Working Mother

As of today, I am still a "working mother", but come Friday, no more. Trav and I have been discussing me quiting my Target job for a while now, and this past week, I finally went in to put in my two week notice. Between Trav's long hours, and with summer just around the corner, neither of us felt the job was working anymore so it was time for me to quit my second job in as many years - guess I'm kind of a quitter. Anyway, when I went in to put in my two week notice, I told Alex (HR guy) my reasoning for wanting to quit and he came back with a different option - instead of quitting, I should request a Leave of Absence. So he gave me the form to fill out and when I got to the section that said reason for request, I asked him what to put and he said "personal" so that's what I did. After I filled it out and gave it back to him, he said it would have to be approved by the head of HR before it would be final. I just looked at him and said, "I thought you were the head of HR." He said, "oh yeah, that's right, so it's approved" - such a jokester that Alex. Anyway, now not only am I guaranteed my job back in 3 months if I so choose (although it is not likely that I will return), but I also get to keep my employee discount for another 3 months - yeah, I wish everything was that easy. The knowledge that I'm done on Friday has helped Trav through this busy week. I was scheduled to work Mon, Tues, Wed, and Friday nights so he has been putting in long hours at work, and then coming home and taking care of the kids all night. I must say, he has been doing a great job and I know Ryan loves having Dad all to himself when Lauren goes to bed. Speaking of Lauren . . . she has picked up a new dirty little trick. It seems whenever any scrap of food is left out our house, Lauren is "Johnny on the Spot" there to "clean it up" for us. The other night our neighbor brought over some mini cupcakes. Trav fed the kids supper, and then let each of them have a cupcake for desert. Lauren of course polished hers off, but Ryan only ate about half of his. So the next morning, we're all up, Trav is in the bathroom getting ready for work, I'm getting Ryan dressed, and Lauren is nowhere to be found. So Trav walks out into the kitchen and sees her climbing down from the chair with a mouthful of something. It takes him a second to see the empty plate he left out last night that had Ryan's half-eaten cupcake on it. She apparently walked into the kitchen, smelled the cupcake in the air, and helped herself to leftovers then calmly climbed back down the chair and walked away like nothing happened - what a little turd. Then, the other day, Ryan had some marshmallow bunnies in a bowl. Lauren had already helped him eat a few, but the minute he put that down, I'm sure she had her eye on it and she waited for the perfect moment when I walked out of the kitchen with Ryan to get him ready for his nap. By the time I got back she was shimming down the chair with a mouthful of marshmallow bunnies. It wasn't too hard to guess what she got into considering she looked like a rabid animal with white foam all around her mouth and Ryan's previously upright bowl was now laying on its side. Here she is after she polished off the marshmallows - she managed to wipe off most the white around her mouth but she still looks guilty to me.
The only other thing we've done this week is try to organize our closets. With the warm weather coming, I have been on a mission to switch our the kid's clothes, and in doing so, have been motivated to organize some other closets in the house as well. Here is our entryway closet. I was so excited for Trav to come home and check it out the day I cleaned it and was a little disappointed when he was less than enthusiastic about my accomplishment. But I know deep down he really likes all the labeled storage and perfectly aligned shoes. I'm thinking about asking for a label maker for Christmas next year - can you imagine the fun I could have with that thing!

Easter Fun Weekend

As mentioned before, this weekend was dedicated to the kids and having some Easter fun. We started out Saturday morning with a big breakfast (I bought a new griddle and can't get enough of it). After filling the house with smoke from the bacon and eggs, we bundled the kids up and got them into the stroller to go for a walk. They both fell asleep about 10 minutes into the walk so Trav and I were able to spend most of the time talking in peace and quiet. When we got home the neighbors were all out and about so we spent the rest of the morning visiting and playing with whoever was around. Around noon we finally pulled the kids into the house, gave them a quick lunch, and headed out for the Easter Egg Hunt. Upon pulling into the parking lot, we realized that this wasn't going to be the twenty minute trip we thought it would. There was a line all the way out the door, and going back into the parking lot - ugh. Trav and I had to remind ourselves that this was about the kids so we stuck it out and got through the line quicker than we thought we would. The hunt itself wasn't that great as there were way too many kids, not enough eggs, and lots of greedy adults. This Easter Egg Hunt was done different than others I have been to in that there were only those little plastic eggs to pick up, no candy, no little gadgets, just the eggs. It also seemed a little unorganized as they just let the people at the front of the line go right away so by the time we got outside, all the eggs were already gone. Ryan was a little bummed, but then we turned around and saw a bunch of eggs magically appear - it turns out some of the eggs had numbers in them, if you got one of those eggs, you took the number in and got a prize, if the egg was empty, it was just that, an empty, plastic egg. With that being the case, all of a sudden all these adults started going through their kids buckets and pulling the "good" eggs aside, and chucking the "bad" eggs back onto the grass for others to find - gee thanks for sharing, now all the other kids have something to look forward too. It was kind of sad to see how crazy (and greedy) a lot of the adults were acting. Anyway, Ryan got his two eggs, and then was easily distracted by the play area nearby so we headed over to play for a while.

