Suzanne McGrath Photography

Six on Sunday...Lincoln, NE Football Recap!

I am so proud of myself for blogging tonight!  I could just as easily be in bed right now:)

1.  I finished editing Baby Addie last week but couldn't upload them.  I think we've fixed the issue so those should be coming tomorrow or Tuesday!

2.  I have a senior picture mini-session tomorrow night.  It should be beautiful weather.  

3.  My marathon is coming up in three weeks.  Yikes.  I was supposed to run 20 this weekend but I thought 8 rounded up.  Good enough.

4.  My little girls were so tired tonight they were asleep before I even left their room!  No kidding.  I went to kiss #4 goodnight and realized she was sound asleep.  Then I went to kiss #3 and she was out cold, too.  

5.  #1 realized tomorrow is October 1st so using my theory of rounding (see #3 above), she decided we should get out the Halloween decorations.  So we did.  Here's proof:

Did you see their T-shirts?  I mean, how adorable are they?!!!

6.  Finally...my Lincoln recap.  What can I say?  We had a BLAST.  Seriously, we had so much fun this weekend.  But before I launch into the details, I have to give a shout-out to my in-laws.  They watched the girls for us so we could act like 20-year-olds again.  Thanks, Jerry and Rori!

We were the last ones to roll into town Friday night and we wasted no time meeting the group at the hotel bar.  Our first stop?  Yia Yia's for pizza.  Always.  Then we crossed "O" Street and headed for Duffy's.  We decided to act our age this year (for the first time in oh...EVER) and refrained from ordering a fish bowl.  I think we're growing up.  

From left to right...Kristen, Vicki, me, Darcie, and Angie.  (The hubby was the photographer.)

Now let me talk a little about the hubby and the girls.  He has hung out with us since college.  It was always Patrick and the girls (along with their rotating boyfriends or no boyfriends).  I love him for that and he's so fun!  When we first started dating I didn't think he was necessarily "the one". (I was going to move to the big city and be a career girl until I was 30 when I would meet and fall in love with a very stuffy lawyer or CPA.)  I just thought he was a blast and it was nice to have a date for date parties. Well, somewhere along the way I realized I had a goodie on my hands and that was that.  The rest is history:)  Anyway, he can talk to a wall and always ends up making new friends.  Friday night was no exception.

After Duffy's we headed over to the Brass Rail (where the hubby and I met in college).  Angie decided to cab it back to her mom's house so she missed the last two bars.  Sniff sniff.  Although we were the oldest people in the bar by about 20 years, we didn't let that stop us from having fun.  We landed a great booth and the hubby set out to make friends.  Luckily for us girls, he was successful.  Our new friend ended up buying us shot.  After shot.  After shot.  We lost count after five.  I told you we were trying to pretend we were 20 again! 

We even went into the back and danced to bad techno music.  Crazy, man!

After the Rail we headed next door to Iguana's.  I didn't last long because I had been up since before 5am that morning.  I bolted.  Just like that - walked right out and back to the hotel.  Everyone else closed down the bar.  They weren't far behind me, though, because I was still awake when they got back to the hotel.  We even got in trouble from the hotel for being too loud - at 2:30am.  Sorry, neighbors!  But my God, what a fun night!  I haven't laughed that hard for a long time and it felt great.  

Saturday morning started a little slow.  (I can't imagine why?)  But everyone headed to the bookstore except for Vicki who was being agoraphobic and avoiding crowds.  (As if you can avoid them at the football game - ha.)  I managed to snag a few tops and T-shirts for the girls.  (See #5 above).  After working up an appetite shopping, we stopped at Panera for a snack.  Check out this receipt.  What is wrong with this picture?

Gross.  French onion soup with a chocolate chip bagel.  I wouldn't recommend this as a cure for a hangover.  It was not very effective.  

We did manage to shower and freshen up before we met Angie and her oldest son for lunch at Lazlo's and then headed out and about for an afternoon of drinking.  Good times.  But isn't that what football Saturday is all about?  Pacing yourself!

This was taken right before we left Barry's for the game.  Notice my red jeans?  I think they are the sole reason for the Husker turn-around in the second half.  I will now be forced to wear them when the Huskers play.

This is before the game started.  I just love this scene.  It's so cool.  (Thanks, Herm, for the tickets!)

The game was nuts.  I mean, I was ready to write it off after the first half.  But man, the second half was outstanding!  (The hubby is watching the replay of the game as I type.  Yes, he's obssessed.)  The crowd after the game was just NUTS!  I know this is blurry, but you get the idea.

We didn't make it very long after the game.  It had been a LONG day.  Plus, we are just too old to stand in line and wait to get in a bar.  That's no fun.  We did manage to eat - AGAIN - and then headed back to the hotel.  But it was a great day!

