Maci is on the Move to the Toddler Room!

We have had a fairly beautiful fall week here in Minneapolis.  Maci and her friends at school have been doing lots of fall activities with apples and we found out on Friday that Maci will start her transition to the toddler room where she will be until a little over 2 and a half.  Maci is soooo ready for this new room since she doesn't do so well with being the biggest kid in her current room.  She is getting bored and that leads to her being fairly naughty and her listening ears seem to be broken :)  Clint and I had United Way week going on at work which meant you could see some funny activities going on throughout the week in an effort to raise funds for a good cause.

My boss swore he purchased a blanket in a United Way Auction . . . umm that would be a poncho!

My silly tax group had a "Flair Contest" like in the movie Office Space

Mike was the winner & got to wear this all day Friday!

Chef Maci helping with Apple Struessel 

Group Snack!  

Maci is the kid with the ponytail at the bottom of the picture

Before we reached the weekend, we came home to a very exciting package on Thursday night.  Maci's Nanny and Grandpa Mondell sent her a package with her snow pants, snow boots and winter coat for winter time.  This is her early Christmas gift since you can never be too prepared for snow in Minneapolis.  I am so glad to see Maci is in a different mood about winter gear this year as opposed to last year's snow suit :)  What a fashion model!

Friday - Swim Lessons as usual!  This time was a little unusual because one of the other girls in the class had the same swimsuit on so of course I had to take some pictures :)  Maci continues to be a little fish and we sent over Harper's house for pizza afterward.  The kids are so funny together, truly the best of little friends.  We got home around 9p which made us hope Maci would sleep in - umm NO she continues to be on this poor sleeping through the night kick UGH.

Saturday - After gym, Clint headed off with Danny to Iowa for the Iowa State vs. Toledo game.  They had about a 3 hour drive while Maci took a 3.5 hour nap for me!!  Once Maci was up, we got changed, ran a quick Target errand and then we were off to our mommy & me friend Jen Rutz's house for their house warming party.  Maci was excited to see so many kids at the party.  It was a nice home and we had a great time.  We left when Maci started getting sleepy and a little selfish with the toys.  Once home Maci, hit the hay and I watched a movie until Clint got home around 9p.  It was a great Saturday for all of us!

Sunday - Clint and I got a plan ready for some home improvements we still plan to do this fall and also into the winter/spring/summer.  We picked up the house a bit and got in our football gear for a wonderful Mondell football Sunday.  I am excited to see how the Bengals respond after last Sunday night's embarrassment.  Miss M is napping right now and we are enjoying football.  After my game, I will do my usual prepping for the coming week and enjoying the last bit of the weekend.  I work from home tomorrow morning since Maci's daycare is closed for teacher in service and then Clint relieves me at lunch so I can get in the office for some afternoon meetings.

We are all in town this week and look forward to some beautiful fall weather.  We hope everyone has a great coming week!

Lots of Love,
C, K & M

Chilly Fall Fun!

The temps dropped a bit this week, seems to have happened around the US.  We were ready for it since I have been stocking up on Fall/Winter clothes for Miss M but it did get me to pull out my boot bin a little sooner.  The week went pretty smoothly with Maci simply "being Maci" at daycare and Clint and I grinding through a busy work week.  We did have our fall family pictures taken Wednesday through our usual photographer "Created by me photography"  Maci was such a great little girl during our outdoor fall session.  There were lots of smiles and so we are very excited to see our previews - hopefully later today.  We will be sure to share once the previews are out there and once the entire set is ready in a few weeks.  :)

Yay Costume Kim Came!

Mixing Cinnamon in their "Daycare Made Applesauce"

Friday - Swim lessons are always a big hit in the Mondell house!  After having picture day and lots of outfit changes, Miss M didn't really want to hear "we have to change" when we got home on Friday.  She was throwing a bit of a fit until she saw her swimsuit and the total attitude changed.  After the lil fish and their dad's got out of the water, we were off to the Cassem's (Natalie's house) for our new pizza and hangout tradition.  We must have said at least 10 times how much better this works than a restaurant and the kids had so much fun playing together until about 830p, about an hour past bedtime.

 Who Doesn't Love Legos?!

 How many times do we need to do this parents?!

 Huggie Time!

 Oh and then there is TICKLE Time!

Saturday - We had a great morning at gym.  Miss M got to play on the inflatable air track which she loves, jumping bean is what she is!  After gym, we ran quite a few errands vs going to brunch since we had a lot we wanted to get done this weekend.  Maci napped for us after many errands and Clint & I took down all the summer flower baskets, put up Halloween decor and planned some fall home projects (i.e. gas fireplace, new garage door & opener, side screen door and frame redo).  Once Maci was up we were going to head to a United Way thing for work but there was only about an hour left so we headed on some more errands before calling it a day.  Miss M went to bed a bit early after staying up the night before so Clint and I got to watch a movie together at 7p :) YAY for early bed times!

The Diva ready for gym class!

 Sorry we couldn't be there. . . Miss Molly had her Senior Night for Soccer!

Sunday - We had a rare fall Sunday in the Mondell house today.  The Dolphins are on their bye week and the Bengals play at night so we had a free Sunday to have fun!  We started our day at the beloved Egg & I for breakfast & of course Maci rode her favorite vintage pony.  After breakfast, we hit Target for Maci's flu shot and I got the flu mist (why take a needle if you don't need it?!)  Clint had already gotten his flu shot at work but they don't offer the mist so I had to hit up Target HA  After Maci got her shot, she fussed for a second, helped Clint pull up her pants and said to the lady "all done!" and then left the room - HA what a brave & confident gal!  We came home for nap time and laundry.  After nap, we were off to the Minnetonka Apple Orchard.  Our friends Halston, John and Harper also met us out there for a very CHILLY 51 degree day.  We all decided we have never noticed 51 degrees to feel so cold but it was windy and overcast which didn't help.  Either way, the kids had a blast!  Now we are eating dinner, catching up on football and getting ready to put a little turkey to bed so we can enjoy the BIG GAME!!!!!  Oh please Bengals, keep rolling!!!!  WHO DEY?!

Loves the Egg & I Pony!

 Petting Zoo Fun at the Orchard

 Wagon Tractor Ride!

Yes, the Orange Cart was Intentional!  

 Now Riding with a Friend!

 Children of the Corn!

We hope everyone has a great week!  We are all in town this week which is always nice :)
Lots of Love,
C, K & M

Cedar Manor Gangsters

We had a pretty good week at our house.  Miss M want tinkle on the potty for the first time, may have been a fluke but she was pretty excited about it and continues to want to sit on it even if she has all her clothes on :)  Maci got in trouble some more this week at daycare for not listening, throwing toys at friends, shoving friends, putting a friend in a head lock and eating dirt - ummm this must be the Mondell side of the family because she does not get this from her mother!  Thursday was supposed to be a mommy night out with my mommy and me friends but I left work late with a horrible headache and decided to sleep and post throw back Thursday pictures on Facebook instead :( I miss seeing all the ladies though.  At this point 6 of the 9 of us are pregnant with their 2nd baby - No that is not a lead in that I am about to announce something on my end :)

WHAT?!  How do you know I was eating dirt outside?!

Friday - I finally kicked the headache from Thursday at work going into my Friday morning.  I had a productive and fun Friday with many of my co-workers.  After work we had the regular Friday swim lessons.  Since we can no longer handle the bad food and constant stares at Applebee's and Fridays - we did our first "order pizza and play" at our house Friday night.  Lil Harper wasn't at swim because his mom's brother's wedding was this weekend but Natalie and Maci played in Maci's playroom while the adults enjoyed pizza and conversation.  Lil Miss M and N are the best of buds and Maci cried when she said goodbye at bed time :)

Awwww Yah it's Friday!

 I play with all the boy toys!

