Self-Proclaimed Long Weekend

We kicked off our weekend right a little early with dinner out on Thursday night...nothing like getting a head start, huh??  Dining with these two goofballs never ceases to be an adventure...

...I'm pretty sure that cranberry juice was chock full of high fructose corn syrup cause the boys were bouncing off the walls.  Check out Mason's dancing hands...haha!

Friday's mellow mood carried over into Friday night...I wasn't kidding when I said we started our weekend early.  It was a lazy day with a post-flu shot stop at the coffee shop, a visit with a good friend, and a quiet night at home with my boys.  This is how one of our boys chose to watch his show... 

...oh my!  They sure do love being naked.  

Saturday got off to a rainy start so I ditched my plans for a workout and had some crafting fun with the boys instead.  Check out our monsters...

 

...fun, huh?  

We finally got motivated to go get some breakfast and run a couple of errands, which included picking up the mugs we made with Abigail last week at Stuart Ceramics...

...they're a big hit with the boys and I have to admit they turned out pretty well...

...we're looking forward to going back closer to Christmas to make some ornaments.

We spent most of the rest of our day around the house.  I tackled some piyo and did a little more crafting with the boys...ghosts this time...

....can you tell we're excited for Halloween?  

I finished out my night with a girls night out to celebrate my birthday.  It was fun to get out and chat it up with my girlfriends.  They're such a fun group...

...never underestimate the power of fellow mom friends.  They are an incredible support group and a ton of fun too.

This mornings better weather called for a morning run with the boys.  I may or may not have bribed them with a promised stop at Dunkin donuts.  :-)  I got my sweat on while my boys ate donuts...I know it's not the healthiest thing for them but I'm pretty sure we all had a great time.  

Don't worry, they got their exercise too later in the pool while I kicked up my feet and watched them :-)  Now it's time to curl up on the couch with my man and watch the Dolphins game while chowing down these wings and blue cheese...

....our last hurrah before we tackle the whole30 tomorrow...I guess you could call it a whole30 eve :-).  This time, my man's along for the ride too.  Fingers crossed we make it.  Happy football Sunday!!

The Past 48 Fun Hours

We have thoroughly enjoyed our last 48 hours.  We've taken multiple trips to the park...

These guys are old pro at the slides now!

Check out their tunnel skills too.  

Peek a boo!  Can you guess who's who??

Lots of time outside makes for very happy Plankers...

Mason

Colton

Poor Sam-the-fish passed away after being with our family only 5 days but thanks to Petco's fish return policy, he was quickly replaced with a new fish who also goes by "Sam."  (I was relieved to find out that my water was fine, which means it's not my fault he croaked...phew!)  Isn't he pretty??

It's hard to get a good picture of him cause he never stops moving which is why we adopted him--he never stops moving, just like us.  Hope that trend continues...

We also paid a visit to the fabulous Blake library...

I'm sure we'll be spending lots of time there this summer--A/C, books, puzzles, and it's FREE!  What's not to love??  I wonder if they have a summer reading program for 2 year olds???

We also did some work in the kitchen today.  I made some DELICIOUS cranberry walnut bread using a super-easy, super-delicious recipe from Budget Bytes (thanks, Jenni, for the recommendation)...

...while Colton practiced his "baking skills" with play-doh...

Today was one of the rare occasions where the boys didn't take their naps at the same time so I got to spend some one-on-one time with each of them.  I love those rare opportunities.  

Mason was a fan of his new brain game...aka Tangrams...

I'm making it my mission to stimulate their brains as much as possible.  Any other good ideas out there??  We're loving this challenge so far...

Speaking of challenging, I've been challenging myself pretty good at the gym the last couple of days.  I did a FANTASTICALLY intense legs workout yesterday coupled with a 5+ mile run.  Here's what my workout looked like.  It was killer, in a good way, and will definitely be happening again soon...

Today we did a 4 mile stroller run and I also did some quarter-mile elliptical intervals paired with shoulder exercises and finished it all off with 100 elevated push-ups.   One day maybe my core will be healed and I'll be allowed to do the real deal when it comes to push-ups, but for now 100 of the elevated ones at the end of a workout is just fine :-)  

We finished off the day with a nice dinner out with "Aunt" Sheryl and "Uncle" Tom.  The boys thoroughly enjoyed their french fries and "chicken with bones" aka chicken wings aka Daddy's favorite foods.  Like father like sons...

Mason really had a case of the sillies for a bit.  We don't get out much...lol.

Speaking of silly, they thought this was pretty silly today too...

They spent a good 15 minutes falling off their chairs on purpose and then laughing about it.  Boys...

We can't wait for Abigail to get here tomorrow.  I'm pretty sure there are many more silly moments in our very near future.  Hope she's ready...cause we are!!!!!

On a completely different note, I read this blog on parenting a wild child tonight and found it to be very insightful. I recommend it if you sometimes feel like you're pulling your hair out raising your children, like I am many times. Check it out...

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