And there you have it.  Our awesome football weekend.  It's a good thing we only do this once a year.  My old body couldn't take it more often than that.  

And with that, I'm headed for bed.  Have a great week!

Six on Sunday

I can't believe it's already Sunday night.  The weekend just flew by...

1.  #4 has pretty much given up her naps on the weekends.  It would take us hours to get her to fall asleep so we've stopped fighting it.  But man, is she a basket case come dinner time?!  Nobody can even look at her or she'll start crying for no reason.  Today she cried for 20 minutes because her sisters went outside before she came downstairs.  That one was a doozie.  She also hit #3 on the head with a Barbie because it wasn't the prettiest Barbie.  After her time-out she refused to say "saw-wee" so she wasn't allowed to play with her sister again.  The list goes on and on...

2.  The hubby and I were invited to a theme party on Friday night.  The invitation said to dress like a famous couple.  We didn't get all that creative and dressed up like Danny and Sandy from Grease.  I bought an inexpensive dress from Forever 21 and cut it off to make a shirt.  The hubby just wore black pants and a black (too-small) T-shirt.  

Here is the top.  Before:

After:

 

I tried really hard to get my hair curly - but I'm just not advanced enough with hot rollers.  This is the getting ready part:

And here is the Final:

Oh well, we tried!  We had a blast and stayed out waaaaayyyyyyyyy past our bedtime.  Like 3am late! So I doubt we'll be invited back - but it was worth it:)

3.  As you can guess, we weren't all that productive yesterday, being we stayed out five hours past our bedtime.  Nevertheless, the girls and I went on a nature walk and collected flowers.  Aren't they gorgeous?

Then last night we had movie night.  #1 had a better offer so she was at a friend's house.  But the other girls and I watched the Muppet movie.  I have to admit, I didn't like it in the least.  I didn't like the muppets when I was a kid so I don't know why I thought I'd like them as an adult!  But the girls LOVED movie night.  The lights were off, it was dark, we were all under a big blanket, and I made popcorn.  The fact that they loved it so much made up for the bad, bad movie.

4.  This morning I got up and ran 14 miles with a bunch of friends which is such an awesome way to start the day.  It started out really chilly at a brisk 43* but by the time I drove home it was closer to 60* outside.  Crazy, huh?  

I think I'm ready for my marathon.  I have two 20-milers under my belt.  I'm supposed to run one more 10-miler next weekend but we'll be out of town so I know it won't happen.  The best I'll do is 10 before we leave on Friday.  Then it's taper for two weeks and 26.2!  I'm getting excited.

5.  Today was a productive day for me.  I put a second coat of paint on new nightstands for the master bedroom and I'm loving the look!  Then I sanded a china cabinet I bought a long while ago and a dresser that I bought for the little girls' room.  I want to get both items painted before the new hardwoods get laid.  That way I won't have to worry about a drop cloth and I can just paint them in the front rooms since they're fairly empty.  So I'm definitely on a tight timeline!

Here is what progress looks like:

6.  The girls are all in bed or on their way and I'm ready to relax.  I think the only time I sat down today was to watch #1's soccer game.  So the couch is calling my name.  

Have a great weekend!

Six on Sunday

No intro tonight - let's just jump right in, shall we?

1.  #2 and #3 had Field Day last Friday.  Most schools have Field Day in the spring but our school has always done it in the fall - at least as long as we have been there.  I actually really like having it early.  The spring always seems to be so busy anyway; it's nice to shake things up a little.

Anyway, #2 REALLY got into it this year.  She was bound and determined to win the spirit award.  Sadly, a 5th grade class won.  She still had a blast!

(Forgive the hands that I cut off - she was too excited to actually hold still._

This was #3's first Field Day.  I think she had fun.  (I only stopped in for about 15 minutes to snap a few pics.)  See for yourself...

2.  Yesterday was a crazy day.  I ran 20 miles.  We had four soccer games.  The little girls went on a "nature walk" with the hubby and me, and we had a surprise birthday party last night.  Phew!

I have to give a shout out to the hubby (even though he doesn't read my blog) for being so patient yesterday since it took me awhile to run my 20.  He had to get #2 up and out the door to the soccer field before 7am yesterday!  They came home and then headed back out for #1's 10:45 am soccer game.  After that I met them at #3's soccer game where I took #1 and #4 home.  I then dropped off #1 and #4 and picked up #2 and took her to her AFTERNOON game.  Yep - and there's four games.

And this doesn't even mention that #1 had a 9:30 PM soccer game Friday night.  And that was AFTER a two hour swim practice.  Yeah, that's us.

