InstaFriday: A Quiet Week

I had a quiet week on Instagram.

1. & 2. We love the zoo. I'm dying to be at the lion cage when they are getting fed or roaring or something. So far, I've just seen them sit.
The gorillas are a different story.
I'm not really a fan.
They could mess up a person if they wanted. I try not to let my fears influence my kids when we're at the gorilla exhibit.

3. Ruby climbed up this ladder all by herself! Pretty good for a non-walker.

(She's 13 months and still no teeth...)

4. Maia was supposed to be napping. I came in to her room and found this on her bed.

Linking up with Jeannett:

Guest Bedroom

As time and budget allow, I've been working to make this house our home.

Most recently I decided to tackle the guest bedroom.

Here's what it looked like before.

As you can see, there isn't a lot of natural light in this room, so the pictures aren't spectacular.

The green doesn't help much either.

I chose to paint the room "copper penny."

In real life it looks more tan than pink.

I needed something to hang on the wall and didn't want to spend $100+ for artwork that is just so-so.

I found a frame at goodwill and spray-painted it black.

(Spray-painting is not for weenies. I realized that I'm not a huge fan. Give me a brush over a can any day.)

I bought hanging wall vases and placed them inside the frame. Now when we have guests, they'll have fresh flowers to look at.

Aleks hates the asymmetry, but hey, he doesn't have to sleep down there!

It still feels a little bare and I need to rip out some shelving in the closet and hang a mirror, but it's ready for visitors!

So, come visit! Yes, you!

Too Much Information?

And just like that, we're done.

After 3 years of being pregnant and/or breast feeding, my body is finally mine again!

While I'm a bit nostalgic about my babies growing up, relief is most prominent.

So, what am I going to do with my newfound freedom?

1. Get Fit
I'm running my first 5k on Oct. 22.
The schedule is as follows:
9:00 race beings
9:45 awards ceremony begins
So, I've got to finish in under 45 minutes. Which, in all honesty, shouldn't be a problem, since my training has been going pretty well.
But.
There's still that nagging fear that everyone will be ready for the awards and they'll have to wait for me to drag my body across the finish line...

2. Take some time for myself
I'll be going to Hays, KS for NATS in November. Without the kids or the husband. I will be working, but it'll be my first time away since Ruby was born. I'm really looking forward to it.

3. Buy some new clothes

4. Not get pregnant anytime in the near future

So there you go, probably more than you wanted to know.

But, I do feel a pat on the back is in order.

So *pat, pat*

And "hello" from Ruby!

InstaFriday

Every Friday I work at WSU and teach voice lessons.

I start at 9:30 and finish at 5:00.

And I get one whole half hour for lunch!

An entire 30 minutes!

I usually run over to the student center to get something to eat. The healthiest things there are extremely over priced, which causes me to vow to bring my lunch the next week.

Today there is no food in the house, so I'll be forking over $10 for a cup of berries just like last week...

The other morning Maia wanted to sit in Ruby's chair for breakfast.

She also wanted popcorn.

"Oh, and definitely milk" (her words, not mine).

Maia got a new bed! 

Her crib became the headboard and footboard. 

So, yes, this bed is gigantic for her, but she's got something to grow into.

Maia is still only napping about 1/4 of the time.

Sigh.

We went to a local pumpkin patch on Sunday.

These were in the middle of the hay maze.

Kansas' state flower is the Sunflower.

Aleks had a birthday on Monday. We went to dinner, hit some balls in the batting cages, and drove go karts!

Ruby finally had her 1 year doctor's appointment.

She's 5% for weight and 20% for height.

Still not walking and still no teeth!

Maia really wanted to go to the zoo yesterday. She let me know by screaming.

My favorite thing so far about Wichita is the zoo. 

We go at least once a week, usually twice.

When we bought a season pass we were concerned that we might not use it enough to make it worthwhile.

It hasn't been an issue.

 I hope you all had a great week!

Enjoy the weekend, I know we will.

LInking up with Jeannett:

Aleks is a birthday boy!

My darling husband had a birthday yesterday.

We celebrated a day early and went to dinner,

then headed to the batting cages.

Which made me question the fact that I played softball all four years of high school.

And was team captain my senior year.

We also rode the go karts.

It's been awhile since I've done that, but was super fun.

Aleks was shocked and disgusted that I would instagram while driving.

Yesterday we celebrated some more!

I decorated the house.

And made fluffer nutter cupcakes.

(I got the recipe here.)

 And Aleks cooked dinner.

He made this a few days ago and let it sit in the fridge to "let the flavors intensify."

It's pork belly.

After scraping off the fat layer, sauteing it, and making a sauce, it became this, which was actually very tasty.

(Wow, that's a lot of commas. If I didn't have a cranky baby in my lap right now, I'd figure out a better way to structure that thought.)

Happy Birthday Aleks.

I love you and can't wait to see what this next year brings you!

How Wichita Does a Pumpkin Patch

We headed to a pumpkin patch on Sunday with high hopes.

It was the first year for this particular pumpkin patch.

Look, it wasn't anything to write home about (or really blog about). 

It didn't feel particularly pumpkin patchy, but that was probably due to the fact that it's still in the upper 80s here.

And it's hard not to compare to the Red Barn shindig in WA.

But, there was a hay maze. (Rumor has it that it's the biggest one in Kansas.)

And we did get some cute pumpkins for the girlies.

InstaFriday: I'm Already a Slacker Edition

Already a day late.

I'm not going to bore you with the techie reason I was having trouble getting pictures onto my computer from intsgram.

(Mostly because I don't really know myself)

Anyway, here's my week:

On Fridays I hold master class at WSU. All the students in my studio attend and they either sing or I lecture on something singing related. 

Last week I talked about the anatomy and physiology of the singing.

At one point, there were 5 people yawning at the same time.

I think Maia might have a little bit of OCD.

Or maybe it's just a two year old thing.

I'm noticing that the majority of her tantrums happen because things haven't gone exactly as planned.

For example she has to have all her things in her bed just so.

Baby has to be next to Baia.

This is another one.

Drinking "all the sips" of milk before bed.

The girls LOVE taking baths together.

 On Wednesday we went to the zoo. As Aleks was heading to work I said "I think I'm going to take the girls to the z-o-o." Maia was right there and said "I want to go to the zoo with Mommy!"

I think she's on her way to reading.

And once she starts reading, my life is going to get sooooo easy.

At the zoo we saw the giraffes up close. They are beautiful.

The girls were fascinated with Aleks mowing the lawn.

I love cuddling with Maia. This time I got a break from Cat in the Hat and enjoyed Angelina the Ballerina.

Maia currently loves anything dance, especially her dance class we take at the Y.

This picture was mostly taken because we were trying to figure out why my instagram pics weren't being saved in my iphone library.

But, I did enjoy that beer after a long day.

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Linking up with Jeannett: