a super awesome floral border at the top just like Riley did. God Damn 80's painting ideas. Our room will be after that but we have floral wall paper throughout and I am NOT looking forward to having to take that down. Lamps and paint is all our room needs. Painting is the pits, but I think taking down wall paper in a 16*24 ft room may trump that! At least the two walkins are not wall papered bc our master bath walls and ceiling are. Yes, the ceiling is wallpapered.

Kindergarten and preschool.....

Next Tuesday Riley will start her three year old program at Marlton Christian Academy. She is in the  older 3-younger 4 program on Tuesdays/Thursdays. I steered clear of parochial schools in Las Vegas simply because I felt that if they were only going to school for two and a half hours they really did not need to spend any of that time talking about Jesus. I LOVED Devin's Quaker school in Las Vegas and unfortunately the only one near me here does 5 day a week pre-K which would not work for our family and I wanted her to not have to switch schools for her three and four year programs. After  A LOT of time spent researching preschool programs here we decided on MCA. Its structured, not a day care, not a play room and although it is church based-it seems well run and well organized.

Devin starts Kindergarten next Wednesday. I cannot believe that he is old enough to be going to Kindergarten. He is SO amped up and excited for it. We go this Wed for an open house to meet his teacher and see the classroom. He is very anxious for school to start and get rolling. He has no idea that once it starts, it never stops until he is 22. His program (starting this year) is full day and his bus pick up is 8 am on the dot in front of the house and the bell rings at 8:45. He gets out at 3:10 and is scheduled to be home by 3:25. He is pretty much the first pick up on his route which is why it's so early....but also the first to be dropped off which is nice. I guess they do reverse route on drop off? Its a long ass day for a 5 year old and I am assuming he is going to be cranky for a while in the beginning.

I am a beach girl through and through but I must say that I am happy that fall is slowly coming around. I am over the humidity and the sweaty summer days and looking forward to the cool fall weather and change of colors in my trees. Acorns have already started to drop and pepper my driveway and front walk. I may try and attempt one more beach day before I put the chairs in the attic....but hmm not sure if I have it in me to do it. It has been so nice driving to the park and letting the kids run around there a few times a week.

I still need to get both kids some school shoes and a back pack but I have a week :) It really is amazing how quickly they grow up.

How on top of kids memory items are you?

I used to be SO on top of getting the kids pictures in albums monthly or at least quarterly. Umm that went out the window last fall as I am now a year behind. I have not ordered pictures since mid July last year. Not only am I that behind with kids pictures, but I have not ordered our family vacation books since then either. I make 8*11 photo albums online for our family vacations and still have West Palm (sept 2011), NJ visit (sept 2011) and Williamsburg (May 2012) to do....and Halloween and Christmas Eekkk. I have to edit Riley's 3 year pictures and still take Devin's 5 year pictures (bday was june.) Why am I so far behind?

My thought is that in Las Vegas Devin was in school part time and I could get crap like this done easier. Then I know that once we put the house on the market last Nov/Dec I knew I was not going to be buying and assembling photo albums and then unpacking here and what not lead to August...I now have about 16-1700 pictures to go through and organize and sadly Frank takes the lap top that has all the pics stored in when he goes to Rhode Island every other week and that is when I would do this. At least I am on number 567 with uploading so far this am to Snapfish...thank god to the cool weather because the kids are outside making mud pies and I do not care how dirty they are getting!

I have kept their baby books up to date and I did assemble a scrap book from Devin's 3 year preschool year and just have to finish his 4 year old year scrap book. I know that he would love to see that when get gets a little bit older and I am glad to have it for him. I have it in order of all his crafts and artwork from sept to june in a sleeved 3 ring binder. My goal is to stay on top of things this school year as the year goes on especially since Devin will be full day Kindergarten and Riley is in 2 day 3 year old program. We shall see.

Other than that-Weather recently has been incredible. The cool mornings with the ability to open the windows is awesome. Warmer weather is coming in a few day and back up in the 90's but for now I am loving the 70s! I do LOVE the beach but I also am in serious excitement for my favorite season to come-Autumn! Love fall...love the smells, cool weather, leaves falling, crunching under your feet and of course hoodies and jeans! I know that the leaves are going to be a great challenge but I am looking forward to the work out and chance to be outside doing yardwork in the cooler weather.

