A Blessed Thanksgiving Long Weekend

We had a pretty quick short week at work and school since we were only there Mon-Wed of the week.  I got to have a video chat with my high school girl friends on Monday and Maci got to practice being a big sister at school the same day :)

The rest of the week was jammed packed with meetings since everyone was attempting to fit 5 days worth of work in 3 work days but that made the time fly so we will take it. 

Wednesday - Clint kicked off the long weekend by having some of the guys over for a bonfire in the back yard and I got to kick off the weekend by heading to bed at about 8p :)  Wahoo!!  My body needed rest and thankfully I got a lot of it this weekend!

Thursday - Happy Thanksgiving!!!  We woke up and watched the Macy's parade which Maci enjoyed and referred to the rest of the weekend.  After the parade we watched some of the dog show but she didn't care for that as much as she did the fresh 1 inch of snow on the ground.  She begged us to go play outside all morning and finally we obliged in the early afternoon.

Ready to Go!

 No More Pictures - Let Me Outside!

Clint and Maci played outside for over an hour, she even played alone a bit while we were getting some things ready inside for our meal.  They sled down our backyard small hill but M didn't love that too much because her gloves would keep getting wet when she went down the hill.  She was a far bigger fan of attempting to make a snow man :)

After playing outside for over a good hour, Miss M came in and actually took a very easy nap!  Yay exhaustion from playing in all that gear!

We made our Boston Market Thanksgiving meal around 4p and everyone was quite full afterward.  Maci did a great job of eating all her food but she wasn't the biggest fan of stuffing.  We had about our 4th FaceTime chat that afternoon with family back home in Ohio and then enjoyed the St Paul light drive thru light display before bed time.  What a wonderfully relaxing Thanksgiving day!!

Friday - Now on to a productive day.  I am totally in nesting mode and freaked out that I am so much more ill prepared for this baby than I was for Maci.  We sent M to daycare and we did some Christmas shopping, errand running etc all day long until it was time to pick her up again around 5p.  Maci loved being at school because there were hardly any kids there that day and they played outside a ton!  That evening we met our Elf "Kat" sent from Santa and decorated for Christmas.  M enjoyed putting up all the ornaments and listening to Christmas music.

Saturday - No gym on this holiday weekend.  However, dad had some of his own fun planned.  He was off to the St Thomas vs St Johns Football playoff game with a friend of ours from Cargill, Danny.  Danny had played for St Thomas and wanted Clint to experience his team since they went to watch Toledo at Iowa State together last year.  Clint had a great time and while he was gone, Maci and I had to take Boomer to his annual vet visit - BAD PLANNING MOM!  I can't believe I survived this event alone, 9 months pregnant with Maci wanting to touch every growling dog and Boomer freaking out.  Oh and I forgot to mention the vet was running 30 mins behind.  Maci must have said at least 10 times "mom, Boomer isn't getting presents is he?  He is naughty!"  After the hell vet visit, Maci and I went to Perkins for a brunch date before heading home and resting - see lots of rest for me this weekend!  Once dad got home around 3p we were off to the Mall for Maci's annual Santa visit.  She was so excited to see his house and to tell him what she wants for Christmas : Frozen, Minnie Mouse, Dresses, Princess stuff.  It was ADORABLE to see how excited she got before walking up to him.  It was like she met a celebrity :)  She was a little shy at first but once he hugged her and asked her name, then there was no shutting her up.  I must have had her say Minnie Mouse at least 100 times HAHA

I mean how do you NOT buy this picture?!

She was in LOVE with the guy!

We finished our long journey around the mall with dinner at Hard Rock Cafe and then called it a night.

Sunday - Today has been another productive day by wrapping up any remaining errands from my long list of "to dos" for the long weekend.  In addition, we watched the Bengals kick the Rams booty - Yay!  Now I am hoping for a Steelers loss to the Seahawks, finishing laundry, prepping for the week and getting ready to run to the grocery (put that one off too long this weekend).  Thankfully it is only 4p but feels like 8p with how quickly it gets dark these days.

