Some Sunshine, Some Bribery, and Lots of Fun

 We've had a lovely week, doing all our usual things.  Things are pretty run of the mill these day, nothing too crazy over here, but we're still having a good time.

  On Wednesday nights after story time, Coffee Bar Blue Door has an accordion player in the courtyard.  Mason is most definitely his #1 fan.  He LOVES watching him play his accordion.  Daddy plays the bagpipes so wouldn't it be fun if Mason picked up the accordion??  I think so!!!

Thursday morning we did our usual music class thing.  The boys LOVE being Miss Rabe's big helpers after class.  Cute stuff!

The weather was too gorgeous to resist on Thursday, so we decided to take a walk downtown after music class for a little cookie treat.  Eating our cookies while enjoying the view down by the water was DEFINITELY a good idea.

Silly boys...

Thursday was also my sister Abigail's big 30th birthday so I posted this little treasure on Instagram for my throwback Thursday photo...

...those were the days.  So glad I have such an amazing sister who I can also call my best friend.  Gotta get to writing that toast for her wedding...

We managed to squeeze in some pre-dinner biking to feed the chicken duck on Thursday evening.  Mason made sure to bring along his necessities in his ever-present backpack...you know, important stuff like cars and trucks ;-).... 

...gotta love his new "cheese" face.  Colton was looking mighty nice on his bike too... 

...he was testing out riding with just one hand.  Fun stuff!!

I swear the turtles smell us coming.  They were tackling each other to get our stale bread... 

The chicken duck turned up his nose at our leftovers this time...

...oh well!  More for the turtles :-)

The light was gorgeous.  Look at our lovely glow, no filter needed... 

...Mason is definitely my Momma's boy.  

We made sure to clean up the sticks by the pond while we were there too... 

...good thing Colton still had his helmet on. :-) 

Today's been pretty laid-back too.  After a quick stop at the tailor to get the boys' suits and my bridesmaid dress pinned for altering, which went a million times better than I expected it to, we refueled at Starbucks and hit up the dollar store thanks to my fantastic bribery skills earlier in the morning...:-)  It was pretty much along the lines of, if you'll please just try this suit on, we'll go get chocolate milk...AND if you behave yourself at the tailor and let her measure you, you can choose something at the dollar store.  I had to pay up on both.  Thankfully, now that they've put the suits on a couple of times, they realize they look pretty darn cool in them and I'm pretty sure they're excited for the big wedding day.  

We met up with some friends for a quick play date after our errands and rounded out our morning with some time at the house.  The boys played with their new plastic fishing game while I got in my last T25 workout for month one.  I'm pretty sure I won't be able to walk tomorrow.  Total body circuit AND lower focus on the same day...OUCH! Bring on Month 2...

Don't worry, I just rewarded myself with a handful of these delicious nuggets I picked up while I was in Naples last weekend... 

...I'm wishing I would have bought 5 containers :-)  

The boys have had me smiling LOTS today.  Their creativity and conversation skills continue develop and amaze me.  Colton came up with his own Viking costume today after I asked him to put some containers in the recycling can... 

...impressive shield, Colton.  You are AWESOME!!

Time to tackle the laundry that just buzzed at me.  Looking forward to dinner out tonight with my family.  Greek food here I come!!!  AND looking forward to finally getting a family weekend together.  I see lots of pool time in our near future.  No complaints here.

Last Weekend Before Christmas

It's the last few days before Christmas...woohoo!!  I'm not gonna lie, it's still sometimes hard to get into the Christmas spirit when it's in the 80s outside.  Most days of the year, I'd take sunscreen over snowpants, but there's something about being cold at Christmas that makes it a little bit better.  At least next year we'll get a cold Christmas in Indiana.  This year, I'll just count my blessings and catch some rays.  We took advantage of the gorgeous weather on Friday and hit the pavement for a run to our drumming party with Miss Rabe...

Don't miss next week's class!

In case you're interested in her other offerings, here's her schedule for the winter session...

Rabe Cogsil Cogsil@aol.com 772-349-1799SCHEDULE for Jan 2014------5 weeks=$50 Start week of Jan.7 End week of Feb.5 Tuesdays---------9:00-10:00 toddlers-emphasis on sign Language within activitiesTuesdays--------10:30-11:30 33 months plus Tuesdays---*12:45-2:00--4 month olds to reserved beginner walkers (safe environment for all)Wednesdays------9:00-10:00 toddlers and siblings Wednesdays----10:45-11:45 (time can be arranged around participants)
*= class starts for each family when they arrive- user friendly start and stop class format
5 weeks -$75 VPK Students or EAGER 3 YEAR OLDS
12:45-1:45 (DAY tba) Each class has 3-6 students and studies TONE BELLS No instrument is needed*= class starts for each family when they arrive- user friendly start and stop class format5 weeks -$75 VPK Students or EAGER 3 YEAR OLDS 12:45-1:45 (DAY tba) Each class has 3-6 students and studies TONE BELLS No instrument is needed*= class starts for each family when they arrive- user friendly start and stop class format5 weeks -$75 VPK Students or EAGER 3 YEAR OLDS 12:45-1:45 (DAY tba) Each class has 3-6 students and studies TONE BELLS No instrument is needed

We headed to the park after music class for some more outdoor fun...

It was a fun morning and we all returned home sunkissed and happy.  Unfortunately, things started to go downhill after naps when the Mason woke up with a fever.  The darn bug that's going around finally got its hold on us...bummer!  

We spent most of the rest of the day snuggled up...

Sambucol and Motrin to the rescue...

...if you haven't tried this stuff for colds, I highly recommend it.  I'm a believer!

I was able to squeeze in a bit of fun with some girlfriends at a cookie exchange that night.  It was nice to enjoy a glass of wine and catch up with the girls.  

Our original plan was to go to SeaWorld on Saturday to check out the special Christmas shows but we ended up staying close to home, with our major outing of the day being a trip to Publix.  It's almost as exciting as SeaWorld, right??

We did venture around the block on the bikes for some fresh air but that's about as much excitement the boys got.  They were just too beat to do much else.

I got a little stir crazy come nap time and decided to tackle my long run that afternoon in hopes of being able to sleep in on Sunday morning...

MapMyRun told me I did a good job...I agree!  It's definitely not my fastest but it's done and I'm ready for the half marathon.  Bring on taper time!!  And things went according to plan...I got to sleep in til 7 this morning.  Woohoo!!

This morning, the boys woke up fever-free but still congested so we hit up the beach to breathe the salty air and get some vitamin D...

...it was GORGEOUS out there today.  My secret plan is to see the beach every day in the next two weeks while Mickey is home.  Wish me luck!

While we were over there, we checked out the new playground too...

...even Mickey had fun, haha...

I think it's better suited for my littler love bugs, don't you???...

We rounded out our morning with a couple of errands before calling it good and heading back home for some R and R...for the guys at least.  I did squeeze in a quick, fantastic, upper body workout that looked like this...

I have a feeling I'll be squeezing in this quick, intense workout again over the holidays...short and effective!

I tackled a few other chores and now it's time for some R and R for me.  I see a family bike ride in our future now that Mickey fixed his bike.  Gotta take advantage of the sunshine :-)  

Back to Life as Usual...

It seems like the Planker family can't catch a break in the health department these days.  After fighting colds for most of the month of October, we thought we'd paid our dues for a while...ha!  Friday morning showed us otherwise when Mason woke up sick to his stomach.  Yuck!  We spent our whole weekend like this...

It was like a domino effect in our family as we all went down, one by one...Mason, then me, the Colton, and finally Mickey. It was AWFUL!!!  It made me grateful we only have two children.  I don't know how my mom did it with five of us.  God bless her!  It's so hard to take care of your sick kids when you are too sick to even stand up yourself.  Thank God for buckets, tons of towels, a washing machine, and Netflix...they were our lifesavers...and thank God we don't get sick often.  God bless those of you who tend to get sick frequently.  I don't know how you do it!