I turn 31 tomorrow and am dreading 31 more than 30 I think. I no longer will be 30---I will be 30 "something" and that sucks. Frankie said not to worry about it until I am 35-36...so I guess I have a few years until doomsday. Its fine. kind of.

One fish two fish red fish blue fish

Riley is finally swimming all by herself, and with great confidence and excitement. It really was a progressions from last week when I lowered her in from the side of a pool and let go. She did kick to the surface. Then at the lake the next day she was swimming under water all day. I think this is partially because if she was going under water she doesn't have to wear a hat!

We then took a week off from swimming because Dev got sick then the weekend happened. This Monday I didn't even bring her swimmy (chest flotation thing) and I had her practice kicking over the stairs w face in. Then I walked backwards and told her to do the same thing. It was a bit rough at first but then she got the hang if it thanks to a dum dum treat :) after a lil bit she swam to a love seat then was jumping off the side and just swimming around. So proud of her! Dev thought she was struggling at one point so swam out to swim her back to the side...why he can't be nice like that always? But it was nice to see :)

Devin was only down for the count for that day. I cloroxed the bathroom since that's where he stayed for the day and noone else got sick. After speaking to a friend it apparently is running through kids in ML so he must had found it there? Who knows, it was very strange though.

Rileys room is definitely shaping up to be adorable. I will upload before and afters once I get her closet complete. She had metal bifold doors that we replaced with 6 panel sliding. I still need to put in a closet organizer fir her before the doors get hung. One straight bar is def not ok for lil miss, actually for any kid! They'd be 9 before they can reach anything! That's this weekends project...we are def getting there though.

making a house a home

Frankie and I keep talking about different ways to make our new house fit us. We both come up with great ideas on how to improve it....and essentially make it ours. Make it our new home.

 As I had said before, we moved around-A LOT! We did not really make anything "ours" until our last address.....9130 Horizon Mist Ave. Sigh....it was our first real home. We lived in apartments for the first three addresses, then our house in NJ for 15 months before Vegas, rental in Vegas for a year then bought 9130. We were there for two weeks shy of 4 years. When we bought it we painted the entire house, re floored entire house, took the back yard from construction rocks to a great yard, put blinds and treatments in every room......it was ours. We filled up every wall with fantastic pictures of family memories... Devin was 8 months old when we settled. He took his first steps in that house. Riley was brought home to it...conceived too...Kids celebrated their first real Christmas' and their first birthdays...Riley's room was a store all until I got pregnant and then Frankie painted it sage green for me to match her beautiful crib bedding. Both potty trained there, both learned stairs on our open concept stairwell...I cannot tell you how many laughs and wonderful family memories we had in it-all the days playing out front around our street and around the island on their bikes/scooters/powerwheels, Devin memorizing the 4 turns street name by street name to our house...and now it belongs to a single guy named Matt.

I love this new house we are in. I love that Frankie and I get to start all over and do it again together and find new ways to personalize a boring basic house. Furniture is being swapped out, bedding has all been changed along with window treatments in our bedrooms and paint is going up in the first room this coming weekend. I love that we are creating new memories together and that the kids will have a great place to call home. We toss ideas back and forth about how to make it better and flow nicer...what plan we will go with, who knows but they are all good in their own ways. People always say a house is just a house until filled with laughter and love and then it becomes a home. I completely agree. I will upload some before and afters once we get there...but for now we need the creative juices to continue to flow.

Riley is wtih my mother right now hanging out while Devin sleeps away his sickness. I have no idea what is wrong with him. Played fine at the beach yesterday, was fine before dinner...ate a great dinner. Slept through the night (not waking or crying) then woke up and had to throw up. He went back to sleep on the bathroom floor until 8:30, came down and snuggled until 10 and went back up. Had a fever at this point of 102.1 and went back to sleep on the make shift bed on the floor. Threw up again at 1...still had fever. He is still up there now at 5 with a fever. Just gave him more motrin and he is drinking lots of water. Poor kid is miserable and uncomfortable, but is thankfully sleeping whatever he has off.

My goal for the last few weeks was to have Riley swimming and by George I think we have it! I am a tough love kind of mom and that method worked. Well of course it did bc I do not entertain whining and crying when I know what she is capable of. I would never just throw her in the pool and hope she comes back up, but I did little steps to continue her confidence with not having her chest pad swimmie thing. Two days ago I did drop her off the side to see what happened and although she was screaming when I did it, she came back up and kicked a few feet to the side. I did this a few times (she stopped screaming after the first) and first thing she did when we went to the beach yesterday was swim underwater by herself. She continued to hold her breathe longer and longer and the playtime went by. YAY!

