I actually got out for lunch yesterday! I am a big fan of going to get food and eating it in my car by myself…it is quiet and I just enjoy it. But yesterday I met a good friend for lunch and had so much fun! I miss hanging out with my girlfriends. I email and text them all the time, but I rarely get out to see them. Love you Alli!

Ryan actually took yesterday off to stay home with Hazel. She has another ear infection. The pediatrician recommended going to the ENT to discuss tubes! Yeah! An appointment has been made for Monday and I am so excited.

When I picked Hagen up from school he asked where Hazel was. I told him that she stayed home because she is sick. You could tell his feelings were hurt that he didn’t get to stay home. He was really quiet last night and I think he was sad. After Hazel went to bed we hung out and he pepped right back up. Ryan had her dressed in a cabellas t-shirt with Pebbles on it and her jeans. She looked so cute in “Daddy attire”. He took her to Home Depot to get things to fix around the house and she napped. It was raining all day so he pushed her on the tricycle in the garage for a bit and they bounced a golf ball in the entryway for a long time. I think she had fun and he did too…it is amazing how easy it is with just one of them! Ha!

I’m getting my haircut today and part of me wants to just chop it off! It will NOT grow anymore and so maybe just chopping it off and starting over will help. We’ll see!!

When I took Hazel to the doctor the other day she weighed 18 pounds 4 ounces. Sweet baby girl. It took the doctor 45 minutes to come in! LOTS of sick little LITTLE babies she said. Hazel had to have ear wax dug out of her ear to check them. I’m telling you that was the WORST I have seen her cry! It was AWFUL! She had tons of buildup and it was so nasty.

I also found out my doctor and 2 of the backup ones that I would use have ALL resigned!! They supposedly treat the doctors there very poorly. I have another one I want to check out at another practice so I will be doing that. My doctor is going to go to a practice closer to her home which is too far for me. The one I want to look into has weekend hours and some days are later nights which would be GREAT!

That’s about it for now…
Carrie

This will be a whole lot of random...shocking huh? One morning while Ryan was hunting I took the kids to go feed the ducks! It was kinda dreary out...misty a bit. When we pulled up the ducks scurried off like they knew us. So we just threw the bread into the water so that they can have it for lunch. Hagen just wanted to throw things anyway so it worked out good.
I had my first mammogram the other week and it came back fine. I wasn't nervous but you know when you think of something too much you start to worry? Also all the horror stories you hear about them...it was nothing girls...honestly so easy.

I gave you a heads up so you can stop reading if you would like.

Every once in awhile Hagen will get a note on his paper...mostly when he has had a bad day.

Last night I took dinner to a friend and so Ryan picked up the kids from school. When I came home Hagen was SO excited to show me his daily sheet. It said, "Hagen is a hard, conscientious worker and is always trying to improve his skills. You should be very proud of him!"

I melted. It was the best part of my day! She said that after he finished his work he asked for more, and then more...she finally gave him a blank piece of paper and he wrote the alphabet in all caps and then in lower case without prompting.

I told her this morning how happy I was that he was doing well in Pre-K and she said that he is like having a teacher aide in class...he is helpful, loving, and just smart. (you can gag now) I am just so proud of him!

And then there is Hazel. Ryan said when he picked her up her teacher said she had a new trick. Ryan said, "Hazel, walk like a duck" and she put her hands behind her and wiggled her fingers. It was the cutest thing ever!

They are so far apart in their ages so the accomplishments are very different, but I just love it!!

I feel so blessed to have Hagen and Hazel in my life and to be their Mom...my sweet SWEET babies!!

Oh, but Hazel has started to hit...just me...mainly when I am changing her diaper or her clothes. She swats and I tell her no...she just stares at me almost as if she is saying, "just wait till I'm a teenager...this is just the beginning lady..."

Tata,
Carrie

I was curious so I pulled up some photos of Hagen when he was Hazel's age. Do you see a resemblance?
I'm not sure I do really...her hair is lighter for sure.

Today is my parents 41 year anniversary. To say that I am happy to be in their lives is an understatement!

My parents were as far from being alike as you can imagine. My Mom was truly a very innocent girl that didn't really come out from her comfort zone and my Dad...well let's just say he was quite the character!

They met on a street corner! no, Mom was not a hooker...they were at a light with their friend...Dad in his car and Mom in hers. Dad and his friend asked if they wanted to meet them for a drink. Mom quickly responded, "We don't drink!" Dad said, "well, then can I buy you a milk?"

So they went to McDonald's where Dad got Mom a carton of milk...and the love story began.

I have learned about how to raise a family of my own and how to love hard from my parents. There are so many things that I want to copy from how I was raised into raising Hagen and Hazel and the Saturday night date nights that my parents did is important too.

