Not always just a cold...

 There's never a great moment to get sick, and I completely randomly got sick this week.  Monday started out entirely normal - swimming lessons + a rainbow sighting on the way home.

Then I have zero pictures until Thursday night because on Tuesday afternoon, around the end of the workday, I started to get a runny nose.  I thought it was really weird because I had felt 100% healthy up until that point.  Usually with a cold you at least feel tired first.  This came out of nowhere.  On the way home, all through soccer, and up through suppertime I was convinced I must just have inhaled something that irritated my nose.   

Around bedtime I was thinking maybe it WAS a cold, resulting from my chaotic Monday launching a new website.  After the kids fell asleep I got fully congested and then started to feel pretty tired myself.  I had a client meeting the next day so figured I should do a quick covid test.  It was negative - ok so just a cold...

Tuesday morning- I woke up feeling terrible, so told work I felt like I was pretty sick so should stay home.  Wore a mask to get the kids ready for school & sent them on their way..   throughout the morning I felt worse and started getting chills and body aches.   After plenty of denial, I finally tested again and - POSITIVE for covid.  Dang.  Called the kids and Jason home, told work, etc, etc, etc.

Wednesday & Thursday - I slept a LOT both afternoons after work, and slept through til I had to login to work at 7am.  That sleep helped, but felt exhausted and sickish.  I managed to work with 2ish brief naps during the day.  Those naps were magic energy boosters.  Jason had to handle the kids alllll day long, which is not his forte.  I helped more on Thursday, even though I probably shouldn't have - it's so hard to stay away from them!  "Mommy, I need a hug" is not easy to say "nope" to...

This is how the kids were sleeping - we had them in the living room, because they didn't want to be on a different floor than where my quarantine space was..

Umm December flew by like crazy this year!

 Apparently life got busy because I have not posted in too long!  Here are a few updates from last week...

Featuring:

*~*A visit from St. Nick on Monday - new Christmas jammies & some chocolate.

*~*My current fave tea.. chocolate mint.  I don't even like mint usually, but it's awesome in tea and
coffee.

*~*This is what the trails looked like before the big snow.  Now, sadly, the noisy snowmobilers will takeover most of my beloved trails for the season.  See ya next year, trail!

*~*No photo from Wednesday - was a church night & I had two somewhat challenging littles with LOTS of wiggles. :)

*~*There is a good chance a nice cardboard box will work as a Christmas gift.  Endless possibilities!  Jason and I went to Ikea Thursday night so this was enjoyed Friday, Saturday, Sunday...

*~*Kinetic sand + grandpa = 2 hours of busytime while mom bakes cookies on Saturday!

*~*I also took 2 littles to Target on Saturday afternoon, shopped for toys for other kids, and came home with NOTHING for them.  Well, I suppose technically I got them some yogurt.  We took pictures of the things they really really loved, and we had an excellent time.

*~*And last, but not least - sledding after church on Sunday!!! E is finally 'big' enough to enjoy it - last year she was so scared.

Bring on a new week!

Grandma and Grandpa's Playground gets a new addition

Ok so this was definitely the highlight of the day, so I will just start here.  Friday nights are playground nights for our family, and today Grandma and Grandpa's playground got a new addition.



My dad started the base of a new sandbox last week, and this week we have SAND.  Super exciting.  He also found a few brand new-to-us sand toys to play with in the new sandbox.  The kids were entertained by this all evening.  Honestly, I had fun playing in it too. 



Is it too dark to go running when I cannot even see my face? Or my Garmin?



Weekend plans include: cooking, cleaning, organizing, weeding + running, skating & playing outside.  Max picked up a little bit of a cold at school, so we probably will stay even more at home than normal, so he can get rid of it fast.

I am officially ready for the weekend when I can run in the daylight!

Freshly vacuumed stairs & pizza. It must have been a successful day!

After school creativity session.



Pizza!  A new quick non-sourdough recipe to try tonight - plain old cheese for the kids & Jason cooked our pizzas on the grill (on stones) like always.



Before bedtime, I decided I needed to vacuum our stairs.  I do not think I have vacuumed them in at least two months, and I am not even exaggerating.  They were bad.  However it made them look even more amazing afterward because it was such a beautiful difference!  Yep, I even took a picture of them.



It was worth these two running around like bedtime-maniacs upstairs, while I was quickly vacuuming.



I also accomplished the meal-planning in order to do my grocery run tomorrow.