Summa time and the living is easy.....



this am



It is very odd how boys and girls innately play with gender designated things. For example, Devin loved cars from the very beginning. I babysat a lil girl from when he was 4 mo old and he chose cars/trucks over her dollies and what not. Riley had all of Devin's cool trucks and men to play with but chose dollies and barbies? It's so odd. Riley got into Strawberry shortcake dolls in Las Vegas because her friend Olivia had them and she played with Olivia every week at least once and sometimes more. She has continued to play with them and now she dresses them up and takes off their clothes. Up until a few weeks ago she did not have the dexterity to do so. Today she lined them up next to one another with the 3 inch version next to the 5 inch version of the same doll. We are missing 3 in Blueberry muffin which is not good in her mind!



Saturday!



Over the last week or so the temps have been (in other words) F-ing HOT. I can handle 100 days-remember I lived in the Mohave for 5 years....but man alive that humidity kills you. I feel like my body is refusing to acclimate to NJ weather. It is dying for the dry heat in Vegas and saying-you dummy get back to the desert! I guess by next summer I will be more used to it and maybe sweat less? I am definitely NOT a sweater but here I break a sweat just watering the flowers at 7am. 

I went running today for the first time in way too long. Besides Tough Mudder I have only ran, umm well about 5 times since the half marathon I ran in December. Frankie and I will be doing another Tough Mudder in Oct and although we both did well this past May-we want to rock the next one. I despise running-really do. Yes I trained for months running a half and no it was not hard but YES I loathed every run....even my shorties that were done in 25-30 min. Am I done yet is all I can think about. Honestly it is nice when you hit the 4-5 mile mark and you get a second wind and a lil more pep in your step....but for today I set out to do 3 since it was my first time out in a few months. I wanted to die. I woke up and went at 6:30 this am and had to get back by 7 for Frankie to go to work. I was worried about time so I cut through my division and by the time I hit my driveway I was 2.83 miles. Oh well-Wednesday I will run a 5 k to make up for the missed mileage. I wanted to quit at .5 miles then really wanted to at 1.75 and thank God I was about 8 houses away when I wanted to die. Still made it and in good time since mediocrity and I do not mix. Yes it was over and done with at the beginning of the day----but getting up and running with out allowing your body to wake up and eat sucks. Done complaining....

Today we will hit up the beach at the lake and wear the kids out. Summer is in full swing and 90 something days are really all the 10 day say. My kids are both beach kids-(not like they have a choice) but I am glad they enjoy going since it is where we will spend our summers from here on out. Frankie was not raised at the beach so he gets a tad bored, but the older the kids get the more they will be able to play with Frankie and keep one another entertained. We got a new game on Friday and took that with us to OC. Its a suction cup paddle ball. Really cool, esp for the little guys. One side is flat and the other is covered with lil suction cups. So you hit the ball on the flat side and accept the ball on the suction side. Good for hand eye coordination.

I am still doing my homework for preschools here for Riley. I really loved Devin's in NV...Boo! I want a preschool, not day care-structured learning not play group....with professionals teaching-not boobs. I actually had a lady at one school tell me that socialization at 3 is way more important than a structured learning curriculum. Yes, I told her I stay home and we go to playdates almost daily...and that I wanted a formal learning setting. She said 3 was too young for that....ok on to the next! We have another meeting tomorrow-fingers crossed this one is a better fit.

Staying cool-and what do to for 4th.....

There really has not been anything to post about. We have been spending everyday outside either playing at friend's pools or at the beach. I really want to wear the kids out during the first half of the day outside so they nap and get some vitamin D :)



is this Riley or what?

This past week I have taken the TV away from them besides 1 hour (2 shows) first thing in the AM. They really need to play more. They used to watch TV before bedtime but I eliminated that. They now just play outside or with one another inside. Last night they rode bikes and scooters while Frank and I tried to discuss what the heck we are going to do with the island in the driveway now taht we cleared it out.
The have also had "school" work each day in the afternoon. Riley is practicing writing her letters and Devin is practicing perfecting his writing as well as following instruction to complete worksheets himself. He still has thank you cards to write from his birthday but I only make him do 2-3 a day so its a long process for those.

