I had been warned that the expo was a nightmare. Two separate friends went to pick up their packets for the charity walk for them and their kids and waited for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. One took time off from work ( so was kidless), the other had her youngest (3 yo) with her in a stroller. They both offered to pick our packets and drop them off at our house. I declined. I had told the kids I was going to take them to the expo and I wanted to see what it was like since this is my first race.
As the day went on FB was full of complaints about how badly the race management had planned this expo. Waits were still long at 330 when I picked the kids up at school. I brought snacks and warm clothes for them and we headed downtown. I was hoping to make it by 5 to avoid more people arriving after work to pick up their packets. We parked at 505. The line was down the length of the parking lot and then wrapped back around about half way. I was about to start giving the kids snacks when a guy waiting in line told me that they were letting people with kids in the back door. We went back there and sure enough scooted right in. We'd barely gotten inside when one of the race workers saw us and escorted us to the packet pickup so we could get our bags.
Now time for fun. Little Reader joined a game of musical chairs and won a hat, all three bounced in the bounce houses, they all made signs for me, and of course we had some hot chocolate.
By the time we left around 6 it was getting dark and the city was all lit up. It dawned on me that they had never seen the skyline at night. It was a very clear night so they really got to see Chicago at its best. They actually complained a bit when I headed West to get on the highway cause they couldn't see the buildings anymore.
So what could have been a miserable afternoon ended up being a lot of fun. The only bummer is I never got to use my ace in the hole. I had brought along some sidewalk chalk figuring if they got really bored standing in line they could color on the asphalt. Oh well, I'll save that for another time.
Friday, November 2, 2012
November Goals
1. Buy all advent calendar stuff. 24 days x 3 kids is a lot of stuff. I like to have it all bought before Dec 1 so I can plan what to give when. I may need to make a printable to keep it all straight ; )
2. Plan Christmas gift shopping and budget. My Santa app is a big help, I just wish it had a bar code scanner.
3. Keep running. 3 miles 2-3 times a week should be doable. No more long runs, I'll start that up again when the weather gets better.
4. Give the house a good deep cleaning. We have both sets of parents coming in over the holidays and ideally if I pick one task a day of deep cleaning, then the pre guest cleaning won't be so bad. I've got a bunch of printables from other sites, just need to start using them.
5. Make curtain for laundry area. The sliding doors have finally annoyed me so much that I removed them, which makes the space easier to access, but it's an eyesore.
6. Sew flannel duvet cover for Little Hugger.
7. Get passports for the kids
2. Plan Christmas gift shopping and budget. My Santa app is a big help, I just wish it had a bar code scanner.
3. Keep running. 3 miles 2-3 times a week should be doable. No more long runs, I'll start that up again when the weather gets better.
4. Give the house a good deep cleaning. We have both sets of parents coming in over the holidays and ideally if I pick one task a day of deep cleaning, then the pre guest cleaning won't be so bad. I've got a bunch of printables from other sites, just need to start using them.
5. Make curtain for laundry area. The sliding doors have finally annoyed me so much that I removed them, which makes the space easier to access, but it's an eyesore.
6. Sew flannel duvet cover for Little Hugger.
7. Get passports for the kids
October Goals Wrapup
Ok, so I'm a little behind as we got busy around Halloween and are now coming down from the sugar high and time to get back on track before the holidays. Yes, they are coming. I was in Michaels this morning and while I was glad that most of the creepy spiders were gone, and I like that the stocking stuffers are coming out so I can start planning my advent calendar goodies, I was not ready to hear "Silver Bells" playing over the stereo system.
Anyway, here were my goals for October and my results
- Sew Comforter for Little Readers Build A Bear Bed - Done, and it was really easy as the piece of fabric I had just happened to be the perfect size for the bed.
- Refinance Car - Done and we'll be saving about $300 a month, and get this month off as the paperwork is still being processed. Sweet
- Hot Chocolate Race Training - I'm ready. Its going to be cold this weekend, but I know I can do the distance with brief intervals of walking between each mile of running. I have my cold weather gear, I have my Bon Jovi playlist set with power songs in the appropriate spots, I'm going down to the expo today to get my packet and figure out the best place to park.
- Finish putting photo albums together - I'm almost caught up. All photos through August are in. I do need to go to Archivers and get more stickers but have been too busy running to go over there.
- Start planning Christmas shopping - I found a great Santa app that lets you enter info (and pictures) about gifts for all the people on your list and helps you stay on track and on budget
- Organize and file away CDs. - I got most of them done. Down to one bag. My husband is slowly going through it.
- Weatherproof Little Man's room - 95% done. My husband filled in most of the gaps in the attic insulation, and I just got more today so he can finish up this weekend. It's getting better, but I think the real fix would be new windows - not happening for a while.
Anyway, here were my goals for October and my results
- Sew Comforter for Little Readers Build A Bear Bed - Done, and it was really easy as the piece of fabric I had just happened to be the perfect size for the bed.
- Refinance Car - Done and we'll be saving about $300 a month, and get this month off as the paperwork is still being processed. Sweet
- Hot Chocolate Race Training - I'm ready. Its going to be cold this weekend, but I know I can do the distance with brief intervals of walking between each mile of running. I have my cold weather gear, I have my Bon Jovi playlist set with power songs in the appropriate spots, I'm going down to the expo today to get my packet and figure out the best place to park.
- Finish putting photo albums together - I'm almost caught up. All photos through August are in. I do need to go to Archivers and get more stickers but have been too busy running to go over there.
- Start planning Christmas shopping - I found a great Santa app that lets you enter info (and pictures) about gifts for all the people on your list and helps you stay on track and on budget
- Organize and file away CDs. - I got most of them done. Down to one bag. My husband is slowly going through it.
- Weatherproof Little Man's room - 95% done. My husband filled in most of the gaps in the attic insulation, and I just got more today so he can finish up this weekend. It's getting better, but I think the real fix would be new windows - not happening for a while.
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