Beach - Zoo - Friends = One Great Weekend!

We all had a pretty good week at work and school.  Maci had a petting zoo come to school on her 18 month birthday (23rd) and she called every animal "PUPPY!"  She also got to have water day on her 18 month birthday - what a great 1/2 birthday!!!  I got to work from home on Thursday after a 3 day workshop ended early and I got quite a bit done - has me pondering the idea of scheduling at least 1 day a month to work from home to have quiet "GET STUFF DONE" days!

Petting Zoo Fun!

 Water Day, Cottage Cheese and 18 month birthday - does it get much better?!

Ha this squirrel is the new class pet that they watch through the window

Friday - Wahoo the weekend is here!  Stephen from next door came over to babysit Maci so Clint and I could have date night with our friends Jamie and Mike.  We went to Ciao Bella for dinner, food was decent and the wine was even better :)  Jamie and I had quite a few glasses and all of us enjoyed nice adult conversation minus the kiddos!

Saturday - In the morning we ran errands and after nap time we took advantage of the HOT almost 90 degree weather.  One of the many reasons we love Minneapolis is the massive amount of lakes/beaches right in our backyard.  Maci had a great time showing off her swim lesson skills and learning how to build sand castles.  After the beach we grabbed some ice cream before heading home.

Maci then took a late nap while we did some yard work.  She woke back up around 630p and played out in our newly complete backyard!  It is so nice to have an oasis out back not only for us but also a wonderful play land for our lil lady.  After she went to bed, I did a little bit of work email out back while Clint finished some yard work.  Later in the evening our neighbor Eric and his girlfriend Becca came over for a few drinks and a fire in our fire pit.  Such a nice night!

Sunday - What a busy fun day!  Clint went golfing with Mike (friend from our Friday night dinner) while Jamie and I met up for some mother/daughter zoo fun.  Today we went to the Como Zoo (2 zoos in the twin cities area).  The Como zoo is a free zoo in St Paul and we had a blast.  We got there right when it opened at 10a and left around 1p.  The girls had so much fun looking at the animals, watching the seal show and riding the carousel before heading home for naps.

After nap time, we were off again but this time to our friend Melissa and Josh's house for some mommy & me BBQ time.  It has been far too long since we have seen some of the families.  Of the 9 of us, 4 are now pregnant with their 2nd and those of us that weren't pregnant were happy to raise a beer in their honor ;-)  We were so busy watching 9 toddlers running around the house that we didn't have time to take any pictures but is crazy how big they are all getting!  Today's main event was eating crayons and fighting over an Elmo cell phone - a lot better I guess than crying for bottles :)

We are now getting Maci ready for bed and starting to plan out this next week.  Clint is in Milwaukee with work needs Tues-Fri of this week.  Maci has a school Luau Tuesday evening and her 18 mo doctor check up Thursday morning so I will stay busy without dad around to share the load :)

Have a great week!
Lots of Love,
C, K & M

Toddler Tantrums & Migraine Headaches

We had a nice week getting back into our work/daycare routines now that dad is home.  Monday night, I had to get a filling fixed :( but Maci had a fun day at daycare with it being Vikings day.  The mascot even came to visit but Maci and all the toddlers were terrified of the Viking, they finally found something that scares Maci girl HA.

The rest of the week was pretty uneventful.  Thursday brought on the end of the work week and dad golfed at night with some friends while Mom and Maci had fun taking selfie pictures a nice dinner date at The Noodle Co, we shared a big bowl of go figure, Mac N Cheese!

Friday - Maci got to have fun during water day at school.  Then at night, Maci, Clint and I had a fun family evening at the local park/splash pad.  We picked up dinner and had a picnic before letting Maci have some fun in the splash pad.  We wrapped up the night on the swings!  Such a fun time!!

Of Course Maci finds the mud at daycare!

Saturday - We were super productive during the day and enjoyed our anniversary at night!  Maci was watched by neighbor Stephen while we went to Benihana for dinner and then Crave for a drink before heading home.  We were in a food coma by bed time :)

A fun 6 year journey thus far!

Sunday - I woke up with a horrible migraine and Maci slept like crap! :(  She was up twice at night, tried to sleep with us and then chose not to nap during the day.  Needless to say a cranky toddler and a migraine made for a LONG Sunday afternoon.  It is only 10 to 7 and I am already ready for bed :(  Here's hoping we have a great week and the headache is gone soon!

Lots of Love,
C, K & M

DAD IS HOME!

This work week went by so fast!  Wednesday night I had a networking happy hour so our neighbor Stephen watched Maci for me and on Thursday afternoon we had a "World Cup" soccer tournament at work which was fun but has left me sore still heading into Monday HA  Finally it was Friday and Clint safely returned around 10a.  After getting home, showering, cleaning up the house a bit - he picked up Maci early and brought her into Cargill for a Friday afternoon visit.  Clint says that Maci was getting her diaper changed at daycare in the bathroom area but she heard him talking from the other room and started saying "DADDY?!" and then squealed when she saw him, so sweet!  We were all very happy to have him home!

How Maci wants to play in her water table out back

Picnic at Daycare!

Girl Loved her Ravioli!  

Friday - After I got out of work, I joined the rest of my lil family at Champs for some yummy dinner and of course Maci had her go to mac & cheese.

Saturday - We had our typical errands throughout the day but even more now that dad is back home and we are working on some home projects.  That night Clint and I had our good friends' Trip and Lori's going away party since they are moving with Cargill to Milwaukee in early August.  It was a great party and the house we were at was GORGEOUS and they were amazing hosts!  Stephen from next door watched Maci again, we can't have him leave to college in a few weeks!!!!  =(

Sunday - Today we had the 5k Color Run which was a part of the MLB All Star Game weekend since the game is here in Minneapolis this year.  This was really fun!  It was good that I didn't figure out a sitter for Maci because she gave me an excuse to walk :) but her and I ran through each color shoot together where they splash you with dyed corn starch.  Maci LOVED it and it was soooo cute to jog with her across the finish line.  When she is an amazing athlete one day, I will remind her of these SLOW 5ks with her Momma!  As usual she was quite the star of the show, especially during the after run party where they had color falling from the sky, house party music and she was shaking her booty with several other college age girls.  At one time, multiple people were video taping and taking pictures with our daughter - she may be all over the Internet right now or being used in their promo materials for next year - HA!  We were then super lazy the rest of the day because well running in the sun is exhausting for anyone - let alone someone still sore from soccer and a guy who is still jet lagged :)

Group Photo of the Cargill Runners

Peter, me, SVO, Clint, Danny & Miss M

 The Mondell's Post Color Run!

Maci had so much fun and this expression isn't doing her fun justice!

 YAY All Star Weekend Fun!

We both have a fairly busy week coming up but this is my last real "busy" week of compensation work so I am almost fully into 1 full time job and not trying to play in multiple spaces which is a good feeling!  Oh and Maci has to wear Vikings gear tomorrow because the mascots are coming to her daycare. . .she is lucky her mom loves these themes and was ok buying her some Vikings gear instead of just Bengals stuff :-)

Lots of Love,
C, K & M

Girls Only - Mommy/Maci Long Holiday Weekend!

Clint left for Africa last Sunday =(  While we really miss him, Miss M and I have had some nice mommy/daughter bonding time too . . . with only a few temper tantrums in-between.  This past work week was fairly quiet which was nice since I had to be mom and dad all week long.  Most people took Thursday off work to make it a 4 day weekend so I was able to get caught up on some outstanding items.  Maci and I then kicked off our fun weekend plans!

Thursday night - Maci and I ate Chipotle (she loves the Taco Kit off the kids menu) and then when she went to bed, I got a ton of work stuff done, definitely sounds nerdy but it felt good to know I got something checked off my to do list when I had nothing else to be doing besides catching up on some old movies in the background :)  However, I lost my mind and stayed up until 1a and totally forgot I had a child that will wake up by 6a so I started a tail spin of too little sleep all weekend long :(

SO MUCH HAIR!

Friday - HAPPY 4th!  Maci and I got some Bruegger bagel for breakfast, played at the house and ordered pizza for dinner.  We had a pretty chill day just the two of us before we headed to fireworks that night with Maci's best friend Natalie and her parents.  Maci LOVED fireworks. . . she kept saying Ohhhh and BOOM!  It was cute to watch how in awe she was of the whole experience, glad we stayed up until 10p to see them ;-)

Mommy & Maci Selfie

Maci is way too into what is going on in the sky!

 Maci's "Sub" for the weekend!

Saturday - Unfortunately Maci didn't get the memo about sleeping in after a late night so we were up and at 'em by about 7a.  After some breakfast, we ran our usual errands (Target, Costco etc) and then I attempted to get her to take a nap.  Nap time was rough (does this kid never need to re-charge?) but she finally went down around 2p.  We then met up with her friends Natalie and Harper at the local splash pad.  Maci LOVED the water, which I knew she would but that only lasted about 30 mins until some mean 3 year old in Batman swim trunks decided to be the playground bully.  He started by pushing Harper from behind and knocking him over.  Later he then looked right at Maci and pushed her in the stomach knocking her to her butt and then head.  Of course Maci flipped out and was more distraught by someone not wanting to be her friend than knocking her over.  I flew over like a big momma bear and told the kid he was being really mean.  He received no visible discipline from his parents who chose to chill in the shade.  After this incident, all of the kids were quite timid around the water fountains and we headed home after being there for about an hour.  Hopefully next time we won't see the "batman" kid.

The buddies pre bully brigade 

Later that night, we all decided to meet up at the west end for some yummy Mexican food at the West End.  Maci was really good and even feel asleep in her stroller so Halston hung back with me and did a little shopping at Lulu lemon, Hot Momma and other local stores.  What a fun Saturday night!

I got her to look at the camera by saying "say Hi to Daddy"  

She thinks he lives in the phone now from all the Facetiming ;-)

Sunday - Today we were planning to have Harper and Natalie over to play in the backyard now that the fence is done and we have a water table.  However, right now at 10a it is quite rainy out but really humid and hot.  If it clears up maybe we will keep our plan and if not we may have to take a rain check and just play inside.  I hope to get some more work done today so hopefully Maci will follow the plan and take a good nap and head to bed at a decent hour.  We will see, she has a mind of her own, that is for sure.

This coming week looks to be a good one with me having a happy hour on Wed (Stephen next door will babysit Maci) and I have a World Cup Soccer game tournament at work on Thursday afternoon.  Then Daddy gets home on Friday morning - Wahooo!!!  We have had some fun together but we miss our papa bear. . . this momma bear is tired!

We hope you all have a great week!
Lots of Love,
C, K & M