Devin has been doing much much better swimming. He can now swim the length of any pool alone since he has figured out how to come up for air and then continue to swim. He loves that he can swim alone from anywhere within the pool. Riley is getting more comfortable without her chest floatie on and my goal within the next few weeks is to have her swimming by herself as well. She loves to jump and likes to put her face in as well as jump under-she just hasnt figured out how to propel herself forward.

We are having a great time so far this summer playing with friends and enjoying the sun. Tomorrow is forecasted to be 99* and that is H.O.T for NJ b.c I can guarentee the humidity will be 60-70%....Oh well, we will be wet all day somewhere. Other than tomorrow, weather has been mild and wonderful. Nights are cool and we can sit in the porch and hang out.

Fourth of July is coming up quickly. I am actually kinda sad we are in NJ for it. That was one great thing about our NV house. We could sit and watch fireworks all across the valley from our playroom window drinking cocktails together....now we actually have to go to them. I am not sure if we will this year or not. Riley and Devin go to bed around 7:30 and although it is not a big deal for them to stay up til 9 for them...what the heck do you do from 6-9 while sitting and waiting for them to happen? Do we wait another year? Or do we just go, drink Valenzano's crappy wine (since you cannot bring outside alcohol) and hope they don't melt down....?Maybe I can bring in mixers Killington style? Hmmm...

Blah-how is it only Monday? Wish I hadn't given up beer

First blog post from my phone...bear with me.Time has really been flying by aNd I feel like I cannot keep up with everything. I really want the kids to have fun playing with friends outside and at the beach but that really means chores no longer get done at home. It's a trade, we all love getting outside but i loathe a messy house. It's my job, and I'm sucking at it big time. I have also had to give up beer bc I've gain a bazillion lbs since moving home. Beer is my guts enemy along w bagels. I rarely ate bagels more than once a week in Vegas and hardly ever drank beer....it's disgusting how well I was doing when I was training fir tge half marathon I ran in dec to where I am now. Kids don't allow me to get anything done alone so forget working out while I'm home alone w them. I will have to get up at 530 to get it in before Frankie goes to work twice a week then once/twice a weekend- only problem is he's gone Everyother week. Ugh! Enough complaining...I'm done. Kids are doing well. Dev has a fresh mouth and we have had to discipline him repeatably for the same issue. He just gets in this negative fresh snappy mood and it's not good. He's great otherwise and very excited fir kindergarten. We have officially been together for 10 yrs while being married for 7 of them as of this past Sunday. Together for more than a third of my life. Only three people remembered our anniversary-can you tell I'm in a mood? We are celebrating this coming weekend since it fell on fathers day. We are platinum Marriott members so we get free nights yearly so will be redeeming one to stay in center city. Kelly and dan will stay at the house with the kids while we go. We were thinking about a nice dinner out then my gut stares me in the face so maybe tapas instead of heavy meal...just can't wait to spend a night out alone with my love. Thanks again Beaner!We spent all day Saturday on a boat and I was in love as was frank. He asked what I wanted in a boat and he's started to do some research...maybe next summer ;) I could spend everyday in the sun at tge beach, on a boat or in a lounge chair...Riley is my daughter as she fell asleep on the floor of the boat as we were crusing in the inlet. I folded a towel into a pillow and covered her whole body up w another towel. The girl won't sleep in her carseat but had no issues sleeping with a life jacket on over her bikini on a moving boat. Love :)Driving to ocean city tomorrow for the night and can't frickin wait to plant my ass in the sand! Kids should have a ball too playing with their cousins.

why does everything break at once?

When we moved into this house we did not realize we did not have a microwave. Ours in Vegas we had an above the range and I forget that older homes do not have those. The lady who owned the home prior to us updated the exterior and took care of it in that manner but did not update anything inside which is fine...but stinks when you move in and realize you do not have one post move. Not having a microwave really isn't a big deal for me. I did not have one for just shy of 3 years we lived in Vegas either. Long story short there....we looked at so many homes and I totally thought we had an above the range in our rental and NOPE we did not so leaving our old counter top one behind in NJ was dumb. We bought a house a year later and that did not have one either since it was a base model kitchen in a new house. Dumb I know but since I went a year without one I figured I did not need one...and I finally caved just about two years later.

I do not need a microwave. If I could get through the entire time with having to defrost/heat up breast milk in warm water on the stove I can do it now. I do cook nightly and honestly anything that needs to be heated up can be done in the oven or on the stove. I do not want to install one above the range since we have plans to redo the kitchen at some point...and I can wait.

One thing I used almost daily was our toaster oven. I loved that thing-huge black and Decker digital convection guy. That was my go to appliance I used instead of heating up the oven for stuff. Well that died back in March. Now that is not an expensive purchase, but I honestly like not having it sit on the counter. My kitchen in Vegas was very open with lots and lots of counter space and this kitchen blows. There is not much counter space and the layout stinks! It's nice not to have it sitting on the counter staring at us mocking me with the "I take up the whole counter chant."

The week before we went on vacation I noticed the kegerator digital thermometer was reading 74....not good! We opened the door and low and behold the keg was warm. UGH UGH UGH. Thank god we (apparently) drink like fish with our friends and family since we just about kicked a half keg in a matter of three weekends. So now we have no microwave, no toaster oven, no kegerator and then this Saturday night rolls around.

We got home from a very long 6 hour drive, eat dinner and get the kids to bed then Frank sits to watch TV in the family room and as I fold laundry and as he is watching something the TV just turns off. The TV is old in TV standards-bought in early 2008?  and although it was a nice TV then-its outdated of course now. I know he has wanted to replace it and I am glad b.c I want to redo the family room furniture and decor and this gives me the chance....that takes a few grand so.....it looks like we will be watching TV in the kids playroom for a while. I am not a big TV person so I could care less---but he likes to veg to it after a long day or watch ESPN. While he travels I rarely turn it on. Cable is one bill I could definitely skip if I lived alone.

Then last night while doing the dishes I dropped the coffee grind holder thing in the dishwasher and the little button thing that presses in when coffee brews broke off. Coffee maker has been making funny noises for a few weeks now but it still worked so we were good. I refuse to get a Keurig because I enjoy the taste of fresh dripped coffee...we have a grind and brew and I love it....and now its broken. I made coffee like Coffee Bean does and boiled water, placed a filter in a funnel with coffee grounds in it then poured the water in that....still makes great coffee but I definitely cannot do that every day.

So now we have no microwave, no toaster oven, no kegerator, no TV in the family room and no coffee pot all in a matter of 2.5 mo. I just need a shopping spree at Best Buy....

Since moving home time has really gone way to quickly. I cannot believe how quickly the days/weeks go by. All the sudden it is June 4th....He has a rescheduled t ball game Wednesday night which will be his last game and  Devin's birthday is Thursday-I have not picked up anything for him yet...I suck. Not to mention we are having a lil party for him this weekend and I have done nothing so far to prep---just to top it off, Frank leaves tomorrow for work and does not come back until Friday night.  I just cannot keep up.

why it takes 20 minutes to get out the house

Before kids getting ready in the morning and out of the house was peaceful and easy. You just had to get showered, ready and roll on out. Now it is anything but peaceful or easy. I am a relatively organized person. OK, fine I am not relatively organized-I am super anal and a rule giver. My kids (especially Devin) are type A and rule followers. Riley tends to dilly dally but she is just three and a free spirit. Devin is my mini me and super anal and very rigid when it comes to schedules and rules.

Yesterday the kids had 9:45 dentist appointments.

8:30 I hop in the shower and gave Devin and Riley construction paper and crayons to make our dentist (who is a very good family friend) birthday cards. Devin was on it like white on rice and Riley drew lots of balloons for him. I told Devin he needed to get dressed while I was in the shower and he said fine. I gave them both cereal bars to eat since we were out of time to have anything else. 

8:40 I got out of the shower atand yelled down to remind him to get dressed. He was re writing the birthday card because he forgot the "r" in Thurber. Riley was already dressed but had to come put lotion on (again) while I got ready.

8:45 and I am now dressed in my yoga pants and t and Devin is still down stairs now coloring a birhtday cake on the card. My hair is soaking wet so I throw a bobby pin in my bangs and put a hair tie on my wrist to braid it once I get in the car.

8:47 I now cut him off from the card writing and now order him to get dressed. He goes upstairs and cannot find his favorite t shirt. It's downstairs so he comes down completely naked to look for his shirt and now a specific pair of Batman Lego undies. Both were folded in the basket and his jeans were in the dryer trying to dry from this damp house.

8:51 now and Riley has taken off her sandals and is applying her third application of sparkly pink lip gloss. Devin has finally gotten dressed and cannot find his sneakers.

8:52 I find his sneakers and start to pack up the half eaten cereal bars, water and their tooth brushes since they will have stank morning cereal bar breath on the way. I pour my now luke warm coffee into a to go cup and cannot find the lid. I will be super careful I promise.

