{ nine for ? }

I started a draft for this post well over a week ago and just getting around to completing it now. It started out as a five for Friday but I've racked up more numbers than that so it just is what it is!

1. 4 sets of 2 year old twins = 8 toddlers. That's what we had in our house a few weeks ago for a play date. As usual, the play date kept getting rescheduled (sick kids, schedule conflicts, etc.) but we finally made it happen. They enjoyed playing, jumping in the bounce house and, of course, snacks!

2. Stella's officially a gymnast now that she sports a leotard to class!

3. I completed a straight 2 mile swim a few Sundays ago. I have a love/hate relationship with swimming.......I absolutely hate everything about getting ready to swim but love the actual swimming and the feeling after. My running group had completed the 100 pushup challenge a few months ago and decided we needed something else for the winter. We settled on a 2 mile swim challenge but I never thought it would actually happen. But we did diligently meet every Sunday morning at 7:00am and Wednesdays at 6:00am to get in the training yards to be ready. 2 miles is 72 laps and since I lose track after anything over about 5, we had someone officially count for us. It was a fun morning with about 4 of us completing the challenge and then enjoying a nice breakfast at Victor's Cafe.

4. Oliver and Stella have been enjoying their own carts when we go to Kowalski's. I don't do my major grocery shopping here but I often walk them there in the BOB when we need to get some fresh air and pick up a few things. This particular day it was like watching a train wreck moving through the store.

5. Haircuts are a favorite outing these days. Oliver's a big fan of Spencer and the skateboard he gets to sit on at the barbershop.

Stella visited Michelle a few days ago and we said goodbye to ponytails and hello to a bob cut.

6. Our next door neighbor had a baby a few weeks ago and we delivered a gift for the "big sister" Vivian that is O and S's age. She was so proud of her gift wrap decoration that I had to share the photo.

And seriously, who isn't having a baby these days? In the last few weeks friends have welcomed Emma, Elise, Adeline, Elsa, Kai, and Mitchell to the world!

7. A video demonstrating a pretty standard morning in our house.

8. Last weekend I visited the Lodge with six other women from my running group. We went up on Friday evening and came home on Sunday. It was a lovely weekend filled with great discussions, cooking, and spending time outdoors. We even had two things to celebrate - one of the women just passed her ACE exam to become a certified personal trainer and another just finished her thesis for her doctorate degree. They are an amazingly supportive group that I am so blessed to be a part of!

9. Fellow moms: cloud dough is where it's at. You gotta try it. It's an 8 to 1 ratio of flour to vegetable oil (I made a smaller batch of 2 cups flour to 1/4 cup oil). Just add the two together and stir. It has a soft texture that is similar to a soft sand - but you can mold it into shapes and it holds until you crumble it apart and start over.

We are starting to go a little crazy with winter dragging on and this was a good afternoon activity. Stella played with it for over an hour. And Oliver, well it only lasted about 20 minutes with him. (warning: it is a mess and will be everywhere!)

That's all for now!