How is it possible?

Marathoners are an interesting breed: dedicated, intense, full of mental and physical stamina, slightly crazy, and proud of their accomplishment. They are people who train for months on end, with 4 or 5 runs per week of varying lengths just to accomplish a goal they have laid out for themselves. They do not take 2 weeks off because that will put them behind in training. They do not go out on Friday nights during training season because they have their long runs on Saturdays. They set their alarms crazy early on Wednesday mornings before work because that is their long weekday run and it's easier to get it out of the way in the morning rather than get distracted from it in the evening. They train in all kinds of weather conditions because they never know what the weather will be on the day of the race. They buy weird things like goo, body glide, runderwear, and nipple shields to make their bodies more comfortable during runs. They get runners' highs. They self-talk when they are tired but not done with their runs. They do math in their heads to keep themselves occupied. They are strong in so many ways that I can't even describe.

This is what the start of a marathon should look like. Crazy crowds, jam packed runners, lots of cameras, lots of support, and an electric atmosphere in the air. Music in different neighborhoods, water stops, tons of funny signs, some dude who decides to run in a monkey costume, all the fun things that make the spirit of a marathon a marathon!

This is what the end of a marathon should look like. Complete joy, a massive sense of accomplishment, huge hugs, and tons of cheering in the background!!

This is the antithesis of what a marathon should be: terror, runners who needed to be intubated in an ICU due to smoke inhalation, loss of limbs due to shrapnel, not being able to leave your hotel room after the race for an amazing dinner and a well deserved beer, fear, chaos, and death.

As a wife of a previous and future marathon runner, this sickens me to my core. The spectators their are family members who have also devoted their last 4-5 months for training. The runners have just put their hearts, soles, and muscles into this run. The volunteers are mostly runners who aren't running this marathon but believe in the central purpose of running a race and dedicating oneself to something.

The bombs went of 4h and 9min after the start. This is the time when the largest majority of people finish and have families at the end. To think that someone would deliberately try to kill the most civilians as possible makes me so sad. The runners are Republicans, Democrats, Christians, Aethiests, Jews, Moms, Dads, Grandparents, Daughters, Sons. They are just everyday, normal people who were in their last few minutes of accomplishing and sharing something bigger than they were. They are runners who never got to cross their finish lines after months of training. All for what? To prove that someone could kill somebody? To put fear into American's hearts? To take away someones ability to run again? To kill someone's child?

I do not, and will never, understand why or how anyone could ever think that this was okay to do. I pray that those that were there are able to heal from this both physically and emotionally. I pray for the doctors and nurses at the Boston hospitals that they can treat all the runners and get them home soon. I pray they are able to find the person/people that executed this horrid crime against humanity. I pray that those who are training for current marathons train just a little harder this week. I pray those that love their marathoning family members allow them to continue to run and train and remember that their are mostly good people in the world. I pray for peace and kindness and mouths that spread love instead of fear and hate.

Stealing from MCW

MCW stole this from Blair's Headband and I'm stealing it from her. Enjoy, comment, steal it from me, and have a great weekend!!

1. The Basics
Who are you: AEOT
Where do you blog: Up North Preppy
How did you pick your blog’s name: I'm from the great north, and I firmly believe in all things preppy, colorful, and happy.

2. Location, location, location
Where did you grow up: The "thumb" of Michigan. Tiny town of about 2000 people. We got our second stoplight when I was in college!

Where do you live now: Grand Rapids, Michigan
Where would you live anywhere in the world: Petoskey/Harbor Springs, Michigan (which is where we would retire) (Can you tell I love my state?)(I would gladly take the month of March and move to a warm location though!!)

3. Let’s talk beauty - what is your favorite or signature:
Lipstick: Moxie by Bare Escentuals
Mascara: L'oreal Telescopic (in the gold tube)
Perfume: Eternity by Calvin Klein. My mom wears the same scent.

4. Yummies - what is your favorite:
Cocktail: Vodka soda with two limes or anything fun that contains cucumber. So refreshing!
Dessert: This is impossible to answer. I love so many! Cookies, ice cream, chocolate, brownies- yum. I don't eat store bought desserts much, if at all. Homemade is the way to go!
Pizza Topping(s): Pepperoni, green pepper and onion

5. I always have these three things in my refrigerator:
Un: Water in the britta
Deux: Mustard (at least 4 or 5 different kinds)
Trois: Carrots

6. Get artsy - what is your favorite:
Movie: The Sound of Music
Book: Time Travelers Wife, Memory Keepers Daughter, The Book Thief, Divergent
TV Show: Amazing Race, Top Chef, Law and Order: SVU

7. Kid stuffs - three questions about your youth:
What did you want to be when you grew up? Pediatrician
Who was your favorite teacher and why? Miss Ackerman- high school English. She was a wonderful teacher and really drew you in to the books you read in her class. I swear I can probably still take her tests on Tale of Two Cities and Scarlett Letter- they are completely ingrained in my head.
What was your worst sickness/surgery/hospital visit as a kid? I broke my leg in 6th grade. That's about it!

