Leese Ramblings

11 years on 11-11-11

2011-11-15T20:34:00.003-06:00

Friday my husband and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary. Let me start off by saying that in the past we haven't had big celebrations/gifts/surprises for anniversaries/birthdays/holidays but I let hubby know that this year it was important for many reasons for us to do something special. I let him plan the weekend and make it a surprise (even though I hate surprises) because that made him happy. My only stipulation was that we go away but not too far just in case we were needed at home for the kids. (His Mom was kind enough to stay with them.)

To start the adventure, he said we needed to leave by 4 on Thursday afternoon. I got home from work a little after 3, we packed the car, and we were off. I was so excited just to be getting away that I really didn't care if we just went to a hotel. I knew we were headed north but didn't pay attention to our surroundings because I read the whole way. After a little more than an hour we pulled up to the Fireside Theater. Something I have always wanted to do. I was very surprised and happy with this first stop.

So the food was awesome. It was a buffet, but not a Hometown buffet. A fancy buffet. There was a sweet potato dish that was to die for, fish, some chicken dishes, meatballs, enchiladas, and carved meat. So nummy. Dessert was a fancy "Santa's Chimney" with dark and white chocolate.

Mr. got way too stuffed at dinner and was slightly uncomfortable for the beginning of the show, but I think he decided it was worth it. The show was amazing. It was their Christmas Revue- songs from movies, carols, hymns, comedy, and kids. It is a very small theater so all the seats were great and we just loved it.

After the show was more driving. When we pulled into the parking lot we were at the Hilton Garden Inn right next to the Milwaukee airport. I was very nervous for a minute that he got carried away and we were getting on an airplane the next morning. But no, it was just the convenient hotel for the rest of our trip.

Next morning we got up and drove around for a bit. We ended up at the mall walking around for a while, then the movie theater for Tower Heist. Cute movie. I enjoy Ben Stiller.

We had skipped lunch so then continued on to dinner: Outback (of course, some people might say) and then the next surprise. We drove to downtown Milwaukee and walked to a small theater. I was oblivious until he had me take a picture of the sign right...now.

Oh wow! I love Paul Simon! The opening act was the Punch Brothers, who were also really enjoyable. We had very upper level seats, but it didn't matter. The music was great and the drunk people were quite amusing.

Ok, on to Saturday. In the morning I was actually given a choice: "Do you want to go to the Milwaukee Public Museum or no? They have a Cleopatra exibit." Sure I do. I like things like that. (Have you noticed that we do a lot of things like we are old people? I swear everywhere we went this weekend most of the people around us were 50 years older than us.) So that was our afternoon. Then dinner at the food court at the mall and another drive downtown.

This time we parked at a different theater. I was warned ahead of time that we would be laughing a LOT, so wasn't too surprised that we would be seeing a comedian. I hadn't heard of John Pinette, but was informed that I would enjoy him. What did surprise me was being shown 2nd row seats! So close.

Anyway, he was funny. So funny that my mouth hurt and I was having coughing attacks from laughing so hard. That hadn't happened in a long time. Definitely you should check him out if you get a chance.

Sunday morning. Time to go home. I had a wonderful weekend but I was ready to get back to my home and kids. My last surprise was on the drive home. He gave me a lovely card with tickets to the upcoming Brad Paisley concert inside. Floor seats. Yippee! Perfect end to a perfect anniversary.

Report Card Day!

2011-11-07T15:15:00.002-06:00

I love report card day. I always look forward to feedback from the boys' teachers on how they are doing, and am proud of them no matter what. This report card made us a little nervous because Joey started the gifted program this year and the teacher let us know that we should not expect straight A's. She stressed that the kids are being tested on 5th and 6th grade materials (they are in 4th) and as long as they are mostly getting A's and B's we should be happy. Well, Joey is getting A's and B's! 3 A's- math, spelling and social studies; and 3 B's- reading, English and science.
Ben is not getting letter grades yet, but he also has an awesome report card: S+ in reading and math, E in spelling, and S in English. His conduct is S-, but I am proud of how far he has come and how much better he is doing from even last year.
Good thing I made pumpkin muffins before they got home from school today, because they sure deserved a treat!

Dancing Baby

2011-10-31T18:09:00.003-05:00

We were carving pumpkins for Halloween and Tommy was "helping": he'd reach in with is scoop, swish it around, and bang it in the garbage. Daddy was cleaning out the junk drawer, (I know, random, but he was looking for the carving tools.) and he found an old CD from Kriss Kross. Remember them? No? Well, you shouldn't. But they had a fun dancey beat, al least Tommy thinks so. Check it out:

Sick :(

2011-10-28T17:21:00.003-05:00

Yucky. I am so glad I rarely get sick anymore. I have the cold and it came on so suddenly last night. I worked out fine at about 4, took the boys and Grandma for dinner, and by bedtime felt some sniffles. When I laid down, though, my nose just started dripping. I fell asleep, but woke up later with super dry cotton mouth because I couldn't breathe through my nose. Today my nose is still dripping and now I have a {small} fever. Except I haven't run a fever in ??? years??? and it feels really yucky. Plus the boys are wound UP! And Grandma left after staying for two days, but Daddy will just be getting home in the next few from his work trip to Tampa. I just want to go to bed.
But...Halloween weekend! I love Halloween! We need to get pumpkins and carve them, then find some Trunk or Treats, trick or treat, etc. etc. Ugh. Was this whiny enough for you????
So I am going to put my warm jammies on since I am freezing and let the big boys put on a movie and hope the little one can be contained for a while. See you in the AM feeling better {fingers crossed}

Halloween Costumes

2011-10-23T14:16:00.003-05:00

We are getting all geared up for Trick or Treating. Joey and Ben decided way back in the spring that they would like to create their own costumes and ask Nana to sew them. After some drawing and shopping and compromising, these are what they came up with. (Thank-you Nana for doing this for us.) Ben is a Ninja. He thinks he might need some nunchucks. I think not.

Joey is "Skull Man" (his name). He is quite proud of it.

Now the baby. We have a monkey costume that was handed down:

Or a vampire that both of his brothers wore:

And Grandma got a Thomas costume:I'm pretty set on him wearing the vampire costume, but the others are pretty cute too....

And here's mine:

Velma, same as last year (different clothes). Pay no mind to the dirty mirror. SOMEbody likes to admire himself and touch all over it.

My First Run

2011-10-19T20:53:00.002-05:00

Whoops! I let a few days go by without a post....
I wanted to post about my run on Saturday so I will start there. I am signed up for a 5k this coming Sunday and since I never run I thought I might give it a try (a few friends are walking it so I am not too worried about having to run). I took the 2 older boys and their bikes with me to the bike path, did a little stretch and hit the trail. And ran. Immediately realized that my capris are too big. I had to run while hiking them up every few steps. Joey said "You should have done a practice at home to make sure." Well. Other than that the first mile was easy peasy. The next half mile was slightly more difficult, but I was at a 10 minute mile pace and thought 3 miles was very doable. So at 1.5 miles we turned around to head back. And then my bladder started talking to me. Not very nicely. No bathrooms at any point on this path. So the last mile involved some brisk walking in order to keep my pants at least somewhat dry for the drive home. Got back to the car in 34 minutes. Not bad for a first run. Straight back home and into the potty!
Sunday my shins and calves were pretty sore and by Monday they were really sore. According to my HRM I burned similar calories to my workouts at home and I find them way more enjoyable (plus the bathroom is nearby), so I still don't think I'll ever be a runner. But I am glad I tried it and still looking forward to the race- if nothing else I get to visit with some old friends.