8:55 Riley where are you?  Riley-"I'm upstairs going poopies." I go up and find her completely naked in my bathroom pooping. She tells me it hurts her bum when big poopies goes out but feels better when she;s all done. I just nod and wipe. Then she insists she dresses herself again. From capris, to tunic, bracelet, head band and of course the sandals are lost that she took off 5 minutes ago.

8:57 We found her sandals in the kitchen on her chair. Super. Lets get going.  Devin where are you? Devin-I am coloring Dr Thurber's Brayson a picture of Batman since he likes super heroes and he can give it to him. Brayson is my friend but I do not see him a lot." OK Devin can you finish it in the car so we are not late?" Devin-"yeah sure but you have to not go over any bumps BC that makes me color sloppy and I have to start all over again." ~See super anal and type A. At least he is neat and on top of things.

9:00 Finally get the keys and the kids out the door. Where are my flip flops? Riley "in the toy room." I find one and slip it on trudging through the explosion that happened in the toy room. Cant fricking find the other one and realize I am dragging the dogs leash around with the one on my foot b.c Devin has attached the leash to the thong. UGH. I go upstairs, grab socks. Put the socks in my purse along with the half eaten cereal bars, tooth brushes, tooth paste and a water.

9:02 kids are playing in a muddy puddle in the driveway and I walk over to the open door and there are no carseats...then remember the carseats are sitting in the garage. UGH UGH UGH. Put my coffee down on the shelf, walk back to the car with my purse, birthday cards and sneakers in hand. Note to self-walking on fallen pollen that has been rained in bare feet on is super mushy and gross.

9:02.30 tell kids to stay out of the puddles because they will get dirty and wet

9:03 Riley is crying BC her white sandals now have dirty water all over them. Devin is still splashing in the puddles and I am about to loose it. I get Riley's carseat out of the garage and strap it in.

9:04 Riley has now taken off her sandals while sitting down on the wet ground and is in stitches b.c her pants are now wet. My hair is partly dry but frizzing like crazy. I yell at Devin to get out of the puddle and he says "I am not in the puddle mom, only my stick is bc I am making mud soup." He is right, but WTH-just leave the puddle alone. I tell Devin to sit in my car so I can take Riley inside.

9:05 I take Riley in and get her a new pair of capris and different sandals and we go back outside.

9:06 Devin hops out of the car and rips a leaf off the bush to put in the puddle. Will you  leave the puddle A.L.O.N.E. Riley is strapped in to her seat and I go to get Devin's from the garage.

9:07 Strap Devin's into my car and get him to get in the car. I walk around to my door, get in and close all the doors. Sigh and in reverse we go. Devin is handed his Leap Frog explorer and Riley has B. I tell them mommy needs a quiet ride. I am officially a South Jersey girl again since I have yet to put my shoes on.

9:08 we are en route and pull onto Atsion and I go to finally take a much needed sip of my coffee...and its not in the cup holder. Where is it you ask? Well duh that is simple-It is sitting in the garage on the shelf. BOO! Devin also reminds me that I am a forgetful mommy because I forgot his coloring book and crayons to finish Brayon's picture.

We got to the dentist just on time after I cleaned my feet in the car, but my sneaks on. Wipes the kids down and brushed their teeth. Both have a clean bill of health and love our dentist.

We stopped by Pottery Barn in Marlton for a quick return and this is now the 4th time I have been there since moving home and the third time I have had to deal with bitchy and rude sales associates. Only once was I helped by someone who was polite and helpful. I acutally left the store once and called Princeton asking to speak with a manager and she was very helpful and direct shipped (for free) items Marlton would not help me with. F- you Marlton and your wenches that work at your store. You no longer get my business. I was planning to shop yesterday after I returned the pillow that did not "go" with my bedding but nope, I did not want to help their daily sales after dealing wtih the associate.

Officially a Mudder!





Frankie and I have been looking forward to running a Tough Mudder for months now. We signed up back in December? and have been amping ourselves up for this. We got my sister Kelly, her boyfriend Dan and his brother Jonathan to join a team for the PA #2 run this past weekend. To those who do not know what a Tough Mudder is, visit here. Our race was over 12 miles with 27 obstacles. Frank and I were a little leery going in to it since neither one of us really had time to train. I ran once-eek and Frankie ran (maybe) 5 times over the course of 2 months. We had done some serious labor in the back yard over the last few weekends so we were hoping that would have helped us prepare for the course. It did, we were fine ;).