8. The Pretty Things - what is your:
Favorite color: Navy blue
Favorite flower: Tulips
Favorite artist (painter, photographer, etc.): Hramiec Hoffman

9. Shop ‘Til You Drop
What’s one thing you buy the most often: clothes for the boys
Do you prefer to shop online or in-store? For the boys- online, for myself- in the store. I have to try stuff on to know it's going to fit well and I have little time to get to UPS to ship stuff back if it doesn't fit
Imagine you open your own store - A children's clothing boutique that has HALF boy stuff. None of this 75/25 stuff that every store in America gets away with!!

10. Be a Hater: what are three things you would like to go away?
Ein: The constant rain/lousy weather we've had this spring
Zwei: Floral jeans- really???
Drei: Cystic Fibrosis (it would put me out of a job but I would gladly take that in order to cure all my patients!!)

11. The Final Three (x Three)
I hand you a genie - what are your three wishes?
1. Owning a cottage in Bay View
2. Time to work out 4-5 days a week
3. A 5 day Masters pass for B and I and lots and lots of fabulous outfits to go along with it. OR a weeklong trip away with B to somewhere where I can wear gorgeous sundresses and lie on a beach---ahhhhhh.

List 3 things you can see out of your window right now.
1. Rain
2. Cars on the expressway
3. Large porches on the homes in the neighborhood

Who are three people, living or dead, you would invite over for dinner?
1. Gail Simmons (of Top Chef and Food & Wine Magazine fame)
2. Jennifer Garner- seriously, I could so be BFFs with her and our kids could play in the playroom while we enjoy a glass of champagne in the kitchen
3. Pretty much any golfer on the PGA tour......Luke, Ian, Rory, Phil (only if he brings Amy), el Tigre, Oosty, Freddy, Adam, Zach, Kuch, or the "Golf Boys" (aka Hunter, Rickie, Bubba (and his darling, darling baby Caleb), and Ben) (have you seen their video?? Go here . I would pretty much be a perfect wife if this ever happened!!

Play along and let me know that you do so that I can read your story!!

A little of this and a little of that

1. Last week B had fevers, chills, body aches, just miserableness. It ended up being strep and he is now on amox for 10 days. He is finally feeling better, thank goodness! It's a huge week for choir at church with services on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday and due to his illness, he only got to sing on Sunday. He was really disappointed!

2. Our church service was great on Sunday. The choir was good, the sermon was good, the alter was beautiful (I love Easter flowers!!). Unfortunately, both my boys were squirrely and I actually had to give SYT a time out during church. We had to leave and go out to the vestibule. EMBARRASSING! But he needed it, and, as I have learned with toddler, you have to follow through or else they will continue with the bad behavior (he was throwing Peter's toys at me just b/c he was wound up for the egg hunt). He calmed down and did have a ton of fun with the egg hunt afterwards. I was not so happy that a church parishoner (an older lady we are familiar with) tried to "help" me discipline by yelling at Spence. Hello, I'm managing and I don't need your help. He was sitting in time out and she just wanted to get in on it. I'm sure she had good intentions, but it still was not appropriate.

3. I had my camera at church but there must be something wrong with my battery charger as my camera died after just a few pictures, and I had just charged the battery overnight. So, no cute pics from me. Boo. B got a few on his phone but nothing I can upload right now, so sorry!

4. West Michigan is dead right now. All the schools around here go on spring break the same week, so everything is empty! The highways are quiet, our office is like a ghost town, and my FB feed is full of sunny, warm weather, down south pictures. I am sooooo ready for sunshine and warm weather, and I am jealous of those who are experiencing it right now!

5. The next few months are crazy busy here. I'm excited as we have so much fun stuff planned. We either have visitors or are going away every weekend in April, May is the boys' birthday party (combined for both since their bdays are only 6 days apart), and in June we already have at least one weekend of travel planned as well. Then, it's SUMMER which means lots of trips up north, lots of time outside, and lots of yard work. I have a new plan for part of my backyard that will involve pretty hefty planning and lots of work over the next summer or two. B likes the idea but I'm not sure he is fully on board yet. We'll have to see if I can plant enough seeds in his head to latch on to all this.

6. Tonight I am getting my hair cut and colored. This is my 3rd attempt to keep an apt! Yikes! I'm definitely looking forward to having my hair look decent again. I wouldn't want to meet my first blogger with ugly hair now, would I!

7. My weekend starts Wednesday night this week! Seeing the bestie on Thursday and then enjoying a weekend with MCW in town. Cannot wait! Hopefully the forecast stays in the 50s!!! I need a little bit of warmth up here!

Have a wonderful Monday, everyone!!

For parents.....

Everyone who has a small child really needs to read this article. Like, today, right now. Toddlerhood is wonderful and fascinating and surprising and exhausting. It's not easy to discipline. It's not easy to know which limits have to be set every time or which can bend a little bit for a special day. It's not easy to know when to give up the nap and then have everyone miserable during dinner because MELTDOWN MODE is on. It's not easy to practice manners at home and then have your child ignore all those teachings in public. It's not easy to have all the time in the world to play when in the back of your mind you've got to make dinner, do laundry, do yardwork, clean the house, etc. It is amazing to see them learn. It is amazing the hysterical things that come out of their mouths. It is amazing to get hugs and kisses without prompting. It's amazing to hear prayers before bed and to hear them recite their favorite books by heart. It's amazing!!! This article helps us to remember that we are not alone in the process and we are all doing a great job (most of the time, anyway!!)

This other article is one I've seen around FB and in the blogosphere, but if you haven't read it either, please do. Totally worth the read. Her blog, in general, is SO truely spoken. I love it!

Have a wonderful Tuesday! And please say hi in the comments! I'd love to hear from you today!

It's the little things............

Today is not my day.

My son did not want to brush his teeth, he got jelly all over his shirt and then didn't want to change into anything else, he resisted his coat, his shoes, getting into the car, etc, etc, etc. He was up too late last night (we were babysitting 2 boys so they were rowdy and then no one wanted to sleep) and that just projected over to the morning. I yelled b/c I was frustrated and tired, he yelled b/c he was frustrated and tired, and everyone got in the car in a bad mood.

We sang songs in the car and talked about our route (SYT loves to know which street we are on and which direction we are turning next) and we all were better by the time we got to daycare for dropoff. While at daycare, PUT's teacher let me know I had a massive run and hole in my nylons. Really? It's 20 degrees out, I haven't shaved my legs since Sunday, I didn't put lotion on this a.m. as I was in a hurry, and now I have to go without nylons all day at work? Great day to pick to wear a dress. It would totally make sense to have a spare pair at work, but I've never had this happen before, so it's never even crossed my mind.

I have a ton of things that I need to get done in the next two weeks and it's just piling up faster and faster. Every weekend of ours is full until Memorial Day (except this one), and they're all super fun and exciting things, but when everysingleminute of everysingleday is planned that far in advance, it makes me a little hyper/anxious about how I will accomplish day to day tasks plus all the extras.

However, I walked upstairs to clinic to find that one of my coworkers (one of the sweetest ladies I have ever met) brought a jar of homemade strawberry jam for my family to work today as she knows my boys love it and she wanted us to have something special this weekend. She has brought in jams for us in the past and jars of canned peaches as well, and there is just something about her homemade jars (perhaps the love she pours into it?) that makes them so much better than anything storebought. It was the kindest, sweetest thing and really made me so incredibly happy. I knew then that I needed to remember that it is the littlest things that we do for one another that can make somes day/week/life. I'm a baker- it's my love language. I hope that by baking things for family, friends, and coworkers, they will know that I am thinking about them during the entire process. I love to do it, and I love to see how happy it makes others. I often "don't have time" to do other things (like putting away laundry- my most dreaded chore) because I'm in the kitchen making something for someone. Even though I bake a lot, I know there is always someone else I could be doing it for. Do you feel that way? That it's hard to give as much as you would like? Any ideas on how to find more time (ha!)?

Thank you so much, Miss Sylvia. You made my day and you, for sure, will make my kiddos' weekend!

Whitewashed fireplace

Here is our before shot of our family room. You can't see our entire fireplace here as I was showing off the rug, but you can get the gist of it. The bricks were in good condition but the color of them made the room darker and with the position of this room in our house it doesn't get a ton of nautural light (though this picture makes it look like it does). We've wanted to whitewash the brick for awhile but were SO nervous to do it. It's not like painting a wall; once the bricks are painted there is no going back. We took an informal facebook poll and I would say that it was pretty evenly split. Quite a few people understood why we wanted to paint the brick. Many others thought we were crazy and would ruin the room.