Not much other news at the moment. I want to try to post pictures of all of our costumes in the next day or so. Tommy has several options so maybe we can have a vote for which one he should wear on Halloween.

A Picture Update

2011-10-13T20:13:00.002-05:00

Isn't he the cutest baby ever? Just this week he has started talking and communicating sooo much. He asks for an app-o when he wants a snack, shoos or molk when he is thirsty. For a long time he has called all animals Sasha (our dog's name), but now he learned Grandma's dog's name and animals are boo-boo or Sasha. He loves balls and points them out wherever he sees them. And whenever something is missing (sometimes because he hid it), he says "(where)Is it?" then when we ask him where it is, he says "don't know" and shrugs.

A picture of the boys with Uncle Joe during his visit. They loved hanging out with him for the week.

Just a cool pic of Ben. Something about the lighting (and his eyes) appeals to me.

A rare family pic. Of course we can't all be facing the camera, but still pretty good :)

I would also like to mention that I am one.point.five. pounds from my goal weight!!!!!!! So excited and proud of myself for coming this far and I have no intention of stopping now. From here I am just going to aim for 5 pounds at a time.

Snippets

2011-10-11T21:11:00.002-05:00

Some things you maybe don't already know:
*Tommy is 18 months old (almost 19!) and has yet to sleep through the night.
*Joey finished 3 books today. 3! (He tends to read several books at a time.
*Ben is a night owl and prefers to sleep in in the morning, but he has been surprisingly agreeable about getting up on time for school this year.
*We had a houseguest this week (left today). We enjoyed having him but I am happy to be sitting here in my jammies right now.
*I signed up for a 5k. I'm thinking I want to try to run it?!?!? I just feel like this is the next step for me in my fitness quest.
*I love my job. Love it. Love 3 year olds. Do not love the "outside the classroom" stuff and nonsense.
*My bathroom is rarely clean. Know why? 4 boys. Boys are messy. Boys are sloppy pee-ers.
*My laundry is always done. Know why? Not sure actually. Just something I can easily control I guess.
*My toenails are bright blue today.
*I really like the new show Pan-Am, especially Cristina Ricci.

Ok, running out of steam. Thanks for visiting. Come back soon.

Shopping!

2011-10-08T13:58:00.003-05:00

I got paid yesterday for the first time since May, so I kinda felt like there was some $ burning a hole in my pocket. Plus I've had to buy a lot lately, but it has been all "need". So today I went to Bed, Bath and Beyond- got 2 new pillows: the side sleeper pro and the cloud pillow (hoping for better sleep), a new Yankee candle in Pumpkin Spice (25% off), and a full length mirror (the only mirror in the house was the vanity in the bathroom. Moved on to Target, my fave. Got a new jacket, a dress, jammies, workout clothes, costume for Halloween, and socks (I think that was it). My problem right now is that everything that I try on looks good to me and I want to buy it. I've never been able to go in a dressing room and really love how something looks on me before. So I spent a little more than I intended but it felt pretty good, and I will try to control myself for a while now until I get down another size. :)

Back to Blogging (again)

2011-10-07T18:24:00.004-05:00

I just sat and read all of my posts from the last 3 years and am so sad that I didn't keep up with my blog since Tommy was born. There are so many stories on here that I barely remember about Joey and Ben but they are here forever to look back on....
So I want to recommit to blogging again. Stories about the boys, my fitness news, and so on and so forth.
Today I will list Tommy's words that he has so far:
Da-Da
Ma-Ma
cheese
sticker
shoe
Joe-Joe (and Ben but they sound the same)
Sasha
Tom-Tom
Mine
Where it is?
I don't know (this one is new)
poo-poo
teeth
no-no (while pointing to his nose)
eye
ca-ca (icky)
fishies
Love you
night night
juice
cracker

That's all I can think of for right now. Until tomorrow (or maybe the next day)

My Turbo FIre/CHalean Extreme Results

2011-09-17T08:49:00.009-05:00

I began my weight loss journey on January 1st of this year after deciding that I had no excuse to get fat again. Tommy was born last March and all of my pregnancy weight had come off with nursing, but as soon as I stopped in December (plus those pesky Holidays) I put on 10 pounds. I knew that if I could stay committed I could get to a point of enjoying workouts. I also knew what it felt like to be close to a healthy weight and in shape. I had done this 11 years ago shortly before my wedding.
So I started small- Wii workouts 4 to 5 days a week. Smaller portions and less eating out. By May 1st I had lost 12 pounds (not nearly what I had hoped), and was ready to start Turbo Fire and Chalean Extreme. I was committing to a 20 week schedule of working out 6 days a weeks for 45 minutes to an hour and a half each day. 3 days of high intensity cardio and 3 days of strength training. I enjoyed the workouts from the beginning, though some days were harder than others to get going. By the end of June I had lost 10 more pounds and was starting to feel more confident and comfortable. In the beginning of August I hit my original goal of 160- 30 pounds lost. More and more people were noticing and commenting on my results.
Now it is September 18th and I have reached the end of my 20 week schedule. I missed a couple workouts when we went on vacation and had to adjust my schedule for other priorities on occasion, but I have completed the program. My results since May 1st:
Weight: 178 to 155 23 pounds
Pant size: 14 to 8!!!!!!
Shirt size: L to M
Bra size: 38c to 36b

......and pics:

The Story of Thomas' Birth

2010-03-18T08:31:00.001-05:00

After a pregnancy with many potential issues- Mommy’s high blood pressure, an indication of slow growth, high amniotic fluid levels, etc., we never expected to go all the way to our due date.
Well….that’s what happens when you have expectations. March 15th (cousin Charlie’s 1st birthday) came and I was so hoping that so would Thomas. At our appt, Dr said I was dilated to 3 and if I wanted she would induce me Thursday, March 18th as that was the next day she was on call. Oy. I was so uncomfortable, had been having contractions for weeks, and really just wanted him to come out so that I would know that he was ok. But I went home to wait. Tuesday started out with contractions about 10 minutes apart for most of the day. By 3:30 in the afternoon they were about 5 minutes apart but still not as strong as I thought they should be. I took the boys to the park since it was the nicest day of the year so far, came home and called Daddy to let him know that tonight might be it, then tried laying down for a bit to be sure it was time. While I was laying on the couch, I felt a small gush of fluid and was so excited. Yes, my water is at least leaking, we can go to the hospital and have this baby. Called Daddy to go get Grandma, called Dr to let them know I was going, and ran around getting my bag packed. This was at about 7pm.
We got to the hospital at about 8 and they let us know that I was being admitted and induced whether my water broke or not. Yay!!!! We knew then that were very likely to have a St Patricks day baby. Daddy was in love with the idea of calling him his little leprechaun. They took an hour to check us in (to the hottest room in the hospital), and got some pitocin and antibiotics started by about 10. When we started I was still at 3 :P At midnight I had progressed to a 5. Great, I thought, this is going well. Ha. At 2 am I was getting miserable. They checked me and I was still at a 5. Grr. Not sure I can do this without an epidural. We decided to just get something to take the edge off the pain. Dilauded made me feel real good between contractions, and took the worst of the edge off so I felt like I could keep going. Dr also came and broke my water and I thought it would have to be over soon. They checked me 20 minutes later because Dr got another call and I was at a 6. Great. Moving right along again. But at 4 the meds wore off and the pain and pressure were intense. Checked again- still at 6. Aaaggghhh. Please give me more meds. Gave me meds, but the pain was getting more and more intense. Said it felt like I had to push. At 5:10, checked me again. No, it is not time to push, you are still at 6. NOOOOOOOO! I really feel like I have to push! I’m going to push! Don’t push. Just a minute. Went to get another nurse. I need to push now! I’m pushing. The other nurse comes in and I am pushing and he is coming. Oh my God. His head is out. There is no Dr, just one nurse saying ok, ok, ok. Bill pushed the panic button while she caught the baby. Out came baby, in came many nurses and such (so I hear). Still no Dr. A few minutes later the staff ob comes in, is quite short with me, has no idea what is going on, but manages to help with placenta (easy) and give me a few stitches. I feel awesome. The baby is getting cleaned up and seems to be fine, I didn’t have an epidural, and he popped right out.
I’ve already forgotten the intense pain, and Thomas is sooooo perfect. He hasn’t really cried at all, nurses like a champ, and just loves to look around. His brothers are about to meet him for the first time and they are so excited.
Overall this has been the most amazing awful experience ever. Quite a story.

I'm Tired!!!!!

2010-01-09T09:51:00.002-06:00

I'm almost at week 31 today, and the last couple of weeks have been HE## for me. First, the Monday after Christmas, my husband's Dad went into the hospital in Madison (an hour away) and it has been touch and go ever since on whether he would make it through. So Bill has been up there almost every day, plus trying to help figure out paperwork and benefit info for him (his insurance changed on Jan 1). I had planned to get the baby room ready over break, but since my husband was MIA, I didn't have anyone to lift the heavy stuff anf it is still not done.
Also the boys have been very umm....wild lately and I'm sure it is partly my fault because I don't take them out enough, but see my title. It's hard. I am not sleeping at night, not comfortable during the day, and I have had no one to help me. I was very close to a bit of a mental break yesterday, but I think I'm feeling a bit better today. Bill plans to be here with me at least part of the day and carry some stuff out of the baby room. The boys and I went to Kidspot (a gymnastics center) for a while last night, so they got some energy out. I have hopes for maybe going out to dinner tonight, too.
The thing is, I feel like a bum sometimes because I know that there are Moms out there who work full time all the way to the end, and single Moms who have to do it all by themselves every day, and obviously there are many many people who have it worse than me....but I can't seem to cope for 2 weeks by myself, and I can't get everything done that I want to because I am just too tired. Oy

So I am hoping this gets better soon. I am very much looking forward to meeting this crazy, active baby of mine. I do love him already. And my FIL seems to be making some small improvements, so hopefully that stress will ease up a bit as well. We pray every day that he gets better and is able to have a few more years with us.
So thanks for reading my whiny rant. I don't visit the Dr again until next Monday, but I get another ultrasound then, so I'm sure there will be an update.

28 week appointment

2009-12-21T17:50:00.002-06:00

Today I got to go to the Dr for many tests in preparation for a healthy delivery and baby. I had my glucose test (yech), an ultrasound (yay), a 24 hour pee test for protein (ugh), and my thyroid tested. I have noticed that my new ob is much more conservative than my old one. She really wants to keep an eye on me every step of the way, which is very reassuring if not particularly convenient at times. She let me know that starting at week 32 I will be coming in twice a week for NST (I think just making sure the baby is moving around and doing fine) along with an u/s every four weeks till the end.
Ultrasounds are awesome. I wish we could just watch him play in there all the time. Today he was as uncooperative as last time for getting pictures, but she did confirm again that he has boy parts. He is also head down at the moment with his hands and legs still over his head. I wonder if he'll straighten out when he comes out? And he weighs almost 3 pounds already- about 10% over what is expected. The u/s tech asked if I usually have big babies. Yup. But that's ok. Big and healthy will do just fine. Just won't need any newborn clothes.
Christmas is in just a few days and I find myself more connected with Mary this year- this is the first year I've been really pregnant at Christmas and it just makes me appreciate more what she must have gone through. We're getting there on shopping- hoping that Joey maintains his belief for at least one more year even if it means spending a little more moola. I'm doing my best not to get the bad Mommy award and ruin it for him, like I have done with other magaical creatures and other children (oops). I am sad that none of my students gave me any homemade goodies this year-I love Christmas cookies! (And I'm not making them myself.) But I did get plenty of decorations and gift cards and other very generous gifts. I am so blessed to be a teacher and work with so many wonderful families.
Christmas cards are not even in concept phase yet, boo. I still hope to get them done, but they might arrive closer to New Years:)
Have a very blessed and merry Christmas. Love to all.

Quarterly Update:)

2009-12-10T17:56:00.003-06:00

Egads! I know it has been forever! Now that I've waited so long to update I really don't even know where to start, so... I think you get a small update now and then when Christmas break comes (1 more week!!!!) I'll try to catch up everything.
Mostly I haven't been on because my energy has been completely gone. This baby DRAINS me. I do my best to get through each day at work, come home and do the minimum chores, and try to take a nap between the other boys' demands. They've been getting to watch quite a few movies lately.
The pregnancy has been going well otherwise since my early blood pressure scare. I take meds to keep it under control now and they seem to be working. The baby is very active, kinda like Ben was, so I worry that I'm going to have another Ben on my hands. At the ultrasound he kept waving his hands and feet in the way when the tech was trying measure or get a good picture. Very funny, but I sense the feistiness. At my next appt in a week and a half, I have my glucose test, a 24 hr pee test, a blood test and another ultrasound. I'm kinda hoping he settles down a bit so we can get a better picture, and it did take her a while to decide he was a boy, so I hope we can get a clearer picture of those parts as well. I'd hate to prepare for a boy and have a girl come out.
We've been talking about names but haven't made a definite decision yet. We also haven't gotten the room ready, although I hope to accomplish that over break. I'd like to decorate in Monkeys but we shall see.

School has been going well. There are certain things that I just don't feel up to some days (can you say no shaving cream?) but otherwise I'm keeping up. The kids ask me funny questions about the baby and I have one student who wants to know each day if I've had him yet. I have great families and we've stayed fully enrolled. It seems like every time we lose someone, another family calls for a spot.

Joey and Ben you ask? Well...they are certainly taking advantage of Mommy being tired to get into mischief, but they seem to be pretty excited about the new baby. They've been aroung their new cousin, Charlie, enough to realize whats involved in having a baby. Hopefully he doesn't cry much, because Ben can't stand the noise. Joey is doing awesome in school as always. He still loves to read and has been gragging that he reads "teen" books because one of the series he likes is found in the teen section at the library. Ben is also doing great in school. He is apparently a great singer even though he won't sing for me. I worry a bit because he still doesn't pronounce his "r" sound, but I think he will grow out of that.

Ok thats all for today. More soon (I hope) and definitely once the baby comes I'll update better.

I Know I Said This Wouldn't Be A Pregnancy Blog...

2009-09-03T19:29:00.003-05:00

Whoops. I was trying to be better....
Anyhoo...
I had my second prenatal appointment yesterday and it was horrible. First the scale said I had gained almost 10 pounds in a month, which also happens to put me back where I started a year ago when I got back into working out. Amazing how easy it is to put weight on. Then I the nurse took my blood pressure and it was 140/90. Bad. Mid-pregnancy your bp is actually supposed to be lower than normal. So she checked again. 140/90. Then she left for a few minutes and came back to check it again. 136/86. Phew I thought, going down. Then the Dr came in and was VERY concerned about it, especially after hearing that I had this problem with my 1st pregnancy (even though that was much later in the pregnancy). So I have to come back in 2 weeks and be more closely monitored. She didn't say I am high-risk, but I think I am approaching that threshold. I also have to save my pee for 24 hours so they can do furthur tests on my kidneys. Ugh. I came home so upset and depressed, which I know does not help any of my problems. After a few hours I remembered that I have a bp cuff at home so I can self-test. Every time I've taken it since last night, it has been 115/78. Normal. So, I'm hoping and praying that I just have a touch of white coat syndrome, because I REALLY cannot afford to be taken off of work early.
In other news, school starts Tuesday and I am completely full with 47 3-year olds. I can't wait to get to know them. We had meet the teacher night on Tuesday, but try to imagine 47 kids, their parents, siblings, and some grandparents all in one little bitty preschool room all at once. It was a little crazy. I think I met about half of them and could identify about a third right now. Next year I am having one class at a time come in.
Ben, my baby (for a few more months), turns 5 tomorrow. He got to pick dinner tonight because tomorrow is Joey's Cub Scout campout and he is going with. He chose Hometown Buffet. Eww. In the morning before school, we will take him to Toys R Us to pick out what he wants and he will celebrate at preschool tomorrow and next Tuesday at my school with Logli's soft cookies. He has been so excited for weeks to get to pick out some toys, because Mommy has been on a no new toys strike all summer. They just have toooo much, mostly thanks to Grandma, and it ends up all over my house instead of being played with. So it will be an extra special treat for him to get something new.
Oh, the pigeons: we haven't won a race yet, but I think we one one particular branch of a race (don't ask, I don't understand all the details). For his first year, though, everyone else in his club wonders how he is doing so well. And we've lost less birds than most other lofts as well. Always look for the positive, right?

Ben's Dream

2009-08-23T14:02:00.002-05:00

Ben came to me this morning when he woke up: "Mommy, one of my dreams was bad last night. I dreamed I turned the water on and it went all over the floor. Then I was in the old bedroom and there was pipes and the water went all over." I think he had this dream from the guilt of constantly playing in the bathroom sink. I even catch him in there long after he is supposed to be in bad sleeping sometimes. Yah-hoo.

Have You Been Wondering About the Pigeons?

2009-08-22T17:02:00.001-05:00

I haven't updated you on the pigeons lately.

Well, they've raced the last 3 weekends and we've done pretty well each time. The second weekend was the best, we got 5th and 6th out of 300 something birds. Every Sunday we sit outside on my swing and watch the sky, waiting for that first bird to come in. It's funny, cause when they train, usually all of them come in together, but on race days they tend to get broken up, or some of them join groups that are going to different homes, etc. Our first few birds come in a few minutes apart, but the last ones could come home as late as the next day. We had one come home the other day that had been gone for 10 days. And right now there is a lady in Iowa who says one of our birds is hanging out at her house and won't leave.

So tonight we are sending them to Des Moines, Iowa, 250 miles. I think we are sending about 20 birds. They usually get released at about 6:30 AM, and it should take about 5 hours for them to get home. At about 10:30 Daddy will start watching for birds. Sometimes he gets excited when a mourning dove flies by, but mostly he frets that something bad is going to happen and none of the birds will come home. He is very dramatic.

So I'll update tomorrow or Monday and let you know how we do this week.

Back Again

2009-08-18T16:11:00.004-05:00

Do you miss me?

There has actually been sooo much going on since my last post, I just haven't been sure how to put it all down on here. The biggest thing is after several years of not deciding whether or not we want a 3rd child, I found out that I am pregnant in the middle of July. So today I am 10.5 weeks along, due March 15th. I've had all the symptoms the last few weeks, and certainly didn't want to use my blog to whine about this precious thing inside me which has caused so much havoc. Also with this pregnancy my feelings are so much more mixed than with my other kids. I feel I have been so blessed with two healthy children when so many other people want another (or just one), and then it was so easy for me to get pregnant again. I know there is always a reason, but I have some guilt this time. At the same time I am excited. I love babies, I love kids.

And then there is the boy vs girl thing. I'm scared to have a girl because I am used to the boys, a girl will cost more, etc, etc, but a girl would be so precious, and we would spoil her, and I could finally buy those cute girl clothes, etc, etc. So like I said, mixed feelings. I have always been so sure of my plans in life, and this just throws my security levels off.

Anyways, I don't actually want to make this a pregnancy blog. I'll try to just give periodic updates, and I do have other things going on in my life.

School- I am so excited because our enrollment is way up from last year. Our first official year as directors and we have been very successful (with some help from extenuating circumstances, but we'll take it). We are almost full now, only 3 spots in the 3's and 5 spots in the 4's. Awesome.

Joey and Ben go back to school next week, and then I don't start until after Labor Day so I am looking forward to those couple of weeks by myself. Ben and I especially have spent way too much time together this summer and he has gotten very clingy. Joey at least had his sport and Cub Scout camps, which he loved. I am so proud of him, even after a few injuries he couldn't wait to go each day.

So anyway, now that we are getting into a better routine, I will try to update my blog more often. One goal I have is to remember the hilarious things the boys say on a daily basis.

Oh, let me tell you one story about my pregnancy: Just so you know, not all pg tests have a plus sign to mean you are pregnant. SOME tests just have one control line and one other line to mean positive. And also, if you aren't sure, you probably shouldn't throw the instructions away. I went a week and a half thinking that I had a negative test and was just late before finally taking another test and looking at the instructions. Yes, I am one of those people from the commercials that incorrectly reads a pg test. Ha. Ha.

Picture Day!

2009-07-05T17:01:00.002-05:00

The whole family arrived at Portrait Innovation to get our pictures taken today. Two hours and a few $$ later, this is what we got. Really good considering how many people had to be accomodated, including one infant and 3 Daddys who would have preferred not to be involved. Do you like our red, white, and blue theme?

I adore this picture:

Last Week

2009-06-22T14:37:00.004-05:00

Picture Recap!
This is a rose that was in the backyard at my sister's new house. One of many cool things about her house. Isn't it beautiful?And of course while we were there we had to take pictures of Charlie. He is 3 months old already and getting so big and strong (do I say that every time?)Just Ben climbing on Mommy. We've been to the pool 3 times in the last week. We go at the end of the day when it is not so crowded (and a little cheaper) to cool off for an hour or so.Last week was bible school. It was the first time we've been able to do it, and both boys loved it. Pay no attention to Ben who refused to participate in the singing part.Now Joey's birthday. He was in charge all day.
First he opened the presents that Daddy had picked out for him. (Ben got a new bike helmet and wears it everywhere right now.)

We went to Pizza Ranch and then the Flying Pig. Yum.We bought squirt guns at Toys R Us so we had to come home and play with them.Sasha especially enjoys getting a drink out of the hose.
He picked out his cake: watermelon with ants crawling on it.

