Out with the old, in with the new

Ok, 2019, I'm ready for you!

Jason and I made a couple of quick decisions to start us off on the right foot for the year. We cut the cord on our cable and switched to an online TV service (Sling TV). It broke my heart a little bit when we discovered we couldn't watch the Rose Bowl, but you can't have it all, can you? It's probably not the worst thing in the world for our TV to be silent for a few hours so we can play a family board game and make ice cream. I WAS able to watch Northwestern come back from behind in the Holiday Bowl vs Utah, so that worked out ok.

We're also planning to join the gym at Northwestern, which is kind of funny, since I had a free membership for 4 years in college and never went. But it's totally worth it to belong as an Evanston resident because we can use the indoor tennis courts throughout the winter. We're basically taking our cable savings and using them for monthly gym fees, so I think that also works out ok.

In years past, I've tried to simplify my list of resolutions ... some have stuck, some haven't. I'm not even sure I made any last year. This year, I have a nice, long list and am planning to track my progress weekly in a notebook. Here goes:

1. No phones allowed from 6:00 - 8:30 pm. Jason and I have talked about doing this in the past, but haven't really made it a thing. Now it is.
2. Healthy eating. Kind of general, but I know what needs to be done here. (More vegetables, less sugar). Meal planning is key.
3. Exercise 4-5 times a week. I'm already pretty good about this, but now I'm going to track it!
4. Do something special with Molly every week. Of course :) This week, we made ice cream together and played Harry Potter Clue. Just want the reminder to always carve out time for my girl.
5. Date night with Jason. We were SO good about this for a long time and always made sure we planned something every month. Lately date nights been a bit more sporadic (I blame Riley - ha!), so it's back on the resolution list.
6. Long walks with Riley. It's cold and really not all that fun to be outside right now ... but Riley doesn't care. She has a warm coat and wants to explore. We've been phoning in the walks lately, just running around the block or up and down the street. But I promise in 2019 to give her the long, leisurely, smell-filled walks she needs.
7. Random acts of kindness. You want your kids to be nice people? You need to practice doing nice things. At least that's what Unselfie tells me (a parenting book I just finished for a new "Moms of Girls" book club I'm in). 
8. Family meetings. I'm hoping to do this on Sundays ... not make it a big thing, but just take the time to talk about the upcoming week, pay Molly her allowance (which has been spotty and inconsistent up to now), figure out a couple of meals, etc.   
9. Reduce and Reuse. Notice I'm not including "Recycle" here. I think the big push needs to be using and consuming less stuff -- taking the train to work more often, remembering the reusable grocery bags + coffee cups, unplugging cords and turning out lights, eating less meat, and buying fewer clothes. 

I feel good about my list. It's kind of long, but they are all easy things. I just need to turn them into habits :) Wish me luck! 

Christmas recap - a road trip to remember

I added "a road trip to remember" to the title of this post because it just might be the last long road trip we take with Riley :) She was actually really, really good in the car, but it definitely added a new dynamic to the trip having to walk her around every gas station and fast food restaurant. She also got sick our first night in Colorado and had an accident on Marsha and Steve's carpet. Doh!

For the rest of the trip, Jason and I were a bit on edge, worrying about her stomach and what she might be getting into when not in our line of sight. Honestly, it felt like having a toddler again! Luckily the O'Grady fam loves dogs and Riley had more than one fan to help out and keep her happy all week. She was basically a sweetie with everyone, but I think we'll probably leave her home next holiday :)

Overall though, it was a really nice trip. Molly had a blast with her aunts, uncles, and Colorado cousins. Jason, Riley, and I stayed in an airbnb all week, but Molly decided to ditch us and camp out on her Grandparents' floor to maximize the time she could spend with everyone. We played board games, conquered 1,000 piece puzzles, chatted, watched movies, opened gifts, ate cookies ... you know, all the good Christmas break activities. Molly went home with new Star Wars toys, an ice cream maker, and enough bath bomb and soap-making kits to last her through at least the end of January. We're happy, rested, and ready for 2019.

Here are a few pics from start to finish of our Christmas vacation.

Somewhere in Kansas

My travel buddy

These photos make it seem like Riley was roaming around the car all trip. She slept in her crate for 90% of the drive

Christmas sweaters -- I need one for next year. Love Joe's leg lamp from "A Christmas Story." Molly watched that for the first time this year. It's a classic

Cousins ready for presents. They had so much fun together and even created a "cousins, cousins, cousins" handshake. Adorable

Hiking in The Garden of the Gods near Colorado Springs

Siblings dine in the private room at Four by Brother Luck (Top Chef alum) to celebrate Jon and Adina's engagement

Almost home! Molly and I at Happy Joe's (a favorite family pizza place in Moline, Illinois)

Knitting season

I wasn't sure Riley would be chill enough around yarn to let me knit, but she's been pretty good lately, so I'm back at it! I decided to tear up a couple of sweaters I knit a few years ago to re-use the yarn and have been having fun working on some smaller projects. I've even got Molly going on her first scarf (go Molls!).

I've also found a new knitting group to join. There's a little yarn + fabric store in Evanston that has drop-in BYOB knitting nights. I went earlier this week to test it out and ended up staying for 2 hours. It was fun! Knitters are my people :)

Anyway, I'm looking forward to bringing my craft bag along on our Colorado road trip. I've promised to make Molly a matching red hat and to let her help me with the pom pom. Think I might try a pair of socks next. Hopefully I'll remember to post pics when I finish.

New hat. Free pattern can be found here.

New knitter

Thanksgiving 2018

I say this every year, but Thanksgiving is definitely my favorite holiday ... it's all about food and family (and football). And this year did not disappoint (go Bears).

Betsy, Archie, and I started out the day with the Evanston Flying Turkey 5k and then the family traditions carried on from there. Bagels and coffee in the morning, skyline chili dip in the afternoon, and the typical Thanksgiving menu for dinner around 4pm.

We were planning to host at our house this year with the new kitchen, but ended up doing it at B's instead. I think Riley might still be a year away from behaving herself through an all-day group event. Next year!

Two little turkeys playing "rolling pins" in the back yard

Another little turkey looking adorable in the kitchen before dinner

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!

The life of Riley

Whew, what a whirlwind! We've had Riley home with us for about 6 weeks now and I feel like I'm just coming up for air. It's been good. It's been fun. But we're also exhausted and a little overwhelmed, trying to figure out our new schedule and routine. Especially with a new school year starting and crazy work schedules. We've made so much progress, but we've also had some setbacks. Overall though, I think we're finally getting to a pretty good place with this puppy of ours :)

She sits, she lays down, she plays fetch, and she'll come to a target. She's pretty good about letting us know when she needs to go outside (though she did randomly have 2 accidents last week without giving us any sort of warning). We're still working on the jumping, nipping, and chewing, though all 3 of those things have definitely gotten better. And she still has no idea how to act around other dogs. Sometimes she's totally scared, other times she gets growly, and other times she wants to play. Who knows ...

Another day. Another stick. 

It's taken a little while, but I'm finally starting to get comfortable with being a dog mom. There were a few times in the beginning when she would start nipping at me and I would just go hide in another room. Ha! Now I feel like I can usually make a pretty good guess as to what she wants. And I think I've earned her love after about a million games of tug of war.

The Molly-Riley relationship is a little more complicated. Molly is definitely over her fear of dogs. Yay, mission accomplished! She loves Riley ... sometimes. Other times, she's totally indifferent, or even annoyed that the dog gets so much of our attention. I think Riley has caught on and is now nipping at Molly a little more than she used to. We'll need to work on that.

But that's what training is for! Thank goodness for Kiki, dog trainer extraordinaire. (Check out her website for a few videos of Riley in action). She has taught me so much over the last few weeks. Probably even more than she's taught the dog :)

Family fun time

It's been over a week since Aunt Suzie came to visit (Suzanne for anyone who isn't a niece), but life with a new puppy offers few breaks for blogging! We picked just about the hottest weekend of the summer, but still managed to enjoy a bit of Chicago with an architectural boat tour on the river and a Saturday stroll through Lincoln Park. Mostly, it was just good to spend time with my aunt!

Posing on one of the lakefront fields at Northwestern. Ignore the fact that my eyes are closed

We were lucky enough the following weekend to have a return visit from Joe, who just finished up a few weeks of work in Wisconsin. We met cousin Erin at the Cubs game and saw a come from behind W vs the Nationals. I hadn't been to Wrigley in forever and it was so much fun to see the changes in the neighborhood and be in the stadium again.

Looks like we need to get Erin some Cubs gear

Last, but not least, I have to give George a birthday shout out for turning 4. Betsy and Archie had a big family party and Molly had a blast, as usual, hanging out with all of the cousins on Archie's side of the family. Here are the boys, waiting patiently for the cake.

Look how grown up they are - George is 4 and James is about to start Kindergarten. Where does the time go?

The family fun doesn't stop there ... my parents are still in town for about another month, and then we also get to see Jake, Jon, and Adina at the end of August for the Bucktown Arts Fest!

Puppy love

Meet Riley, the newest O'Grady. She's an 8-week old goldendoodle puppy and we are officially obsessed!

Hi there, Riley!

So far, it's kind of like having a new baby. We're spending all of our time staring at her and worrying about how much she's eating, sleeping, and going to the bathroom. She had 2 minor accidents her first day at home (good thing we planned ahead and rolled up the rug), but none yet today. Fingers crossed she figures this whole house training thing out sooner rather than later.

Jason was on duty by himself last night while I went to the Kenny Chesney concert with my sisters (that's a topic for a separate post!) and he was definitely a little frazzled this morning. Day 1 of crate training didn't go so well and both Jason and the dog ended up sleeping on the couch for a grand total of about 5 hours of shut eye. She's taken a few good naps today though, and even managed about 5 mins in the crate, so I am counting that as progress. Baby steps!

All tuckered out

Having a puppy is definitely a LOT of work, but it's also so much fun. Riley is a total sweetie and we're all getting a kick out of watching her play. Molly has been really good with her, though there are definitely times that the dog makes her nervous. Ha, there are times the dog makes ME nervous. But we are starting up sessions with a trainer in a couple of weeks and I think that will help all of us have a better handle on what to do. 

Looks like Riley is up from her nap, so that's probably enough for now. Expect many more Riley pics and posts to come!