 Art Time - Purple Friday (Vikings Purple that is)

Saturday - We started our morning with some budget planning since we are going to be getting a new car in a few months, some house projects and need to think of baby #2 in the longer future.  After that productive discussion, we were off to gym class.  Maci continues to amaze us with her strength and lack of fear!  She was in an obstacle course that she would jump at the end from about 3 feet off the ground and land on a pad.  Maci had Clint help her jump once and then she started doing it on her own over and over and over.  The teacher says that Maci lands better than most 4 years old - our crazy super hero!  We followed gym with our usual nap, errands etc.  Everyone was exhausted from an early morning so Maci went to bed a little early, I showered and watched Pretty Woman in bed while Clint went next door and drank with the guys during the Nebraska game.

Sunday - What a fun day!  We have really gotten to know many of our neighbors over the past few months and we have some kick ass neighbors!  We have always had amazing Karoline & her son Stephen to the right and we have known our recent neighbor (1.5 years) Eric and his girlfriend Becca to the left but we now have some new neighbors and newly introduced neighbors as well.  Directly behind us turned over about a month ago when the Buechler's moved to Minnetonka.  We now have Jake and Margaret who are right around our ages and no kids (yet).  To the left of them (kitty corner behind us) we have Megan/Jared and Nora who we really got to know once they had Nora 14 months ago.  Through Megan/Jared, we met another neighbor about 4 houses up on the side street next to ours (John/Sarah and their twin daughters Lily and Evelyn who are 6 weeks younger than Maci).  Then about a month ago on a walk in our neighborhood behind us we met Richard/Jamie and their daughter Eliza who is 2 weeks younger than Maci - IS THIS SERIOUS?!  So in about the last 2 months we have found a total pose of girls for Maci to grow up with all within about 1 block of each other.  All that to be said - we have formed a Facebook group to keep in touch and invite each other over to get to know our neighbors even more, that is where the Cedar Manor Gangsters comes in.  John is quite the comedian and we laugh that the first night we all hung out we spent a good portion of the night comparing birth stories, talking teething and bedtimes :)  LAME so we laugh that in our neighborhood "Cedar Manor" we are some real GANSTERS. . . aka totally lame first time parents =)

Fast forward through the back story and today was our day to host everyone.  We decided to invite everyone over for our amazing white chicken chili recipe and football!  We picked this Sunday since the Bengals were on a bye and well I would like to keep these neighbors as friends and avoid them seeing the "real Kellie" during football for at least a few more months HA!  Everyone was able to make it at 3p for the afternoon games when the Vikings played, except for poor Jared and Nora since she was at home battling hand, foot mouth :(  The chili was a big hit and the non kid friend couples (Eric/Becca and Jake/Margaret) hung out until about 8p when Miss M was in desperate need of bed. . . even if she didn't realize it :)  The girls all had a blast playing together (Eliza/Maci are the total bossy ones and Lily/Evelyn are the quiet take it all in girls).  Clint and I were talking a few minutes ago about how fortunate we are to have such amazing fun, thoughtful neighbors and for Maci to have these wonderful built in friendships to grow with over the years.  We already know that we will trick or treat together with the girls on Halloween night and then we are heading in our backyard to Jake/Margaret's for their annual Halloween party - fun times and so convenient!

This is a pick of Maci after last week's Bengals Game - So Sweet!

Enough about our amazing Neighbors and Sunday Funday!  I am now exhausted and battling a bit of a cold.  We are ready to sign off and hit the hay before we start the week all over again.  We have family photos on Wednesday evening so please pray for rain to hold off since we are planning an outdoor fall session :)

Lots of Love,
C, K & M

Bengal's Bandwagon is Crowded!!

Ahh what a fun Sunday yet again - the Bengals are looking solid which makes me a happy girl!

This week went by pretty fast with Clint leaving to Memphis with work on Monday and not returning until Thursday afternoon.  The days fly when you have Maci 24/7 plus work and pets.  Of course we spent some time Facetiming dad each day and playing outside on the swing set - we sure are enjoying some great Fall weather!