Definitely looks 7 with all those holes in his mouth. The top one fell out when he was sleeping a few nights ago.

Every year on Father's Day we go to a family reunion. This is all the young cousins who were there.

And we finally got his new bike Sunday afternoon. It's "awesome!"

Happy Birthday Joey!

2009-06-20T09:28:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday to my big boy today. Seven years old! Time is running away without me.
Some things about Joey at 7:
*LOVES to read, pretty much a chapter book per day. Especially My Weird School, but also Ready Freddy and Magic Tree House.
*Finally learned to ride a two wheel bike and now wants to go on bike rides constantly. We are going to look for a new bike today.
*So very polite in school and group settings. His Bible School teacher pulled my aside to let me know how much she enjoyed having him in her group this week. He always raises his hand when he wants to talk.
*Still has horrible seasonal allergies and refuses to blow his nose. Bad combo. That's all I'll say about that.
*Enjoys going to the pool to cool off. He's getting good at putting his head under water and jumping off the diving board.
*Likes apples and yogurt for "healthy food"
*Will only wear Sketchers shoes
*So far this summer refuses to wear shorts, worried that he looks dorky. No idea where he got that from.
*Loves the tv shows Wipeout and According to Jim.
*Sleeps with no pillow and cocooned in his blanket.
*Thinks he knows everything and frequently tells me I'm wrong. (I'm certain that he will be done with that by his next birthday)
*Can do pull-ups
*Has started eating french fries on occasion (He went years not liking them)

I could keep going, but I think that sums up my lovey for today.
Look for an update w/ pictures later:)

Our First Week of Summer

2009-06-11T21:49:00.002-05:00

Here's what we've been doing so far with our "summer" (quotes because the weather hasn't exactly been summerlike)
First we had to buy a new microwave after the one we've had since I moved out of my parents (12 years ago!) finally died. This was part of the packaging and the boys thought it made a good frame.Friday night we went to an outdoor movie sponsored by a local radio station. Unfortunately we weren't quite adjusted to summer bedtime and only made it through about half of Madagascar 2. Still had fun, though. Joey had his first campout as a Wolf over the weekend. It was a bust because of the yucky rainy weather.

I got to babysit Charlie again. He likes our rocker (and watching TV. Don't tell his Mommy).

Sunday we went up to the drive-in theater in Jefferson, Wisconsin to see UP and Night at the Museum. There was some adventure involved including hitting the speaker pole and scary thunderstorms, but the movies were good and we were glad we did it. After getting home at 2, and then Joey having his last hour of school Monday morning, Monday was a rest day.

Tuesday the library hosted a Wizard of Oz puppet show. The boys loved it and are now asking for their own marionettes.Tuesday night Joey's cub scout pack raced rocket cars in the VFW parking lot. Yay for big bangs and fast cars.

In between turns he played rock, paper, scissors with his buddies.

Ben ran around the parking lot until he got tripped and skinned his knee. He was out of commission and quite peeved with the boy who ran into him for the rest of the evening.

Wednesday I had a hair appointment and then an appointment at work, but we made it to Imagination Station at Sinnissippi only a few minutes late to see T Texas Terry and his wild west show. We plan to try to make it to these every Wednesday.

Today was scrap day with the girls. I tried taking pictures of the pages I made, because I had a very productive day, but it didn't really work out. You'll have to come to my house to see all my creativity. I will say that I love love my cricut. I also got some clothes shopping in before scrapping and really just had a great day. Thanks Sarah and Jacque!

.....

2009-05-31T21:34:00.002-05:00

Obviously I've not been feelin the blog lately, and also haven't really been getting pictures up (anywhere), and even my Momma has been wondering where I've been, so here is my update, mostly pictures:
A few weeks ago I wanted to go to the zoo. Chaos ensued, but we managed to get to the local Summerfield Zoo. It was actually pretty neat. Some cool animals and not nearly as crowded as Brookfield. (We did end up at Brookfield on Memorial Day weekend but I forgot the camera so no pictures)

Here's Joey's new gap in his mouth. Last summer he lost the middle 2 teeth. They have grown in and now the outer 2 are gone. He thinks he's pretty cool putting the straw between his teeth. He also thinks he is cool because he can now make armpit farts. Yay. And stinkin Daddy encourages him.Here are our baby birds flying around the neighborhood. They get let out every day before feeding time. They fly around in a group for a while, then come back home to eat.

This is where they come in.And here is the requisite picture of baby Charlie. I got to babysit him for the first time today. I loved it, but really appreciate being able to send him home at the end of the day. I will not be having any more babies of my own.

Ben's preschool graduation. Not really because he still has one more year with his late birthday, but he participated with his classmates and did a great job singing.

He sang "Peter Peter Penguin" with these two darlings. You could only hear Ben and it was so cute with his lack of "R": Peta Peta Penguin

Not really too much going on. The kids have one more week of school still, and then we are ready for the fun to begin. I've been doing a lot of cleaning and working out this week in between reading and playing on facebook (I'm really addicted to this one game..) Daddy and I both cleaned out our closets and sent big loads to the Salvation Army. I have big plans to get some deep cleaning done in rooms that have been waiting for some attention, like the office, guest room and laundry room. I'm still working on my husband for our trip next spring break. We had some of his family over today and they wondered why he would not take advantage of such a deal and go on a cruise. I had several offers from other people who would be happy to go on a cruise with me. Soon. We will be booking a vacation. An all-inclusive vacation. Soon.

Hi Again

2009-05-16T19:27:00.002-05:00

I know I've been horrible about updating. Going through one of those phases where I don't have much to say, or when I do, I don't know where to start.
Everything has been going well recently. I only have 2 more days of school left which is good and bad. Can't wait for summer, but I'm going to miss the kids and the structure. The good news is that enrollment is way up this year for some reason. We are getting calls every day, and the morning classes are almost full. My job is safe:)
Joey had Cub Scout graduation today. He went from a Tiger to a Wolf. It was at the park and unfortunately it was cool and very windy so we were freezing the whole time, and his Pack leader tends to go on and on and on and on.
We stopped at Jacque's for her graduation party after that and ended up staying way longer than expected just visiting with friends we haven't seen in a while.
Tomorrow we have a picnic for all the families from my school. Hopefully it will be a little warmer, or at least less windy.
I've still been working out every day and I love p90x. My muscles are sore after every workout, but I've been able to do more each time. And I've become not a wimp. I'm amazed at some of the things my body can do now. And the sweat that pours off me!
Ben had an uneventful week at school. We have been practicing letters at home and he recognizes almost all of them now. He has made so much progress this year, but I am also glad that he has another year of preschool. I think it will help him to be an older kindergartner and beyond.
So that's it for now. More soon about our summer adventures.

Shhhhh

2009-05-08T12:24:00.003-05:00

I'm sitting here on this beautiful Friday afternoon in a totally silent house. The boys are at school and the hubster had to go to Wisconsin for work. Silence is golden. I've been really needing some me time, but I'm not really sure what to do with it (besides update my blog). The only bad thing is that I have to take care of the pigeons. I had to mix some food, carry it into a pen with 40 hungry birds, take the lid off the feeder while 40 hungry birds flew around my head, put the food in the feeder while 40 hungry birds tried to jump into the feeder, pull the birds out of the feeder, and get the lid back on without squishing anyone. Mission accomplished, but I still feel like there is something fluttering around me. Shiver. The things I am willing to do for my husband. And. He also has to go to Colorado and Texas and maybe somewhere else when he gets back. Guess when he will be leaving? That's right. Mother's Day. And do you think there will be a gift or treat or anything involved. No. No. And no. I am so not appreciated. But don't worry. I plan on a BIG vacation come next spring break. And I plan on making all the plans with or without him. Yeah.

So anyway, the silent house is calling me. I'm going to go either relax or workout. (I know this is all I talk about right now, but I haven't missed a day working out in 2 weeks. Very sore, especially in my booty right now, but I feel good and I know I'm going to get thin. Eventually.)

Joey: We got 4 My Weird School books from the library Wednesday night, and by last night he was done with 3 of them. He tells me: "I love reading!" Just like his Mama.

Ben: The other day I brought him his Hawaiian shirt to wear. He said: "I want to go to Hawaiian."
Well, it's really expensive and really far away. Maybe in a few years.
"I'm going to save all my tooth fairy money when my teeth fall out and then we can go to Hawaiian."
OK

Update: I ended up using my "me" time to scrub the bathroom and do laundry, as well as speak to my son's school about his naughty naughty thing he did today- apparently he decided that it might be a good idea to pee in the heat register instead of the toilet at school. He thought wrong. He is sooo grounded when he gets home. I'm sure I'll see the humor in this soon, but right now I am so embarrassed. And if you know my kids, you know which one did it. Grrr.

I Think I Might Be Obsessed

2009-05-03T08:25:00.002-05:00

I had worked out six days out of six (Sunday through Friday) this week and knew that Saturday would be really busy (Genealogy meeting and a visit from the Pops). Somehow, though, I found myself doing a cardio workout last night at 9 o'clock after the kids went to bed. So this week I worked out for 360 minutes. That's 6 hours. Wow. I'm pretty impressed with myself. I am loving the p90x, too. It helps having new workouts to do.
Today is church and then my sister's baby shower. I took on a huge Mother's Day project for my students so I have to be working on that, plus we only have 2 weeks to practice for graduation. But after that the boys and I are going to have such a fun summer. I can't wait.

Weekly Update

2009-04-29T18:59:00.003-05:00

I'm sitting here holding my baby Charlie right now. He is getting so big and spending more time awake. He just fell asleep on my tummy.
We don't have much else going on right now. I only have a couple more weeks of school left, so lots of report card work, practicing for graduation, and sad goodbyes coming up. I'm excited because I've decided not to work this summer so more time for fun stuff like the pool. Joey is old enough for camps now, so he'll be going to cub scout camp a few weeks, basketball camp, soccer camp, and bicycling camp. I'll also have time to take both boys to Bible School for the first time this summer.
Sarah booked a cruise for spring break next year and I am desperately trying to convince my husband that we need to join them. He's a little weird in that a cruise, warm weather, and beaches hold no attraction to him. Unfortunately for him, he had a vacation in Europe without me last year, so now it is my turn. Stay tuned to see if I win this one.
The scale was really making me mad earlier this week, but with some dedication, I managed to take the 2 pounds it said I put back on and 2 more pounds off. So 4 pounds in 4 days and 4.5 hours of working out. I'm going to keep going and now I'm going to lose 2 pounds per week. Right. If it's in writing it must be true, right?

Going Good

2009-04-22T19:35:00.007-05:00

It was a big day for Joey today. He finally can ride a 2 wheel bike. Look Ma, no training wheels. Now he just needs to work on takeoff. One (small) step at a time.And he had his 1st grade concert. He had the first speaking part: "Welcome to Rock Cut Elementary School's 1st and 2nd Grade Concert." The great part was when the fire alarm went off right in the middle of the 2nd graders' last song. Awesome.

Here's my goof-nuttiest nut. He arranged all his toys around a plastic tire "campfire." And don't miss those goggles. He wears them all the time, but I'm sure they'll be lost by the time swimm lessons start.

Oh, and remember those baby birds? They're all grown up now and living on their own. Don't worry, there are new babies hatching right now.

I met with Ben's principal today and feel much better. We worked out a plan for next time and she will be addressing my perceptions of attitude with the nurse.

I've also worked out 4 days in a row after that week and 1/2 off from mouth surgery. I'm a bit sore today, but renewed in spirit to finally get this weight off. I wonder how many times I'll say that before it actually works?

P.S. I can't wait for it to be 86 degrees on Friday (and pretty warm Saturday too). Saturday we are going to Galena for the day for Joey's cub scouts. Looking forward to just being warm.

Ben Update

2009-04-20T19:07:00.002-05:00

Well, we didn't get any sleep last night, but it wasn't because of the breathing. The steroids kicked in really quick and just made him very restless. At 4 in the morning he wanted to have conversations about Daddy's watch glowing in the dark.
So we stayed home for the morning which made him mad- he really wanted to go to school. I decided that since his breathing was way better and he wanted to go that I would send him to his "2nd school" I saw one of his teachers there and filled her in on the situation and headed to the grocery store. Before I even got home, hubby called to tell me that he was at the nurse and needed to be picked up. What? I thought he was fine?!?!
I go to the nurses office and the poor baby is sitting in a little chair with 3 ladies standing over him just staring at him. I right away felt his chest and tried to listen- didn't hear anything but gave nurse benefit of the doubt. Then. She started reiterating that he really just shouldn't be there and he sounds bad and there is no reason for him to be there adn on and on. Then. She asked if we have a nebulizer at home. Well, no. We use an inhalor, just like the one you have in your office.
"Well, a nebulizer is much more effective than an inhalor at this age."
Really? So the school nurse now knows more than a Momma who has been dealing with the asthma for 5 years and the Allergy specialist who gave us the inhalor and our family Dr who trusts my judgement? Hmmm. Starting to get offended now.
Take the baby home, listen to his breathing....Nothing. Not one single wheeze. No cough. Nothing.
They overreacted because I told them that he had an attack the night before.
The thing is, he has come home wheezing before and I wondered why there wasn't concern then.
So now I have to worry that my kid is going to get sent home for no reason, and that the teachers and nurse have no idea what they are listening for with his asthma. I thought it was pretty obvious. Especially now that he can talk, he pretty much lets us know when he can't breath.
Oy. So do I call the school? Do I have a meeting? I don't really know how to handle this.

Poor Ben

2009-04-19T20:25:00.002-05:00

Last night he came to our bed and he was breathing fast and wheezing a bit. He went to sleep, but was noisy so I slept the rest of the night downstairs. All day today he has had to have his inhalor every 3 hours, but when he had it at 5 it didn't work. By 6 he was begging me for more medicine. I was hoping to wait until tomorrow to take him to the regular Dr, but no such luck. Fortunately the Immediate Care was open til 8 so we headed down. Amazing how fast you get seen when a. you have breathing problems and b. they are ready to go home. We went back right away and his pulse ox was 91. Not good but not too scary. They gave him some steroids and a treatment and sent us home, with the stipulation that we go to the hospital if he still has a hard time breathing overnight. As soon as we got home I could hear him wheezing again already, so I think it is going to be a long night. Fortunately I don't have to go to work tomorrow and he has only missed one day of school all year so it won't be a big problem to stay home and rest.
Wish us luck getting some sleep tonight.
Thanks

Slow But Beautiful Week

2009-04-18T21:21:00.003-05:00

Joey had his 2nd round of Pinewood Derby today. He was happy to come in 2nd and we were happy to be done for this year. Daddy and the boys spent the day together while I was up at Whitewater for an Early Childhood Conference all day. It was a great time and I can't wait to use what I learned. The rest of the pictures are from Monday when the boys and I walked to the park at Joey's school. I LOVE taking pictures outside in the summertime. I'm already noticing myself taking a lot more pictures. Too bad if anything important happens in Winter. I like that sun!

