January Jumble

I keep wondering when I'll stop being so awed by our new mountain views.

 

Broncos!!!

silly selfies....

 

Hayes is always stealing my hearts but surrounds himself with them and never chews them.

We're making progress with connecting the sight words to different writing.   I'm hoping using these to start sentences will help them stick more as seeing the sight words in books is still not clicking consistently.

Our downtown REI adventures are delightfully predictable but we need to allocate more time to discuss and observe sky scraper building. 

a budding friendship 

shopping and sushi date night 

Nana knew I had been looking for an affordable frame-less mirror for months. 

This is the second one.  The one she picked up for me was on the wall for less than a whole second before it bounced and crashed to the floor because neither Ryan nor I read the explicit and large hanging instructions. :(

 

We had taken Ryan's car on errands but we couldn't all fit with the replacement mirror so Ben and i had to kill time at Guitar Center, aka, heaven if you are #brh, while Ryan ran it home.  Did you know they have silent drums?? This was new to me but is high on the list of gifts Ben might receive in the future. 

I'm constantly trying to get a decent pic of these two in their new H hats.  Still trying.... 

 

Ben DID NOT want to leave school one day and leave PoPo head behind.

(His first speech therapist used Mr. Potato Head and called him PoPo because it was so much easier to say.)  I reminded Ben he had a whole family of Potato heads at home and this has been the coffee table frequently since.  It's all thanks to a new love of Toy Story and PoPo is now Picasso. ;)

 

There's a long story about logs...I'll spare you.

What playground?  I just want to eat snow.  

This pic was a good reminder we actually got snow this month.

 

Someone is quickly gaining on their brother.

 

Powerball skyrocketed to a record $1.5 BILLION+ this month.  

I am not writing this from a laptop on a yacht, so we did not win. 

Would I change the blog name to,  It all began with Ben and a billion?

At long last, Ben had begun conquering tree climbing.  I've always told him he can climb as high as he can get, which hasn't been far until this year.  Now I have to tell him to stop so he doesn't get higher than I can save him.

This is the "sleeping branch," now known as the "sleeping tree." 

We finished the month painting the family room.  After the undesired blue tones in the other paint, I was VERY careful to get a true light, cool gray.  9 samples later, I got just that.  

Finished pics in February.....

dinner club

In terms of social happenings, we couldn't have moved in next to better people.  Dick and Sarah live next door with their three kids and Dick could be named the neighborhood social director and connector.  When people ask where in the neighborhood we moved, I simply reply with, "Do you know Dick and Sarah?" and it hasn't failed me yet.

Last night they invited us to join in a rotating neighborhood dinner club.  They served three kinds of tacos and we all brought sides.  There were 5 couples total and it was great to meet some other neighbors.  I may have also scored a babysitter in one of the couple's daughters.  
There was a little mis-communication between Ryan and Dick regarding babysitters so thankfully Nana and Papa came to our rescue in that department.  I knew two men planning a whole evening was too good to be true, but I tried to let it go.  It all worked out in the end and all of us learned a thing or two about follow-up.;)

It was so kind of our new neighbors to include us and I'll offer to host soon.  Sadly I did not scare my new acquaintances with copious picture taking but I'll be sure to if we're invited back.

loved

Surprise gifts from afar started delighting me days in advance of my birthday. 
First, was this sign.....

.....and beautiful flowers.

The sign was one I was planning on ordering from the cousin of a friend.  I had given her this quote idea many months ago, but hadn't gotten around to ordering.  My friend Tisha spied my communication with the maker on Facebook and snuck in and ordered it.  When I attempted to order it, the maker said she was swamped and that it would be a few weeks.  Needless to say, I was quite shocked and delighted.

The day before my birthday, Ben and I had a grand adventure downtown and I got a call about a flower delivery.  I assured them they could leave them on the porch as it was a gorgeous day and boy was I wowed when we arrived home!! Molly had had a really hard time arranging the order and delivery from Singapore, but the sweet girls at their shop in Park Hill took all her info via text and email.  The customer service was amazing and they are by far the most beautiful arrangement I've ever received.  

The love kept coming on my birthday when I woke up to flowers from my boys and Ryan made me breakfast before he headed to work.  Sadly, MeeMee arrived home from her girls trip to fetch Oenghus looking like death warmed over.  I didn't mind her and her cough ducking out on dinner.  Nana and Papa arrived with more incredible flowers and my favorite appetizers.  

