Welcome Back InstaFriday

It's been awhile.

Here's what I've been up to on Instagram the past couple of weeks.

Here's a little craftiness, inspired by a pin on Pinterest.

Maia started going to the next level of dance class. The class that she has to go to all by herself. We tried it a couple of months ago and she was super stressed out about it. 

This time she owned that class.

Ruby couldn't quite understand why she wasn't in there with Maia.

We had some friends over for dinner and I made a berry pie. First time lattice work.

I got a new Garmin watch. It's awesome. I just need the weather to co-operate now.

Aleks and I had a date night and went ice skating.

It was a lot of fun, but we only lasted 20 minutes.

My old man husband kept complaining about his hurting hip.

Maia is sitting on the potty again.

No success, but she seems to be interested.

Maybe it's because I let her watch Dinosaur Train on my computer...

Have a great weekend!

Linking up with Jeannett:

InstaFriday

It's Friday again! And, I'm done for the semester! 

Juries are over. 

Grades are in. 

And I don't have to go back until Jan. 16. 

Being a professor does have its perks.

Apparently the sun has been sick this week. We had 5 days in a row of clouds. But yesterday and today have been bright and sunny!

Aleks and I love checking in on Maia before we go to bed.

The other night we found this:

TOUCHDOWN!

The girls have been pretty crabby this week. Ruby especially. But, she has good reason. She finally cut a tooth! Like for real.

I'll try to get a picture soon...

Just when I was ready to give both girls away, they redeemed themselves.

Yesterday, when the girls were sitting at the piano, I over heard Maia saying, "Hey, Ruby. We're friends, right? Hey Ruby, we're friends."

And I was able to get this.

On Wednesday these people are coming

and they're bringing her.

I can hardly stand it.

Linking up Jeannett:

InstaFriday: It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas edition

There are a couple of things that make it seem like the holidays are here.

One is cold weather.

Check.

Another is homemade marshmallows. (Peppermint this time!)

Check.

Christmas decorations.

Check.

And in other news, Ruby has had a big week. She's walking about 75% of the time and is in the process of cutting 2 teeth!

The other day when I got out of the shower I found her stuck under the sink.

(I should probably move the cleaning supplies to another place or put a child lock on the cabinet.)

Finally, I've broken my 5k mark and ran 4 miles the other day. When I first began running I really enjoyed using the treadmill so that I could easily see how fast and far I had gone. Now that I'm running longer distances, I wish it was warm enough to run outside. Oh well, I'll just get caught up on my Real Housewives episodes this winter...

I hope your house is full of holiday cheer!

Linking up with Jeannett:

InstaFriday: Home Stretch Edition

After today there will be a week of classes left and then one glorious month of freedom.

As I write this at 9 am, the practice rooms are buzzing with the sounds of practicing.

Keep in mind, it's usually dead silent this early.

Nothing like the pressure of juries to drive the students into practice rooms.

Thanksgiving was great. No marshmallow topped yams for us, but I have a serious love for the marshmallow.

I could eat this entire bag in one sitting.

Don't worry, I didn't.

The girls have been in fighting form this week. 

Not necessarily with each other, just generally crabby and demanding.

But when they're not being difficult, they are so sweet.

With me and with each other.

It's December now! I took a trip to World Market and despite wanting to buy everything in the store, I came away with this for Maia. (I would have bought one for Ruby, but still no teeth!)

My grandparents used to buy us these each year when we were little. I don't think you ever get too old for a chocolate advent calendar!

I also decided to put the tree up.

In all honesty, this is as far as the decorating got, but it makes me smile every time I see the tree lights.

And the smell of our fake tree transports me back to The Living Christmas Tree every time.

At the grocery store I put Ruby in the "race car" with Maia for the first time.

It actually made my shopping experience markedly better.

Ruby wasn't grabbing at my list or pulling all the cards out of my wallet.

Those carts are great for little kids, but they are a bit hard to steer.

For those of you who have the luxury of doing your grocery shopping without kids, be patient with us who have to maneuver an extra 4 feet of cart while making sure our kids aren't grabbing jars of sauerkraut off the shelves.

We're doing our best.

(I don't think Maia was thrilled to share her "race car."

Have a wonderful weekend!

Linking up with Jeanett:

InstaFriday: Where did November go? Edition

Can it really be that Thanksgiving is on Thursday?

Where did November go?

I realize, that it's only Nov. 18, but after Thanksgiving, it's practically December and then before you know it, Christmas is here.

And I don't even know what we're doing for Christmas cards yet.

Anyway, here's what our week looked like in Instagram pictures.

This is Ruby's pooping position of choice.

Pooping for her has been traumatic. We've been putting Miralax in her milk for the past 2 weeks and it seems to be helping.

Hopefully there will be no more sweating, crying, or shaking when she has to go.

Poor thing.

