Mountain Biking

Why I didn't take a picture of myself actually on the trail...I don't know. Maybe because I had too much wine the night before and almost vomited at the top of a really steep hill??? But I made it without vomiting and in the same run I actually got really good air on a bunch of rollers. That was SO MUCH FUN ON MY NEW BIKE. That bitch seriously grips and going around berm turns and over jumps is AMAZING.

Mountain biking attire is so not flattering but damn, the shorts come with so many pockets these days. And they're nice and long (but you do need to wear gel padding underneath! I haven't found a pair of mountain biking shorts WITH padding yet). My shoes are so grippy and awesome too. EEK.

Happy Monday!!!

OOTD

Dress: Mud Pie

I'm testing out how dresses work in my life today. So far...so good. Later this afternoon I may have to wear running shoes for school pick up, which I'm not thrilled about because it means I'm running up to school and then back home after Baby Chewie who will be ripping down the street on his Strider. It really irritates me because it makes pick up/drop off so stressful and honestly, I just want this time to be down time for The Monkey. Baby Chewie wants his wheels and I want to rip them out from under him because they make me hate this part of the day. 

Vertical stripes look weird. But I bought this because I'm vertically challenged and it makes me seem a little taller, or so I'd like to think. Once a month I used to stop at my favorite boutique not far from here and I would buy something, this happened to be my something a few months ago, then I learned they were closing and I'm still so sad. It's not for a bad reason though, the owners decided to retire. But I loved shopping there, it was an old home that was turned into a boutique. So neat to wander around the rooms. I'm going to have to find another boutique to replace Lily & Violet that's close by. 

Wordless Wednesday

This Girl...

Learned how to tie her own shoes. 

OOTD

Open Cardigan - Old Navy

Striped T-shirt - Madewell

Jeggings - Old Navy

Socks - Probably Target and probably Hanes

Meh, I don't really need to add "Mom" to OOTD anymore. I don't want that to be my defining word. That doesn't really encompass my whole self, that's just one part of me and if there's something that I'm wearing BECAUSE I'm a mother, then I'll point that out in the future.

I need to get rid of all the cardigans that I own that are not open cardigans. All of my cardigans that button or snap just hit me in the wrong places and aren't friendly to my figure. I don't know why I never noticed that before. OH WAIT, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I'VE OWNED A FULL LENGTH MIRROR. It's like I'm seeing myself for the first time! So I'm adding that to my list of things to do this summer - DITCH ALL THE CARDIGANS. Our local emergency program is going to end up with a shitload of button up cardigans that I should have never been buying in the first place. 

New Beauty Buys

I need to prefix this post: I AM NOT PAID TO REVIEW THESE AND I'M NOT REVIEWING THESE.

AGAIN: NO, I AM NOT PAID FOR THIS.

Got it? Good. Did you notice there's no ads on my blog? I hate ads so I don't subject any of you lovely readers to them either. I'm sharing the love.

I added these three items to my online Target cart a few weeks ago and never tapped the checkout button until a few days ago when everything was on sale and I got a gift card. WOO HOO!!

Last year I focused my New Year's Resolution on skincare - but completely ignored the "beauty" aspect and I can definitely see that it shows in my makeup case because it's almost empty of makeup. I cleaned it out last year and then never bought anything to refill it...which means probably next year I'll tackle adding makeup back into my routine. GASP. MAKEUP. To my friend Kathy - we will go shopping at Sephora together. I promise. I'm slowly adding in more lipglossy thingys so I decided to try out a Burt's Bees lipgloss stick. We'll see.

But the stick sunblock is a necessary for my purse. I've always had the Neutrogena Wet Skin Kids one in my purse because that seems to be the free add-on for lots of Neutrogena items. A few weeks ago I used it on the kids and myself and all three of us broke out in a red rash so that one was trashed. I'm determined to find one that works this year. Alba Botanica has been nice to our skin here and none of us have been sunburned yet in the past few years that I've bought the sprays. I bought this hoping the same thing. Now we just need a nice day to try it out.

Badger is always recommended by the super crunchy granola moms in the FAcebook groups (insert eyeroll here because YES, I do belong to mom groups on Facebook). I have such a problem with all the "natural" sunblocks though. We always get a sunburn. ALWAYS. I've tried other Badger products and other sunscreens and not one of them have prevented a sunburn. I read the directions. apply liberally, apply after going in the water, waiting 15 minutes, etc... And it never fails, every single one of gets a serious sunburn so I don't buy the natural products anymore. We are Minnesotans, we NEED good sunblock. I'm not beneath buying the Target brand spray stuff because that is what WORKS and keeps us sunburn-free. I'm trying but...I can't buy stuff that doesn't work anymore. This Badger gets a chance this summer. 

