So What?

Happy, happy Hump Day y'all!
It's Wednesday, and you know what that means??  I feel like saying "so what" like I normally do, but today I am actually going to link up with Shannon over at Life After I Dew for her "So What Wednesday" post!  
Here's what I'm saying "so what" to today:
So What:
If I ate myself into a food coma this past weekend, and the vicious cycle is carrying over into this week.  I usually can control myself and get my clean eating in check once Monday rolls around, but for some reason I keep stuffing my face like there's no tomorrow.  I am doing slightly better today...I've only had one handful of peanut butter M&M's this morning versus the three I have been eating the past few mornings!

Pure deliciousness...I just can't help myself.

If I carried my child out of a shoe store last night kicking and screaming the whole entire way.  I made the mistake of not taking the stroller and it was like a circus.  A free for all if you will.  So, when I went to grab his hand to escort him out of the store and he fell to the ground like a sack of bricks, I threw him under my arm as he screamed "Mommy nooooooo!!" the entire way out.  Pretty sure some people in the store were considering calling CPS...#sorryimnotsorry #typicaltoddlertantrum
If I made up an excuse not to have a playdate with our new neighbors across the street today.  It's just that the last time they came over (last week) they were here for over 3 hours while the kids turned my house into a war zone and their Mom (as sweet as she is) talked probably 3 hours and 25 minutes of the three and a half hours they were here.  I'm sorry, I just can't muster up another 3 hours of nodding, smiling, and pretend laughing at everything she says.  It's physically exhausting, y'all!  Am I an awful person?  No, don't answer that...I don't really want to know the answer to that question!
If my son knows the words to the song "Cruise" by Florida Georgia Line and Nelly...I'm sorry, but there is only so much "toddler tunes" I can handle in a day...sometimes Mama needs some no-thinking tunes.  I can't help it if when that song comes on, I just bust out the dance moves and karaoke...so it's probably no coincidence that my two year old son loves the song just as much as me...

If I've been wearing long sleeve tops and skinnies for the last five days...the weather in Nebraska has just been freakishly cool and I used that as an excuse to bust out some of my fall favorites.  I did, however, refrain from going out and buying all things pumpkin and from pulling out my fall decor.  I was proud of myself for that.  Don't worry your pretty little heads though...it's going to be in the high 80's today, so it's back to shorts, tanks and flip flops.  Mother Nature just make up your mind already, would ya?!

If I'm contemplating some major changes around here...stayed tuned for more on that one... ;)
That's all I've got for you lovelies today!  What are you saying "so what" to today??
Until next time...

Tuesday Tidbits of a Two Year Old

Hello lovelies!  Today is one of those days where I just woke up in a great mood...that doesn't happen very often, as I typically have to have my coffee and a workout in before I can officially say that I am happy...Am I the only one who feels this way?  Anyone??  No?  I digress...

Anyway, as I was sitting down to prep my post last night, (as I am trying to be a little more organized and have my posts scheduled a few days in advance...not working out so well over here...) I had a couple different ideas floating around in my head about what I was going to talk about...but nothing seemed to click.  Nothing felt right.  They all felt forced, and that's the last thing I want to do on here: force it.  So I went to bed last night with nothing but a blank screen on my computer.

Then, when my alarm went off this morning, I just had it.  I knew what I wanted to talk about today.  I haven't talked much about him on here at all, and he was one of the main reasons I wanted to start this blog anyway, so what was I waiting for?  It's not like he has accomplished anything huge, or started doing anything out of the ordinary, but so what?  All of these things that I take for granted today, I am going to look back on and think, "why didn't I write those things down?" "why didn't I share them with others?" That's when I knew...today's post, and one post a month will be dedicated to my little man.  Starting with today.  So here's what my little is up to these days...

Age: 2 years and 7 months

Height: 37 inches

Favorite Color: Green (As in, every time I ask him what color he wants, be it a crayon, paints, markers, popsicles, etc...his response: GREEN!!)

Favorite Food:  It's a toss up between Pizza, Popcorn, or Popsicles...man, that's a lot of "p's"! :)

Favorite Toy(s):  Anything farm related.  Be it his cows, his pick up and trailer, his tractors, or his four wheelers...if it has anything to do with the farm, he wants it.

Favorite TV Show(s):  Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Bubble Guppies, Dora the Explorer, Max & Ruby, Peppa Pig...I swear, he's not addicted to TV like it may seem!

Favorite Book:  Little Blue Truck

His Must Haves:  His "Bucky" which is his brown minky blanket with a satin edge.  He has slept with it since he was old enough to have a loose blanket in his bed and he can't sleep without it.  He actually has a specific corner that he must have in his hand before he can fall asleep.  Slightly ocd, maybe??  Haha!

He must also have ALL 10 of his stuffed animals in his bed with him before he can fall asleep.  He also knows if one is missing and will ask for it and cry for it until it's in bed with him.

He must have the bathroom door shut when he is doing his business.  Like, no joke, nobody can be in the room with him until he is finished.  He will literally say: "Go away and shut the door.  'Reave' me alone."

A few random sayings that he says on the daily: (Madden has been talking since he was one, and in full sentences when he was just 15 months old.  So, needless to say, his vocabulary is very diverse!)

• "I 'ruv' you snoooooow much! (aka "I love you soooo much!)
• "I 'rike' you...but you're crazy!" 
• "Mama, if I am good boy, can I get a treat?"
• "Will you 'pray' toys with me?"
• "I hungry.  Can you get me something to eat?"
• "Shhhhh!  Be quiet!  Swiper the fox will swipe your stuff if you not quiet!"

Those a just a few of the HUNDREDS of things that come out of his mouth...I could keep going, but I have to stop somewhere :)

He will hate me for this someday, but he loves trying on my shoes!

I know this post was completely all over the place, but I had to share.  And I know that one day I will look back and be so glad I did this.  He is only little once, and I want to freeze time as long as possible!

Until next time...    

"Foodaggedon" Weekend Recap

Good Monday morning, dearies!!  This is officially the first Monday in a very long time that I can actually say that I am not still trying to recover from the weekend!  It was, after all, the first weekend we were actually home for the entire three days!  So, here's what went down over in our neck of the woods...

I started my weekend on Friday afternoon by getting a babysitter while I spent a couple hours at the salon getting my hairs did!  I was long overdue for a highlight (roots are for trees, say what???) and cut, so now I feel like a new woman!

I came home a little after five, paid the babysitter, and poured myself a cocktail...it most definitely was 5:00 somewhere...ahem, like my deck in the backyard!  It was only 75 degrees on Friday, and I wasn't going to let that weather go to waste!  I was craving my new favorite cocktail concoction: Smirnoff Root Beer Float Vodka mixed with Cherry Coke Zero.  Seriously delish!

 The hubs got home a little before six, so we headed over to a friend's house to help him unload a treadmill, while our friend's girlfriend and I watched, cocktails in hand ;)  We preceded to head back to our house, order pizza and play cards until a little after 10...which is when we were all ready to crash for the night!  Although, we had friends coming from Minnesota to stay the weekend with us, so we had to stay up until after 11, waiting for them...I literally had to keep my eyes propped open because I was ready to pass out by 10:30!  But they showed up, we stayed up chatting until after midnight, then called it a night!

Saturday morning came way too early...but I forced myself to get up and go for a run because I just knew that the day would involve a lot of eating, eating, drinking and more eating!  Plus, there was no way I was going to let the 55 degree morning go to waste!

When I got back, we all had some coffee, chatted, then got ready for the day.  We ate brunch at an amazing little diner where I had an amazing bacon, cheddar and swiss cheeseburger omelet, (sounds gross, but came highly recommended, and it definitely didn't disappoint!) hash browns and pancakes...

We waddled out of there, and headed down to the zoo again...even though we were just there two days before!  That's what the out of towners wanted to do, so we obliged ;)  It was a gorgeous, unseasonably cool 75 degree day so it was ideal...and everybody and their dog thought so too...as there were thousands and thousands of people there!

We came home, put Madden down for a nap, and we headed to the backyard to play a few yard games and a few hands of cards...followed by what else??  More snacking, and drinking!  I'm pretty sure I drank my weight in root beer float vodka this weekend!

Then, after all six of our babysitter options weren't available, we ended up bringing Madden with us to dinner.  I was nervous about dragging him along, but he did FANTASTIC!  We didn't even know he was there, 90% of the time.  We enjoyed some more delicious food, then headed home a little after 9.  We tried to play a few more games of cards, but we were all exhausted and ended up crashing around 10:30.

Sunday morning we grabbed breakfast from our new favorite taco hut by our house...hands down, the best breakfast burrito I have ever eaten.  Homemade tortillas just make everything amazing.  We followed that up with some coffee on our deck, while we enjoyed another beautiful unseasonable cool morning before they packed up and headed back North.

We played recovery the rest of the day, while I baked some cookies, a strawberry peach streusel and did laundry to get ready for the week...then, to end the night, we all hopped in the car and did a little Sunday night cruising with the windows rolled down as we jammed to some music.  The perfect ending to a great weekend.

Until next time... 

Five on Friday

TGIF!!  I am beyond excited that the weekend is finally upon us and the best day of the week is here!  There's just something about Friday that gets me all warm and fuzzy inside.

Speaking of the warm and fuzzies, nothing gets more excited about Friday than my favorite link-up of the week: Five on Friday with some amazing ladies with some crazy awesome blogs.

So without further adieux, I give you my Friday 5:

{1.}

My sister's Bachelorette Party invitations came in the mail on Wednesday...and I am loving the simple, elegant look!  I had another invite all picked out, but when I came across this one, at 50% off on VistaPrint, I jumped all over it!  I'm sorry, but when she has 42 people on her invite list, I didn't feel like spending $2.50 and up per invite...these came in at around $1.50...a heck of a better deal!  Plus, I think she will love them too!

{2.}

Madden and I joined some friends of ours for a little last minute play date to the zoo yesterday morning.  These two are the best of friends, and if her Mom and I had anything to say about it, we would totally arrange their marriage someday!  But seriously, it was so much fun to spend time at one of the best zoos in the nation.  Literally, we take for granted that the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo is just down the road from us...we will definitely be making more trips there the older Madden gets!

{3.}

 We are in the process of brainstorming ideas for Madden's "Big Boy" room and I've been browsing Pinterest for some ideas...when I came across this little do it yourself gem.  How cute is that?  I'm loving the use of mixed patterns with the personalization of his name.  I'm definitely going to be hitting up Hobby Lobby for all the supplies to make these bad boys!

{4.}

This dip.  O.M.G!!!  This stuff is seriously amazingness.  Do you like Nutella?  (Of course you do...who doesn't!) Do you like cheesecake? (Um, I haven't met a person who has ever answered no to that question)  Well, if you combine the flavors of the two, you get this delicious Nutella Cheesecake dip.  Seriously, y'all.  Heaven in your mouth.  Plus it's super simple!!  Find that recipe here.

{5.}

Y'all.  I die over this adorableness.  Like for reals.  This outfit just screams Fall and I must.have.those boots and that dress!  If anyone can tell me where to find either or both of them, please let me know!!  I found this pin on Pinterest and it doesn't link to anything legitimate...just another picture website!  But seriously.  I need this in my closet like yesterday!!  Adorbs.  

That's all I got for you lovelies for today...have a great weekend!!

Until next time...

Dealing with Plateaus

Happy Friday Eve, all you lovelies!!  Friday is so close I can almost smell it...can you??

I haven't really been talking much about weight loss or fitness related topics on here in awhile.  Maybe it's because that has kind of taken a backseat to some more pressing issues in my life at the time.  I'm not going to say I have completely given up on that area of my life, because I haven't stopped what I was doing.  I'm still chugging right along.  I find working out to be my only source to let out my frustrations...the best form of therapy for me, so to speak.

I figured it was long overdue to talk about what I started this blog for in the first place!  An area that I haven't yet touched upon on here is something that we have all been through, or are currently at that point:  Plateaus.  That nasty word just stings my eyes when I say it.

So you make the decision to work out, eat right and get in shape.  You are trucking right along, seeing some progress.  That scale is being nice to you, and slowly but surely going down a pound or two at a time.  Your clothes are fitting better and you are thinking you can conquer anything at this point because this dieting and working out thing isn't as hard as you had it played out in your head!

Then, one week goes by and you don't see any change.  Then another, and another, then a month, then two months.  That's when it hits you:  I've plateaued.  :(  What do you do?  You want to give up because you feel like you are working your butt off, doing the same things you were before, and you were losing weight and shrinking pant sizes every other week...to now being at a stand still.

I've been there.  We all have been there.  I can remember the exact number I was at for three full months...it's burned into my brain: 157 lbs.  I remember getting so down on myself because at that point I had already lost 23 lbs, and although it wasn't easy, I was still being rewarded for my efforts.  But that dang "157" flashed at me for 12 weeks straight.  I was beyond frustrated.  I was eating the same things. I was doing the same workouts I had always been doing.  Why wasn't more weight melting off?

That's when I did some research.  I had never heard of a "plateau" before, but everywhere I searched, and everyone I asked kept saying that dreadful word.  And, the only answer to getting over that plateau was to change.  Say whaaa???  Why would I change something that has always worked for me up until this point?  Well, I was so desperate to see something change at that point that I was willing to try anything.

What I found was by changing up my cardio, (I was doing the same 30-45 minutes of elliptical work every day) and my diet (I was eating pretty much the same things every.single.day because it was easiest to meal plan and prep the same things day in and day out) I would start to get the results I was striving for.

So, I started first with my workouts.  I would do intervals on the treadmill one day, then the stair stepper  the next, then the elliptical the next.  Then I changed up which muscles I worked every day.  One day would be back and chest.  The next would be biceps and triceps, and the next would be shoulders, followed by a strict leg day.  Just by doing that alone I started to see a slow change.  It's amazing what a little muscle confusion will do for you!

It wasn't until I changed my eating habits that things really started moving!  Here I thought as long as I stayed in my 1300-1500 calories per day, as long as I was burning more than I was consuming I should see a change, right?  Wrong!  Did you know that by changing up the amount of calories you eat every day is pretty much like muscle confusion for your stomach?  It's crazy, but it's true.  So some days I would eat 1300 calories.  Other days I would be more in the 1800-2000 calories range.  And lo and behold, that's when the biggest change happened.

Moral of the story is this:  Don't be the "steady Eddy" who gets in a rut and is scared to try new things or change it up a bit.  No, I'm not a doctor, but I do know some things just strictly from experience.  If you don't continually change your habits, you won't see any progression.  Try a new class at your gym.  Go for an interval walk/run around your neighborhood.  Add some carbs to your lunch to get in some extra calories.  Whatever it may be, one thing is for sure...plateaus only occur when you are not willing to change what obviously isn't working for you!!

Until next time...

Wedding Weekend Recap

Monday, Monday...we meet again.  And after our jam packed weekend, I'm definitely not ready to see you yet.  I need another day to recover from my day of recovery, if you know what I mean!  Here's what we were up to these last few days...(I'm going to apologize in advance for the overload of pictures...)

Friday:

Madden and I headed back to my hometown right after nap time to make sure we were on time for my cousin's rehearsal.  We ran into some construction and were the first ones to come upon an accident, so the trip that usually takes us an hour and a half, took us two and a half hours...needless to say, we got to the church just in the knick of time to practice his ring bearer skills!

Trying to contain a two and a half year old in a church is like trying to rope a calf.  Yep.  That's exactly what I looked like, except minus the Wranglers and cowboy boots, and replace those with heels and a maxi dress.  Classic.

Luckily, he went down once with his partner in crime (his second cousin that is two days older than him) and we called it good.  They held hands the whole way, and looked like pros...we felt like we were golden...little did we know what they had in store for us the next day.

We followed up rehearsal with a rehearsal dinner at my Aunt and Uncle's, and left around 10, because we knew the following day would be a jam packed one!!

Saturday I began the morning the way I love when I am at my Mom and Dad's: a nice long run on the country roads.  There is seriously nothing more beautiful than watching the sunrise over the hills, with cows grazing in the pastures.  Pure serenity at its finest.

We had to be at the church at 11:30, to start pictures.  The wedding wasn't until 3.  Needless to say, we had a looooong time to fill with no nap for little guy.  I should have known that was going to lead to bad news later on.  So, between snapping three hours worth of pictures, running around like chickens with their heads chopped off and maybe a little bit of candy and caffeine to keep them awake, it was time for the big event.

The boys were ready to go, following the flower girls and a wagon, they held hands and we (my cousin's wife and I) held our breath and sent them on their way. (we may or may not have promised them oreos at the end of the aisle)  We rushed down the side aisle in order to meet them at the front, so we could steal them away because we knew there would be no way they could stand up in front the entire ceremony.  Well, we get two steps down, when all of a sudden we hear some crying and "Mommy!!" with everyone in the sanctuary laughing as we just see two little heads bolting in the opposite direction of the front of the church.  Sooooo, we hurry back to the back of the church, to retrieve our crying boys.  Well, we decided we didn't care how they got down the aisle, but they were going to go down come hell or high water.  So, she and I made our impromptu debut into the wedding party, by holding their hands and walking down the aisle together.  I was a hot mess.  I was sweating profusely because I was so embarrassed.

So we literally walked them down, and immediately turned towards the side aisle to head back out of the church.  All the while my son was screaming and crying because he wanted to stand next to my brother, who was a groomsman, in the front of the church.  It was a shit show.  But, the hubs grabbed him at the back of the church, and headed to his parent's house to get him down for a nap.  Poor kid was exhausted.  It was to be expected I guess.  But you know what, my cousin still got married!  It wasn't the end of the world, even though I felt like it was at the time :)

After a two hour nap, we headed to the reception and danced and drank the night away...Madden was the star of the show, doing head spins and belly slithers across the dance floor.  I didn't know where he was about 80% of the time, but he had a blast.  We all had a blast.  It was a great night.

Sunday morning we all slept in until 10, then headed back to Omaha.

The entire day yesterday was spent lounging, watching movies and napping.  Oh and turning our living room into a train station with Madden's new train set.  I couldn't tell who loved it more:  the hubs or M! We called it an early night around 8:30 and were cashed out by 9.  A great way to end the weekend!

Until next time...

Five On Friday

Hey, hey, hey!!  It's FRIDAY!!  Yippee!!

And with that, I am finally home on a Friday for once and able to link up with some of my fave blog-lady friends for their weekly "Five on Friday" post!  Here are five things that topped my list for the week!

{One}

I am in full blown party planning mode for my sister's Bachelorette Party over Labor Day weekend...When trying to decide upon a color scheme, I found this picture on Pinterest, and I was instantly sold.  I mean, how adorable is this?  Now, I just have to find someone to draw me up that awesome chalkboard...

{Two}

If you follow me on Instagram ( @jennaschaben ) you probably saw this picture last night...I thought everybody knew what a Scotcheroo was, but I had so many people ask what they were and for the recipe...They must be more of a Midwestern treat!!  Anyway, I use this foolproof recipe found HERE.  They are so simple and so yummy...If you like Peanut Butter and Chocolate, then you will love these.  Trust.

{Three}

I informed y'all on Wednesday that I wanted to gut my old dining room and start from scratch...well, after many searches in magazines and on the internet, I kept getting drawn to this color scheme:  Coral, Navy, Gold and Khaki.  I'm using this picture as inspiration and running with it...pics to come as soon as we start the makeover!

{Four}

We are headed back to good 'ol Columbus for the third weekend in a row to celebrate my cousin's wedding on Saturday.  And this, this little guy is beyond excited to be in his first ever Ring Bearer role!  I mean seriously??  How cute is this little tux??  He looks like a little man!  Don't worry, more pictures will be up after the weekend and all weekend long on Instagram :)

{Five}

This stuff right here is phenomenal.  It is perfect for a summer brunch or just a light appetizer with a glass of moscato.  Strawberry Bruschetta.  Delicious.  If you want the recipe, you can find that here.

That's all for today!  I hope y'all have a fantastic weekend!  

Until next time...

Finish The Sentence...

Hey Y'all!!  Today I am teaming up with one of my all time fave ladies...Holly and her Blog world BF Jake for their Finish the sentence Linkup...Enjoy!

If I had one extra hour in the day…I would use it to bake.  I seriously love to bake anything from cakes and cookies to pies and desserts.  I just don't make the time to do it, because if I did, I would be waddling everywhere I went.

I wish my name…was Jenna Tatum (I'm already halfway there, right??)…I mean for reals.  Who is this Channing guy, and why wasn't he around when I was 15, and single??  I'm pretty sure we would have fallen madly in love, and I could have ridden his coattails all the way to fame.  Mmmmmm…he is beyond yummy!  

I think anything chevron is…still amazing.  Yes, I know it has been overused, overdone, and everywhere you turn, but I just love me some chevron, so I don't mind it sticking around for a tad bit longer!

My last nightmare…had me waking up to my son holding a pair of scissors in one hand and my long blonde ponytail in his other.  The kid has an obsession with scissors lately, and I have purposely locked all of them in tote on the highest shelf of the storage room for fear of that exact nightmare!!  

Sometimes…I will just say "because" when Madden asks a million and one "why?" questions instead of using it as a teaching experience.  Definitely not a proud Mommy moment...

My last meal on earth would be…all things mexican: nachos, fried tacos, and margaritas, followed by a whole red velvet cheesecake.  My inner fat girl is salivating right now. 

I would much rather…wax my legs every day than iron another one of the hub's dress shirts.  I dread that task more than any other in this house!!

 
Mayonnaise…tastes sooo yummy when it is dripping out the sides of a juicy BLT sandwich.  le sigh…

  

10 years ago, I didn't think…I would be a Mama to a two year old, or any child for that matter, let alone staying at home and raising said (non-existent) child!

  
Selfishly…I wish I could use all the money we spend on groceries on clothes for myself and buying fun things for the house.  Unfortunately we like to eat and would starve if I did that...

My favorite show on TV right now…is Mistresses. I am truly addicted.  Does that say something about the type of girl that I am that I enjoy a show all about adultery??  I sure hope not!

And, George Zimmerman…never should have been let go…definitely not a fan of this man.  I mean, is anybody??

So What Wednesday...

First of all, I wanted to thank you all so, so, so much for your sweet comments and words of encouragement from yesterday's post.  There wasn't a single one of them that didn't make me cry...You guys are the reason I blog and am able to put my heart and life's story out there...it's not always easy, or picture perfect, but it's real.  And without the support from y'all, I wouldn't keep coming back here time and time again!  So thank you, from the bottom of my heart!

Anyway, on a brighter note today, I'm saying "so what" to this miserably hot and humid Summer Wednesday!

So What:

If my part in my hair is peeling because I forgot to put sunscreen on it when we went to the pool last Wednesday...I feel like I should come with a label attached to my forehead for when I go out that says "This is not dandruff...it's just a sunburn gone bad!"  It is so gross!

If when we were outside yesterday, playing in the sprinkler, and with M's water table/makeshift pool, (all while naked mind you, (him not me!) because that's how we role around these parts) he just decided to pop a squat in the middle of the back yard and leave a present for me to dispose of...ummmm yeah...not one of my prouder Mommy moments!

If I bought a "family size" bag of Peanut Butter M&M's the other day that came with "10% more!" and I can't stop eating them!  They are truly my weakness and I try to limit myself to about 10 of them a day...but who am I kidding???  That number quickly escalates to 20-30!!  They are just too dang good!

If my sister's Bachelorette Party is a little more than a month away (it's over Labor Day Weekend) and I haven't ordered her invites yet!!  I am definitely slacking in my role as Matron of Honor, but in my defense, I thought I had plenty of time...that is until I realized that Labor Day is early this year, and therefore her party is on August 31st!!  Whoops!  I do think I have a winner though...

If I workout with my headphones in, sometimes not even listening to music, just so I don't have to make small talk with people at the gym...I'm sorry, but I don't go there to chit-chat.  I wanna go in, workout, and leave as quickly as possible.  I'm not trying to be rude, I just would rather be someplace else!

If I'm contemplating redoing our entire dining room...I've been seeing so many "home updates" on Pinterest and other blogs (ahem...Darci!) that I just want to take everything out and start from scratch.  Any and all ideas are welcome!  As long as they include getting rid of the hideous table that we are "borrowing" from the in-laws!

Well, that about does it for me today...it's time to go prepare myself for another dreaded night of swimming lessons with the little...is it 7:00 yet???

Until next time...

Let's Rewind...

Man, oh man, Monday we meet again...This weekend literally flew by and all I've had time to do is the mountains of laundry, stock up on groceries and necessities from Costco and rid the fridge of all the food that went bad while we were out of town the last four days.  Holy smokes, it never ends around here!  That is why I am thankful for somewhat of a slow week before the craziness that ensues this weekend!

Anyway, to get myself back on track, I figured I would do a little rewind of what happened this past "long" weekend, as I was M.I.A. on Friday!

Thursday morning, bright and early, I woke up around 4:30, in order to get a workout in before we headed back to my hometown for a little "Platte County Fair" action.  Madden and I (Aaron left for Chicago on Thursday for work, so it was just the two of us) were on the road at 7:00 a.m. sharp, jamming out to our fave country music, with a little coffee in hand for me and a juice box for M...

Someone looks a lil seepy ;)

We spent the day with my family watching a sheep show (yes, it is exactly how you would picture it, if you aren't familiar with the whole "4-H" scene...)

No, I don't know who these kids are...I just had to show you what a sheep show looked like!

We ate some delicious fair food...

His first Dippin Dots experience...Love.

You can't go to the fair and not get a funnel cake.

Amazing BBQ nachos

Checked out Madden's prize winning flowers...

Grammy entered some flowers for him from her garden...proud Grammy and proud Madden :)

Then called it a night after it was a "no-nap" day for little guy...up for 14 hours straight makes for an awesome time, let me tell ya!

No, this obviously isn't Madden, but this pretty much sums it up!

Friday morning was the perfect morning for a beautiful early country "back roads" run.  I just love being able to hit the gravel and run with nothing around me but cornfields, hay bales and pastures for miles!

Then, we headed back to the fair where we watched a cattle show all day long...

Can you picture me doing this about 15 years ago??

Followed by my parents taking M back home with them for the night while I headed out with my little sister for a night of one-on-one time with her and a few too many drinks in the oh-so-classy beer garden...Let's just say, I ended the night by snarfing down THE BEST taco truck quesadilla I have ever had at around 2 a.m.  Classy, right???

Trust me.  It was legit.

Saturday morning we slept in warded off our hangovers before getting ready to do my first bridesmaid dress fitting for my sister's wedding which is in October.  We also had to pick up M's tux for his first ever ring bearer role for my cousin's wedding this upcoming weekend!  We followed that up with lunch, before M and I headed back to Omaha.

He was so proud of himself.  Kept saying "I 'rook rike' Daddy!"

Saturday night the hubs and I had a wedding for his co-worker's daughter, which was ok, except the best part of the night was when we headed back to his boss's house (we carpooled with them to the wedding) for some cards and wine...like three bottle of wine between the four of us in under two hours...whoops!

Needless to say, Sunday morning we slept in until after 9:30, and M didn't wake until 10:30!!  We hung out all day, before we headed over to a friend's house for dinner and drinks on their deck while the kiddos played in the backyard.  A great ending to a chaotic last few days.  But I am so ready to get back to normal around here...you know how I love me a good routine!

Until next time...