Thankfully we are all feeling much better and now that I've disinfected the house and made a BIG batch of chicken soup, we are back to life as usual...

Today kicked off with a lovely 7 mile run with my running buddy in the gorgeous weather before tackling the rest of the day.  We had some extra time this morning before we had to hit the road, so we took advantage of the opportunity to make some fun crafts...

...these little kits from Michaels are awesome since they have everything you need and they're always on sale.  I need to go get some more for Christmas fun since they were such a hit with the boys.

Our first stop of the morning was story time.  Today's featured stories were...

...what's not to love about animals??  It was a fun morning!

After story time, we headed off to Music class.  Today's favorites were the bells...

...and the train song...

...especially when it involves these hats.  Miss Rabe even got in on the action...

...fun times!!  We love her!  Reminds me of this book...

...if you haven't read it to your kids, you should.  It's a classic!

We finished up our morning with some stops at the Library where we got a surprise visit with Miss Lisa, the Fresh Market (hello cheap chicken, coffee,  and pork chops) and the Dollar Tree where we stocked up for our Operation Christmas Child boxes...  

...the boys and I had fun picking out stuff we thought other kids might like.  I think they really got it when we talked about shopping for people who don't have as many toys as we have.  Gotta keep it simple at their age.  I'm excited to be able to track the package to see where it ends up.  You can find more info here.  It's an awesome organization and mission to help others.

After a little play time at home, which is so good to see again...

...now it's nap time and I wasted more time than I care to admit playing around with this little gem... 

Elf Yourself

...go ahead and check it out.  You won't be sorry.  In the words of Mickey, it's "great brain candy."  Never gets old.   I dare you to resist making your own version.  Tis the season!

And on that note...have a LOVELY day.   :-)

Busy, Busy, Busy...

'Tis the season for nonstop activities and yesterday was no exception.  I kicked off my morning with a lovely run with my running buddy...

...I agree, MapMyRun, that we did a "good job."  :)  I live for my morning runs with my great friend...they are a gift!!  

Our next stop was Story Time.  It's Halloween week so of course we had to read some appropriate stories.  Yesterday's features were...

and

I have to say....my little story time friends are AMAZING.  Both of my choices were a little longer than my usual stories and the kids did a GREAT job listening.  Fun stuff!!  

After Story Time, it was time to head to music class.  Miss Rabe was fantastic as usual, always keeping things interesting.  She let them explore a variety of instruments which was a huge hit with the boys...

...and then let them each take a turn playing the didgeridoo... 

I didn't catch Colton in action actually playing the instrument, but that's him on the floor with his ear to the opening.  He thought it was a riot!!  

Colton also never passes up an opportunity to play the guitar...

...but Mason was out of sorts and stuck to the comfort of my lap...maybe next time.  

On our way home, we squeezed in a trip to the fresh Market for some chicken...it was Tuesday after all, and it's hard to beat their prices on Tuesdays.  We also got to check out Mason and Colton's coloring contest entries hanging on the wall...

...yep, that's them on the top left and top right corners of the display.  Their first gallery showing...lol.

We also picked up their new sales ad.  I get excited for all the yummy stuff this time of year...

...lots of good deals coming up too...

We spent the rest of our day at home, finding lots of ways to entertain ourselves, including some coloring thanks to gifts from Mimsy...

Before I knew it, it was dinner time which meant a girls night out for me with some of my girlfriends to celebrate Cecilia's birthday at the Deck restaurant...

...it was fun to get out and catch up with everyone and you obviously can't beat the view... 

I'm grateful for my amazing friends!

While I was off hanging out with my friends, Mickey was hanging out with the boys, decorating our front door...

...he does good work, huh?  Now it even has teeth on it too.  Fun stuff!

Now it's Wednesday and I kicked it off in my typical fashion, with a trip to the gym to crank out some miles on the elliptical while trying to make some progress on my book club read...

...I finished up with some lower body light weights before calling it a day.  

Now it's time to brace myself for the craziness of the day...MOPS, produce, story time, and pumpkin carving will be keeping me busy today.  Fun times here in Plankerville.   Have a LOVELY day.