Mudderboatin SOBs



Starts out by driving over 2 hours up to the Poconos. Parking and hoping on the shuttle bus from the raceway and driving 20 minutes to the course. I was starting to get nervous at this point. The weather was perfect for a race and the vibe was very up beat when we got there. Registration was a breeze and bag check was very organized. I was thoroughly impressed with how smoothly the whole arrival process went.







 

We got ready to go and looking around for the start line you cannot see it...why you ask? well it is because you have to climb over an 8 ft wall to get there! Super fun from the beginning. I thank god that I am a small female because I put one foot on the cleat on the wall, Frank hoisted me up by my other leg and I grabbed onto the top and lifted myself up and over. I dangled from the top and dropped down on the other side (gracefully of course.) The MC at the start line was awesome. Got us all amped up with music in the back ground. He explained what the idea of a Tough Mudder was, had us recite a pledge about helping one another and being a team etc and off we went.

Fifty yards into the start we ran through muddy water-so long dry socks and sneakers. Next up was Kiss of Mud where you army crawl through muddy water under barbed wire. This was a little tough because the muddy ground was peppered with rocks and stones. Jogging through the woods over muddy rocky terrain was the majority of the course between obstacles. Very rarely did we have flat level ground. (I forget the exact order of the obstacles and I forgot to get a map when we were done. ) We then went over Berlin walls #1 which was a series of two 8-9 ft wooden walls. They were not hard for us and as a team we were up and over in a flash.



Berlin walls 1-9 ft tall



Next was a serious 4 ft walls to go over. I am guessing there were 12-15 of them. Dan, Jon and Frank had a super easy time with this all being over 6 ft tall, still not hard for Kelly and I. Next up was Artic Enema---awful! It was a VERY large dumpster with about 5 feet of water and ice. You had to jump in, swim/walk half way to a wall, swim under the water going under the wall and when you popped up on the other side you had to break through the few inches of ice cubes to get above water. Then push the ice out of the way just to get to the ladder.Once to the ladder you had to climb up and out then down the ramp. HOLY SHIT that was cold and it just took your breath away. Standing on the ground once out you are in complete shock and have to gain normal breathing again. I say this was the worst obstacle! It wasn't hard per say, it was just shocking and completely uncomfortable. No to mention we are now soaking wet with smelly freezing water. 



Once we were all through that we headed back into the woods for a muddy, rocky jog up and down the hills and the Death March was next. Straight up what is equivalent to a black diamond ski slope. Frank and Jon decided to be over ambitious and started to run up it, ha ha I caught up with them half way since I took it easy and was walking quickly up it. It was so steep that people was sliding back down it even being totally dry ground. We are about 3 or so miles in at this point and starting to get super thirsty and thankfully the water station was just about a half mile away.

Next was tunnels underground. Frank and Dan were both worried about this one. They both have a sense of claustrophobia. Not only are you in the dark in a tunnel under the ground, but you are crawling through stinky smelly mud the whole time. Gag! The tubes were about 25 feet long and once you turned the bend about 5 feet in you had a bit of day light at the end. Not bad :) Worst part for me was the stench. 

Heading back through the woods we went through at least a quarter mile of sludge and slippery mud. It seemed like it was never ending. Log Jammin was next which is a series of three huge log walls you had to alternate up and over. The ups you had to climb up and over and the unders you had to belly crawl under. There was barbed wire over top the unders forcing you to go under and not cheat. Great obstacle for the small females.



Fire walker was next. That was running through about 30 yards of hay soaked in gas. HOT and smokey and my contacts were glued to my eyes after that one. After this was a water/snack station. Sharkies chews were there with some fresh water. Very needed at that point.

Devils bead was next. This was a huge heavy cargo net that other Mudders had to hold up to get under. Great team work on this obstacle. The net was much heavier than I had expected it to be. Thank goodness for camaraderie at this point.

Hold your wood was next. This was about a 1/4 or so long of an up and down around a golf course holding a freshly cut round of hard wood. The wood is heavy and after a while is exhausting to hold up. Not impossible, but tiring none the less.

We then got to Spiders web which was a 12-15 foot high cargo net. The net was so loose that as you climbed up it you were actually bending backwards and trying to climb up at an angle. It was tough to do, but once you get your chest up, you can hoist yourself over with enough upper body strength. There were people holding the bottom, but it still was not tight enough. There were bananas and water stations at this point which was awesome.

