So Happy Together

Around Thanksgiving this past year, our kids started sharing a room.  Luke and Brent liked the idea of Luke being upstairs with the rest of us so we made room in Nora's room for both kids.  

I was pleasantly surprised how well we were able to fit all of Luke's clothes into the closet/dresser and that we had room for Nora's toddler bed and Luke's twin mattress on the floor in second bedroom upstairs.  

By February, we purchased a twin bed with space for a trundle underneath for the kids to share.  Nora moved into her first twin bed (which she looks so tiny in:)) and Luke's bed tucks nicely under Nora's bed during the day for storage.  It's a great fit for the room.  

Recently, I've been wanting to make the room a little more "their" room instead of "Nora's" room.  I was able to rearrange a few things, hang a few things we had on hand, and I'm happy with how it turned out.  

A quick tour of where this room has been:

Nursery ~ 2012

East Wall: Crib and Sweet Dreams Baby decal

West Wall: Rocker, Changing Table/Dresser, and Tree decal

Toddler Room ~ February 2014

West Wall: Crib converted to toddler bed

Shared Room ~ May 2015

West Wall: Twin bed with trundle
(added Sweet Dreams decal with tree)

Bedtime

The west wall didn't change much.  I just moved "Sweet Dreams" from the "Sweet Dreams Baby" decal over the bed. 

East Wall: Changing table/dress (flipped)
Removed Sweet Dreams Baby decal and added kids' poems

On the east wall, I flipped the changing table into the dresser.  My parents got us this awesome piece of furniture when Luke was born.  The drawers come out, the piece flips, then the drawers go back in the other direction!  Cool, huh?!  (Don't misunderstand: this does not mean Nora is potty trained;) We're just changing her on the bed now.)  I also moved around some pieces I made a while back out of the poems Brent's mom wrote for the kids when they were born.  

Luke's poem

Nora's poem

On the north wall, I moved some of the remaining shapes (moon, stars, clouds) from the "Sweet Dreams Baby" decal and added some fun pieces I made.  I was inspired by some ideas I'd seen online so I decided to make my own so I could personalize them.

North Wall (a small space between closet and door): Added decal and art

Daily Life

A day in the life of Luke and Nora sharing a room...

Mornings

• We don't have a set wake up time for the kids.  They get up in plenty of time for our morning routine of getting Luke to school, Nora to Papa & Gma's, and Jen/Brent to work.  They typically both get up around 7.  Occasionally, Nora will wake up first and announce to Luke "The sun came up! Time to wake up!"  It's very sweet, though my not-a-fan-of-morning-self feels badly for Luke:)  
• Once Luke's up for the day, he pushes his bed under Nora's and we have room to get dressed for the day.

Evenings

• Nora goes to bed around 8:15pm.  She sleeps with her "BB" (aka pink blanket), her "bear bear" (aka pink teddy bear), and likes a sippy cup of water.  We read stories before bed, which for the past six months has been her "story book" (a book of multiple Disney Adventure Stories).  Her favorite stories in the book are the "Three Musketeers" and "Goofy Blasts Off".  Once stories are read, she likes her radio and Minnie lamp turned on that projects stars on to the ceiling and she continues to "read" her story book to herself.  
• Luke goes to bed around 9pm.  He sleeps with three stuffed animals (froggy, sheepy, and a puppy) and his blanket.  You'd think that by the time Luke goes to bed that Nora would be sleeping...well, that is not the case.  She is always very happy to see brother come to bed and greets him accordingly:)  But, she knows that once Luke comes to bed, she has to be quiet so he can get rest for school.  
• Brent and I are usually headed to bed around 10pm and it is not unusual for Nora to still be awake in her bed.  Sometimes she'll announce the song she hears on the radio, or will request we leave the hall light on, or we'll simply see her little eyes open from the hallway:)  
• One funny thing we are used to each night is hearing the thud of Nora's story book hit the ground.  We know she's winding down when she pushes her story book off the bed and onto the floor:)  

All in all, the kids enjoy sharing a room and it's worked out well for all of us.  When the day comes that Luke wants his own space again, the guest bedroom downstairs will be all his again:)  

Living in the Moment

I feel like we're in one of those stages where life is speeding by and I look at the kids and think "you're growing up before my eyes".  (These stages are far too common in parenthood.)

This post is my attempt to "live in the moment".

The many things I love about our family right now...

A moment in time: March 22, 2015

Nora

• Her little feet and full cheeks that still look like they belong to a toddler even though she is stretching out and growing out of her toddler body and into a little girl body
• Her chatter - the way she reads books to herself, the phrases she repeats (i.e. "What's the big idea" that Donald Duck says on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse;)), the songs she sings along with, her conversations with her stuffed animals, and the funny way she pronounces certain words
• Her toddler run (back erect, knees high, arms working hard, with a BIG smile on her face)
• Her pig tails
• Her love of sunglasses.
• Her love of the stroller.  Our walks together are so fun.  She loves pointing out fire hydrants, jet streams in the sky, and flags.  We love chatting about what we see: flowers in people's yards, the colors of cars we see, etc.  Sometimes we even sing songs, list animals that live in the jungle, on a farm, etc.  We always have lots to talk about:)

Luke

• His belief that he can try anything and succeed and, once he tries it, he is then an expert (i.e. skiing: once he made it down the hill without falling he was ready to take on anything).  Our goal is not to raise an arrogant child, rather I see this incredible self-confidence as a sign of his innocence.  
• His love of reading Harry Potter with Brent and biographies.  I just got a booklet with stories of celebrities/athletes who have overcome barriers to get where they are today and he loved it.
• His graceful, big boy stride when he runs (and he loves to run).  He's still proportionally built and coordinated, which I know can change quickly with puberty and the teenage years;)
• His long, shaggy, thick hair
• His brace face

Brent

• His beard.  I've known him since we were 14 and this winter is the first time I've seen him with a beard and I like it:)
• His incredible devotion to our family.  He loves time with the kids and is always on the ball in meeting their needs.  He's wonderful at giving them his attention and enjoying time with the kids even after busy, full days at work.
• His money management that provides for us day in and day out and his plans for our future.  
• His introversion that works so well with mine;)

I also love the fact that the kids are sharing a room right now and enjoying it.  I'll try to post more on that soon!

Homegrown

I'm a life-long country music fan.  I have some all-time favorites like George Strait, Kenny Chesney, and Martina McBride. I've been thinking recently a lot about Zac Brown Band's newest song, Homegrown.  I love the simplicity of the lyrics and the picture that they paint.  I want to live this song as my reality.  Check out the lyrics and song on YouTube if you haven't heard it.  My favorite lyrics are below:

I got some good friends that live down the street
Got a good looking woman with her arms 'round me (clearly this would be a good looking man, Brent, for me:))
Here in a small town where it feels like home
I've got everything I need 
And nothing that I don't

It's the weight that you carry from the things you think you want

Doesn't it sound wonderful: less or no distraction from "the things we think we want", enjoying the company of those we love???

It's country music that makes me think I should live in a small town...reality, however, reminds me of the lack of convenience I'm used to having lived in Rochester my entire life:)  Even if we never move to a small town, I think I can implement some of these concepts:)  I am especially aware of this after cleaning our storage area recently...talk about "the things we think we want"...that then end up in the storage area.

Freaky Fast and Fun-Filled February!

I have been quite absent from our blog in 2015 which I believe is a symptom of two things:  posting short, every day updates on Facebook, and being busy and tired.  And, February was certainly busy!

Coming into February, Brent and Luke were both full swing in their basketball seasons.  Brent played city league one night a week and Luke had one practice and one game a week.  I've been watching Brent play basketball since we met in 8th grade, and it's my favorite sport to watch, so basketball season is fun for this family:)

The first week of February brought a getaway for this momma!  I met my friend, Krista, for a mom's only weekend in Denver.  Why Denver?  No big reason other than it's central for us both (Krista's in Arizona) and we could both get reasonable flights:)  We arrived Saturday, February 7th and returned home Tuesday, February 10th.  We had a hotel downtown (near the convention center) and explored the 16th Street Mall, Civic Center Park area, and a little of Lower Downtown.  We had glorious weather, 70 degrees and sunny, so we were able to walk everywhere we went!  Krista and I also have a mutual friend who recently moved back to Denver, and Janet was so very generous to pick us up on Sunday for a day trip into the mountains.  We spent the afternoon in Georgetown, a super cute mountain town with little shops run by locals.  It was quiet, historic, and we enjoyed some killer desserts at Mountain Girl Bakery:)  Once back in Denver, Janet drove us around some more of Denver and we had dinner in the Wash Park neighborhood.  It was a wonderful trip and a great chance to catch up with two lovely ladies.  It was also a good reminder to me to save our money up now so we can snowbird when we retire!

