Storage Space Makeover: Playroom

When we looked at this home for the first time - we imagined turning this storage space into a playroom for the kids. We were very excited about the idea, but after moving in, the storage space was needed for storage. It was disappointing. Morgan beefed up our attic space by adding boards and making it more user friendly. The possibility for a playroom is now a reality!!!

Here are the BEFORE pics: 2 access "doors" to the storage space on each end, with a cabinet in the middle. 

While Morgan was contemplating the next step, Carly climbed onto his lap, laid down, then let out some "little tooties" as she calls them. 

Well, when you are in a short, little room, it only seems appropriate to sit in little, tiny chairs...

A lightswitch!!!

Insulation.

Sometimes when you deal with an awkward space, you get a little creative with the framework...

This is happening - it will be so nice to have a light in here.

Benson felt very valuable. He legitimately thought he was helping. It was awesome.

Drywall baby.

Do you see that? We have a light. 

I am always amazed to see Morgan in project mode. He is a hard worker and really gets things done. This is by far our biggest project yet. It's going to be a lot of work, but I know it's going to turn out great :) 

My husband is amazing. 

Side note: I used a jig saw for the first time today!!! Woot! Check that off the bucket list!

The Odenwalder's in WA!!!

So let's be real for a minute. We totally miss all of our Florida friends. We especially have deep friendships with those families who were attending dental school the same time as us. It's been 2 1/2 yrs since we've seen our friends - since we lived in Florida. So last month when we heard our friends would be coming up in the area - we were ecstatic!!! Not the happiest of circumstances, but we were thrilled we got to see them.

It was a crazy weekend, but so fun. My favorite part was our date night at Duke's Chowder House. It was so great & relaxing that I didn't even think of taking a picture - bummer! I got "Off the Hook Stuffed Salmon" and had some of the award winning Clam Chowder. It was really good. Not to mention - blueberry lemonade! Sean & Amy ordered one and kept saying how good it was after every drink. Needless to say, I ordered one and it was awesome.

Can you guess which are my favorite? I love doing crazy poses :D

One of the things I learned from Amy during their stay (that I want to incorporate) is quiet-time at bedtime. On Friday night - she had the kids get ready for bed at 7 and then they had time to read books. I loved that. I guess I've thought of reading & quiet time during the day, but not at night. For myself it's been the most successful way for me to fall asleep. So one of my goals this week is to incorporate this into the bedtime routine. I'm really excited & tonight it went well.

We discussed a Nova-dental reunion/rendezvous in Florida. Perhaps we need to start planning & getting the word out.... Until next time Odenwalder's!!!

2014 The Year of Change for Me.

I loved all the time capsule ideas I was seeing on Pinterest. I decided to type up a document reflecting on the year of 2014. These were the first thoughts that came to my mind...

This was the year of change for me. After having Benson in October 2013 I ever so slowly eased myself back into running. It was difficult because I realized that after your first baby, your body takes longer to heal. A midwife in my ward told me that is normal - that the pelvic floor takes longer to heal and get back to normal. After what seemed like quite a while of running on the elliptical, I finally made my way to the treadmill. I couldn’t last long at all before I needed to walk, but my friend Becky gave me the idea of alternating between running and walking. That really helped me ease back into running and gradually be able to run longer without stopping. I have to have a motivation or an incentive. In this case I planned to run the St Paddy’s Day 5K with Becky. We were both motivated to run consistently and work up to this race. 

At some point, I was disappointed that I was running, but not losing any weight. I seemed to keep gaining weight. I decided to try running 5 days a week and see if it made a difference. I didn’t see a difference. I was disappointed, but trying to accept that this was just what my body would be like. Not more than 1-2 months later a friend posted on Facebook about an app she loved - Myfitnesspal and how it helped her lose weight, etc. I downloaded it and began to use it. I already used mapmyrun to track my runs & other workouts, so I loved that I could “connect” the two apps. I began logging my food intake on Myfitnesspal and began to see that I wasn’t eating very well. I began to connect the dots that obviously if I’m eating more calories than my body needs - of course my body is going to store the extra calories and I’m going to gain weight. As I began tracking my intake - I began to notice certain things that were a lot of calories and unnecessary. I began to incorporate better choices into my diet and eventually came up with options that were well balanced. I eat so many more veggies & fruits than I have in the past. 

As the year went I had some interaction with a neighbor down the street. We began walking/running together and that lasted a couple of months. It was hard to time it right. Beginning in the summer, I began running with Tiffany. This has really been a turning point for me. This is when I began running consistently outside and really enjoying it. I’ve never really had a running buddy where we run and just talk about anything and everything. At first I remember thinking she was crazy when she told me they run at 6am. One week my neighbor went out of town, so I thought - ok I’m gonna go at 6am this week (Tues/Thurs) and see how it goes. At this point the most I had been running was like 3 miles. The first day I went we did 4.3 miles. It was killer. I told myself I could do it and just tried to tail them to the end. From there it got easier and I was able to keep up with the group. 

During the summer I decided I wanted to train for a half marathon - I found one in August, but then found out a friend was planning to put one together in October. I decided to do that for my first half marathon. My brother, Caleb, suggested different running workouts to do, and also recommended adding in strength & core training. I began doing Jillian Michaels 30 day shred 1-2 times a week for my strength training. I also began doing this 30 day ab challenge. At this point I was running 5 days a week in addition to my strength/core training. With the diet changes I was making and the exercise, I have lost a lot of weight. It was gradual, but I have been so happy with the process. I never thought I could really be thin again and I love that I feel fast and strong too. I'm glad that the changes were gradual because I've been able to continue them and stick with them. 

Nov/Dec 2013 

Feb 2014 

Oct 2014 

Nov 2014

I am currently running 6 days a week, strength training 3 days a week, and core training 5-6 days a week. I love it. I am looking forward to doing some races in 2015 and feel like the possibilities are endless.

Other things from this year:
I did the St Paddy’s Day 5K March 2014.
I did my first garden this year. First things were planted (sugar snap peas, spinach & red leaf lettuce) March 2014. Favorite items: sugar snap peas, red leaf lettuce, squash and raspberries. (Unsuccessful: spinach, carrots, strawberries, bell peppers, chives didn’t get very big. Next year plant tomato starters & plant sooner. Plant less squash.)
Barb & Dan, Jacob, and Kirsten (my twin) visited us in June 2014.
Trip to Lewiston, ID in July 2014.
Benson began walking in August 2014 during Idaho Falls trip (My first time flying with 2 kids alone).
I completed my first half marathon in Oct 2014 in 2:07.
My Grandma Hoggatt passed away in Nov 2014. We attended a memorial service & graveside in Kent & Auburn, WA.
We spent Thanksgiving with the Scoville Family Nov 2014 in Idaho Falls, ID.
Carly took her first ballet class at the Morgan Family YMCA Dec 2014.

Caleb & Amy welcomed Oliver Harmon Scoville in Dec 2014

New Years Resolutions 2015

PHYSICAL

Exercise at least 5 days/week, strength train 3x/wk, abs 4-5 days/wk

Half marathon in less than 2 hrs

5K in less than 25 min

1 mile in less than 6:45

SPIRITUAL

Read Sunday School lesson in advance each week (Read full book we’re studying by the end of the year)

Pray 2x day

Family prayer & scriptures daily

FHE weekly

MENTAL

RN CE’s

Keep FL RN License up to date!

Read some new books (shoot for 1/mo - could be book club books or running books too)

HOME

Stay on top of meal plans & cleaning house

Sunday meal planning (Cook Sunday - Thurs & eat out or super easy meals Fri/Sat)

Clean at least once/week (bathroom, floors, kitchen)

KIDS

Library at least 2x month

Lessons at YMCA at least every other session

THIS YEAR IS GOING TO BE AWESOME!!!!

Catch up Dec 2014

I'm thinking I'll be making a new years resolution about blogging a little more frequently. It'll probably be specific - like - every month. It's fun to reflect through pictures and events and see how much the kids have grown.

Adventures of late:
Carly is growing up so fast. We have officially started potty training this last week. I decided this a few weeks ago since this would be our last big trip for a while. We began the day after getting back and it's gone really well. Each night she has stayed dry and only had very minor accidents (like not even soaking her panties) and the past 2 days she has only had one minor accident each day. It's going well. Now the potty rewards have significantly decreased. If she asks, she gets a treat (like 1 piece of fruit snack or a tiny piece of licorice, a chocolate chip or a mini-marshmallow).
Carly is all girl and loves to sing. The moment we got home from our Thanksgiving trip, she changed herself into a dress and then frolicked around the house singing "Let it go". This session at the YMCA she is in her first ballet class. I think I might be more excited than her about this. She had a fun time with her friend Ginny. We'll see how this week goes.
Benson is quite the busy man and all boy. He loves to help "clean up" once he hears the clean up song. He is very observant and likes to copy the things he sees us do. The other day he climbed up to the sink and then was rubbing his hands together (as if washing his hands). He loves to be held and see what's going on. The next best thing is holding his hand. I love holding my hand out to him and having him walk with me holding my hand. He still likes to bite and pull hair, so Carly is still a little fearful of him (as she should be).
The kids really play together these days. Carly will set up food for them at the little table and they will sit down and pretend to eat & drink. They take turns pushing each other in the play stroller. It's really fun to see them interact. Carly reminds me a lot of myself - she is bossy and gets frustrated if her panties aren't fitting just right :)
Carly has been calling every meal "dinner" lately. She also pretends to talk on her phone, usually calling Amy or Kimball.

 Benson's last pic of his hair before his first hair cut. Bitter sweet. Happy to see the mullet go, but now he looks like a big boy :(

 I have done this a few times with the kids at the YMCA, but now if Benson is having a turn, Carly thinks she can squeeze in any time she wants... :)

 My cousin Barbie is awesome and Carly adores her. She came to take Carly out for a little date. They went jewelry shopping in style.

 Benson has pretty much mastered the stairs. I am happy to report I no longer use random things like our ottoman to block the stairs. Success.

We survived a long, long drive to Idaho Falls (13ish hours) for Thanksgiving. It was so nice to be with my family and see ALL of my siblings. It was a little iffy at first because my sister-in-law was almost full term and didn't know if the baby would cooperate with our plans, but they made it. One of my brothers just moved to Salt Lake and is working, but was able to get off AND get a ride home in time to surprise everyone and spend time with the family. So all the iffy people made it and our family was complete! It was awesome. My favorite parts were: our sibling & spouse date night out to Froyo & playing card games.

 This is one of my favorite pics of late. We drove through Montanna on our way to Idaho Falls and spotted this beauty. Love it. Statue pics are one of my favorite things.

 Carly enjoyed seeing her cousin Baby Matthew. She also enjoyed giving him little kisses.

 Benson enjoyed meeting his soon-to-be-newest baby boy cousin :)

 Carly Daddy built the tallest duplos tower ever. Then had Carly pose with him in the picture lol.

 Then Benson saw it. You can see what happened next.

 One day was spent at the arcade. My brother Josh is pretty goofy. Love that guy.

 My brother Jacob really bonded with Benson this trip and took him around to play games.

 My Dad spent some 1:1 time with Carly.

 So I guess I had to find a way to occupy my time. I felt lost at first with no kids to take care of. Then I found what I should do. DDR....

 Round 1 was pretty intense. Honestly I was surprised we made it to the last round.

 Some stretching. Getting ready for the next round of course.

 And round 2 lasted for like 10 seconds...

 Next on the list: laser tag. This was my absolute favorite thing. I'm thinking I need to do this at least once a year. It was the perfect combo of exercise, fun and feeling like a secret agent. Need I say more?

 Then our Froyo sibling date. Very fun. Much more crowded than I anticipated, but the ice cream was delish!

 Grandpa playing with the two littlest grand babies.

 The morning we left, Grandma fed this happy little boy oatmeal. He was loving being at Grandma's house because she has this short table (normal height - unlike our tall table at home) - he was able to climb up on the chairs AND the table. Dangerous boy.

 On our drive out of Idaho we hit this temp. Crazy. 2 degrees.

 And we found a Cafe Rio in Montanna! Woot! This made our day!!! I love their sweet pork.

 Side note: I love colgate wisps. I always have them in my purse. I hate the feel of gritty teeth and so I love having a way to brush my teeth on the go. Carly also loves these things! I'm thinking she needs to advertise for them.

 Went for a run in the cold city of Liberty Lake. That is the Lake in the background. Beautiful scenery, killer hills.

 Aunt Janene made Carly a homemade Olaf bag with a Frozen activity inside. She was very excited!

 Benson joined his cousin for a little piano duet. This was a fun night with Morgan's side of the family - singing some Christmas songs and then each of the kids took a turn playing a song on the piano.

Then some Christmas ornament painting. This was Carly's "smile" today. Sometimes I can't get enough of these awkward smiles.