3.  Last night was the first time we've left the girls alone without a babysitter.  It was both liberating and scary at the same time.  But, the older two girls are so good with their sisters that we really trusted them.  Not to mention the little girls refuse to let a babysitter put them to bed!  So we figured if we had a babysitter we'd just be paying her to sit on the couch and make sure the house didn't burn down.

The girls were given strict instructions about not answering the door, etc.  We also made absolute sure they knew what time they were supposed to go bed.  And I told them I had a 6th sense and I would KNOW if they lied about what time they went to bed.  Sure enough, they followed the rules.  And they totally did it!  We got one text from #1 asking where she could find #3's hippo.  But that was the worst of it.  We were so proud of them all!  

4.  The surprise birthday party was a lot of fun.  The guest of honor was our good friend who you've seen in Okoboji pictures.  She was completely SHOCKED.  Her husband was a genius and totally had her convinced of his lie.  It was awesome to see the look on her face when she realized what was going down.  Classic.

Plus, we had a great time.  The hubby and I both met new people and caught up with old friends.  My only regret is that my legs were shot and I was exhausted.  I didn't last much past 11pm but it was still so worth it.

5.  Today was awesome!

• I was able to photograph a newborn.  
• I took the girls on another nature walk where they each gathered as many acorns as possible for our fall decorations.  And they all four totally LOVED it.  They had so much fun!  
• Meanwhile, the hubby picked up that banquette I talked about last week.  Score!  
• We baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies.
• #3 and #4 accompanied me on a Goodwill drop-off trip.
• The hubby took #1 to the library to pick out a Trendy Twelve book for school.  
• We had a fantastic dinner - beer can chicken - followed by a trip to Orange Leaf.  Seriously, it couldn't have gotten much better than that!

6.  My good friend, Stacey, and her husband Todd, had a beautiful baby girl last weekend.  And I had the immense pleasure of photographing her this morning.  She was a DREAM.  It took her a little convincing to go to sleep, but once she did she was like putty in my hands.  Seriously, I think big babies are easier to handle than small babies.  (I've had 8lb 7oz to a 6lb 15oz babies - so I have a little experience!)  I think big babies have bigger tummies so they sleep harder.  Maybe I'm just imaging it, but once Addie was asleep, she was dead to the world!

I also loved that when I drove away I didn't have that "feeling".  You know, the one where you think you want another baby.  Nope.  Nothing.  Just contentment in my four.

Anyway, I captured a bunch of great images but only had time to edit one.  So Stacey, this one is for you!  Isn't she a doll?!  

 

Have a great week!

Wednesday...

I thought about blogging Sunday night, and Monday night, and then actually TRIED to blog last night.  Apparently the Universe had other ideas!  I was too tired Sunday night.  It got too late Monday night.  And I couldn't get my Instagram pics to load correctly last night.  Geez.

So here goes...

1.  Why was I so tired Sunday night?  Chief's game.  That's right.  I went to an NFL game.  The gates opened at 8:30am which meant we had to get up at 6am to do everything necessary (ie stop at Starbucks) before rolling up to our friends house in midtown at 7:45am to carpool. 

I learned - no, my belief was reinforced - that there is far too much work involved in tailgating.  I am still a fan of going to the bars before football game - it's so much easier.  But regardless, we had a blast.  (Thanks to my parents for watching the girls so we could attend.)

Here is our self-portrait taken shortly before walking into the stadium.  It was a beautiful day out!

And this?  Do you see this?  Highway robbery is what it is!  That is almost $10 for one beer.  One.  Uno.  That is just crazy.  I'm going to have to tell the girls they can't go to college because mama needed a beer that one time.  Or two times.  Geez. 

And this view?  Our seats.  I think we were three rows from the very top.  Whatever.  We could see every single play so it was all good.  Although seriously - our seats were $3 less than it cost to park.  How ironic is that?!

A few of the guys...

2.  Our Saturday was pretty much consumed by soccer.  #1 had two games and #3 had a game.  Then they each had a game on Sunday.  Lucky for us #2 had the weekend off or we would have been REALLY busy!

Here are the two cheerleaders for #1's afternoon game.  Seriously.  Whatever words of encouragement I yelled were then repeated by #4.  So cute.

3.  #3 loves her goggles.  Enough said.

4.  The weather was so beautiful this weekend!  We took advantage Sunday after the game and went to the playground.  Free and easy.  A win-win for all involved!

5.  I found a new blog:  www.iowagirleats.com  (I think I've mentioned her before.)  She has some awesome recipes.  Last night Monday night I tried her Jerk shrimp recipe.  It was OK.  I'd rather make her chipotle black bean burgers, though!

Then we had another standby, Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Mac-n-Cheese.  Seriously, if you like buffalo chicken of any kind, you should try this!  This meal, alone, will turn the hubby from grumpy to happy in two seconds, flat.