Day 1

My dear friend, Krista

16th Street Mall all aglow

Shopping and dinner on a beautiful night

 Day 2

Dinner with Janet, our lovely hostess and driver,
after our day trip to Georgetown

 Day 3

First ever Big Gulp...I love pop:)

Exploring Lincoln Park

Capitol Building in background

City and County Building

Colorado Convention Center

Mr Blue Bear peaking inside

Love how his head is cocked:)

High Fives!

Day 4

Saying goodbye until June

Back in Minnesota, Luke had a fun-filled weekend of two birthday parties in the cities at indoor parks (Sky Zone and Grand Slam) for a friend and cousin and Brent took the few days off that I was away and got to hang at home with Nora while Luke was at school.  So, really, it felt like a mini-vacation for all of us!

February also brings lots of celebrating to our house with Luke's birthday!  This year he chose a party at Prairie Walls Climbing.  He and six of his friends enjoyed two hours of rock climbing and bouldering with an instructor.  It was a great place for a bunch of boys to burn off some energy in the midst of a cold February:)

Fun bunch of monkeys:)

Since we had cousins in town to join in Luke's birthday party, we also celebrated the Picker family birthdays with dinner together at North Mr Pizza.  We all came back to our place for desserts in honor of Luke, Mekhi, Annie, and Audra's birthdays.

Tea party for one, in a room full of people:)

Greg and Annalise

Help coming in from above from Ethan;)

Mekhi shares a birthday with Brent's late Gpa Roger

Mekhi, one of the February birthdays

These three:)
All the same age for seven days each winter.

Heels on her feet AND hands!

As if we didn't have enough going on the weekend of Valentine's/President's Days and Luke's birthday, we also bought a new-to-us day bed for the kids.  Luke and Nora been sharing a room since this fall (at Luke and Brent's request) so we had been looking for a day bed with a trundle so we could fit two twin-sized beds in what used to be Nora's room.  This purchase also marked the end of using our crib/toddler bed for Nora (and most likely for our family).  Nora has adjusted well to the twin bed and the kids love being in the same room together, even if Nora does want to chat with Luke till 10:00 every night;)

Twin bed with twin trundle underneath

Twin trundle out for both kids to sleep

We saved the last of Luke's birthday celebrations for the weekend after his birthday.  We had lunch at Baker's Square with Beckmanns and Moyers and then all took in some Chuck E Cheese fun.  This was Nora's first experience and she was very overwhelmed at first.  By the end, she warmed up to a tiny carousel ride and enjoyed herself.  Our niece, Piper, seven months old, loved taking it all in and had no apprehensions about the little rides:)

Piper riding without fear

Nora needed a hand to hold

Found something interesting 

Luke and his cheerleaders

Big girls:)

Compliments of the Chuck E Cheese Sketch Machine

In the midst of all of the fun, Luke also had a busy month at school with "I Love to Read" month activities as well as two fundraising efforts: one for the American Heart Association and the other for childhood cancer.  Luke loves having a goal to work towards, so he had fun with all of the "extras".  I also had a very busy month at work with an accreditation visit for our department.  And, finally, Nora decided to pop through all four of her two year molars (read: crabby girl)!  It probably goes without saying that we didn't spend a lot of time at home relaxing in February:)

So, now do you see why it was a freaky fast and fun-filled February?!?!

FULL Friday!

It was a FULL Friday!  

Nora and I started out the day at Those Great Informational Fridays (TGIF) with PAIIR.  

Water table fun

After class we stopped at Papa and Gma's and saw this cutie!

Piper snuggled under a blanket covering her floor gym

Peaking out from under the blanket to see who came to visit:)

 Then, Mom and I brought lunch and spent the afternoon with my Uncle Jeff 

who's recovering from surgery.  

Beautiful visitors in Jeff's yard

 Once Brent got home from work, Luke and I headed out for Welch Village to introduce him to skiing.  I wasn't sure how I'd feel on skis after many years, but thankfully it came back to me like riding a bike.  We took our time down the first hill so Luke could get a feel for being on skis and learn how to control himself a bit.  He fell a few times when trying to slow down/stop, but the second time down he said he wanted to go at his own pace and didn't fall again going down a hill all night!  I was very proud of his self confidence.  By the end of the evening, he even tackled a few blue hills.  

First ski lift ride 

Beautiful moon tonight
Wish my phone pic did it justice

More confident on the ski lift

The end of a very fun and successful night!

A full Friday with wonderful people:)