Saturday:
lunch: granola, yogurt and fruit
evening: enchiladas + kale
Sunday:
brunch: french toast/pancakes and fruit
evening: tofu, creamy noodles, broccoli
*treat: either choc cookies or choc-date cupcakes

Monday-leftovers/veggie burgers, apples + peas
Tuesday-sandwiches + zucchini
Wednesday-cashew-sauce penne, broccoli
Thursday-beans & rice + quesadillas + kale
Friday-easy stuff at mom & dad's

The End!

Weekend Adventures

I got off to an early start again on Saturday for just about 11 miles skating (10.75). It was definitely not quite as hot, but still nice to get out early.  There are less people on the trails, which means it's easier to skate freely - not worry as much about who might be up around the next corner to have to clear, or potential dog walkers with long leashes, or young kids mingling in the middle of trails.  Early is good!



I felt so much stronger this week, but still not ready to push it the full extent of my 6 mile out/6 mile back stretch - at least I think it's a 6 mile stretch. I will try to be ready to find out and try that next week.  And then we'll start working on picking up the pace.



The kids wanted to go for a ride around the neighborhood with me afterward, but they had quite the to-do list to accomplish first.  So by the time they got in the trailer, it was almost lunch/nap time and they were not interested in a very long loop.  We got fun crackers though (they always get a special snack in the bike trailer/stroller).



After nap, I really really was overdue for cleaning up their rooms - they help with the toys and clothes, and then I tackle the vacuuming, and washing blankets and things like that.  Jason was busy so I had to get our current babysitter, the laptop, out for a couple of videos to keep them occupied for a little longer.



Ultimately we did another "campout" in the basement! We watched Frozen on DisneyPlus, stayed up a little late, and then we all slept on the floor downstairs.  Eleanor did go up to her bed after the movie, because she just sleeps so fantastic that way.



Sunday, after church, we had another adventure planned.  Jason really wanted to go see this Prince statue down in Henderson, MN.  He said it was in a garden area, so we could probably explore there too - which made it sound good enough to me!  So after church we fueled up with extra cheerios and packed up the car.



And we drove over an hour to see this...



Also, it was not really in a garden...



So we went off to plan B: a little nature center not even 5 miles away.



We took a long walk through a really cool trail. It wove us back through some soybean and corn fields, to a big pond that was really pretty because it was in the middle of nowhere & usually our walks involve houses at some point.



They wore themselves out for a short nap & then were off and running again when we got back for some visits with grandmas and grandpas.



It turned out to be a successful adventure after all!



Whew we did a lot this weekend..

A new addition to my morning routine

I've been visiting this giant weed every morning. Because for whatever reason the Japanese beetles that have decided to join our flower beds find it really tasty. Every morning now, I go spray them down with a soap-water mix. It's only been a couple of days, so we will find out if it actually works! Fortunately the beetles have not destroyed any other plants like this.



Also, while out spraying I stumbled across this random pretty blue flower.  Pretty sure this one is technically a weed too - I didn't plan it.  That makes it a weed, right?  It's a very pretty weed.



Do you think if I put marshmallows into my superfoods, it still counts as a superfood snack?  It was not quite as good as my choco-chip/caco nib additions, though still a fun addition with the coconut flakes too.



My mom brought over some of her amazing fresh salsa for us the other night.  So today my lunch was covered in it - plus leftover black beans, corn, and I topped it with walnuts.  Which, I know sounds weird, but it adds a nice crunch, and I am into walnuts right now.



Fresh salsa is beautiful.



After picking up the kiddos, we headed to my parents', per our usual Friday night fun plans!  My dad has a sandbox in the works, so that's what the frame is under the swingset.  My brother even stopped by too - hooray!



Good thing these kids have both school & grandparents' houses for playing on some sort of playgrounds during this pandemic!

I start my days in style

The best way to start a meeting-packed Thursday is clearly a comfy  hoody and zero makeup. I am all set to take on my first call of the day.



After 2 hours of meeting, who wouldn't need a snack?  I am mixing things up with CHOCOLATE today.  Plus walnuts.  Because I am definitely on a walnut kick the last few days.



Taco night tonight!! Seasoned ground turkey for Jason, plus black beans, sliced peppers, hard shells, tomatoes, salsa, etc.  Max has been looking forward to this taco night all week - he prefers his taco with just cheese + some meatless crumbles.

I stumbled across this gem on my evening run. an entire field of sunflowers! I feel so lucky to have this nearby and for sure will need to remember stop back with the kids soon.



It is so fun to run around exploring all the things I wouldn't otherwise know about my city!