6.  This next weekend we get all of our soccer games out of the way on Saturday.  I'm totally excited for a free Sunday!

7.  I have to run 20 miles again on Saturday.  We have some big plans Saturday night so I'm hoping I recover enough to enjoy the evening

8.  I was busy Monday night getting things ready for a consignment sale.  I took part in this same sale a year ago and figured What the heck?  Why not do it again?!  I am hoping to make enough money to be worth my while.  We shall see...

This is only a third of it.  I won't lie.  It's a total pain in the you-know-what to do this!

9.  I want this for my dining room.  I think I have the hubby convinced.  Score.

10.  The fact that yesterday was the 11th year anniversary of 9/11 was not lost on me.  I thought it was pretty awesome to see so much patriotism yesterday.  It was very moving...

Thrifty Thursday...a New Gold Door Handle

Well, howdy!  I'm back.  I feel like we finally have the kids into a solid routine and I have found time for myself again - that means I have time for blogging. WooHoo.  

I thought I'd show you a quick and easy spray paint job.  But this one packs a lot of punch!

Since the day we bought our house (almost...ahem...10 years ago) the front door handle was gross.  I mean really, really gross!  If you recall, I painted our front door red over a year ago and at that point I just couldn't take the gross door handle anymore.  Well, almost couldn't take it - because it took me almost a year to make this change.  Oops.  

Behold the grossness...

It only took me a year to take it from this:

to this:

Honestly, for the cost of a can of spray paint, it looks like we got a new door handle.  The hubby completely doubted me but I pulled it off.  (Seriously - hasn't he learned by now that my ideas always work?!  Well, almost always...)

I simply removed the entire door handle and spray painted it out in the driveway.  I primed it first and then covered it in two coats of paint.  That's it.  If you time it right you can complete this project in an afternoon.

I like to think my little project inspired the hubby's bigger project - a new storm door.

I won't go into details but he bought a new storm door at Home Depot and the instructions promised it would be easy to install.  (Most storm doors are very difficult to install!)  Although it took longer than the promised 45 minutes, he did manage to hang it completely by himself in a few hours.

It looks so much better now, doesn't it?  See, the door knobs even match and I think gold and red are an awesome color combination!

Last picture...

We had such a cute little front stoop this summer.  I think it was the first summer I wasn't embarassed.  Score!

Don't you love these simple projects?  I know I do!

Make-up Monday

Tonight feels like Sunday, doesn't it?  We didn't get home from my parent's house last night until after 8pm.  That means no blogging for me!  So here goes...

1.  I spent a bunch of money today renting a.........CELLO!  Yep.  I think I just finished paying off #1's violin and #2 decided she wants to play the cello.  I found out cellos are about twice the price (and size) of violins.  Yikes.  But I'm thrilled that she is so excited to play a musical instrument.  I'm just happy that we can let her play the cello.

2.  We are getting new floors.  After almost 9 years of saying we need new hardwoods, we are getting ready to pull the trigger.  I can't wait!!!  Yes, that deserved three exclamation points.  We are replacing (not refinishing) our entire first floor with the exception of the nicely carpeted family room and grossly linoleumed laundry room.  It is going to look fabulous.  We are also pulling the trigger on replacing our carpeted stairs with beautiful hardwoods.  Lastly, our upstairs hallway is also getting the wood treatment.  The hubby is so excited that he spent the day cleaning out the garage and making a bench to store our shoes.  I'm so ready for a no-shoe-inside policy that I can hardly wait.  Seriously.  It's going to be awesome! 

3.  My two older girls love HGTV.  Is my job here done?  I think so!

4.  We spent the last weekend of summer at my parents house so we could bo boating.  Saturday's weather was a little iffy but Sunday was gorgeous!  My sister and her two kids were there as well.  Bear with my pictures...

The little girls playing Barbies.

Lake time!

I failed to get a shot of the hubby "shredding" it on his wakeboard.  But I must say, he's getting good!  I just need him to learn how to flip and we're taking it on the road!

The kids got a little restless during the Husker game so my mom and I took them "hiking" during halftime.

5.  We spent today just running around and hanging out at the pool.  It was a nice, leisurely day with my girls.  (We didn't see much of the hubby due to his project I mentioned above.)

6.  Speaking of projects, the hubby is pretty much out of commission until next February.  Why is that?  Football.  Yes, football.  As in he LOVES football!  He could sit from 9am until after midnight just watching football.  He doesn't care if he's watching college (his hands-down favorite), NFL, high school, or 2nd grade.  Seriously.  He LOVES football.  Admittedly it annoys me, but am I to do?  I figured this out about him the year before we got married, so I'm kind of stuck with it.  Oh well.  I love him anyway.

That's all for me.  Have a great week!