Miss M eating grapes in the morning

Daycare Story Time

Note : Maci is the kid to the far right playing vs listening :)

We had a Dinner Date @ Noodles & Co the Night before Daddy came Home

Friday - Wahoo productive Friday at work followed by Swim Lessons!  Maci and her friends continue to love the water and look quite advanced for the level they are in.  After lessons, we have decided we can't take anymore Applebee's food so we tried a close competitor in TGI Friday's.  The table we were put at was better than Applebee's but food was still so/so.  We think we may change to pizza ordering on Friday nights and taking turns going to each others houses.  We love hanging out together but the kids are a little "rough" at restaurants these days and the places we are comfy taking them has sad food options.

Saturday - Gym Class in the morning!  This was the first one Clint could make this session and he was blown away but how much Miss M has grown since the last session.  She even showed Daddy her flips on the bars!  After gym we did our usual Cooper brunch at the West End followed by nap time at home.  After naps, we ran our usual errands and Maci fell in love with a Elmo costume at Target.  Needless to say this lil girl is OBSESSED with Elmo!  We made her cry when we took the costume off HA-HA.

Our Own Tickle Me Elmo!

I wasn't feeling the greatest at night and Maci wasn't going to bed very well so I stayed home while Clint joined the neighbors for a bonfire and drinks at one of our neighbor's backyards.  He came home in time to watch the end of a movie in bed with me and to finish listening to the Toledo game on the computer.  I am making up for being lame though by having all our neighbor friends over for Chili and Football next Sunday.  The Bengal's are on a bye week next week so I figured I wouldn't scare off anyone :)

Sunday - We did bagels and coffee for breakfast followed by some Costco browsing.  A few chores around the home and then it was time to settle in for the Bengals game.  They looked great which kept me fairly quiet at the house ;-)  Now I am working on laundry, prepping for the coming week and we have a pot of Chicken Wild Rice Soup going in the crockpot - YUM!!!  All this while Maci is taking a late nap.  We sure do LOVE Football Sunday's in this house!

We sent an email to our immediate family yesterday letting them know our holiday plans.  We will be sticking around MN for Thanksgiving, can't pass up Black Friday Mall of America shopping :)  However, we will be heading home to Ohio for Christmas.  We will come in the Saturday before Christmas to Toledo and stay there until the Tuesday morning.  We will then spend Tuesday afternoon through Saturday morning in Cincinnati for Christmas Eve & Christmas Day celebrations.  We hope to see as many Ohio Family/Friends during our trip home.  We will plan to connect closer to the timing as well.

We hope everyone has a great week!

Lots of Love,

C, K & M

Bengals are Sweeping the Nation! :)

Needless to say I am posting this week's update after another great Bengals W!  Our house is just a happier place on Sundays during football season :)

Let's see, what did we do this week.  Clint got home from WY on Tuesday afternoon.  I had decided to work from home that afternoon after I had to co-lead a 4 hour meeting that morning.  It was nice to work from my quiet home and get caught up on lots of open projects/activities etc.  Clint was then able to pick Maci up from daycare when he got in town around 430p.  Maci was quite excited to see her DADDY pick her up from daycare.  I was able to catch up through Video chat features with both my high school (Sunday night) and college (Wed night) girlfriends.  I love that after how many years and living across how many states that we all still stay good friends!  Thursday was a wonderful night of football which helped to ensure the Bengals keep the lead in the division, thank you Ravens!  Finally it was Friday!  We did a Friday dance at our house and tried to explain to Maci just how amazing Friday truly is :)

Friday - Friday's this fall are super fun because we have our swim lessons with Maci's friends Natalie and Harper.  Thank goodness Clint was back in town so I didn't have to get in the pool (I think kids pee in the pool) YUCK!  Maci is a little fish and adores jumping in the pool to Clint, definitely not scared of water over in this house :)  We then followed swim with our typical Applebee's dinner.  However, the food was really bad this time and Clint and I didn't feel too great after so we may need to pick a new dinner location after swim.  There is also a Mexican restaurant in the same area and some new restaurants coming since they are remodeling the area.  It was still a fun Friday night.

A Girl & Her Dog!

