It's official, I'm 30

I woke up this morning as a 30 year old...wait, i guess i went to bed as a 30 year old b/c it was well past midnight by the time i fell asleep. Can anyone tell that i am having issues with being 30. 30 just seems so old and i don't view myself as old.

Headed off to the hospital for a recertification class then picked up the kiddos. Grocery shopping, lunch, a little quiet time, and then playing with the kids...that was my day :)

After dinner, the boys sang happy birthday to me and i blew out my candles.

My two boys and i on my birthday :)

so my resolution for the next decade is to be a tad bit selfish and work on myself. I feel that my 20's were about finishing nursing school, getting married and being a wife, becoming a mom, breastfeeding, second pregancy, breastfeeding.....I feel like i finally have my body back and i can work on getting back in shape, eating healthy, and taking care of myself...or should i say pay a little more attention to myself. I definately don't mean that i will not pay attention to my little ones....how could you not do that. i had a hard time leaving them for the three days in chicago. i just hope i will make a little bit of time for myself.

the second thing i hope to do is make my family a little more healthy. be mindful of what we all eat, cut some sugar out, stay active as a family...not just me at the gym and the boys playing their sports. maybe i can pass on my love of hiking in AZ to the boys as they get a little older. and scott will pass on his love for baseball!

I look forward to the next 10 years. My, how the boys will grow, what fun vacations we will take, and how crazy it will get once they are both in school and all their school activities. oh gosh, i can't think about the next 10 years. let's just get thru this week!

This picture, i couldn't help but take. Owen fell asleep in the car after we went grocery shopping today....with a sucker in his mouth.

Girls trip to Chicago

It's a girl's weekend!!!! To celebrate my 30th bday, Emily, mom and i flew to chicago to do some shopping. It was a well needed trip...just time to get away...spend time with my mom and sister without little ones interupting our converstation. We flew out on Saturday morning and met up with my sister's good friend, Jen. She so kindly drove us to Bucktown so we could do some boutique shopping. We then caught the El and headed to our hotel...Intercontinental on Michigan Ave.


mom and em waiting for the train

yes, it was a tad bit chilly but really not that bad! it was actually nice to see the sun

We got ready for dinner and headed to a Tappas restaurant...yummy!

don't you just love the picture of us...via the huge mirror in our hotel room :)

Mom, myself, Emily, and Jen at the regal beagel...for after dinner drinks!

Happy V day! As Emily mentioned, we kinda felt like we were boycotting Valentine's Day b/c we left all our men back at home. Oh well, we still had a great day! It was off to Grand Luxe Cafe.

We met my mom's cousin, mary lou, for brunch. So nice of her to drive in from the burbs to have brunch with us.



mary lou and my mom

The Wolpers women...minus Katie. Where might she be??? Oh yea, she chose mardi gras in St Louis instead of our girls weekend. Ummmm, Katie, there is alcohol in Chicago too. But yes, us older women can't stay out til 3 o'clock in the morning like you can.

The rest of the day was shopping on Michigan Ave. And it always seems that when i have money to spend, i can never really find anything! So, for my birthday, mom bought me a pair of shoes from Nordstroms, underwear from Vic Secret, and i bought myself a bra from Vic Secret with $ that scott's mom gave me. Hummm, Scott may really like me modeling all the things i purchased :)

One other store we passed on our way back to the hotel was the Garmin store. Had to stop for a pic. They are the reason that my husband is employeed and they are paying our bills :)

Rather ironic that we woke up this morning, walked to Argo Tea for coffee/tea and muffins then waited around til 10am til Gap opened. Hummmm, 45% off everything in the store.....the race was on. Em and i were trying on clothes left and right. of course we were on a huge time schedule b/c we had to get to the airport to catch our flight. Just funny that we did the most shopping the last 30 minutes that we were on Michigan Ave....@ Gap, none the less. Although i got nothing fancy and all items came from stores that we have in KC, it was the simple fact that i got to spend some quality time with my mom and sister, and got to actually take time to walk into a store and look around...without kids saying "let's go mommy" or having to mess with a stroller. Is it bad that we are already wanting to plan our next girls get away??