I had made pasta sauce the day before and really just wanted my favorite comfort food and the love of my family surrounding me.  Dinner was delicious, as was the Harvey Wallbanger cake my boys made.

Ben climbed up to help me open my cards and gifts and with each one said, "I need to go find Woody!"  It turned out his card for me featured Woody from Toy Story and one of us carried it around for days. ;)

I received lots of other wanted and delightful gifts including this watch from my mom and dad.  Not only is it a perfect combo of rose gold and navy, but the sentiment, while not driving me to drink early, (most days) does remind me to relax and not take life so seriously.  

Cole and Amy took me us out to the new(ish) Viewhouse Centennial location.  The food was surprisingly great for bar food and the signature cocktails did not disappoint.  We vowed to have an Uber-riding, day-drinking, double-date here this Summer to enjoy the views and rooftop patio.

Thank you so much to everyone for the beautiful gifts, well wishes, and expressions of love.  I feel so blessed to be living this life surrounded by such amazing people.  Somehow it just keeps getting better and I'm excited to see what's next.

:::36:::

Thirty. Six. feels good.  As it should, it feels more mature than 30 in a good, "naw, I've got this," way but also not quite on the downward slide to 40 that I anticipate 38 will bring.  This new home and neighborhood are forcing me to redefine myself in unexpected ways but that will be fun, too.  I continue to miss my roles volunteering at Ben's old school and the relationships I had there.  I know they took time to develop (I didn't do a thing the whole first year he was there,) so I'm letting that be a bit.
"Letting it be" is going to be a resounding theme this year.  As much as this type-A Capricorn can.  First, lets revisit how I did this year on last year's goals.

Last year I wanted to...
-date my mom and sister more
-do more impromptu entertaining
-keep on letting go
-take care of me
-advocate for Ben

I did successfully date my mom and sister more until sister skipped off to Singapore.  I did suggest a girl date when she was home, though, and I keep trying with my mom who is hard to pin down because she's always giving and volunteering.  We should all be more like her in that respect. 

I did a little more impromptu entertaining at Josephine and have done lots in the new house.  Bronco's Sundays are becoming almost regular and some more seating and maybe, maybe, a bigger TV will seal that deal.

I have a good friend who says life just gets better and more "zen" as we age and she's right.  The letting go gets easier and easier and focusing on what's truly rewarding (what fills up my cup at the end of a long day) gets lots easier.

We joined a gym in November that has a great kids play area so I've done a decent job of working out and taking care of me.  The results come MUCH more slowly at 36 than they did a couple years ago, but I ate without restraint over the holidays and lost a couple pounds so I'll call that a victory.  The social time for Ben really motivates me to keep at it.  That and being flanked by swimming pools where we will undoubtedly live this Summer.

I'm becoming an old pro at advocating for Ben.  It was successful in Denver and we had to fight a little after we moved to keep him in preschool.  I still shudder at the stress and sleepless nights I had when we were in the trenches of this, but it's made me a stronger mama and confident in my abilities to seek and secure what's best for Ben.

So, "check," I don't think I let myself down last year.  I never would have guessed I'd be typing this post from a different house this year, and despite that, I am happy with my progress.  I am definitely less stressed here, as is my whole family, with more room to roam and breathe and less fear of crime and traffic, etc.  The peace and privacy are nice but I do really miss our home and neighbors.  Thankfully, we've hit the neighbor jackpot here for the third time and attacking the curb appeal this house lacks this Summer will go a long way in making it feel like home.

This year my list of goals are different and short, but that feels right.  I've done a good job the last couple months about being more realistic with what I can accomplish in a day and what's really important for my family.  Often that means 2+ hours at the playground throughout the day and toilets and floors that are a couple days past dirty.  Rather than over-scheduling, I set a couple small goals each day and the extra I accomplish is just a bonus.  This means I end 98% of days feeling satisfied and accomplished rather than stressed and behind.  So, this year I'm going to work hard to keep that up.

