New Gym Buddy

I have to say now that I have a gym buddy going to the gym is much more enjoyable!  My new buddy is Ms Nancy from the library... yup, I know, but it's great!  We of course would see her all the time at the library and she was so much fun there and great with the kids... but you don't know what is to much professionally and how much they are just being nice because they're at their job.  And then, one time I saw her at the gym this past winter when I was training for the half and we chatted here and there but nothing real serious.  And then, one time I took a picture and she wanted me to send it to her so she gave me her number... which then also presented a problem because I didn't know if I was free and clear to text her whenever, or if it was just for that picture... Anyhoo... Through a series of events we started planning on meeting at the gym and now... we are doing a race together!  It will be her first 5K and I am very excited in being apart of it.  There will be many many more pics to come of it.

JVG

Gaetan's internet interview

I'm not sure if you know this, but... my husband is kind of a big deal.  And, that's not just my opinion because I'm his wife.  It's fact.  Now you know.  This has been your public service announcement for today.  ;)  But, it does seem that anything he touches, or starts, he does well.  What?  His son tells him to up and run a marathon and then he does?  And then loves it so much he's going to do more?  Sure! Why not?!  He had a craptastic childhood and yet wins the award, hands down, for best Papa ever?  Easy peasy.  Downloads some silly app on his phone and now they want to interview him?  Naturally!  (I sure as hell didn't get an interview for kicking ass on Candy Crush! haha).

Also, as you know we have some strong feelings politically so this app was perfect for him.  It's called Show of Hands if any of you are interested and they do a lot of polling questions.  The fun part about it is they break down the demographics of how people answered... age, sex, income, political affiliation, states... etc etc.  You can ask your own questions and then obviously answer others and leave comments.  People love his polls so much that they voted to give him a free upgrade (because this is a free app but you can pay $$ for other features on it).  Every now and again the inventors of SOH give users free upgrades depending on how well you are doing and, of course, Gaetan was voted for one.  Not only that, but people love to know what he thinks SO MUCH that they wanted to do like a skyping interview with him that people could tune in and watch.  Amazing.

Where the magic was happening

I, of course, understand his awesomeness and love talking with him and seeing what he has to say... but, it appears I am not the only one.  :)   Maybe, just maybe, there is hope for humanity after all haha

JVG

Weekend with Friends (Part 2)

So the next morning started out busy too.  The kids both had swim class, although Lucy wasn't cooperating.  She usually is so good about it and loves it but this time she was crying and didn't want to get in the pool... so she sat on the sidelines and watched Dude do class.  He was so sweet and tried to convince her everything was OK and that he was going to protect her but she wasn't having any of it.  We asked her what the deal was because she's been in class with Dude before and absolutely loved it, and she said that she didn't like her new teacher.  She has been with Missy ever since the beginning and this time it was with a guy and she said that even though he was nice and silly she wanted to be in Missy's class.  So, we transferred her into Missy's class on Mondays.  After that we got the kids home, did a few things and then had an early down time because they were doing an astronomy day at the library that all the librarians told us that Dude would love.

We went it was great!  More on that in a different post.  :)

We hung out and did the different stations until it was time to get home to hang with the Boeve's.  The last time we saw them Lucy was still pretty small.  They lived in Korea for the past few years teaching English and their contract is up so they came back.  I was so happy that we have kept in touch all these years and over many many miles!  The kids did great with them and I thought that Christina was going to take Norah home.  She loved how chunky she is... and, I can't blame her.  Her chunk is pretty awesome.  It was such a nice visit all the way around.  Unfortunately they don't live real close so they took off in the early evening, but I was so glad that we got a chance to reconnect!  Hoping to see them around a bit more now that they're in the same country :)

Playing some Mario Kart with the kids while I finished up dinner.  :)

JVG

Weekend of friends (Part 1)

Our weekends have been crazy busy!  As of right now our weekends are booked until July... that's just ridiculous!  Here is a little taste of how our weekends have been/will be.

We told Lucy to get dressed so she comes downstairs in this outfit... winter hat, rain boots and all.

Full van!  Lucy was a little worried that the rain was going to get in

At music class

Friday morning we watched Christian because Ava was having her pre-school tea/graduation celebration so of course Jane wanted to go.  And, in the morning, adding one more is no big deal.  Especially because they went to music class for a portion of it.  It was kind of fun to see how full the van was, and technically we could fit one more child in the back but they definitely couldn't be in a carseat!  No room then!  Music class was just fine.  Dude and I did our typical routine of playing games outside and waiting for them to finish... and Gaetan takes the girls (and Christian this time) in and enjoys.  When we got back from music Jane arrived with Ava and we had some lunch.  They played for a little while and we gave Jane her Mother's Day gift.  :)  I think she really liked it!  It then became very apparent that my kids needed their downtime so they took off and we rested.