We hope everyone has a great week ahead and are able to slow down and enjoy this holiday season!  I need to keep reminding myself of this as I attempt to run a marathon at a sprint pace :)

Lots of Love,

C, K, M & Lil Man M

Christie is Married!!

We had a fairly fast and busy work week.  Monday brought our 34 week Dr apt followed by an UGLY Monday night football game with the Bengals.  Clint had a happy hour Wednesday after work and Thursday was Maci's conference at school.  Maci continues to get great marks from her teacher's.  She seems to be the teacher's pet and loves to sing, dance, tell stories etc.  Such an energetic girl who I would say got it from her mom.  However, lately, I don't know if it is the 9th month of pregnancy or the change in the weather but I am EXHAUSTED at night.  I literally could fall asleep standing/sitting by 8p each night.

Painting Snow Flakes at School

 Princess Maci

 Week 34 - Low Riding Lil Guy

 So Cute - She Wanted to Take "tummy pictures too!"

Friday - It was a COLD day here in MN, I guess winter is finally on its way after such an awesome fall.  Christie was sending cute pics of them getting pampered before her rehearsal dinner and I shared a picture of the lil man which kept me in MN instead of at her wedding.  HOLY BABY!
We ate sandwiches Friday night and caught up on some of our favorite tv shows.  I of course was asleep on the couch by 730p - so sad and pathetic.

Saturday - Happy Wedding Day to Christie & Chester!  I had my sad moment in the morning when posting my well wishes on Facebook for her to see during her getting ready routine.  Then I spent the rest of the day thinking of her and being just so happy that she was having her day!  We spent our day at gym, brunch, naps, OSU pathetic game and grocery errands/online shopping.  I feel so much further behind for this 2nd baby that I am forcing us to get some things in order.  This coming long holiday weekend is my big nesting weekend!  The final push of to dos before little man can arrive :)

Sunday - We attempted to reach Christie this morning but I am sure they are still busy saying farewell to guests and getting ready for honeymoon.  Instead, this is a picture of Maci telling her god mommy "Congrats!"  We then spoke to my parents who had been at the wedding and got the scoop.  The rest of our day has been fairly chill and getting ready for the week ahead before watching the Bengals on Sunday night football.

My co-worker and partner in crime returns from her maternity leave tomorrow.  I know what a mixed emotion day that can be so I will have a fun surprise for her in the morning to help with adjusting back to the work life :)  At least it is a short work week - only Mon-Wed for us!

We hope all of you have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving Week!
Lots of Love,
C, K, M & Lil Man Mondell

ONLY 6 WEEKS OF WORK LEFT?!

This week went by really fast!  I have decided this baby may decide to escape from my belly button - he is so active!  In between baby kicks, I was able to onboard a HR consultant who will help with the large finance transformation our team is leading from an HR perspective.  While it has only been 2 days, I am quite impressed with her questions and ability to relate prior experience.  My hope is that she will be a huge help for the team so they aren't so pinched for resources when I am out on my maternity leave.  Speaking of maternity leave, my partner in crime & co-worker (Megan) returns from her maternity leave Monday the 23rd!!  So excited to have her back for day to day conversation and relating in this sometimes crazy work we are leading.  At the end of the week I was working on my to do lists and realized I only have 6 more weeks worth of to do lists and 2 of those weeks are short weeks - Thanksgiving and Christmas!  I can't believe how FAST this pregnancy has flown!  I just hope lil man sticks to my schedule and doesn't come sooner - I still have items on the to do list :)

Ok so off the craziness that is the realization of how soon we will be a family of 4 vs 3, how soon I will be sleep deprived and how soon I will live in sweatpants 95% of my days :).  We also did some fun things in prep for the coming holidays.  Neither Clint nor I love to cook so we placed an order at Boston Market for their family turkey take out meal for Thanksgiving so Miss M still has a normal holiday with her not so normal parents :)  We also have reservations for Benihana on Christmas which is a special celebration since it is the last day we hang out as a family of 3.  Mom and Molly arrive the next day and then baby comes on the 28th!  I also placed our Christmas Card order today and started thinking about my online shopping needs for Christmas - maybe this is what nesting looks like this time around :)

Maci got some big news at daycare this week.  She will be transitioning from toddler room to Preschool 1 as of Nov 16th (part time) and Nov 30th (full time).  We love it because her daycare rate drops again once she moves to this classroom and she loves it because it feels more like "school", she will be with her slightly older friends again and now she gets to have show and tell every week!  We say all the time that we can't get over how smart she is and virtually overnight she matured into a mini adult.  Example : She had on some pants this week with a pattern and I said "oh Maci do you see they have a kitty pattern" and Maci says "no, mom they are leopard pattern."  Holy cow, how does she know the difference between the cat family?!  We are blown away by her intelligence and mind at such a young age.

ART TIME

 Oh Yea - New Grocery Shopping Cart at School

 Science Project

I can't think of many other updates.  Thankfully Clint is done with all travel until baby's arrival!  My OCD and lists are at an all time high because I feel horribly unorganized for this kid compared to Maci (poor 2nd child).  We have our 34 week appointment tomorrow and I feel huge.  I know in comparison to others, I may not appear huge but for my frame and build, I am unbalanced, swelling and getting to that "ready to be done" point.

Exhausted Friday Evening but Needed the 33 Week Pic

Even this was taken 2 days late - see poor 2nd kid ;-)

We hope all of you have a wonderful week ahead and enjoy the remaining days before the holidays hit full swing!
Lots of Love,
C, K, M & Baby Boy M

Bengals are 8 and 0 - WHO DEY?!

Cutest Toddler Class Ever!!

We have been loving this long fall of comfortable temperatures!  Miss M loves that she gets to have so much play time outside and without lots of layers.  This smile says it all :)

 She was also quite excited to have Costume Kim come again this week.  This time Costume Kim was the dinosaur (which Maci swore she was supposed to be for the Halloween party).  Maci told us at least 100 times that she was a green dinosaur and not purple.  We aren't really sure why Maci thought she would be purple other than that is her FAVORITE color :)

The same day was picture day and Maci finally had some great school pictures!  I have now ordered the CD of her school pictures and will be happy to print off and send some prints to any who are interested, just let us know.  Both Clint and I spent some time this week expressing our jealousy with how photogenic she is compared to the both of us :)

 The week moved right along with Maci having art time fun.  This is her concentration face as she drew and thought about the Bengals potentially going 8-0 that evening!

I am feeling huge at 32 weeks but this baby sure is a Bengals good luck charm!  This season has been so much fun thus far and I had a slight panic attack when I realized we play the Broncos Monday night of my c-section with little man (Dec 28th).  I better be in a comfortable room with ESPN on and nurses realizing they should check on me as little as possible because that is probably our largest regular season game - ugh getting nervous again just writing about this.  Hopefully his arrival gives the extra push we need to get the W!!!  :)

Friday - I worked from home on Friday and had an uber productive day!  Love it!!  Maci got to have jammie day at school and wore some newer holiday looking jammies.  She also loved snack time on Friday - proof by her smiling with a mouthful of food and ready to dig in for group photo.

After the school and workday ended, we had our usual Friday pizza and some bubble guppies with Miss M.

Saturday - Started the day with our usual gym class followed by a prenatal massage for momma and Clint/Maci running some errands.  After the massage, I took a much needed nap but Maci continued her new weekend tradition of skipping nap UGH!  Maci watched some TV shows while I napped and Clint racked leaves.  Once he was done racking we all headed out to get some final items for lil man's room and checked out the recently re-done Ridgedale mall near our house.  We wrapped up the evening with a yummy big bowl dinner and then came home to watch the rest of the OSU game and put M to bed.

Sunday - Fairly boring day seeing as the Bengals aren't playing.  However, I am getting some things done around the house, starting to think of Christmas lists and finalizing the prep for the week ahead.  I could get use to having a lazy Sunday though and I may even take a nap in a bit - Ahhh love the weekend!