I'm also going to push myself out of my comfort zone a bit.  My goal is to take 3 classes at the gym by the end of the year.  I hope I find something I love that pushes by body in a new way.  I love the solace of working out but admittedly the unknown, and the putting myself and all my clumsy glory on display in front of others is terrifying.  So, 3 classes!  I also want to learn how to use the chop saw.  There have been a couple projects around the house this year that I've waited and waited (probably 2 days) for Ryan to complete and thought there's little reason for me not to know how to use that thing.  So, this year chop saw...next year, drill press-oooooooh!

Finally, I need to focus lots on our new family member, Hayes.  It takes work to train a dog that's an enjoyable addition to a family.  I worked really hard with Anna, though I'm still convinced she was super-natural. ;) and Luke just fell into place firmly under her.  Admittedly he is slow to respond has selective listening and poor leash skills.  He's always been chill enough that it mostly doesn't matter.  Hayes is already more feisty and though he's quite delightful, I want to keep him that way.  He responds to "no" very well and is sitting on command but it's time to take his training to the next level.  For me, writing it down often makes it happen and there is little more rewarding than a well-trained dog.  So, Hayes I've got your number Buddy, and we have dates-lots of them!

Well, it all sounds pretty easy and delightful to me, but isn't that the goal of life sometimes.  A healthy dose of terrifying mixed with lots fun and continually less stress.  At times it feels like it borders on boring, but the end of last year was anything but and right now I welcome it.  Really letting Ben play and be a kid is so rewarding and so sadly fleeting that it's more than enough right now.  Come on, 36, show me what you got!!

getting to be time

Today Ben mentioned, out of the blue, ........

"Mom, I think it's getting to be time for Grayson's birthday party when we go ice skating."

Whoa! Well...

"You're right bud.   Grayson's birthday is next month, but I'm not sure he'll have another skating party, or if we'll be invited. Ok?"

"okay."


Some of the details this kid remembers about activities and when they happened are so shocking.  He is sadly and scarily becoming a super-planner.  I know all  most kids thrive with a plan and routine, but asking about next weeks menu when I've just planned this one, makes even me roll my eyes.  

His sense of direction and spatial planning are mind-boggling.  I remember him being keenly aware of the direction of familiar places when we were at new places as early as age 3, but last week we were driving from one place to another that we'd never gone directly from and to.  We turned to drop Papa Jim off at home and Ben instantly knew we were off course.

I hope this sense will serve him well when he's out in the woods on his epic exploration adventures that I just know are coming.

a New Year and a warm house

As the holidays drew near, I kept toying with the idea of a New Year's Day open house.  It fell on a Friday this year, and with the whole week to prepare and the whole weekend to recover, I thought it might be fun.  There's also nothing like a gathering to help motivate one to get S done.  While the list of to-do's is long with the new house, now our nearest and dearest can say they "saw it when."  Also, life is short, and people are pretty happy with football, food, and a clean bathroom or two. :)....and they were.
We began at 11 am and told people to come whenever throughout the day and into the evening.  There was a nice, natural split with a big group leaving and another coming about 10 minutes apart.   Throughout the day we had about 50 adults and lots of kiddos.  I got to meet lots of Ryan's co-workers and their better-halves, which was fun.
As most of us are old and have kiddos, there weren't many hangovers to cure, but Jill and Cole were in really rough shape.  We had spent NYE at Jill and Jason's and thanks to a puppy with a tiny bladder, were home by 10pm.  Apparently the Fireball didn't stop flowing for those two until nearly 6 am, and thanks to nice weather, they didn't spend much time inside at our house. ;)

Our only capture of NYE revelry

I'm pretty sure I hardly sat down until about 6pm and our last guests left about 9.  I also took very few pictures but my warm home and heart will carry me far into the New Year.  It was delightful to spend the beautiful day with family and friends, old and new.  

mules, mary's and blood orange vodka soda's were the specialties of the house

sweet Emmaline loved Hayes and he loved her right back

total chaos and the reason the basement will be the last thing we renovate

A is for super Alaina

 
And, as I'd hoped, the party was just the push we needed to get the office and basement bedroom unpacked and in order.  You could hardly walk into the office at Christmas and the basement bedroom housed everything we hadn't unpacked and lots of to-be-stored items.  By that Friday morning, the office was in tip-top shape and the bedroom was empty except for an extension of the basement playroom for the kids.  Now I vow not to start another project until February, but........we'll see. ;)

Happy, Happy 2016! I wish you health, happiness and whatever makes your 

heart sing in the new year.