Then, while they were still down our friends the Slattery's came.  It is always such an interesting dynamic when we visit with them because they are such nice people and they are the only couple that are as young as we are and have young children as well. However, we are finding out that that is really the extent of our similarities.  This was the first time that they had ever seen our place, so it was nice having them come and visit for a change.  :)  She is due at the beginning of July so I'm sure that we will make the trek up there to see their new baby sometime this summer.  Even though their kids are in-between ours, the age difference is very apparent.  Their oldest is going to be 4 this year and I still can't understand a word out of his mouth.  They are also into a lot of things that we aren't exactly promoting to our kids so it was a little interesting for the kids to try and play together.  I always have mixed feelings after their visits just because our differences are becoming more and more obvious.  For example, they just got the internet... I'm not saying that everybody needs it, but for people of our generation to not is a bit unheard of.  And, the fact that she had to talk him into getting it was interesting as well.  They are going to homeschool their kids which was one of the biggest reasons she cited for getting the internet, because lets face it, you need it.  It's a great tool to help them learn and stay connected to the outside world.  And, I found out that she doesn't know how to type... which is probably not as unheard of in my parents generations, but as millennials?!  We were pretty much born with this stuff...

They eventually had to get going because they were going to visit his parents and the kids were getting cranky.  It's always a little weird saying good bye because when everybody is giving hugs, DJ acts all awkward about hugging another girl (me) besides his wife.  So... we usually just do the I have to attend to a kid dance so we don't have too.  I was pretty happy that we made it through the day!  Onto the next crazy day!

So it begins...

Today marks the beginning of my second attempt at a marathon.  :)  I'm pretty pumped about it and am really looking forward to running this one with a friend.  First run was a bit warm but it got done. Looking forward to the rest!  Chicago, here we come!



JVG

First time baby sitter

I got a little LITTLE taste of what its like for working Moms... and... I gotta tell ya... I'm way to lazy for it.  There was a week where Gaetan was gone quite bit more than usual because there was a visiting professor in town, which is no big deal, but then I realized that the kids had classes and I had to work during times that he was usually around... so, I had to call on the help of my trusty friend to watch the kids!  This is the first time that I have ever left the kids with somebody who wasn't my parents... and I was completely OK with it.  I knew that the kids loved Jane and it wasn't for that long, so I was hoping that adding 3 onto her already 2 wasn't going to stress her out.  It was a lot of driving around dropping Gaetan off at work, then dropping and picking the kids up and driving to the different lessons I had to do.  And to top it off I had symphonette that night so I was driving to Grand Rapids after all that craziness!  Needless to say I was exhausted by the end of the week and it just reinforced the my gratefulness that I am able to stay home.  Thanks Jane for watching my crazies!!  They had a blast and didn't even realize that I wasn't there.  :)

Snack time is always a winner.  Frozen yogurt sticks make for a refreshing and healthy treat!  :)

Norah was cutting another tooth and was loving the different teething toys Jane had.  

JVG

Food Dance

I have to say that our trying new food places has been quite the success.  A visiting professor was in town so Gaetan, and his advisor took him to this place called Food Dance.  If you are ever in the Kalamazoo area, I highly HIGHLY recommend this place.  Gaetan had eaten there and said it was fabulous so we decided to take the kids there after music class one day.  It's downtown Kalamazoo which always makes me a little weary because of parking, but this place had it's own parking lots (yes, there are multiple).  When we got in we had a little bit of a wait and what do they have in the waiting area?  Toys. Lots of them.  And books.  Amazing.  So that kept the kids occupied while we waited for our table.  They also have this cute little shop that you can by speciality meat, cheese, pastries, bread, you name it... jam, honey, syrup... and all local too.  So, it was already off to a good start.

Then, we got our food.  I can't even begin to describe how amazing it was.  I got a hamburger and I could've just eaten the patty it was so full of flavor and delicious!  Of course the bacon, and runny egg and the most vibrant looking tomato I have ever seen helped out... and the sauce too... literally finger licking good.  The kids really liked their food as well (and I sampled it, and I don't blame them).  Considering how fresh everything is the speediness of their delivery is amazing.

Norah's happy food dance haha

A train also came while we were at the restaurant so the kids got to see that from our table and they were THRILLED.  Dude said, "best day ever!" haha.







So, if its not obvious that i've given it my stamp of approval on the kids front A+, service A+, Food AA++ and overall experience A+.  I can't wait to go back there and try different foods :)

JVG

Children's Museum and Marie Catribs

Symphonette rehearsal is on Wednesday night and my friend's orchestra concert was on Thursday night, so we thought it best to spend the night at my parent's and hit up the children's museum.  The last time I went was by myself during spring break (which is CRAZY busy) and I really liked the fort display they had and I knew that the kids would have a lot of fun with G.  That Thursday morning my sister came over and we had a nice little run together :)  It's always so much nicer running with someone... and even though we weren't breaking any records we had a nice time talking and being in each other's company.




At the museum the kids did have a lot of fun.  It's always interesting to see what they will be drawn to each visit... and how long we can stay in one place ;)  When we pulled up we saw school buses there, which usually causes us to cringe a little because we know it will be busy and usually pretty chaotic.  However, once we got there and found something to do they were all headed out since it was close to lunch time.  After that we pretty much had the run of the place which was nice.  We played and played until Norah started getting cranky.  We decided that since we were in town and it was past the regular lunch hour that we would try Marie Catribs.
















We still had a little bit of a wait, but it wasn't long and it was definitely worth it.  Of course our crazy kids didn't order off the kid menu but dude wanted a reuban, and Goose wanted shwarma.  I tried something new (I usually get their salmon surprise because it is oh so delicious) but I saw that they had a version of fish tacos and... it is by far my new favorite.  It's light.  It's fresh.  It's got crunch and flavor and spice... and... ::drooling::  Anyhoo, if you ever find yourself there you should order the Bruce Anchor.  You won't be sorry you did.  And if you're anything like me you will have wished you ordered two.

Showing the belly haha

After that we went back to Grandma and Don's house and hung out for a bit and waited for Beaker's senior concert to start.  :)  It was a great two days.

JVG

Beaker's Senior Showcase Concert

When I was in high school our final concert, the collage concert, was where we showcased our seniors.  However, with the opening of the new high school they have changed it due to different concert times and logistical things.  This is the first Senior Showcase I have attended and it was good!  It featured a lot of the senior violinists, and most where really good and some where not.  :)  But it was really good to see my friend Bryan in action yet again.  I was able to go with my Dad which was a lot of fun... as always :)

I thought that this was cool so i took a picture for Dude

Some of the high schools Art work was on display

My friend Beaker!

JVG

Norah getting tall

Ever since Norah turned one she has been going through milestones way to fast!  We had been enjoying the fact that if we shut the door that kept her in a contained space.. until I watched her get on her tip toes, pull the handle down and escape.  And, you should've seen the smile on her face!  She was so proud of herself.  However, that meant we had to figure out what to do because all the handles in our place are easily accessible to her now!  I was getting something in the kitchen and then saw Norah walk around the corner holding the end of the toilet paper... which she had so happily undone the entire roll.  She essentially TPed the inside of our townhouse... so we had to get those handle locks on the door to at least the bathroom so she wouldn't help herself to TP.  We then had to teach Dude how to unlock the door so that he could still use the bathroom on his own.





Another thing she has getting really good at is stairs... going down the stairs.  She is a master pro of going up them, but she can now go down them, facing forward.  She is a little speed demon turning around and sliding on her belly but she is now facing forward and walking down.  It always makes me a little nervous but she does such a good job with it!

She is always so pleased with herself

I just thought that this was funny

She has become quite the climber as well... no place to sit?  Right on the desk seems great!

Slow down baby girl!  This Momma is still adjusting :)

JVG

Symphonette

My darling family came to one of our symphonette concerts... bless their hearts.  Holly and her crew came to the same one so it was nice that they got to entertain each other a bit.  I totally love the fact that they are there to support my extracurriculars but I also felt badly that it was getting past the kids bedtimes and that they were staying up to listen to us!  haha.  Our final concert is next Wednesday at St. Cecilia's and this will be my final concert with them.  I'm hoping that maybe next year Mr. D will let me just join in the last few rehearsals and do the final concert with them, but I don't think that I can do it with any sort of regularity.  It's just a lot of driving and being away from the family...  So here is to my last concert!  It should be a good one with the Big Band that is playing as well.

Dude took some pictures at the concert they went too

Cousin Luke

Cousin Justus

Aunt Holly

Dude selfie

Dad and I backstage at our final concert

The group

JVG