Saturday - Maci had gym and was her typical monkey self!  After gym, we skipped our typical breakfast and went to meet Clint and some friends at a 5k they were running.  Clint did this 5k last year too since it is a Suds Run where they serve you beer at the 1/2 way point and at the end :)  It makes running worthwhile!  Maci had fun cheering on all the finishers and was excited to spot daddy at the end.  We then ran our usual errands and took a good long family nap which made it one awesome Saturday.  Clint and I ended the day by laying around and watching college football after Miss M was in bed.

Sunday - FOOTBALL!!!  We ate breakfast and ran a few errands but ensured we were home and ready to watch just in time for kick off.  The Bengals looked great :) and Clint's Dolphins had a rough week :(  Miss M took her usual great Sunday nap starting right at kick off and going until just about the end of the first games.  She came down just in time to see mommy cheering the final pick of the Bengals game!!!!  We are how planning to take a family walk at some point today (beautiful day) and finish the day watching our beloved football!

Umm Where is Maci?!

We found a Caged Bengal Tiger!

This coming week will be a bit hectic as usual.  Clint leaves to Memphis tomorrow and gets home Thursday afternoon.  I have a friend's candle Sentsy party on Thursday night and then it is the weekend time all over again!

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

Bengals are Back!

This was a pretty quick work week due to the holiday on Monday.  Not too much excitement until Thursday morning when Clint had to take off to Jackson Hole, WY for work.  I always get a little anxious when I am left home alone with Miss M,  you just never know what odd things can come up.  Fortunately, it has been very uneventful and he returns on Tuesday.

Miss M has a full ponytail now and it shapes like a bun on its own - so sweet!

Friday - I had a very productive day at work and cut it way too close to leaving work :(  Maci started swim lessons this Friday and she is in the same class as her BFF Natalie and her best dude buddy, Harper.  The class starts at 615p and I had to still get us home and changed since I was the lucky one to get in the pool with Clint out of town.  I left work at 545p.  Mind you, I still had to pick her up from daycare, get to home, change, shove a little bit of food in her mouth to tie her over and then get to lessons.  The fact that we were only 10 mins late was a MIRACLE!!!  Maci had a blast getting back in the pool and giggled with her buddies the whole time - worth every rushing minute!  Afterward, we picked back up the former swim lesson tradition - Applebee's dinner for adult drinks and some food.  While I was changing back into clothes, Jaycee (Natalie's mom) was keeping an eye on Maci.  As the girls were running around, she happened to ask them to hold hands.  They then proceeded to hold hands the entire walk to Applebee's - So Sweet!!!!  Maci was a good girl at dinner, thank god and she feel asleep on the way home.

Tired Friday Morning

 Geez - Don't Look So Happy!

 Art Time at Daycare!

Saturday - We woke up and had some breakfast before heading to week 2 of gym class.  Miss M LOVES her gym class.  This week she amazed me by doing flips on the bars with minimal spotting and help from me.  This kid just blows us away (see the video on Facebook).  Afterwards, we did Coopers with our friends for brunch followed by a nice nap at home.  Miss M and I had such a nice nap that we overslept for her haircut (much needed - see the bangs in the eyes in the pic above).  Thank goodness I have such a sweet hairdresser and she was ok with us coming 30 mins late (geez I am losing it).  We then spent the afternoon playing outside and reading books before it was Maci's bedtime.

Sunday - BENGALS ARE BACK!!!!!  I can't even explain how much I love this time of year!  Maci took a nap just in time for kickoff and didn't get up until well after half time - hope this happens every week :)  My Bengals looked solid (wish we converted a few more TD vs field goals) but I will take the W and the beauty of a TD by our AJ Green!  Maci loved yelling at the TV with me in the 2nd half - it got stressful for a bit :)  I have been trying to catch some of the other games while Maci was up but that proves a bit more difficult alone.  I at least got to have some BW3 wings for dinner and after Maci goes to bed I have a video chat with my best girl friends from high school - this has proven to be the best way to connect all of us with the 6 of us now living all over (Minneapolis, LA, Atlanta, Chicago, Louisville and Cincinnati - WOW)  I am so excited to put Maci down and enjoy a good catch up with some long term friends!

"I sure hope they can keep this up mom!"

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and have a great week!  We can't wait for dad to get back Tuesday!!

Lots of Love,
C, K & M