Busy Life, Busy Mom, Busy Dad

I know I have been MIA all summer.  I haven't had a computer that types (just the mouse worked) AND while an iPhone is very handy, in no way is it handy enough to blog on! ;)
After having GeekSquad service my computer 5 times since May, they finally junked my old one and gave me a new one! Yay! I knew there was a reason I bought that protection plan!!

At this point, my blog seems very overwhelming.  I know so much has changed and happened for our family over the summer.  I have so much to say that I don't really know where to begin.

I will start with myself and our family as a whole:
I have been working on taking full charge as CEO of our house.  And this is not in an annoying controlling way, but in the way that I am trying to have as little on our "to-do" list for when Ryan gets home from work and school.  In the past I really counted on Ryan to help out with everything, (Laundry, cooking, cleaning, errands etc.)  I had my good and bad days and weeks, but overall, I have been getting better at it.  Staying home full-time has come as a very slow adjustment for me.  And, if I were honest, I am still adjusting.  I do still crave the schedule and the pay check, but mostly the adult interaction!!
Our family was invited to join a movement within the Catholic Church, School of Community, this spring by one of our new neighbors.  We still feel and know that we are just getting our feet wet in it during our weekly family meetings.  However, what we do know is that we have made life long, amazing friends.  One of the parts I have found myself building my weeks around is the weekly "mom" meetings.  I know there is a huge stigma around SAHMs sitting around drinking coffee all day gabbing with girlfriends and doing Nothing.... blah, blah, blah!  However, for 2 -3 hours every Monday we meet, drink coffee (and loads of it at that!) talk about God and being a mom/wife. These are the 2 biggest things in my life right now, duh!  And, I know that as I get through every week, these women are praying for me and supporting me as I do my best to be the best mom and wife I can be!
In May 2011 Ryan and I excitedly agreed to co-chair the finance committee for the Nativity County Fair.  I went to Nativity for grade school, taught preschool there for 5 years before staying home with our kids, served on the pastoral council for 6 years and much more....needless to say this was an honor for Ryan and I!  We co-chaired with another couple last year and this year it was on our backs!  There were was a lots of running back and forth from Woodbury to Nativity on short notice, meetings and bank runs in preparation for the fair.  It was like having a part time job for a couple months before the fair in September.  The fair weekend was crazy busy.  We were in the counting room from open to close everyday and JR and SJ stayed the weekend between my parents and Ryan's parents.  It was a huge joint effort on every one's part, but all in all we had fun, the boys had fun and I like to think the grandparents had fun on the little sleep they got with their wild grandsons at their house for the weekend!  We are looking forward to passing the baton on to our co-chairs.... next year we just need to oversee everything and be available to answer questions -- easy peasy! ;)
Ryan's Our cousin, Chrissy and her 4 wonderful children moved up to MN this summer from AZ!  I have always loved spending time with Chrissy and her kids every time I went to AZ, but now she is in Woodbury with me! YAY!  Honestly, we have both been super busy, she has been settling in to her house, the kids at their new school and her at school as well.  I was busy with the kids while  Ryan has been at school, the Nativity fair and still getting settled in to our "new" home too.  We have had a few play dates, but really we both know that it is just the beginning of play dates! I will continue to hope for a mild winter for you Chrissy ...and me too! ;) Welcome to Minnesota!!
I was in Ryan's our cousin, Lisa's wedding on September 1st.  (I would like to say, even though these cousins are on Ryan's side, I do consider them mine too! I just don't want to confuse who's side of the family everyone is on.  At the end of the day, we are all ONE family!)  First, Lisa had a super fun bachelorette weekend away at her aunts cabin.  Honestly, I was very nervous.  I had never left the kids overnight, and for sure not for a weekend.  I had emails coming in one after the next about the Nativity County Fair and Ryan had finals for his MBA classes that week.  However, there was a very loud voice in my head screaming at me that I needed to get away, I needed to go be with my girlfriends and not talk kids, baby's, pregnancy, laundry, mini-vans etc.  I just need to talk girl talk for a bit!  And that is what we did.  We wore comfortable clothes, ate yummy food (duh!) and drank enough to keep everyone smiling happily.  We shopped, crashed a band- well, Lisa and Ellen crashed the band (AKA took over lead vocal and tambourine) went for one heck of a walk, stargazed, laughed, cried and sang some more.  Just what I needed to fill up my cup.  It was the best way I could imagine spending my first weekend away from my kids- with Ryan at home with them! :)  While we were shopping on Saturday afternoon in Herbster, WI, I spotted a ring that instantly was calling for one of my fingers.  I am not a huge sucker for jewelry, nor do I expect it to be wrapped in a little box at holidays and birthdays, I do like it-- I am still a girl!  I took (a few) pictures of this ring I had set eyes on to show Ryan (for a few years from now when things like jewelry could be in our budget) and happily left the store dreaming about the "someday" a ring like that would be mine.  Well.... a few shenanigans later, we were back at the cabin hanging out when, Lisa and Alexis (and a dead stuffed squirrel) presented me with the ring from the little shop I had seen earlier in the day!  Alexis and Lisa really went above and beyond and I wear that ring everyday as a reminder of many things, but to name a few: friendship, family, girls weekends and Lisa's bachelorette! I realize I haven't even gotten to the wedding-- it was on Sept. 1 at the U of M Campus Club.  Lisa and Cliff exchanged vows, snapped amazing in-love pictures, and we danced the night away!
Jana did amazing mural painting in the boys room's over the summer.  I wish I could put into words the time, energy, love, and talent their rooms scream when you walk into them.  First she did Stephen's, his room is an African Safari.  Fully equipped with Dave the elephant (blue sunglasses and all!), zebras, giraffes, Curious George, birds and the vegetation that all looks like you are in Africa!  Even more, she and Steve re-painted Ryan's firetruck bed that Steve made Ryan when he was a toddler.  They painted it to resemble a safari truck --tan, big wheels and an open back.  It is perfect.   She then moved on to John's room-- an Arizona desert.  More specifically, there are specific cacti that John knows from traveling to AZ to visit Jana and Steve at their retirement home so much in his little life, Pinnacle Peak (or as John calls it, "Cat Mountain") and of course animals: cattle, horse, owl, a red lizard, and a big coyote.  Bed time used to be a bit of a struggle...now they love it!    Thank you again Jana for turning their rooms into Arizona and Africa, I am still in awe!
Ryan has of course kept (sometime's too) busy.  He is still at 3M and is continuing to plug away at his MBA.  He took 2 classes over the summer and is in another 2 this fall.  I don't have much else to report as work and school quickly take over his life.  However, he takes his weekends very serious -- seriously family time.  He has been amazing at having as little scheduled on the weekends, and what ever we were doing included everyone- Ryan, Myself, John and Stephen.  If we needed to replace deck boards, we all worked on it, raking this fall- everyone helped.  Ryan has a special gift of making the "chore list" into family bonding time.  I know the boys and I love when Ryan announces another project we need to do. ;)


I have so much to say about the boy's and their summers... I will have to do another post. :)
Check back!!