 

After months of debate, we finally decided that it was our house and we knew what would make us happy. So Saturday we washed the brick, mixed up our paint, and got our whitewashing on.

 

I used this tutorial to figure out the basics, and then we just took off. We ended up with a mix of about 2/3 water to 1/3 paint as our perfect ratio. One of us would paint it on with the other person rubbing it in with a rag to make sure the paint was evenly distrubuted in color everywhere. We ended up going through about 10 rags- they were destroyed to complete shreds. We taped off our crown molding and our mantle. I had originally wanted to leave the two arches with regular brick, not painted, but they didn't have enough contrast, so it all went to whitewashed.

 

After we were completely done, I went through and darkened a few bricks here and there. I thought it needed a little more contrast. It's very subtle but it definitely added the visual interest it needed.

 

And.......here's the final product!

 

 

We are so happy with it! I definitely think it lightens up the room but still allows the brick to be present in the room. I think a solid paint job would have blended in too much in this room, so the whitewashing was a perfect solution.

 

Now, if anyone has any better styling ideas, I'd love to hear them! Decorating mantles is tough!!

 

Feel free to ask any questions you have in the comments. I fully understand how nervewracking doing something permanent is!! Hope you like it!

In exactly three weeks.................

The fabulous MCW will be coming to visit me!!!!!!!!!

When B and I were discussing Christmas presents this year, I mentioned in passing that meeting Molly would be an amazing present.  He knows we "talk" via our blogs (he reads hers too) and over email, and he knows that I totally think she is amazing. I did not expect for him to follow through on this as it was just kind of a pipe dream. I actually was hoping for new black boots- and what I got was WAY better!! You should have heard the screaming I did when I opened up a letter from him with her picture in the middle and then the emails communicating back and forth between the two of them prior to Christmas.

About a month ago, I finally talked to her for the first time on the phone and we booked her plane ticket to come in April! I am SO excited. Like, really, really, really excited. She is flying in Friday morning, and I am sending the boys to daycare for the day so that we can hang out without their naps/behavior dictating our schedule. I adore my boys but I am so excited to have an adult day! Friday night we'll have dinner at home after the boys go down and, I'm sure, go through a bottle or three of wine. Saturday night we have a babysitter booked so that we can all go out together.

Grand Rapids is certainly not an amazing metropolis, but I am hoping that just meeting and getting to know each other and eating and lots of wine will make for the most amazing weekend!! Cheers to new friends, huh? This is why I love the blogging world!!  Seriously, I have a list of at least 5 other bloggers I would love to spend a weekend with. Too bad none of them live anywhere close to Michigan, huh?

So, tell me, have you already met other bloggers that you didn't previously know? Was it totally weird or was it amazing? Who would you love to meet if you had the opportunity?

Peter is 9 months

This past month has been the month where I have noticed the most changes in Peter in his short little life. He has made some huge developments lately and I am (obviously) loving them!

In the past week and a half, he has started using consanents. He started with "ba ba ba ba" and has now progressed to "ma ma ma". Love!! Spencer and I are now trying to get him to do "da da da da" too. It hasn't happened yet, but I'm sure it's next! He also loves to shake his head no all the time. He doesn't necessarily mean "no" when he does it but when he does it and I say "no no no" along with it, it just cracks him up.

He is pulling to stand on everything and is cruising on furniture, letting go of one thing and grabbing onto another. He can crawl up our steps with minimal assistance (though we are right behind him b/c it scares the crap out of me). He will only do it though if Spence is at the top of the stairs as he needs someone to cheer him on from the top. He is starting to walk holding onto our hands and wants to walk to us if he is standing up on something. He doesn't have enough balance to stand on his own yet, but I would guess that he'll be walking before Spencer did (SYT was 13 months).

We had his 9 month apt last Friday. He weighs 21lbs, 8oz. That's 77% for his age. The unfortunate part is that he is only 17% for height. Yep, he's a total chubster :) He loves to eat but for the most part, all he gets is fruits, veggies, beans, and a little meat (only in the past 2 weeks). It's not like he is getting a bunch of processed food at all. We don't even give him bread yet! His only processed food is cheerios, really. Apparently, I must have really high fat milk. Spence was also a chunk, but he was certainly longer so looked a little more balanced. I'm sure Peter will slim out some once he is walking. Is it terrible that I love his sweet, chubby, kissable thighs? I promise, I won't let him be a 90lb 4 year old (we had one in clinic two weeks ago- horrid. To me that verges on child abuse.), but, for now, I just love his sweet cheeks, belly, thighs and feet!!

For the most part, he is a great sleeper. He goes down by 7 every night and has zero problems falling asleep. He occasionally wakes up between 2-4 in the morning- I would say maybe 5 times per month? His normal wake up time is between 5:30 and 6:30.

He did get sick last week for two days. He had a fever, runny nose, really red cheeks, and just looked sick. He slept well throughout the whole illness, thankfully! Often when Spencer would get sick as a baby, he would be up a few times a night fussing and needing tylenol. Peter slept just fine and even napped well. We didn't take him to the doctor as he wasn't acting sick, and I made sure to clear him with the nephrologist to make sure he didn't need to get catheterized to check his urine for a kidney infection. They said since he had an obvious cold that I didn't need to. I'm glad as it was a really short, obviously viral illness that he is completely over now. I took him to work with me on Thursday morning to get some paperwork done, and he was sooo good. Thank God, my team all loves babies and my attending docs weren't mad at all!!

It's fun to be a mom to both my boys. I seriously thank God every day for them and count my blessings ALL the time.

Can we talk about Glee for one hot minute?

Dear Glee Cast, Writers, and Producers,

I have a few things I'd like to tell you about this current season. In no particular order.....

1. I still love Rachel. A lot. And I really love most of the New York scenes. Kate Hudson is fabulous and I have enjoyed their sing-offs. I also still love Kurt. And I really, really, really love that Santana is moving in next week!!!!!!! She has always been a favorite of mine. She's a definite piece of work but she does it well.

2. The blond cheerleader you brought in to replace Quinn and Santana? She sucks. She's not cute (at all! Sorry, I know that's not nice but she's not.), she's mean without having any redeeming qualities, and she doesn't have a voice to back anything up. I don't even remember her name as I'm typing this.....that's how bad she is. Get rid of her, please.

3. The Diva Off show was one of the best of the season. The first song was awesome and reminded me a lot of the Gaga songs they used to do. Tina Chang ROCKED her song, and anytime that Rachel and Kurt "sing off" is awesome!

 

 

4. With that being said, most of the episodes of this year have not been good. B and I used to always watch together and liked the show equally. Now, I can barely get him to sit through an episode. The songs aren't as good, there are too many solos and not enough group songs, there needs to be more accapella numbers, and NONE of the new characters really catch/hold my attention enough. Well, Jake (Puck's brother) is good- he can sing, he's a decent actor, and he's cute. The rest? See above for the cheerleader, Marley can sing but she's not interesting, and the football player is just fine- nothing special. Blaine has a fabulous voice and I loved him last year. This year, he is just okay. They're trying to use him to carry the entire high school part of the show and he just can't do it all alone. I wondered if things would fall apart with people graduating, and it's happening. Boo!

 

5. I miss Will Schuester. I get that they were trying to change things up a bit and allow Finn to have a role which isn't completely terrible, but Will is great and they need to bring him back!

 

 

Are you watching this year? Are you struggling to like it too? What do you want them to change or do differently? Please, please pull it together writers and producers................I miss eagerly awaiting your show every week!!!! 

Random thoughts

Well, thanks to the encouragement yesterday and an email from Emily, I decided to go for it. I bought the baby bag and a darling pair of earrings! Yea! I know I'll use them both, and I knew I had the $$ that I've been saving for something fun. Thanks for the help, ladies!

It's snowing here. We're supposed to get 3-8 inches tonight. Yikes! We've gotten a lot of snow in the past month, and I've really enjoyed it. It makes everything look so pretty, and we really need the precipitation for our lake water levels. I know that by March I'll be DONE with it, but for now, I'm just enjoying the white.

Spencer has a birthday party on Saturday for a kid in his class at daycare. I actually know the mom as she is Peter's kidney doctor. It's at a local playplace that I know he'll love. I'm not sure how many other kids in his class will be there. Peter is also going though he won't be able to do much. B has a golf show he wants to attend, so it's easier for me just to take both boys. It's one of Spencer's 1st friend birthday parties, so I hope he has a great time!!

We're going to do our taxes this weekend. Last year we had to pay due to taking too many deductions (and not discussing how many the other person was taking). I'm hoping we don't have to pay this year!!

Our other weekend plans involve making homemade chicken pot pie, making muffins, getting stuff ready for Spencer's Valentine's day party at school, and cleaning our room. Yep, we live on the wild side ;)

B's birthday is in just a few weeks.................any thoughts on fun gifts that your husband/bf/significant other has loved lately? He doesn't "need" anything, per se, and I am ALWAYS getting him new golf stuff, so I'm kind of bored with that. I'll take any ideas you have!!

Happy Thurday!!