In other news: I've managed to lose all my mouth stitches, some with help and some just came out. My tooth is still sore and it is hard to bite down in front, but I can pretty much eat what I want now. And I think I've run out of excuses to not work out so I'll be getting back to that tomorrow.

I only have FOUR more weeks of school left! It's bittersweet, because I'm looking forward to this summer, but I love the kids and they'll be mine no longer:( Plus the end of the year crunch is awful. There are way too many things to do in the time we have left.

Easter

2009-04-12T18:03:00.002-05:00

Easter was good. Good food (as long as I cut it small and put it into the back of my mouth), good company, and excellent weather. We spent most of the day outside playing. Joey and Daddy played a good game of soccer. Ben mostly just wanted someone to play with him and his new Handy Manny toy from the Easter Bunny. His two 8 year old girl cousins kept running away from him and the boys were playing football and baseball. :( This really was unacceptable to Ben.
Both boys looked very handsome, but I had a hard time getting a good pic of Joey because the sun bothers his eyes so he's forever squinting and looking down. This is a group shot that I cropped. Pretty good.
And of course there's baby Charlie. I love him so much and he is so cute and good and precious.

2009-04-12T07:24:00.001-05:00

Oral Surgery Sucks!

2009-04-09T15:42:00.002-05:00

It was horrible. Really horrible. They kept telling me that it would be better than a root canal, but it was not. After my root canal I could eat. I could function. After the surgery I was in pain. I have a mouthful of stitches. And my whole upper mouth is swollen. When I took a vicodin I must not have had enough food in my stomach because I got really light-headed. But when I tried to figure out something to eat (not too easy when you can't use the front part of your mouth) I almost passed out in the kitchen.
Plus my stinking husband was at work and I had the boys to worry about. Thank goodness they can fix themselves a bowl of cereal for dinner in a pinch. And after I almost passed out my dear loving husband who couldn't possibly get off work to help me called his Mom to come help out until the kids went to bed. But when I went to put the kids to bed, Ben (accidently) punched me in the mouth and made me start bleeding.
So what did they do? I'm not entirely sure because I had my eyes squeezed shut the entire time to avoid seeing any knives coming at me. The Dr told me afterward that there was a ball of tissue that resembled rubber cement that he was able to scoop out whole. It was eating at the bone so it was good that I got it taken care of when I did. Now I should heal right up in about 2 weeks and hopefully never have a problem with this tooth again.
This morning I woke up without any pain, but really puffy. My mouth feels nasty because I can't brush anywhere near the stitches, and now that I worked and talked all day I'm feeling pretty sore. I've got the kids planted in front of the tv again and plan to take it easy for one more night. We have a 4 day weekend for the holiday so that takes some pressure off, too.
Any sympathy you want to express is surely welcome today. I'm not whining (much) but have to say that this whole experience has really not been fun.

Surgery!?!?!?!?

2009-04-06T16:56:00.002-05:00

I had a Root Canal way back in December because of an abscess. I had two rounds of antibiotics then and in January. And yet there is still swelling and tenderness. I finally called and went back to the dentist today. The result: surgery. In my mouth. On Wednesday. And by the way I have to pay for it up front. Hmm. Perhaps that is why I put off going back in.
Wish me luck.

Job Updates

2009-04-03T18:18:00.002-05:00

I finally have my permanent job title: Nursery Director. (Nursery is what we call our 3's program.) Basically nothing has changed- I got a small raise and I have the same duties. My co-director this year is now Preschool Director as well. So, nothing really new, but we have official permanent positions and can stop worrying about the future.
And now, exactly one day later, I have a parent complaint. Oy. Apparently, and I never realized this before yesterday, some Christians feel that Yoga goes against their beliefs. I had been doing Yoga for Kids (that I had learned in college) about once a month in gym class. A parent let me know that this is not ok with them, so now we are simply doing stretches and "Animal Poetry." Hopefully that will keep everyone happy:)

PS I found a new way to entertain the kids. They had never witnessed the washer draining before and found it very fascinating last night. I had about 30 minutes of peace and quiet while they stood by the washer waiting to watch the water come out. Woo-hoo.

Good News

2009-03-30T16:45:00.002-05:00

So in order to fully enjoy my spring break last week, and because I was so busy, I neither worked out nor dieted at all the whole week. The good news is that my weight is exactly the same as it was 10 days ago (down to the tenth of a pound). So now I am back on the wagon. Turned on My Fitness Coach to be berated about missing my workouts, turned on Wii Fit to be berated for not visiting for 10 days, got to work, and now I'm ready for more progress. I also ordered 2 new Turbo Jam workouts from Amazon yesterday for some new motivation.

So Many Things, I Don't Know Where To Start or Spring Break is Awesome!

2009-03-26T21:26:00.006-05:00

We've had quite the adventurous week over here, despite the horrid weather that I hear is about to get much worse.

Sunday: We did take advantage of the one nice day and go to the park for a few hours. That ended when a big boy kicked Ben in the face. grrr

Monday: Museum of Science and Industry. We loved the submarine, trains, coal mine, chick hatchery, farm exhibit, and especially sticking our heads in all the photo props.On the drive home Ben fell asleep before he could even finish his Doritos. Tuesday I got to have a girls day trip to Archivers. I only got a few pages done, but I had fun and learned from my master scrapbook friends Sarah and Candi.No pictures for Wednesday. We closed on refinancing the house, I did some grocery shopping and chores, and we relaxed a bit.

Thursday I took the boys to Coco Key in the morning. They had a great time but it was really crowded. After 3 hours we were done. So we got some lunch and then got to visit Baby Charlie at home. He is doing sooo good. He pretty much eats and sleeps, rarely cries, and makes some great faces already.And here are the birds.

Today we head in to Navy Pier to see Monsters vs Aliens on the IMAX. And tomorrow I fully plan to do nothing.

They're Huge!!!

2009-03-22T15:47:00.001-05:00

And you can't even really tell by the pics. Now the parents are getting ready to lay another set of eggs.

Happy Birthday!

2009-03-20T20:59:00.001-05:00

One day late on the birthday wishes, hope you had a good day yesterday, Sarah.
Can't wait to give you your gift:)

Finally!

2009-03-19T20:52:00.002-05:00

So I had a health screening a week ago today. Found out that my cholesterol is not good, triglycerides not good, body fat downright bad (I did already know that one, but I had hoped it would be better than last year.) They recommended that I get a lot more fiber, fruits and veggies, and a lot less cheese and red meat. Problem: I HATE veggies. Solution: I do like salad. So since Thursday I have been eating lots more fruit, salad every day, and less bad stuff. Guess what? I have lost 3 pounds in a week! It is soooo true that neither diet nor exercise alone will solve the weight problem. Now that I've added diet to the exercise I am looking forward to actually losing the weight.
I never claimed to be a genius, but you'd think I would have figured this one out before, right? Oh well.

