These knit pants are so soft and cuddly. Who can resist that little diaper-bum? Abric loves them. I love watching him romp around the house because he is just so darn cute!
Just another plug for my mom. She crocheted this blessing gown for my niece, Gracie, who will be blessed this weekend in Utah. We wish we could be there and can't wait to see pictures of little Gracie in this darling dress.
Does anyone else think my mom needs to open an Etsy shop? 
I dropped my parents off at the airport today. Why does time always go by so quickly when we are together? This week has flown. We have been very busy working on the kitchen. We are so indebted to my dad and all the work he did. We seriously could not have done it without him. While I helped Dad with the kitchen, Mom babysat the kids. Because we were so busy, we didn't have much time to just relax and spend time together. Usually when we are together, we always stay up way too late playing games. But we knew this trip was not going to be relaxing because we had a huge job ahead of us.
Last January we had an Enrichment meeting on fitness and nutrition. I had my sis in law, Lindsey, and her boyfriend, Jason, come to teach us about this subject since they are both certified personal trainers. The class was a hit. My goal was to have some women sign up for al all-women's 5k in April. I had figured that 3 months would be a good amount of time to run or walk 3 miles. I also knew the feeling of empowerment after crossing a finish line and I wanted these women to experience that. We ended up having 5 sister sign up to train for the race. (One sprained her ankle this week and couldn't make it.) 
I also knew that my mom was going to be here, so I signed her up. Lindsey and I also talked Andy's mom into signing up for the 5k. It would be my mom's and Andy's mom's first ever race. (Lindsey and I were so excited for them to run/walk their first 5k!)
And. . . we're off! My mom was planning on just walking, but Andy convinced her to run from the start line in order to get an action shot. I was so proud of her because she ran the first 1/4 mile with me. (FYI, I did get the OK from my OB/GYN to run and I did wear a maternity support/exercise belt. It helped out so much. I just imagined that I was rocking my baby to sleep as I jogged. The only problem was feeling like I had to pee the entire race, even though I had already gone 3 times before it.) My stride looks weird in this picture, but I think it must be because my hips have already started to spread like Aunt Jemima's. My goal was to finish at the 30 minute mark, but I crossed the line at 31:31. I felt great and I was happy with my time. I didn't want to push it. I just listened to my body and if I felt like I needed to slow down, I slowed down. If I felt like I could go faster, I went faster in tiny increments. It just felt so good to be outside on a beautiful day. I think Spring has finally arrived on the East Coast!
Here are Lindsey and Cindy coming in to the finish line. (The little boy in the red shirt in the bottom corner was Zane cheering them on. I am happy to say that his hives are finally gone. He has almost finished his prescription of Prednazone. My little boy is finally back to his sweet, old self.) Cindy did great! She finished around the 43 minute mark. Lindsey coached her the whole way. It was also Cindy's b-day today. Happy Birthday, Cindy! What a way to celebrate! We are so proud of you!
When I saw my mom come around the corner, I was so excited! Her goal was to finish between 55 minutes to 1 hour. She crossed the finish line at 47 minutes. She jogged the last stretch. I was SO proud of her! I knew she could do it. It was so fun to cheer and yell for her. She did awesome. I got almost teary-eyed when she crossed the finish line. She and my dad plan on doing the Cherry Days 5k in July in Utah with my brothers. 
The kitchen remodeling has been much slower than we thought it was going to be. . . mostly because it was an old house and we kept running into more things that needed to be fixed. Thank goodness that my dad was here to help with the plumbing and the electric. We seriously could not have done this w/o him! Andy has experience with cabinets, but when it comes to electricity and plumbing, we are completely in the dark.
I am so grateful for my dad and his sacrificing his precious vacation time to come out to PA to help us. He is the best! My mom has been a great help with watching the boys so I could go help my dad while Andy was at work. The kitchen is almost done. I will show a *before and after* photo after we are finished.
Book club! Let me tell you, I have not been able to attend book club for the last two months and I have been going through withdrawals. (February, Andy and I were on our trip. March, Ewan was sick.)
Probably the best thing about book club this month was that my MOM was able to come with me. She and my dad flew out here for the week to help with a kitchen we are remodeling. Here is my mom cuddling with Ewan on the couch. He warmed up to my parents so quickly. All it took was the ride home from the airport. I love it when my kids get old enough to remember my parents. I always show the boys pictures of my parents to help them know who they are. Ewan did great!
Anyway, about book club. I really enjoyed this book and I must admit that it wasn't one that I would have chosen to read on my own. (It was one of those books where I would have read the title, gotten a warm-fuzzy, but then moved on to something else.)
I loved how real and down-to-earth Sister Hinckley was. My favorite section was about when she was a young mother, probably because that is what I relate to the most right now. Knowing that she always felt like she didn't get anything done, that she was worried about her kids being sick, and having a hubby who wasn't home much just helped me to feel like I am normal and that I am doing OK.
This book was a really quick, fun read.