Happy Friday!

So Much Waiting

With an older sister in a few activities, Baby Chewie and I spend a lot of time waiting around for The Monkey to finish whatever it is she's doing (swimming/dance/karate but I stopped going to karate, I want my Saturday mornings back!) Luckily The Monkey's dance studio is close to walking trails and the walking trails are also for bikers too. Yippee!!

Last year this area scared the shit out of me because Baby Chewie didn't have fear (he now has about thismuch fear, but still...not much). He would lean over the edge and I'd have to dive to catch him before he went over. The water isn't too deep here, but it's still scary because he hasn't had swim lessons yet, and those start in June (The Monkey will now be forced to wait!). 

The best part is being able to spend one on one time with each kid while waiting for the other one. I now have to run to keep up with this child on his Strider. Bimmer Man and I are thinking about getting a different type of Strider - one that you can attach pedals to. I'm pretty sure he'll be on the pedal bike by the end of summer. He currently HATES the pedal bike because it just doesn't go fast enough for him and he loves speed. I'm trying every day to get him on it so he develops the muscles in his legs needed to pedal and balance so that way he's set by the end of summer. I'm not going to fight him on biking, but I realized last year that this is his THING. He's good at biking. He does the adult bike ramps at The Factory which is an indoor bike park. He came in first place in Strider races. He throws a shit fit every time he's not fast enough, then gets back up and wants to race again and again until he wins. This kid is GOOD. We'll see where his speed takes him!

Wordless Wednesday

Mom OOTD

Navy blue crewneck sweater - Gap Outlet

Green V-neck T-shirt - Gap

Blue pull-on shorts - Madewell

I'm in the middle of sizes right now. I'm a bit angry about that because it means that half my clothes are too big, and the other half are too small. My shorts are too big - but they were also purchased secondhand and so the elastic is a bit worn out. It seems like someone squeezed themselves into the shorts daily and figured out they aren't stretchy anymore so threw them out. I just happened to buy them without noticing. 

That's a problem with buying secondhand - people donate and get rid of clothes that have been worn so much that the clothes need to be recycled but donation places don't notice how badly the clothes are worn. I'm struggling with buying off of ThredUp lately because of this issue. So be warned.

I've been working out quite a bit lately, but I really miss my cardio workouts. I'm ready for some really good sweat this year and I think I want to try the YMCA again this summer with The Monkey and Baby Chewie. I want to get on the bike and on the Elliptical machine and sweat. The Greenway in Minneapolis is closed for the next two years so I'm going to have to bike on more roads and safety really concerns me. Americans HATE driving by cyclists and don't give space, I've almost been hit several times now. I don't want to end up in the hospital but I also LOVE my road bike. If I could stick it in a bubble or maybe put a flag on it that sticks out 3 feet, that would be amazing. But usually when I do cardio my weight drops by 10 pounds and that's where I'm at right now - I need to do more cardio to drop the 10lbs so I can fit into half my clothes. Let's be honest here - I like my body, I like how I look, I just want to fit into my awesome skinny jeans! 

Mom OOTD

Flowered Bomber Jacket - Esprit (Good luck finding Esprit in the US! This is from Paris)

Pink T-shirt - Gap

Dark blue skinny jeans - Gap

Finally, spring has sprung here. I can wear my really bright clothes from Europe last year. I can wear everything that I bought when I was in a deep dark place over the winter. This jacket is just the beginning! 

A few years ago for New Year's Resolutions I decided to become more "stylish." I followed so many blogs - some now I know really aren't my style (like having capsule wardrobes...um...no...I like choices and this is Minnesota, today I'm probably going to shed this jacket and then find a skirt...maybe...we need clothes for four seasons in one day!). I cut several of them from my blog reader, especially the ones with too many ads and the minimalist wardrobe blogs. I love seeing what people can do with 30 items, but I'm not that person and I don't fit into that mold. I was thinking at one point I could totally pare down my wardrobe and closet but I realized that I really do wear a lot of my clothes. And I continue to enjoy looking for awesome pieces of clothing that fit me and my personality and that go with what I have. 

Happy Sunday!

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