{ back on the homefront }

While I was away on my Palm Springs getaway, Chop was busy entertaining O and S through one of the biggest winter snowstorms. Between school, swim lessons, the zoo, new puzzles, and more they managed to stay sane. The highlight of the four days for all of them was a outing to see the Minnesota Gopher women's hockey team play.

It wouldn't be a Gopher event without a visit with Goldy!

In other recent news, this little girl is pretty proud of her new skill of writing her name.

And this little guy thinks he's pretty cool in his latest winter attire.

Now if we can just survive yet another week of sub-zero temperatures. Fingers crossed March brings some relief! 

{ palm springs getaway }

I was lucky enough to have just spent 4 glorious days in Palm Springs, CA. It was absolute heaven! While MN is experiencing a unseasonably cold winter, the west coast is experiencing an unseasonably warm winter.

I traveled with two other moms and we headed out early Thursday morning just before the big snowstorm hit. We arrived in Palm Springs early enough to enjoy a beautiful day by the pool, even getting in a swim (though the pool was small so it was dizzying going back and forth!).

Did I mention how posh our hotel was? The Parker Le Meridien did not disappoint and goes down as one of the nicest boutique hotels I have ever stayed at.

Friday morning we got out of bed on the early side and drove out to Coachella Valley Preserve for a short hike. Beautiful sunshine and scenery!

The next two days and nights we spent doing much of the same......relaxing by the pool, getting cleaned up, heading out for dinner, and staying out way too late (haven't seen 3:00am and 4:00am on the clock since hmmmm, college?!).

While I was sad to say good-bye to Palm Springs to return to the frozen tundra, I was ready to get home to the three I love the most!

{ catching up }

It's been a few weeks since I last blogged and for no reason other than there isn't anything exciting to report! But, for the sake of the blog book, I decided to update and post a few pics to recap the last few weeks around here.

One word that could sum them up: COLD. I'm convinced we are never going to have even average temperatures. Oh, what I would do for 20s and sunshine! Needless to say, our time outside has been very limited which makes for stir crazy toddlers and parents that are going equally crazy.

We've tried out a few activities to keep busy inside. Bowling at the local alley was a hit!

As was the Children's Museum for the new dinosaur exhibit.

While at home super hero dress-up, Olympic watching and baking are all a hit.

During the week Oliver and Stella usually, if not for the cold, go to school 3 mornings a week and weekly swim lessons are in full force. They have come a LONG ways this session and are doing awesome!

I wish the same could be said for Oliver's soccer playing (or lack thereof)!

I was able to spend some time outside last week when I headed to The Lodge (Grandpa & Grandma C are away in FL for the month) with my running group. We had an amazing time trekking through the snow in the woods and across the lake. I was lucky enough to partake as my PT ok'd it and my hips felt okay during and after (it did take a lot of reminding to use my glutes the entire time).

As always, I value the time spent with these wonderful women and feel incredibly blessed to be a part of the group! 

Valentine's Day has been the highlight of this month to take our minds off of the cold. Oliver and Stella exchanged Valentine's with their classmates at preschool.

On Valentine's Day after a last minute play date cancellation, we loaded up and headed to the Mall of America to the Build a Bear Workshop. Grandma C had purchased discounts for Oliver and Stella to make their own stuffed animals at the store. Stella went with a giant My Little Pony and Oliver a blue dinosaur.

They got to pick a sound to put in the animals, help stuff them, and then "wash" them at the end.

And before leaving, we made birth certificates for Rocky and Sparky.

We're halfway through February......onward to March and warmer temps!

{ stitches for stella }

There is never be a dull moment around here! Stella had an ER visit a year or so ago for head stitches and decided yesterday that she needed a repeat visit. It wasn't as dramatic of a fall as Oliver's a few days earlier......she was playing in the living room and fell back and hit her head on the edge of the wall. I was in the other room and didn't even realize it had happened. She cried briefly to Chop and then continued to play.

About 20 minutes later we noticed she had red on the back of her shirt. I accused her of getting into red paint or nail polish to which she, of course, denied. I then noticed that she had the red "liquid" in her hair and at that point Chop said "oh, I wonder if she cut her head when she fell?". Yup, sure enough we found the cut after pulling back her hair.

It was difficult to tell if it was bad enough to need stitches. But thanks to my two hip surgeries, we have maxed out our out of pocket so the ER visit would be completely covered either way. So we erred on the safe side and Chop took her to Childrens. Oliver stayed here with me and commented "But I just miss Stella" and was reluctant to go to bed without them being back.

Stella was a trooper at the ER! She had the nurses "ooh-ing and aah-ing" over how cute she was and they all loved her owl boots. And she was treated like a queen.....getting popsicles and a little stuffed owl animal.

They gave her pain jelly and then put in the three stitches. Three hours later and she was good to go! They got home around 9:15 and she was happily chatting about her experience and showing me everything that they gave her. And then again in the morning she woke up chatting away about how much fun she had. She makes the ER sound like Disney!

Lets hope all the "owies" are behind us now!

{ thirty-six }

A certain someone turned 36 last Friday!

Oliver decided to make it extra memorable by greeting Chop at the back door, jumping up and down, and then losing his footing and falling all the way down the basement stairs. It was an awful sound that I hope I never have to hear again! He cut his eyelid and bruised his side but was otherwise okay. Whew!

Thankfully we were still able to continue with our dinner plans and headed downtown to Butcher & the Boar for a celebratory dinner and drinks with our friends Mike and Maryha. For anyone that knows the menu, it is basically meat, meat, and more meat. Just what the birthday boy wanted! With some yummy foodie sides like brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and smothered greens. Those were more for me, not him!

Cheers!

{ winter blues }

It's only mid-January and it already seems like this winter has gone on for a year! In between the crazy cold temperatures we get a day or so of decent temperatures that allow us to get outside. Last week when we ventured out to trek down by the creek. It got chilly by the time we got home and I said "Hurry guys, my hands are so cold they feel like icicles". To which Oliver exclaimed "Yeah, mine feel like popsicles".

Of course we needed hot chocolate when we got back inside.

Since we can't be outside much, we are keeping busy with indoor activities. Puzzles, puzzles, and more puzzles are the favorite around here these days.

Swim lessons are in full swing and Oliver is convinced that if he keeps going to lessons, he will be ready to jump off the boat at the Lodge alone this summer.....sans life jacket. 

This last weekend we had the most amazing, warm winter day. Finally! We trekked to a hill in Minneapolis for some sledding fun.

Oliver and Stella had a blast and were little daredevils.

I'm fairly certain though that Chop had equally as much fun! And a decent workout trekking up and down the hill with them.

I continue to swim for my workouts and am (mostly) enjoying it! My arms are now getting used to doing all of the work and I think I'm almost faster with a buoy than with kicking. I've built up to a continuous mile in the pool and can't wait to be able to do that on two feet running!

It was back to frigid temperatures today and school was cancelled again! Every mom in Minneapolis is starting to go crazy. And so are the kids that are stuck at home and inside!