Twosday Nine

Things That Are Making Me Happy

1. This week I started a new, shorter schedule at work.  This trimester I can leave an hour earlier than I have been able to the rest of the year.  That means I get less time to prepare at school, but I'm okay to trade doing some work at home during nap time for extra time with my girls.  I'm excited to go on some little adventures and (when it gets nicer) have lots of picnics!
2. Monday was sunny and almost 50 degrees!  I'm so very, very ready for spring to be here.  The past few days of above freezing temps have made a huge dent in the ice and snow.  Our monster of a front yard snow man officially died due to the warm weather.  I was not even a tiny bit sorry to see him go.  

Things I'm Looking Forward To

1. Our big ultrasound.  It's actually scheduled for today!  I'm hoping to get a good look at our sweet baby.  I love seeing baby wiggle and hearing the heartbeat.  Plus the girls are going to stay at day care all day, so I should get a little time to myself to get some things done without two little helpers.    
2. Spring break!  Less than two weeks to go until spring break.  E is taking a few days off work that week so we can go on a quick Midwest getaway.  I'm hoping spring weather will be here for spring break!

Things I'm Doing for Lent

1. Sharing kindness.  The past two years I have given up Diet Coke for Lent, which has been a huge challenge for me each year.  This year I wanted to do something different, and I with how weird I've been feeling throughout this pregnancy, I didn't want to give up any food that might help me feel better.  I've been so inspired by Diana and her Be Nice Box that I decided to make it a goal to be more kind throughout Lent.  So far I've made bars to share at lunch, left an extra donation, made treats for E and encouraged my coworkers on the start of our new trimester.  This one I am doing well on so far!
2. Push ups.  E has committed to doing X number of push ups per week during Lent, so I thought I would try to do it with him (although a much smaller number).  I'm not doing very well so far, partially because I forgot about it while E was out of town this weekend.  I'll have to step it up for the rest of Lent. 

Weekend Adventures

1. Noodles & Company.  We don't eat meat on Fridays during Lent (or at least try not to) so the girls and I used that as a reason to go to Noodles & Company for dinner on Friday night.  We had a girls weekend while E was ice fishing, and this was a perfect start!
2. Minnesota Children's Museum.  We met up with some friends on Saturday evening for a couple of hours of play.  One of Miss A's favorite parts is face painting, so of course we had to paint faces before leaving.  While we were there we also got to check out the new dinosaur exhibit, which was really fun!  Little J loved carrying the eggs to the dinosaur, crawling in the caves, and digging for dinosaur bones.  

Weekend Productivity

1. Cleaned out extra closet.  Miss A's room has two closets, which is awesome, especially for an older house.  One of the closets was kind of a catch all closet, which was full of so much random stuff (including a ton of wedding stuff... from our wedding 6 years ago).  Saturday during nap time I took everything out of the closet, sorted through what to keep, toss and donate, and put (almost) everything to a new home.  This was a big item on my to do list this spring, because it will be Little J's closet when she moves in to Miss A's room later this spring.  
2. First trip of the year to Goodwill.  I suspect many more will follow as I continue to go through the house, but this was a good start!  

Books I Finished Last Week

1. Raising Self-Reliant Children in a Self-Indulgent World by H. Stephen Glenn and Jane Nelsen
• This was a really interesting book to read both as a parent and a teacher.  I think my girls are still a little young to apply much of what the authors talked about, but I do plan to read it again in a few years.  One of the things that has really stuck with me is the idea of giving kids choices, letting them make their choice but then letting them deal with the consequences, even though it can be tough.  We try to do that with Miss A, though her choices are still pretty small, but I think it's a good start.  For example, I give Miss A the choice to play quietly while Little J starts her nap and stay up, or play loud and she will choose to take a nap.  Framing it that way has helped to keep her quiet(er) during that time.  When she is loud, it's strait to bed, which was her choice.  
2. Glitter and Glue: A Memoir by Kelly Corrigan
• I typically like memoirs, but I found this one to be especially good.  I'm not going to lie, there were quite a few tears along the way (probably increased by my preggo emotions).  In the book, Corrigan recalls her experience as a nanny for two children who recently lost their mom.  This experience causes her to reflect on her relationship with and views of her own mom.  I highly recommend this book, especially for moms.  
• One of my favorite lines, "What happens to her happens- in some weird refracted way that seems slightly dangerous- to me, too.  And it occurs to me that maybe the reason my mother was so exhausted all the time wasn't because she was doing so much but because she was feeling so much." 

Online Purchases I'm Excited About

1. Pint Glasses from Vital Industries.  Heather gifted a Minnesota glass to E for Christmas, and I think it's so fun (and steal it all the time) so I bought a couple of the Wisconsin glasses for my brother and SIL who just bought a new house.  
2. Prints from Recipe for Crazy.  I happened to catch a flash 50% sale she was offering on Instagram, so I quickly ordered a few things, some for me, some for friends.  Can't wait to see them!