One main thing that I took was that we always ate as a family...at the kitchen table. And they always asked each of us how our day was. Those are things that I remember growing up and hope that Hagen and Hazel do too.

I feel so fortunate to have both of them in my life and live so close. I can honestly say that my Mom is my best friend and Ryan and Dad are pretty good friends as well...makes me happy!!

Happy anniversary Mom and Dad!! You guys are truly an inspiration!

Love,
Carrie

This is just a random post with random bits...

1. Ryan's company was acquired. This new company has a newsletter that goes out to the company every month. This is the first month that his company and people were included. Ryan was working at a client and the client named him "Supplier of the Month". In the newsletter they recognized him with a photo of him holding the award with a saying. The admin came to him and said, "what should we write?" Ryan jokingly said, "Due to Ryan Darney’s (the Project Manager) supreme
knowledge & good-looks this award came as no surprise." Guess what the newsletter said? Yep...it wasn't changed. Welcome to Apex Ryan!

2. I took Hazel to the grocery store with me last night. She LOVES the grocery store...I don't, but it helps that she is so excited to go. I got stopped by so many people telling me how cute she was. It is so nice to hear! I mean we all think our kids are cute, but when someone else stops you to tell you they are it is so fun. She was wearing a darling hat that was my brothers that ties under her chin to keep her ears warm...it's bright red.

3. Hagen had a rough day yesterday...didn't nap and was disruptive in class and was even in time out when I went to go get him. I told him no show and no iPad or explorer. He asked why no iPad or games and I said that when he is naughty I have to take something he likes away to teach him. He paused for a moment and said, "well my tools are my favorite thing so you should take those away." Basically telling me so that he could play his games...he hasn't played with his tools in months. Smart boy.

4. Ryan went hunting this past weekend and on Friday night I met my brother Adam (the nice one) at the park with his two kids and mine. We had happy meals and let the kids play. It was so fun! I haven't been able to hang with Adam in so long. I mean, we see each other often but it is usually the girls talking and the guys talking...and we are usually running around chasing kids. Love him...he is such a good seed.

5. Hagen has been telling me that he can't wiggle his toes. I thought maybe he pulled his socks on too high (because I suck at parenting). Come to find out he was wearing size 7 and 8 shoes and he is a 9!! That boy is in a growth spurt! So now I have ONE pair of shoes for him...new tennies. I got a size 10...I cannot fathom him only having one pair, but am going to hold off until I find the perfect pair of shoes. Big boy.

6. Ryan and I have been in LOVE with a new salad. It's Kale salad! Sounds gross huh? It is wonderful. More work than a normal salad but worth it!!

7. So on Saturday morning Hagen had an 8:00 soccer game which meant we had to leave the house at 7:15...remember Ryan out of town. I would have skipped the game but they were having pictures afterwards. So we went. Thank the LORD Aunt Kristen showed up! She surprised us! She took Hagen to the potty in the middle of the game and then walked around with Hazel while I was dealing with the team photo stuff. It would have been a nightmare with Hazel. That night we went to Courtney's basketball game. Tell you what...12 year old girls are TOUGH!!!! It was crazy! Court is the smallest but man, she is MIGHTY!!

8. On a VERY serious note my friend's husband was diagnosed with testicular cancer. He is about to start chemo for about 6 weeks. It is so surreal having someone close to you going through it...and a friend...someone that is my age. It's just not supposed to happen to friends. He is in great spirits but worried about things. He is in sales and will lose his hair..."how will people respond" "what are the kids going to think or how are they going to react?" etc. They have two boys...4 and 6. Say some prayers if you are into that kind of thing. Tell you what...his wife is one strong lady so he has her to lean on for sure.

9. I had SUCH a scare last Friday! My dad travels some for his business. He is in Oil and Gas exploration and so sometimes goes out to wells in the middle of nowhere and is up for days at a time sleeping an hour here or there. He usually calls Mom before she is going to bed around 10:30 at night to touch base. Well, on Thursday she talked to him in the afternoon and he was getting a cold. She wasn't surprised that he didn't call at 10:30...but he didn't call the next morning and she was expecting him to be on his way home. He wasn't answering calls, texts, or anything. I called a guy that works with him in the area and he said a hotel he sometimes stays at ...I called and he wasn't there. Come to find out he was just out cold...slept for 16 hours straight and through all the phone calls! I had SUCH a bad feeling...like he was mugged or shot. Oh the thoughts that went through my head. Dad will have a "What the hell were you thinking" talk next time I see him!! :)

I have a meal in the crock pot tonight...love days like that!!