Things were going good until Ry took a tumble down one of the ladders, then it was time for the tears, and time to leave. We headed back into the building where there were some other fun Easter activities. Ryan cheered up almost instantly as we promised him a chance to see the Easter Bunny - he loved it, Lauren wasn't sure what to think.

After visiting with the Easter Bunny, we made one last stop so Ryan could get his face painted - doesn't he looked thrilled.

With the busy morning/afternoon behind us, we all (yes, all four of us) laid down for naps. I had to work that evening so I took off around 7:00pm and Trav took over "Mom duty" for the night. When I got home everyone was sound asleep - a sure sign of a good night.

Our big event for Sunday was coloring and decorating our Easter Eggs. Ryan of course was thrilled, Lauren had no idea what was going on. In fact, she was so not impressed by everything that she decided to nap with Trav instead while Ry and I took care of the decorating.

We kept it pretty basic with just three colors, and lots of stickers - just right for a first-time decorator. With the eggs colored and put away safely into the Easter baskets, we sat down for lunch, then spent the afternoon watching movies - April snow showers make for good movie days. All in all, we accomplished everything we wanted this weekend - lots of family time, lots of Easter prep, and most importantly, lots of fun!

Ryan's play date

Since Ryan's last play date with his friend Lindsay, we've been working to get together again, but things always seem to pop up that prevent that from happening. Well, yesterday was the big day, the day that Ryan and Lindsay could finally play together again and this time at our house - talk about exciting! Ryan was so pumped when I told him the good news. About every five minutes or so he would say, "is Lindsay coming now?" So he got through the morning, managed to eat about four bites of his lunch, and then Lindsay finally came over. Ryan was going crazy. First we had to put on his music so he could show everyone (Lindsay, Lindsay's little brother Brady, and Lindsay's mom, Charlene) his dance moves, then everyone had to go and check out his bedroom, and before we had all a chance to see that, we were moving on to the basement where all his toys were - it was a whirlwind for the first 10 minutes or so and then he finally calmed down. Ryan and Lindsay went off and played while the moms and the two younger kids sat around and chatted. Before long Lindsay walks up to her mom and says, "Mom, can you leave now?" Apparently she was comfortable enough not to need mom around anymore so they packed up and left and then the kids got down to some serious playing. They (Lauren and myself if we were allowed) played dress-up, tea party, safari hunt, mystery solving, you name it, they played it. It was so fun to just be able to sit back and watch Ryan play with his first "real" friend. I mean "real" in the sense that it was the first real person he met on his own and formed a bond with. He has lots of other friends but they tend to be kids of my friends, family members, etc., but Lindsay he did all on his own and it is very obvious that they get along great. Over the course of the afternoon, it was obvious to me that they didn't need my help (or should I say, interference) when it came to finding something to do, deciding who should get what toy and how to share, or much of anything for that matter. They were both so nice to each other and just wanted to have fun so they made it all work - I was such a proud mom to be able to see that from Ryan. After a long afternoon of playing, Ryan was pretty tired so we ate an early dinner, gave Ry a quick haircut followed by and equally quick shower, and then curled up in bed to watch a movie before bed. About 10 minutes into the movie though, Ryan rolls over to me and says, "Mom, I'm kind of tired, maybe I should go in my bed" - god I love this kid. So I take him to his room, read a book, and agree to save our prayer for another night (Ryan's request) so he can get right to sleep. With both of the kids sound asleep, I was able to relax and catch up on some reality tv I've been missing out on lately. Sadly though, it wasn't too exciting so I shut the lights off and went to bed early too - apparently all that playing took a lot out of me too.