Clint heads on his final trip pre-baby for just a few days this week.  I have a fairly hectic week but thanks to my productive Friday, feel fairly organized and ready to tackle it!

We hope all of you have great weeks ahead!

Lots of Love,

C, K, M & Lil Man to Be

Trick or Treat. . . Smell My Feet!

Daddy spent most of the week in PA (Mon afternoon through Friday afternoon), mommy spent the week working and Maci had fun all week long with a Halloween holiday week at daycare!

Maci and her Pal Tanyn on a Happy Monday

 Beautiful Fall Weather at School!

 Buddies on the Playground 

 Daddy was at a Chocolate Location for Cargill

They are known for their Chocolate Buds so he got this for lil man - Cute!

 Fun Surprise Mid Week

New Winter Gear from the Mondell Grandparents!

THANK YOU!

 Mom Hit 31 Weeks - Holy Basketball!

Thursday was the Daycare Halloween Party After Work

I laughed watching Maci play along with Costume Kim

Our girl is so animated and all the parents comment on her PERSONALITY!

 Attempting to give Costume Kim her flower clip from her hair

 Same Day - Came Home to a Card from God Mommy Christie!

Friday - I did the usual work from home on Friday but since Clint wasn't home yet, I had to run Maci to daycare.  It was a dress up day but Maci woke up not feeling her mouse costume and wanted to be a princess.  This was fine by me since I didn't need her ruining her costume at school being a goof ball.  She also wanted to be a princess because "all her friends were going to be princesses"  Something I am sure I will hear for years to come :)

Clint got home and brought Maci home from school around the usual 530p timing.  We ate our pizza dinner and attempted to get Maci to bed.  By the time Maci was in bed, I was falling asleep on the couch.  Sadly, I didn't make it to the neighborhood costume party because I was exhausted from a long week parenting alone and working all day.  Clint still went and had a good time with the neighbors while I got some much needed rest.

Saturday - Busy Day so it was a good thing I went to bed early the night before!  We started with gym class, then headed to brunch and the West End afternoon trick or treating event.  The 3 blind mice were a huge hit!  Afterward, we came home for naps (me included!)  Come 430p we were ordering food and getting the house ready for our friends to trick or treat with us.  Everyone was at the house by 5p and out the door for pictures before trick or treating by 615p.  We ended up trick or treating for almost 1.5 hours this year and only dealt with a few tears.  Fortunately Maci loved it and was not in the tear camp!  :)  The kids played for a bit longer and then all headed out around 9p.  What a fun Halloween Evening!

 West End Fun

 West End Red Carpet but the Cheese Wedges wouldn't cooperate ;-)

 Front Yard Picture Fun Before Trick or Treating 

 Cool Pumpkins at the Over the Top Neighborhood House

TRICK OR TREAT - SMELL MY FEET *Nice Parenting Cassem's ;-)*

At least she still had the ears at this point but was no longer wearing glasses or the cane ;-) 

Candy Piles!

Sunday - Got to love getting an extra hour of sleep even though Maci was in our room by the new 630a.  I ran some errands this morning, Clint got baby stuff re-set up (swing, pack n play, bouncer) and Maci ate candy haha!  We then were all peeled to the super UGLY Bengals/Steelers game and while it was ugly I never lost fate!  Fortunately we were able to be the better team today and come out with a 7-0 record.  You have no idea how happy I am to be 7-0 but even happier that we got that record by beating the Steelers at their stadium!  WAHOOO!  Now we are doing the usual get ready for the week.  Clint is working on leaves, I am about to do a little bit of work, Maci is supposed to be cleaning her play room - right ;-)

Happy to say we are all in town and together this week!  We have our 32 week appointment tomorrow and I feel this baby is going to be bigger than Miss M - which is a OK since she was a PEANUT!

Have a great week all!
Lots of Love,
C, K, M & Baby Boy Mondell