Tata,
Carrie

As I look back at 2011 it makes me smile. It was tough, but not unexpected. Ryan traveled a lot, I started back at work with a newborn and a 4 year old, and work was crazy busy…which in the recruiting field is great! Hazel went from waking up many times during the night to sleeping A LOT and Hagen has grown up a lot too…his writing has improved, he is learning to add and spell and can even read some words. It’s so exciting to see what all he learns in Pre-K.

One thing that I say every year is I want to make better decisions on things I eat, get more active, play more with the kids, and get out more!

I still need to continue to make better decisions about what I eat on a MORE regular basis. We typically eat together as a family for dinner, but sometimes Ryan and I will have something that the kids probably won’t eat/like so I resort to giving them frozen food (chicken nuggets, fish sticks, meatballs, and (gasp) kid cuisine meals). Those nights I do not feel so proud of myself to be honest. Hazel was such a good eater in the beginning but has now gotten to where she gets her plate…looks around to see what everyone else has, looks back at hers and if it is different she will beg and whine for your food…you give her some and she takes it out of her mouth and puts it in her chair. She gets in trouble for dropping food over the edge of her highchair, so now she just puts it in the chair where she is sitting…next to her leg. Hagen is getting slower and slower about eating. He just likes to talk and talks instead of eating so we now resort to setting the timer for 10 minutes after everyone but him are done. He gets a piece of candy if he is done and drinks all his milk. Hazel has caught onto this and is now standing by the fridge looking up to the top with her hands in the air…she knows what’s up there.

Getting active. I have worked out more this year than I have in years, but it is not consistent. I’m not looking to drop a lot of weight. I just want to tone things up (you know, get things on my body where they are SUPPOSED to be?) and try to ward off diabetes and lower the cholesterol. I’m not one to run around in the yard or play chase in the house. Ryan does that a lot and I go do things that need to get done. I feel bad writing that…I wish I was that active fun Mom…I mean, I am fun but just not in a “Let’s go kick the soccer ball around” kind of way. I can’t wait till both kids can ride their bikes and we can go on bike rides. THAT to me sounds like so much fun!! I remember doing that when I was a kid…the ole family bike rides…so fun!

As far as getting out more, I tried to. I started a dinner thing with some mom’s from the daycare and it just failed. Most of the ones I handpicked to be in “da club” have traveling hubby's so it wound up being me and one or maybe two ladies. I gave that up. Ryan and I just are home bodies! We would much rather hang around the house and do things here than go out somewhere and do things. Our date nights on the patio have been SUCH a huge jump in our marriage. We talk for hours about anything and everything, it’s free, and it is so much fun! We try to get as much chores done on Saturday so that we can relax and have fun that night knowing we were productive. Hagen likes to hang with us for a bit before bed and I think he enjoys it too…cuddling up with us and watching football.

This new year’s we actually had a “Party”! OK, so not much of a party but…

Tommy and Jacki came over with Tori (6) and Kati (4) around 5:00. We had a nice dinner (smoked chicken, kale salad, and rice pilaf) and then played outside since it was 70 degrees! It was SO fun! Hazel went to bed around 7:00 and Hagen and the other girls were up till 10:30 which is SO late for Hagen! They played hide and seek, all the toys, bounce house, ride on toys, poppers, etc. One of the main reasons it was so nice is that we didn’t have to hover over Hagen and the girls. They have grown up so much that we can leave them unsupervised to play in the other room, etc. It was fun to talk with Jacki for hours about everything and Ryan and Tommy got to catch up as well. Friends are so important. Life is busy, but I need to make a commitment to hang with my friends more.

Sweet story: The other morning I got the kids set up for breakfast while I took a shower and got ready for work. While I was in the shower Hagen came in and said, “Mom…uh…Hazel sneezed and it’s…pretty gross mom. It’s hanging down to her shirt.” He wasn’t acting crazy; more concerned…maybe a bit grossed out. I told him I would be right there when I got dried off. I was getting out of the shower and he came in and said, “Mom, I cleaned her up…it’s OK”

I walked into the kitchen and there they were eating their granola bars smiling. I saw a tissue that was pretty nasty and he really did clean her up good! I was SHOCKED! I told him how proud I was of him for taking care of his sister without anyone telling him to do it. I asked him if he felt proud of himself and you could tell he was…had that sideways smile with a gleam in his eye. My big boy.

Hagen has had moments where he wants to be by himself…get away from Hazel for a little time. So his Tee Pee is his area. He can go in there with his iPad and close it up and we will let him have his time. It is a great little get away for him!!

Hazel went to school today sporting two FULL pony tails! I usually just put her top hair in and leave the mullet down, but this morning I pulled the back hair up too. SO cute…she is getting so big. She really isn’t talking but I’m not worried…more worried about when she starts and doesn’t stop! Ha!

Cheers to the New Year…no resolutions, but want to make good decisions and be happy!

Tata,
Carrie