Denver

weekend wrap up //

November 4, 2015 by Rachel 2 Comments

Hey look at me! I’m doing a wrap up of festivities that occurred just ONE week ago, instead of THREE weeks ago! Ha! #success

Thursday //

Technically, our ‘weekend’ started on Thursday with Trick or treat at the art museum. Or as Moosh calls it, the Art ‘Seum. Moosh loves the art museum! And he loves Halloween. So TWO of his fave things at the same time?? Genius!

<This year was a bit more chaotic than the previous year. There were more activities for kids and, what seemed like, a lot more kids in general. We bounced from activity to activity. But probably my favorite part was the sensory play that Moosh was totally NOT into. They had cooked spaghetti, but it was all different colors. And it had a little bit of water mixed in with it, so it was slimy like worms.

I tried to get Moosh to grab it, by reaching my own hands in. He visibly shuttered… and I died laughing. I couldn’t help it. It was such an ‘adult’ reaction.

Friday //

Besides dragging Ari to the hospital with me for my glucose test + rhogam shot, we did nothing. And we had a super chill Friday night, once Chad came home from a long week of work. He was on-call all week (and had been called out several times in the middle of the night), so spending a nice evening at home was just what we needed.

Saturday //

I woke up bright and early to get a jump on our day. Chad’s sister, who also happens to be my high school friend, had come into town from Denver (yes, all three of his sisters live in Denver!) to visit for the weekend. So I let the boys sleep in while I packed up the car.

Sidenote: Does anyone else feel like they pack up EVERYTHING they could POSSIBLY need in their car for the kids??!! This includes, but is not limited to, a change of clothes (complete outfit with underwear and socks), ‘busy’ activities, snacks, drinks, etc. Ha! Life of a parent!

I love the fact that all I had to do was wake the boys up and get Ari dressed while Chad got himself ready. Easy-peasy. Load everyone in the car and drive the hour+ for our visit!

Ari talked about “playing with his friends” the whole ride there. He’s been saying that about every kid his age lately. It’s the cutest. ♥

When we arrived Ari practically RAN into my friend Nikki’s house to play with his two cousins and Nikki’s two boys. What is it about another kids toys that is just way more fun than playing with ones own toys?? Ha.

The kids played while the parents caught up. After an hour or so we loaded up the cars and headed out for lunch. That’s right. Five kids, 3 of which are 3 and under. 4 Frazzled parents. Two grandparents. In a restaurant. Complete. CHAOS.

Lunch went as would be expected. The kids grew restless; the parents shoveled food in their mouths as quickly as possible. But we ate. And we survived.

Post-lunch we took the kids over to a local park to burn off all the energy they were holding in during lunch. And they played hard.

But, as per usual, Moosh refused to nap on the hour+ drive home. Sigh, kid, sigh… He just stared out the window like a zombie. Dead tired, refusing to nap.

Which, of course, made trick or treating Saturday night just super fun. I mean, he was SO looking forward to it. But we made it one block — ONE BLOCK — before calling it quits and heading home. Our Ninja Turtle was definitely exhausted.

But the houses we did hit up, he did great. He walked up, by himself, and said “Trick or Treat!” followed up by, “Ghee boo!” which is how he pronounces “Thank you.” Super proud Mama moment.

Aaaand then we went home to wrestle him to sleep. Fun times.

And then I forced Chad to watch a spooky movie with me. 🙂

Sunday //

I’m just gonna say it. I LOVE THE TIME CHANGE! I know, I know. Other parents hate it. But I actually slept til 8 (which is really 9) and went to Target by myself — because Chad and Ari were still sound asleep. !!!!!!! Yep. Love it.

Chad and I had a (mostly) chill day of just cleaning and grocery shopping. I napped with Ari (YEP. My kid even NAPPED during daylight savings. Hate me all you want.). We ate. We relaxed. Perfection.

Now, if only I could bottle up that extra sleep and extend it throughout this week! Ha!

weekend wrap up //

September 29, 2015 by Rachel 1 Comment

This weekend my sister-in-law and her family came into town from Denver for a quick visit. The unfortunate part about this is that I was still very much sick; but I made the best of it (and luckily just spent my nights throwing up, not my days). We haven’t seen them in what seems like ages. My niece and nephew were so excited to play with Ari — it’s been nearly a year since Chad took him out to Denver for a visit.

As much as it was a chance to visit with out-of-town family, this weekend was a chance for us to reconnect, too! Chad + I spent some serious snuggle time with Moosh. I took him for coffee + donuts at the Lil’ Donut Factory (where he requested a “red” donut… I’m not quite sure what that meant, but he seemed to enjoy his sprinkle donut all the same!) before we went to a family cookout — complete with the biggest bonfire I’ve ever seen.

On Saturday, Chad had plans to go with his sister + her family to the Ohio State football game against Western Michigan. He was beyond excited; and I was just as happy to not be going! [Pregnant + around a lot of drunk people = no bueno]. My job for the day was to hang with Moosh, my niece Grace, and their Grammy [my MIL]. We had big plans of our own!

First stop, the North Market! It was definitely busy, but not too busy to swing by my favorite stands + grab some goodies! Moosh seemed to enjoy the Belgian waffles (from Taste of Belgium). I would only let him eat a few bites because we had lunch plans for the Hot Chicken Takeover popup shop.

GUYS. It was amazing! The spicy chicken with warm maple syrup!? Incredible. So incredible that I had to rub it in Chad’s face that he wasn’t there to enjoy it with me! And the kids seemed to enjoy the mac + cheese! In the words of Ari, “It was really good!” Ha! Kid cracks me up.

Post-market we took the kids to Dave + Busters for some fun. I should have known better. I should have known that these kids didn’t even need any tokens… they just pressed buttons! They did end up finding some games they liked to play… like skeeball. It was adorable.

By the end, I was exhausted and so were the kids — SUCCESS! Before we headed home, we got them their prizes (a sticky hand and a Fun Dip each!) and a treat — Graeters Ice Cream!

Believe it or not, Moosh asked to nap afterwards!! Post-nap the kids were pretty mellow while we waited for everyone to come back from the big game. It’s safe to say that everyone slept well that night. Well, except for me — ha.

Sunday morning we went to the Orchard Co. in Plain City for their Fall Festival. Moosh seemed kinda wiped still. And I certainly was. But he managed to enjoy the “train” ride and playing with his ‘friends,’ aka – his cousins!

By the time we arrived home, I was beyond wiped out. I slept for 11.5 HOURS. No joke. But seriously, busy but great weekend. It’s officially Fall, y’all!

when the cat’s away…

August 26, 2014 by Rachel 1 Comment

this mouse will:

organize the house.
practice lots of yoga.
go for long runs in the middle of the week.
eat takeout every night for dinner.
drink wine while watching the Real Housewives on the DVR.
meet up with blogger friends for a fun night of delicious food.

Yep. The mister left with Moosh for Denver yesterday afternoon! And it rocked my world. It’s my first time away from Moosh for more than one night (total… over the last 2 years). But in all honesty, as much as I wish I could have travelled with them this week, I’m totally looking forward to the ‘single’ life for a few days. It’s just me and Oscar Pants — just like the old days!

But wish me luck, ’cause this gal is already missing her boys.

weekend wrap up // 4th of July edition !

July 15, 2014 by Rachel Leave a Comment

I swear we are still recovering from our Fourth of July weekend. I know, I know… it was over a week ago. But we packed a LOT into a little bit of time.

Thursday night, after work, Moosh & I went on a mini-date… just the two of us! We went to the Akron Art Museum’s Downtown at Dusk. Downtown at Dusk features live music and entertainment every Thursday evening in the summer. Bonus? The museum & exhibits are free on Thursdays, too! So Moosh & I walked around the exhibits (we do this on the regular, actually), then sat at a table inside and watched the band play (a table was the only place I could keep him semi-contained).

[baby-wearing selfie in front of a giant exhibit]

[snacking on a Q-cookie (which is the shape of the exhibit in the selfie above)]

On Friday the 4th, this mama woke up early prepping for a day of fun. ….But Moosh slept in (of course). We had to wake him to get him ready for his first parade! I’ve been meaning to make it to a parade. I feel like it’s a parents’ duty to take their kid to see scary clowns and big trucks driving down a closed street. And it WAS fun. But the waiting for it to start? That was a little less fun.

[thankful Annie’s Organics makes these handy gluten-free snacks in handy to-go bags!]

He was anxious. Super anxious. And running around like you would expect from a toddler with tons of energy.

And thankfully when he saw the big trucks and fire engines honking and their sirens blaring, he was entranced. And we got to take a ‘family photo’ (which these days really means sneaking a family selfie).

We were lucky enough to get him to go down for a short nap before my sister-in-law and her family came over. They were in visiting from Denver and it was Ari’s first time meeting his cousins! Such an exciting day for us!

They played and swam and we all went to the Rib White & Blue Festival in Akron for some eats! Ari was entranced by his older cousins! 🙂

Saturday Moosh & daddy had some downtime while Mama went to work. But by Sunday we were back at it again! My sister-in-law and I actually grew up together and graduated high school together. So we have the same BFF’s from high school (we are SO lucky!). All of us girls got together with the signifcant others & kiddos for a fun cookout and playdate.

Ari got himself drenched pretty early on from the water table. I had just grabbed his swimsuit when he got soaked… and at that point we thought – screw it! – he’s staying in his diaper! Ha! (Parents of the year!)

[he loves corn. and cars. and his cousin!]

[Moosh + Grandpa Mike]The gals were all able to get together for a few pictures before we started to all go our separate ways.

It was a completely wonderful weekend. And this picture of Moosh on the way home really sums up how we’ve all been feeling since. Exhausted from too much fun! 🙂

Las Vegas: Part 1.

February 1, 2012 by Rachel 3 Comments

We’ve been home from Vegas for over a week and I feel like I’m still trying to catch up on sleep.

I had this whole huge Vegas post written, but it was way too wordy.
So time for Part One: Vegas in pictures.

Pre-Vegas we stopped in Denver to see the BFs family.
Had so much fun, but the time flew by way faster than either of us wanted.

As soon as we got to Las Vegas, we stopped by the famous “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign!

We had some time to kill before checking into the hotel.
Plus we were starved. So we went to the infamous Heart Attack Grill.
The food was decent, I guess. We split a giant hamburger and fries.
But cash only?? Really? No thanks.

Then we checked into our hotel: the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino!
I saw our huge bed and gorgeous view, and I was in LOVE!

The bathtub was lovely. And the view from the tub didn’t hurt, either!
Gosh I miss that tub…

Paris right next door!

The incredible view at night from our room.

More Vegas pictures coming up!

not all hot yoga is created equal.

December 1, 2010 by Rachel 2 Comments

When we vacationed in Denver last week, I was unable to fit my Jade yoga mat in my luggage, but managed to squeeze my Yogitoes non-slip mat-sized towel into my carry on with hopes that I would have the luxury of trying out a studio in Denver.

On Tuesday we drove passed a Core Power Yoga studio. I yelled for BF to stop the car so I could go inside and check out when classes were scheduled. The studio was beautiful. And the desk yogis were genuinely nice.

So Wednesday BF took me to the studio for an hour long ‘Hot Power Fusion’ class. Which is described, via their website, as follows:

Blend the best of both types of yoga offered by CorePower. A Vinyasa-style yoga practiced in a heated, climate controlled, environment that incorporates the poses from the Hot Yoga series systematically working the entire body, concentrating on the essence of every organ, bone, joint, muscle, ligament, tendon, blood vessel, nerve and gland. Inspiring, fun and uplifting music will be the background for this revolutionary class.

The type of yoga I have become accustom to is a Power Vinyasa Flow class. Particularly, the Baptiste Power Vinyasa. The yogis at Core Power Yoga assured me these classes were similar.

They were not.

There was little to no flow in the Core Power class. Single poses, followed by breaks in breathing, or the ujjayi breath, which {to me and my practice} is the main focus. The focus seemed completely on the bandha, or the practice of locking up the abdominal muscles.

Neither the heat nor the altitude effected my practice. This is probably because the class did not challenge me and I found the poses and sets to be, well… simple. Too simple. Especially for a place that considers itself to be a power studio.

All in all, the staff was fantastic. The teacher was, for lack of better words, different but interesting. The studio was gorgeous.

While this yoga studio and type of yoga works for some, I can definitely say it isn’t for me. This is neither good nor bad. It just is. You live and you learn. Trying this studio was part of my own growth into my own practice. A yogi lesson.