We were of course dry at this point so why not add another water obstacle right? We came to Walk the Plank which is a platform you have to climb up and jump off of. Not only do they make you stand there at the top and wait (giving time to think about what you are doing) but you know that water is going to be frigid! It wasn't that bad. I do not have fear of heights and your stomach only drops a tad.

The area around this pond was covered in slippery mud making it very difficult to stay on your feet. One guy next to us almost ended up in the pond again, but thanks to his teammates-they grabbed on to him just in time. We ran back through the woods and around the golf course toward the start line which you have to pass. I think we were about 7 miles in at this point? Maybe 8? Next obstacle was crawling under a foot bridge which had barbed wire above you. We all steam rolled which by the time you get out you are so dizzy. Big mistake doing that!

Next was one of the best obstacles. It was called Everest. It was a greased quarter pipe that you had to sprint up to and leap with hopes that people dangling over the top would catch you and help you up and over. This was super dangerous and as we walked up a guy was walking away with a medic with his wrist turned at a 90* to the side-eww! Again another super team helping obstacle. I was able to run and jump with my arms extended like super man and two guys grabbed each of my hands. As I dangled a third told me to lift my left leg and as I did all three yanked me up and to the top. Frankie was tall enough that he could run, jump and grab the top rail while two guys helped lift him high enough to pull over. Hysterical to watch people do this. Some people had enough speed to run and jump high enough to do it alone. Most needed a few people helping.

A short distance ahead was the Electric eel. Super cool obstacle and sucky at the same time. You are crawling through about a foot of water with dangling hot wires. So if someone gets shocked by a wire-that shock carries through the charged water and shocks you in return. I did not get shocked by the hanging wires, but did by the water from someone else. Strange feeling...made my quad contract under water.

We then ran back into the woods and I want to say the second set of Berlin walls were next? It gets kinda fuzzy at this point what we did. The second set was 12 feet tall and much harder to get over than the first set. I still had it some what easy since I put my foot on the cleat, one guy had my right foot and pushed up as the other guy lifted my left foot off the cleat. I just had to grab the top and pull up and over. I love that Frankie, Jon and I got help from random people.

After that was the Boa Constrictor. This was another tube crawl but this time it consisted of two 20 ft long black tubes, one going down into water and one coming up from the water. The one going down was super easy and then you paddle through the 5 feet of water (under barbed wire so not to stand) and then up the next tube. The one going up was much harder and the water started halfway up the tube opening. You had to stay flat on your belly like a snake-hence the name boa constrictor.

We then ran a bit more and got to the Funky Monkey. This was a long track of monkey bars that were on an incline and then mid way declined in an A frame. The bars themselves were either greased or spun. I made it to the first one, reached for the second and it spun sending me into the dirty cold water below. Frankie made it all the way across and then the same thing happened to him with only 3 bars left!

We went to the Trenches next. This was 4-5 mud pits about 30 feet long each of anywhere between shin to mid thigh deep water. Under the water was rocks, mud and deeper holes to make you loose your footing. At the end of each trench was a small hill to climb up and over to get to the next trench. Great obstacle but again, smelly and gross.

I want to say the Rings were next? But I am not sure. This was 6 rings gladiator style that hung over water. You stand on the platform and made your way across the water. Frankie was successful at this one again and having his wing span was definitely a great advantage for him. He could reach the first and second rings to start off. I of course could only reach the first so I had to swing out off the platform to grab the second. I did that successfully and then as I reached for the third letting go of the first-down I went. BOO. I was wet again.

Twinkle toes may have been next. This was finally one I could do and do to completion. It was hard to balance on for two reasons. First the "beam" swayed and shook as you got a good part out and two some guy came on as I was about 1/3 of the way down. He fell off shaking the thing like no other. I was able to stand and get started back up and walk down more then another guy got on. I did make it to the other end successfully though.

 

Electric shock therapy was last. This was running through water with dangling charged wires. I made it through this with no shocks. Yay to that.  I know I skipped a few but I honestly cannot remember them all. It was about 12.25-12.5 miles long with 27 obstacles. Most of the run was through the woods over rocky terrain with mud and water all over the place. We went up and down the whole time with hardly any flat ground. Definitely no joke and a great challenge. Upon completion you were handed an orange head band, a shirt, protein bar, banana and a beer!

We had a blast and cannot wait to do it again.