{ spring break }

Spring break felt like anything but spring in MN but we had a few things planned to help pass the school free week by. To say that Oliver and Stella were excited was an understatement.

First up, two nights at Grandpa and Grandma Christensen's house (sans Chop and me!).

We met halfway in WI and swapped cars and Oliver and Stella headed up to the Lodge, while I drove back home to Minneapolis solo. They had a fun few days in WI and thought it was super cool to head there "alone". I had two quiet days at home which was nothing short of amazing. And to top it off, I got to head to Buffalo for some antiquing at the occasional sales with a friend.

On Friday morning we woke up to 10" of snow and hit the road to Eau Claire, WI to meet Oliver, Stella and my parents at the water park/hotel. It was the perfect escape to be in the warm, humid air and pretend like there was no snowstorm. These two were thrilled about their first stay at a hotel!

We wasted no time getting in the water and exploring all the fun the water park had to offer.

The first thing they spotted was the big slides and before long they were experts on them. They were super proud that they could go up to the top of the stairs alone and go down solo.

The other slide was a tube slide that we had to go with them on. It was pitch black the entire way down and while many 3.5 year olds would have been afraid of it, they thought it was a thrill ride.

We thought they would put up a fight leaving the water park but I think after a few hours on Friday they were ready for a break. The hotel also offered a game area where we ventured to have a little old school fun.

A big thanks to Grandma and Grandpa C for the fun spring break!

When we returned home, hope was restored that spring has arrived. We were able to be outside (without winter gear) at the park all afternoon. Thank you weather gods!

{ first recital }

Last week Stella had her first, of probably many, ballet recitals. She talked about it for weeks leading up to it. She is currently taking ballet at Pearl Park with teacher "Miss Brie". It is a super casual, no pressure ballet class and the students absolutely adore it.

This is going to be a picture heavy post as I actually brought my digital SLR camera (it has been WAY too long!) and took a ton of pictures. She had lots of familiar faces in the audience.

She tried hard to contain her excitement but this sweet little smirk says it all.

They of course did a proper warm-up.

Followed by sashays.

Leaps.

And balance beam.

Their main performance was a dance (a term I use loosely with a class full of 3-4 year olds) to the ever popular "Let It Go". It was one of the cutest things I've ever witnessed.

I'll spare you all of the videos but we were sure to capture all of these moments so we can relive them when she is 16!

{ spring has sprung }

Or at least I think (hope) so!

The beginning of March Madness always seems like the signal for the start of spring. This year we let Oliver and Stella join in the fun of doing basketball picks. It was serious business.

And rightfully so as the pool we do every year has grown so much that the winner now takes home $650! With the takeaways for second through fifth places not being too shabby either. We're a few weeks into the tourney and for awhile it didn't look like there was hope for any of us. But low and behold Oliver could actually take second place if, and only if, Florida and Wisconsin make it to the final game with Florida coming out on top. It is painstakingly difficult for Chop to root for Wisconsin but I told him he has to with $300 riding on it!

Speaking of Oliver, he is quite the little character these days. You just never know what the kid is going to do or say. These pictures do a good job of summing him up.....

I joke that he is an old man stuck in a three year old's body! Today when Grandpa and Grandma C were over I said something to my dad, using "dad" when I said it to him. He looked at me and said "Why did you say dad? That's not dad, that's grandpa. Why would you call him that?!". We couldn't stop laughing at him. Then later when he was sitting on Grandpa C's lap he pushed on his stomach and said "You don't get enough exercise, Grandpa. You eat too much."

Stella has grown to be a very caring little girl. She likes to ask things of us like "How was your sleep last night, mommy?", "Mommy, how is your new fan working for you?", "Mommy, you are the bestest baker", and my most recent favorite......I dropped them off at school one morning and realized that I hadn't put a winter hat in her bag for when they went outside as a class. I had on a knit hat and decided to leave that for her so she would have something. I explained to her that she would have to wear mine that day and she looked at me really concerned and said "But mommy, are you going to be okay without your hat?".

She is also very helpful around the house and is always fetching things for Oliver (and me!). Just last week she brought up the fact that we needed to pack their swim bag for swim lessons. She proceeded to go downstairs to the laundry room and gather their swimsuits, towels, bag and packed all of it. Not bad for a 3.5 year old!

In other happenings around the house......we have decided to pack up the bounce house for a bit and take over the basement as a real playroom. I should have done this awhile back but it is a nice change to not have the bounce house taking up the entire room and being able to actually hang out with toys down there. We have also added a few fun new things like this oil drip pan turned magnet board.

I am still doing my run/walk program which means I get to rock this workout t-shirt that says "Mother of Multiples....Running the family one race at a time" and the back "What is your super power?".

A multiples group that I belong to had them made and they turned out great! My recovery still has good days and bad days but at this point in time, I'm not over thinking it and just trying to go with the flow. I'm loosely following the 8 week back to run program but after just three weeks, I have had to take it even slower than the conservative program due to pain flair ups.

Getting back to the spring weather......if we didn't get a nice day soon, Oliver was going to lose it. Oh wait, I guess he already had. In case you need interpretation, he is saying over and over "I want spring to come but it just keeps snowing".

We did have one nice day a few weeks ago when we were able to get out and enjoy a walk to the library.

And then today we had a true, 60 degree spring temperature day. I attempted to get them out on the double tag along with mild success.

I think they are still a tad too small to reach the pedals perfectly and I was the one that had a hard time balancing - it felt like they were purposely trying to wiggle the bike back and forth behind me. Riding with just one behind me was much easier but the two was tricky. Hoping to get it down by summer so we can enjoy some spins around the lakes! 

{ winner }

And the eyeglass frame winner is:

Oliver has been sporting these specs since last week on Friday. It has been an on and off struggle to get him to wear them but we are hoping as he gets used to them that it will get better. I'm also hoping we get to a point soon where I don't have to find them 5 times a day sitting on the floor, on the counter, in his room, or wherever else he decided to take them off and set them!

In other news, we have finally had some warmer, sunny days. Fun to be able to sit outside and enjoy a cookie!

And we were even able to get out and take a little spin around the block!

But that hasn't stopped from getting the crazies inside......Oliver and Stella are both big fans of having us take selfies these days.

Have I mentioned that swim lessons also double as surf lessons?

{ march! }

Is it just me or does the calendar turning to the month of March just make everyone a little bit happier? It's like you know you are almost out of the really bad winter months and can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I know that it is often the heaviest snowfall month but there is also a chance that it could be sunny and 60. I'll be an optimist!

The turning of the calendar also means a birthday for me on the 1st of the month. Whoop :)! I've never been a big birthday celebrator and getting another year older has never bothered me. It is often just like any other day! Except this year it was extra special. I had hit the 12 week post surgery mark on the second hip and that is the typical week mark when people are cleared to start running again. I have been on track with most things since surgery and I was given the go-ahead! I saved my first "run" day for my birthday and was excited to hit the Y Saturday morning to complete it. And yes, no cars will hit me when I'm out on the streets running. Seriously, why did the best fitting running shoes have to be the most obnoxious?!

Though given my injury history (and my ability to not slow myself down), my personal trainer and physical therapist both put me on a strict walk/run program that is on the very conservative side.
It is an 8 week program running 3 days a week, building up to a 30 minute run. For week one I could walk 6 minutes/run 1 minute, repeating 3 times. Not much but definitely progress......baby steps!!

After completing their kindergarten screening later that morning, Oliver and Stella took me out for lunch at our neighborhood restaurant George & the Dragon. Where they proceeded to eat my birthday cookie and ice cream!

That night we headed out to Travail for dinner with Deborah & Dan. For anyone in the Twin Cities.....do not walk, run to this restaurant! It is AH-mazing. We knew our wait time would be long and long it was. We arrived around 6:40 and were told we would be seated in the 9:00 seating. Well that turned into a 9:45 seating and after a 10 course meal, we left around 12:15am.

Lets just say that it gave us time to sample almost every specialty cocktail on their drink menu. Like their food, it changes about every week or two. The chefs behind this restaurant are creative geniuses and put together brilliant, tasty dishes. Add to that fun music, waitstaff that is drinking, communal tables......it kind of feels like a house party (just an expensive one)!

Speaking of house parties, we put together a little game of toddler hammerschlagen to help pass the time one afternoon.

Stella has also been enjoying taking part in doing PT exercises with me. She said to me on this day "Mommy, I need to do my exercises so I can bike faster!".

It seems we have turned a serious corner when it comes to swim lessons. These two are killing it in the water! A combination of their age and a good teacher has them trying to actually "swim" in the water. Of course the one time I try to catch it, they don't go as far but you still get the idea.

Fingers crossed for sunshine and 60 this month! 

{ is that you oliver? }

I could be referring to Oliver's hobby of dressing up as Olivia and Spidey for the title of this post.

But I am actually referring to the fact that he will be sporting a new accessory starting next week.

Yup, we will have a four eyed Oliver! Their kindergarten screening from last weekend revealed very surprising news to us. During the screening they do a basic vision test and they mentioned that his right eye seemed to be working harder than his left eye and referred us to have an eye exam done for him. After a visit to the eye doctor, we found out that he has a severe astigmatism in his right eye.

An astigmatism can be especially detrimental if not caught as over time, the brain will just stop using the bad eye and it will shut down. We are so thankful that we did the kindergarten screening as early as we did because we had no indication that he was having difficulty seeing! He will go back in for a check-up in 6 weeks to see if the glasses are helping and if not, there is a chance we will have to patch his good eye to force his brain to use the bad eye. Additionally, he is slightly far-sighted in both eyes so his prescription will account for that as well.

He was such a trooper all week when going to check-ups, getting his eyes dilated and getting fitted for glasses. Here is a peek at some of the options.....as you can see, someone liked to give him suggestions on which ones he should get.

I'll wait and give you a final reveal of the winner next week when they arrive!