Snow Day!

Thanks to the Kirkwood School district for calling a snow day!

I thought it would be fun to post some pictures from previous snow days, all the way back to 2000! I'll break the posts into two rounds - BA and AA - Before Adam and After Adam!

Enjoy!























This pictures were from a week BEFORE Adam was born!








Just threw this one in because I love it! Has nothing to do with snow days!

Happy 6th Birthday to our biggest boy, Adam.

Adam -

There's some things I want you know now that you are turning 6. I know you can't read this yet (since you are still learning to read!), but I'm hoping that one day you'll read this and be reminded of how much we love you.

You were a much wanted baby. After a few years of trying to expand our family of 3, you graced us with your presence. And boy, did you ever make that presence known!

One of your favorite pastimes (besides eating) was crying. You had a set of lungs that would wake the dead! You were colicky, but we survived and so did you!



When you weren't crying, you were a happy, pudgy baby who didn't like to sleep, unlike your world champion sleeper of a mom! I guess you decided that there was too much going on and you didn't want to miss a thing. Thankfully, you decided after about 11 months that sleep was all good!

No one could make you laugh like your big sister.



You would light up when she talked and played with you, even though you were too small (for a few months anyway) to play back! You tolerated all her hugs and kisses, much like she tolerates you and all your Star Wars talk now.



You weren't really a "Mommy's Boy" or a "Daddy's Boy". You were just OURS. Our little boy that we waited for so long to join our family of 3. You were the thing that makes our family complete.

We're so happy you are OURS and we love watching you grow up. There are nights when Dad and I check on you before we head to bed. We still see that sweet little baby, only you are no longer a baby.

You are, however, still sweet. You often tell us that you love us. No sweeter words can be said. Every time you tell your "MAMA" you love me, it melts my heart. I hope you continue doing that through the next 12 years, especially since I'm sure you and I will but heads - often!

We love everything about you, including your crazy imagination and your love of Star Wars. It's hard to imagine that you are already 6.

Happy 6th Birthday to our biggest boy!

Love,
Mom

Happy Halloween!

Another Halloween has come and gone for the Kreidlers. We enjoyed the holiday with all our neighbors on Brownell again. I think, however, that the crowds were light this year. Anyways, hope you all got some tricks and treats this Halloween Season!

Happy Birthday, Paul!

Happy Birthday to Paul! He finally turned 37 - I've been waiting for 5 months for us to be the same age again! He loves to make fun of the fact that when we sign up for races between May 16 and October 15, I'm older!

Happy Birthday to a great husband, dad, and friend!

Soup's On!

I love to make soup. Soup is a staple on our dinner table October through April. Nothing better than hot soup and bread for dinner!

So, today's blog post is my adventures in soup making. Notice in the pictures - no recipe. No, I don't need no stinkin' recipe to make soup! At least not the few kids I make from memory.

So, today's dinner - Chicken Noodle:

First, I boil the chicken (I prefer something with bones - thighs or legs) with some chunks of celery, carrot, onion, chicken base, and fresh Rosemary (my secret ingredient)

After a few hours, I strain everything out, pick the meat off the bones, add meat back to the stock and add fresh chopped celery, onion, carrot and a few more sprigs of fresh Rosemary.

Just before serving, I'll add noodles - I prefer homestyle, but you really could use anything. I don't too many because I prefer my soup to not be just noodles!
Since i'm the cook, I make it to my personal preference!

Rachel Ray - she uses a garbage bowl - I use a plate. Whatever works!

And there you have it. Soup!

We were AWESOME!

The 10/10/10 Chicago Marathon is in the books. We were awesome that day, only because we ran smart and didn't DIE! The temps were HOT - high 80s. Way too hot to run fast, even for those of us that live in HOT and HUMID St. Louis. So, it is what it is. We didn't get the times we wanted, but we finished and felt good!

We are now entering a "Michael Jordan-esque" retirement from marathoning! We might or might not be back running 26.2. If I were a betting person, I'd bet on us making a return to 26.2 at some point!

(P.S. Thanks to our awesome neighbors who decorated our yard with the roving cow!)

It's Time...

TO BE AWESOME!

Tomorrow is the day we've been working for the last 18 weeks. It's our day to "BE AWESOME!"

Our bib numbers are 12315 and 12316. Feel free to track us.

We're just hanging at Jeff's house right now. It's quiet, it's calm, it's relaxing. We're off our feet and that's good.

Wish us luck tomorrow! Wish my brother Jeff luck as well. He's going for a Boston Qualifier time tomorrow!