In other Ruby news, she finally hit 20 pounds and got a new, front facing car seat!

I feel like a real grown-up now with two front facing kids in my backseat.

Oh! Here's more Ruby.

How adorable is this outfit?!

Sometimes I feel like the kids are taking over the house (and my sanity).

I've got doll houses in my bathtub, a snoopy in my kitchen drawer, and miscellaneous kitchen gadgets throughout the house.

The other night I was watching tv and was super uncomfortable. I realized it was because I didn't want to get in the bear's way.

My girlies.

Wednesday morning I woke up with a headache that quickly turned into a migraine.

Thankfully, I don't get them very often, but this one was a doozy.

I spent the morning laying comatose on the couch, only getting up when the pain made me sick to my stomach.

The girls were amazing. They played, watched tv, and played some more. 

No tears, no tantrums.

Aleks brought me some better medicine when he got home and it was all uphill from that point.

However, this is what our basement looked like at the end of the day.

Also macaroni and cheese and coffee helped speed recovery as well.

Lately I've been crafting and I can't stop!

When I realized that Thanksgiving is on Thursday and I have no decorations up, I immediately went to my new best friend: felt.

I'm sewing "Give Thanks" and will then string them across our fireplace mantel with clothespins.

If I get it done in time.

I hope you are all ready for Thanksgiving and are able to enjoy the preparations!

Linking up with Jeannett:

InstaFriday: Again!

I'm writing this from a cute little B&B in Hays, KS.

The kind of place that has little leaf stickers on the toilet paper to keep the end from hanging down and fabric on the walls and rooms called Rose, Homestead, and Peacock.

It's the first time I've spent a night by myself since Ruby was born, 14 months ago.

It couldn't have come at a more perfect time.

I'm here for the annual NATS auditions and as a NATS member with students competing, I'm obligated to attend.

Even though I'll be working, I'm enjoying my time alone.

Earlier this week Maia and I had a date at the zoo. The leaves in Wichita have finally turned and it's been gorgeous.

Aleks told me that I had an emoji keyboard on my phone.

It makes those cute pictures next to our text messages.

Also, Aleks went eyeglass shopping.

Thankfully he did not get this pair.

I finally bit the bullet and got my hair cut.

It turned out ok, but I miss Chelsea.

And our playdates...

On Halloween I had my first gig in Wichita.

It was a memorial service for an older gentleman.

No offense to my Catholic friends, but it was the typical thrown together mass that causes lots of stress beforehand, but always turns out ok.

Do we sing the Lord's Prayer? What mass parts are we doing? Which responsorial and Alleluia will be sung? You know, the usual.

Halloween was pretty much a non-event in our house.

Maia didn't want to wear her costume.

Ruby had a melt down and was in bed by 5:30.

Aleks and I planned to watch this DVD while answering the door for trick or treaters.

When we opened the case, which was loaned to us by one of Aleks' colleagues, it was empty.

Fail.

We watched SNL on Hulu instead.

With regards to the stuttering, it's gotten markedly better.

I don't know if it's directly related, but Maia has suddenly mastered her pronouns.

"Mommy, you and me and Daddy and Ruby will go to the library."

Ruby went down for an early nap this morning and when I went to wake her up, I found this. 

She was O.U.T.

Drool out the side of her mouth and everything.

(She gets that from her dad.)

I've been crafting!

Felt is amazing.

Easy to work with, cute, clean.

A good way to be crafty if you're a bit nervous about crafting.

And I didn't instgram this, but Aleks texted it to me after I left for my trip this weekend.

Send good thoughts and wishes to Aleks this weekend. He's by himself with the girls until Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, I'm going to enjoy my solitude and read a mindless novel.

Linking up with Jeannett:

InstaFriday: These pictures are really small because I forgot to bring the correct cord to work edition.

Last Saturday was a big day for me.

(Did you know if the text is blue you can click on it and it will link you to something?

In this case, it will link you to my post about the 5k.)

Now that Ruby and I are done with these there's a lot more room in my pantry!

We still love the zoo.

And we still love the chimpanzees.

This little guy is about as old as Ruby.

There are certain things that happen, which remind me we are settling into life here in Wichita.

One of those is getting to know our library.

We even started attending story time this week.

Maia accidentally hit Aleks in a sensitive spot this week.

It was really funny to me.

Not so funny to my hubby.

And Maia's obsession with all things dance continues.

I got her this adorable leotard at Target of all places.

We're going to try the next level dance class in November, which means she goes in without me.

We'll see how long that lasts.

 Maia's a funny kid.

She licked the inside of a cabinet door then said, "It's a penguin."

Last night I came home from the gym after running 4 miles (!) and got to eat this for dinner.

It's chicken noodle soup from a recipe that a friend and former parent of a voice student gave me.

It's amazingly good.

Thanks Angie!

Linking up with Jeannett: