Witts End

Today has definitely been one of those days where I am beyond my witts end. The day started out wonderful, I got Andrew out of bed and he was happy as a clam playing peek-a-boo on my bed with me! After playing in bed for a while we got up and went out to the living room where he found a crayon (not a big deal he draws on paper all the time, he loves to color) and started coloring on some paper. It was a little after 9am and I decided I should probably get showered and ready for the day, so I put Andrew in my room and I proceeded to get ready to shower...next thing I know I hear a scratching noise on my walls...oh yes I open the door and what do I see???? Andrew is coloring ALL over the wall. I can deal with this I thought, put the crayon away and I would clean the wall after my shower, besides I thought kids do this, and I'm the one who gave him the crayon anyways. So I again head to the bathroom whereI proceed to get ready to shower, although this time, I don't hear Andrew at all so I open up the bathroom door to see him sitting on my bedroom floor in a HUGE (at least 16oz) pile of Bubble Bath he has dumped all over the carpet and himself. By this time I was definitely frustrated, so I cleaned him up, tried to vacuum up the carpet (to no avail) which just made it worse. So finally I put Andrew in his crib and I shower, I get dressed and take him out, so we can get ready to go see Jon and take him lunch at the property. But before we leave, I feel like all I said to him this morning was No, No, No, as he unrolled our toilet paper, pulled vases out from underneath our sink, silverware out of all the drawers, he found more coloring crayons which he proceeded to color on the computer desk, inside one of his books....etc, etc. Then we head out to the property where he fights sleep and only takes a one hour nap. Come home and he has done nothing but destroy the house....needless to say, I am at witts end and am ready to put him to bed. Anyone have days like this?

Father's Day

Better late than never....

I first want to pay tribute to my dad! He is an amazing man. I see so much of my dad in myself, and I am truly grateful for it. My dad and I have always been super close. He is one of my very, very best friends!!! Growing up, I always felt so much love and encouragement from him in everything I did. I feel like my dad is proud of me, and the person I have become, and that means so much to me. I may not have gotten straight A's in HS, or played on the Varsity Soccer Team, I wasn't the best at the Piano, or in Choir, but my dad was always there for every sporting event, recital, school or church function, you name it, he was there cheering me on. I feel so much love emulating off my dad, towards me and he is (in my life) completely irreplacable! He is one in a million and I couldn't have asked for better!

Now to pay tribute to my equal partner, my other half, and the father of my son (soon to be 2), Jon! I am so grateful to be married to such an amazing man. He is a wonderful Father to our son Drew! Andrew loves his daddy more than words can express. Jon works so hard to provide for our family, and sometimes that means he doesn't come home until late at night, which in turn means Andrew hasn't seen him all day, but if Andrew is still awake and he hears the key in the door start to make noise, he runs over to the door and waits to see his daddy come through and then proceeds to run up to him! When I ask Andrew if we should go see Daddy, his response is ALWAYS YES (and then he runs and tries to open the door to leave)!!! Jon and Andrew love to play together, and it warms my heart to hear the laughs coming from both of them. They truly light up eachother's life. Jon is a great example for Andrew to follow, and I am proud to know my kids have him as a role model!

Day 2 of our son Drew's life...Jon was one proud papa!


Family picture on Sunday

This year for Father's Day I wanted to do something different for Jon, something that was special and only made for him. I started out with making him breakfast (biscuits with hashbrowns, sausage, bacon, eggs, & cantaloupe) and I also bought him a CD he really wanted, but the real surprise came after breakfast. Andrew isn't quite old enough to make him anything yet (although he did draw him a picture), so I tried thinking of a way I could input what Andrew might say or thank his daddy for and also express my love to a wonderful man...suddenly it came to me I would make him a candy-card! It was a lot of hard work - (thanks a million to my mom for helping) and normally I am not this creative, but this one just kind of flowed together and this ended up being result. No store bought card, but one from the heart!

Daddy,
Father's Day gives us a special RIESEN to celebrate you today and let you know how much we love and appreciate you. We know this past year has been a ROCKY ROAD...no stroll down 5th AVENUE, and that sometimes all you want is to TAKE 5 from work and reality and although we won't be the 3 MUSKATEERS for much longer we know nothing could RIPS our family apart. You are the STARBURST in our lives & if we could we would pay you 100 GRAND for all the hard work you do. (From Drew)...Thank-you for always going the EXTRA mile to CRUNCH time in to play with me. I know mom uses your friday PAYDAY's to buy me stuff, but I mostly En-(almond)JOY acting like a NERD with you & having MOUNDS of fun, so much so that we ROLO-ver in laughter. Sometimes I have CHUNKY poopy diapers that are WHOPPERS to change, but thanks for being a LIFESAVER and changing them. Sometimes I'm a SMARTIES and throw PIECES of food everywhere, but you are always MR.GOODBAR & clean up after me. No matter how many SNICKERS or fights we get into, please remember thatn you deserve a SYMPHONY of love & happiness. Mommy and I are sure glad she didn't let you slip through her BUTTERFINGER's, & just be-TWIX-ed us we know we SKOR-ed when you became Momm'ys Husband and my Daddy. Love BABY Drew & your SWEETTART Margaret

Petal Pedal Bike Race

I was talking with my mom around 5-6 weeks ago, and she mentioned that a bunch of her friends were going to compete in a 30 mile bike race on June 19th down in Silverton, Oregon and wanted to know if I would do it with her. At this point, I was around 26 weeks pregnant and needed something to help me keep in shape, so I said sure. Over the course of our training we began to increase the miles and eventually I realized that I could do the 30 miles and did actually want to do the race with her instead of just helping her train! With doctors permission (with a slight hint of hesitation) I was given the okay to compete. So Friday my mom and I left for the weekend!

We got to the check-in Saturday morning at 7am, and we headed out for our race at 8:40am. It ended up being a BEAUTIFUL day in Silverton, perfect riding weather. The 30 miles (I think) was a little bit harder than I anticipated it to be, but thankfully I had been training harder than what the map showed it to be, so I ended up doing okay. However around mile 18 my right calf muscle just started throbbing (I think I pulled it the Monday prior), but I pushed through the pain, and ended up finishing the race in 2 hours 25 minutes! No record time, but I am definitely pleased and proud of myself for at least going out and doing it. After the race we were fed a wonderful salmon lunch and then my mom and I took a tour of the Oregon Gardens, and then headed back home! It was a good experience and we will see what next year brings.....(my mom is trying to convince me to do the 60 miler).


Registration: Where we signed in at

My Mom and I before we started

My mom riding through the bridge

Just finished...tired, but Happy!