By the way, Trav does still exist but he has been putting in some very long days at work lately so today, like other days, he didn't even get to see the kids - he was out the door before they woke up and came home well after their bedtime. We plan on making it up to them this weekend though by going to the Shakopee Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, and then dying our own Easter Eggs on Sunday - should be some good family fun!

A cowoby and his little lady

Ryan wanted to be "Cowboy Joe" this morning so we pulled out his bin of dress-up clothes and this is what he ended up looking like . . .

Lauren couldn't stand being out of the picture so she managed to weasel her way in by giving Ryan a hug - if only he knew the real reason behind her kindness.And then she wanted all the attention on her so I took a quick picture to make her happy.I can't remember where the whole "Cowboy Joe" thing started, but whoever, and whenever it was said, it has always stuck with Ryan. Whenever he dresses up as a cowboy, it is always "Cowboy Joe." After being "Cowboy Joe" for a while today though, Ryan decides it is time to change things up a bit and says, "Mom, no more Cowboy Joe, I'm gonna be Peter Parker Cowboy." For those of you that don't know, Peter Parker is Spider-Man and as of late, Ryan's favorite character. So for the past week or so, he comes in every morning and says to me, "Good morning Mary Jane" (Peter's girlfriend), and I reply with, "Good morning Peter Parker" and for the rest of the day, he refers to me only as Mary Jane and I refer to him only as Peter Parker, unless I forget, at which point Ryan becomes mad and says, "it's Peter Parker Mom!"

Gotta love that Peter Parker!

Damn that Trojan virus!

Yup, you guessed it, my computer had the Trojan virus and let me tell you, it was not a good couple of days to be in the Quast household. My computer sometimes feels like my only connection to the outside world so needless to say, when it got a virus, I got a virus of a different type (Trav likes to call it a bug up my butt) - mainly because I was a little crabby. After countless hours reading up on the virus, and numerous calls to different support centers, it seems like everything is back in working order and that nasty virus is gone (for good I hope). So here I am back to blogging and trying to catch up on the past week or so. I guess the biggest event that happened was Trav's 31st birthday on March 21st. Although the kids and I didn't spend the day with him (he instead chose to have a bunch of guys over to help him celebrate) we did still get a birthday cake and were able to help him blow out his candles, just a few days late. Ryan did an excellent job of picking out the perfect dinosaur cake because Trav is big into dinosaurs right now, no wait, that would be Ryan. Anyway, he picked out the best dinosaur ice cream cake DQ had to offer and even got one of the ladies at the DQ to write "Happy Birthday Dad" in red (he was very specific about this detail) icing across the bottom. With the cake in hand, we raced home just in time to get the candles on before Trav got home from work. Now I know it was Trav's 31st birthday, but I decided to put "10" on instead because that is usually how old he acts - just kidding, these were the only two candles we had in the house so that's what we went with.

After the birthday fun, the kids and I headed north to Buffalo to spend some time with Auntie. Ryan was on Spring Break (what does a preschooler need a break from, coloring?) and Auntie had some time off so the four of us planned to have some fun. We started out by visiting the Maple Grove community center where the kids were able to run and go crazy at an indoor play area. After that, we headed over to Noodles for some lunch, ran a few quick errands, and it was off to Auntie's house. The kids, as usual, were in love with the fact that they were somewhere new and different so they ran around the house checking everything out. After naps and a movie, we sat down for dinner and then played an intense game of "Drinking Jenga." This may not be the most appropriate game to play with a 3-year-old, but Ryan seemed to love it. The only difference between normal Jenga and Drinking Jenga is that whoever tips over the tower in Drinking Jenga has to take a drink of their beer, or in Ryan's case, his apple juice. Somehow he managed to knock over the tower almost every time (sometimes even on purpose) and ended up slamming a whole cup of apple juice. As you can imagine, the kid was pretty lit, so around 7:00pm we called it a game and got ready for baths and bed. It was an early night for the kids so Ash and I got to kick back, have a beer, and watch some episodes of "Dancing with the Stars" she had recorded - talk about crazy! After a tough night (Kelty peed all over Ash's bedding, and Ryan woke up around 2:00am wanting a drink of water), we all managed to roll out of bed and get the morning started. That day we had breakfast, went to the gym, packed up our stuff, ate lunch, then headed out for Ryan's doctor's appointment. By the time the appointment was over, both kids were pretty tired so we got home, unpacked the van, and all 3 of us took a nice long nap - gotta love busy days. After that, we were back to our normal routine on Friday, and then spent the rest of the weekend at home just lounging around.