Thanks mom and emily....i had a great time!!!! Katie, you missed out...maybe next time.

Valentine's Dance at Daycare

Friday the 12th was the Sock Hop dance at daycare. I didn't work but Ryan really wanted to go. So, we went. Ryan had a great time dancing with his friends. Owen was more interested in the long strings that were attached to the balloons...go figure!

Chicago, here i come

Busy day......laundry, working out, Target run, Valentine party at daycare, 4 hour night shift at work, and packing for Chicago!!!!

Yes, the dreaded 30th birthday is soon upon us....and for that reason, a girl must go shopping! Nothing better than heading to Chicago with your older sis and mom, doing some shopping, having some drinks, enjoying great food, sleeping in......

Yes, will miss my boys, but i welcome the little escape too:)

In other news around the house......

Owen loves to walk around and say "mom mom mom" esp if he wants something. He loves to tell you what santa says..."ho ho ho" and he loves to sing the ittsy bittsy spider. really he just does the hand movements of hte spider climbing up. His new favorite cartoon is Diego and he will only eat breakfast/lunch/dinner with his diego spoon and fork. he kinda hums the opening song to Diego....kinda cute.

Hummm, what's new with my big boy ryan? I do have to admit we are nto the greatest at remembering to say our prayers at night but last night, after laying down with him and asking about his day, i heard him quietly talking to himself. i asked what he was doing and he said "praying to God." made mommy smile :) He said he also helped out in worship yesterday while he was at school. the kids attend a christian daycare and they have worship at 8:30 every morning. he is super excited about his valentine party this afternoon. need to go buy some valentines at Target.

And so i better stop typing and get my day started.....have so much to do!!!

Arizona, here we come!

So Scottie caught me in a wak moment sunday night! we were discussing AZ and how much we both wanted to go. For those of you who don't know, we flown to the Phoenix area for hte past 6 years to see the Royals in spring training. Along with baseball, we hike in the morning, hit a few shopping places, and a few bars....to watch some basketball. Ideally, i shop while scott sits in a sports bar and watches the basketball :)

we call it our compromise trip b/c scott hikes with me in the morning and i attend the baseball games. We were discussing this weekend how we can't wait for warm weather, scott is looking forward to baseball, and i have been dreaming of Pinnacle Peak...a nice hiking trail in north Scottsdale. and so i gave in! For my own justification, we had one free flight on SWA, two free nights at a marriott hotel and i found a rental car for $30/day.

Scott and I so need this vacation! I kinda feel guilty that i will be in chicago next weekend for three days and then two weeks later, i will leave the boys for another three days but i need to be able to maintain my sanity! Can't wait to post pics from the Chicago and AZ trip. Oh warm weather, i can't wait to meet you again in a month!!

Happy birthday Ryan

Happy 4th birthday Ryan! Last weekend, we headed to Sedalia to celebrate ryan's birthday a weekend early. Ryan wanted choc cupcakes with blue icing. well, this is as creative as mommy got....considering i had just had foot surgery. A few days before the party, he informed me he wanted a baseball party....thank goodness the balloon store had Royals balloons!


Ry and Owen being silly before the party

mommy, daddy, and the birthday boy!

daddy and ry

Make a wish and blow out your candles.

Present time!

Grandma cathy bought him his very own batters glove. awesome!

It's perfect to go with his new bat and his new baseball glove.

Later that night, while daddy was at the mu game, ryan and owen shared some popcorn with papa larry.

And finally, Ryan's actual birthday....January 30th. mommy and daddy sang happy birthday to Ryan then he blew out his candles from his chocolate donut!

More presents to open.....

Then off to the movies...just the three of us. Thanks uncle matt, for watching owen.


Had to end with this picture.....while i was fixing dinner sunday night, owen decided he better reorganize the frig. Hey, whatever you gotta do to get food on the table!