So there it is - our week in one paragraph. It is kind of sad that if all fits into such a small little area, apparently the week wasn't as busy as it felt, oh well.

Sorry Ash

Maybe what I should really be saying is, "sorry Ash's future kids." Kind of a funny story really quick. So Ashley has a really hard time getting rid of anything - if she got or bought it, it is hers and no one should mess with it. Sadly this motto still applies to some of her toys she had growing up as a kid which mom and dad still have at their house. So when the kids and I go to Grandma and Grandpa Loken's house for a visit, they are obviously playing with some of Ash's old stuff - babies, dishes, etc. . . Well, it seems that my children do not have the same gentle caring touch Ash had will her things, and sometimes this bugs her. For instance, Ash had a baby (for I don't know how long) that was always dressed to the "T", was wearing the same diaper she put on it about 15 years ago, and even had a new born wristband on her arm just like real babies get at the hospital. Well, after Ryan and Lauren played with this particular baby a few times, she is now completely naked - no clothes, no diaper, and her cute little wristband is still intact, but no longer on the baby's arm - oops, like Ryan says, "accidents happen sometimes - sorry." After seeing the aftermath of the kid's playing with her dolls, Ash is even more protective and really wants to make sure the toys stay in good shape so her future kids will be able to play with them. One item in particular she is concerned about is her deluxe model baby stroller. I remember the good old days when Ash and I would play daycare and push all of her little babies around in this stroller and if I have to say so myself, it was the coolest stroller ever. In saying that, how can Ash, or anyone, expect a kid to see that thing and leave it alone? So, I'm sorry Ash, but this weekend Lauren could no longer resist the urge to crawl in there and go for a ride - she may slightly exceed the maximum weight limit (by about 20-30 pounds), but she was very gentle getting in and out, and their were no crashes so other than the slight bend in the wheels (oops, maybe that is why there is a weight limit), the stroller is still in good shape and ready to go - see how happy it made her?And here she is after I told her Auntie might be kind of mad at her for getting in the stroller - all she did was look at me like this. What I think she meant was, "yeah Auntie, I'm in your stroller, what are you going to do about it" and then she laid back and we went for a stroll.PS Ash, I'm only joking about the wheels being bent, they are just fine.

Dirtbikes . . . really?

As some of you may know, the SDSU Jackrabbits made their debut appearance in this years Women's NCAA Basketball tournament and they not only won, but they won big - 90-55! In winning their first round game against TCU, they also managed to tie the record for most 3 pointers in a tournament game with 16 - not too shabby for a first time team from South Dakota. Anyway, I'm very excited for their next game and hope they continue to have great success, but that isn't really why I am mentioning the Jacks in the first place. As a former basketball player myself, I have a little (okay, maybe a big) part of me that would love it if Lauren would follow in my footsteps and be able to play and love basketball just like I did, but after this weekend, I'm not so sure that will happen. During a visit out to my Aunt Nancy's house, Lauren was opened to a whole new world of mud, country living, and dirt bike riding and I think she loved it! Actually, I don't think she loved it, I know she did as evidenced by her squeals of delight and resistance when it was time to leave it all. After playing outside for a while, Bridget's (my cousin) son Jack brought out his dirt bike and showed off his abilities. It took all of two minutes before Lauren wanted her chance to ride the bike. I was a little hesitant to let her get on, but with Bridget as her tandem rider and guide, and a great pair of goggles to protect her face from the harsh winds and dirt, I figured it was okay so off she went.

I don't know what was funnier, having the boys in their bike helmets chasing the bike, or Lauren's constant bobbing and pulling to get the bike to go faster. And don't worry, no one was injured in the making of this video although I was pretty close to peeing my pants - I think the same could be said for Grandma Donna and Aunt Nancy too.

So here I sit, a mother with a dream for her child that seems to be on a different course than the one she would like to pursue. Sometimes being a good mother means keeping your mouth shut and putting your dreams aside so that is what I'm going to do. So it is out with the basketball gear - no more future Jackrabbit, and in with the dirt bikes, goggles, and riding jackets - maybe not what I would have picked for my precious little daughter, but she can still count on me to be there cheering her on when she wins her first race!

Here are some more pictures from the day.