Pigeon Update

2009-03-18T20:34:00.002-05:00

Ok, I don't really get the cute factor like my husband had hoped, but the changes they go through in just 24 hours are amazing, aren't they? (And isn't it nice that I finally got smart and put the day on the picture?)
A cute Ben story with the pigeons: The 2 non-homing pigeons are "his." He named them Mr and Mrs Sammy (I think for his cousin). You can see Mrs Sammy here. She is the second one. See how her feathers stick up? It's technically called a frill. Well, when Ben was visiting the babies, he pointed out that "when the babies get olda, we're gonna hafta teach dem to spike der haiw." Right. That's one of the things they'll have to learn. :)

More Human Baby Pics

2009-03-18T12:45:00.001-05:00

Just had to add some more pictures of the precious baby. He is doing super good and it sounds like he should be going home by this evening. Can't wait to spend more time with him.

A New Human Baby:):):)

2009-03-15T20:26:00.003-05:00

Welcome Baby Charlie. If you haven't been paying attention, my sister has been in the hospital for over a month with pre-term labor. Today her water broke, and she was 34 weeks and 2 days along, so they decided the baby was coming. Lots of story between then and now, but I'm sure she'll want to tell the story on her blog when she feels up to it. Mom and baby are doing great, he might even get to go home with her. Congrats Heather. You did a great job!
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And here are those pigeon babies. Day 9 and 10.

Babies Day 7 and 8

2009-03-13T19:22:00.002-05:00

Day 7 Day 8- They are getting so big already.We put bands on their legs today. They didn't really love it. When I helped hold one down he tried to bite me with his teeny tiny beak. Silly.

More later about my health screening I had yesterday, and the survey I did with the boys.

Babies Day 5 and 6

2009-03-11T21:10:00.001-05:00

Day 5

Day 6Why do we have so many babies? Well, several reasons. 1-my husbands ideas are usually bigger than his space/money/time. 2-We have 12 pairs and they each lay 2 eggs, so 24 babies (23 have hatched now) 3-many of the Mommas and Daddas are loaner birds which have to be returned to their owners after we have babies, so we need some for racing and some for mating to make more racers. 4-one (I) can hope that maybe we could sell some if we get to having too many.

In other news, public registration started this week at preschool. We are so excited to have almost 20 more students enrolled than at this time last year. My co-director and I are breathing a huge sigh of relief that are jobs are secure and our changes have gone over very well.

Babies Day 4

2009-03-09T19:04:00.003-05:00

We're up to 19 babies. This first pic is of the babies of our 2 non-homing pigeons. They are quite a bit smaller than homing pigeons. This is how I get to take the pictures. Hungry birds let their babies fend for themselves for a few minutes. I even touched one today. You should see these birds fight for the food. It's kinda like 9 piglets trying to eat off 8 nipples. One shoves it's way in, pushing another out. The pushed out bird moves down a few inches and pushes a different one out. Over and over every 2 seconds or so. After about 5 minutes the food is completely gone.

And here are our first two babies on day 4. Their eyes are starting to open and you can already see how much they are growing.

PS: Daddy took most of the pictures up until today. That is why they are not the same every day. I will try to get out there from now on. There is a reason I am the family photographer.

Babies Day 3

2009-03-08T22:00:00.001-05:00

We missed day 2 because of some technical difficulties, but here are the babies on day 3. We now have 14 babies with a few more to hatch yet.

They're Pretty Ugly, But...

2009-03-06T19:14:00.004-06:00

A few of the babies were born last night. I'm taking it in good faith that they will get cuter soon.

Babies Coming Soon

2009-03-04T19:51:00.002-06:00

Our pigeon babies are due to start hatching on Saturday. Apparently they grow very fast - by 28 days they are on their own- so I plan to take a picture of one every day and post it so you can see our babies grow. The only kind of babies that will be growing at our house.

A Scrappin' Post

2009-03-03T21:12:00.002-06:00

I don't like to post twice in one day, but I'm feeling motivated and there is nothing on TV (I refuse to have any part in that nasty Bachelor show). I took some pictures of the totally adorable, awesome scrapbook I made for the boys when we went to Archivers this weekend. The product line is Bo Bunny.

Pretty simple, but all of the boys seemed to really like it. And I felt pretty creative and proud for putting it together.

More Things

2009-03-03T16:00:00.003-06:00

a clean house
Crystal Light drink packets
pictures
kids
historical fiction
online bill pay
sarcasm
naps
sales
Kohl's
Target
Yoplait Light
respect
courtesy
a good giggle
Facebook
water parks
California
Disney World
vacations
Spring
Summer
compliments
hugs
honesty
a tan
clean sheets
anything pumpkin
Cricut
learning new things
my job
my church
my pastor
running water
electricity
my home
monkeys
the zoo
fruity drinks
my stylist
my hair
part-time work
my life
musicals
Tylenol
bread
genealogy
internet
USA
YOU (for reading my blog)

So the second 50 were a bit more of a struggle, but you should try it. There are so many things in our lives to be thankful for.

Things I Love

2009-03-02T17:50:00.003-06:00

I saw a really neat scrapbook page the other day that used 100 things the person loved. I started thinking and wondered if I could come up with that many. The answer is yes, I think I can. Here are the 50 I came up with in the last 15 minutes. I have to go take Joe to Cub Scouts now, but I'll finish later. (Can you get all my "themes"?)

cereal
dark chocolate
cheese pizza
fast food
toasted ravioli

Biggest Loser
Grey's Anatomy
ER
Heroes
Chuck

Joey
Ben
Hubby
Heather
Nana

Sarah
Jacque
Jill
Jean
Candi

libraries
books
magazines
blogs
scrapbooking

sun
warmth
fuzzy blankets
cozy socks
snuggly hugs

Brad Paisley
Sugarland
Tim Mcgraw
Kenny Chesney
Montgomery Gentry

Dean Koontz
Steven King
Karen Kingsbury
Wally Lamb
JK Rowling

Kung Fu Panda
Madagascar
Harry Potter
27 Dresses
romantic comedies

Tae Bo
Jillian Michaels
Turbo Jam
Wii Fit
My Fitness Coach

25 Things About Ben

2009-02-25T16:19:00.003-06:00

1. He is 4 and a half
2. He loves being read to
3. He might be addicted to cartoons
4. He has blond hair and brown eyes - the rest of us have brown hair and hazel eyes.
5. He has asthma and winters suck for him.
6. His sole purpose in life seems to be to drive his brother (and therefore his parents) crazy.
7. He's a snacker- if he never has to sit down to another meal that would be just fine.
8. He goes to 2 schools - my school in the morning and the public preschool in the afternoon.
9. He still comes to my bed in the middle of the night about half the time.
10. He can write his name and identify about 10 letters.
11. He likes to look at his scrapbooks.
12. He wants to be a swimming teacher when he grows up.
13. He still can't pronounce the "r" sound.
14. For all his craziness he's never been to the hospital for an injury (only for asthma)
15. He also hates cleaning up.
16. He loves green beans.
17. He's a Momma's Boy.
18. He likes to sing while he's in the bathroom.
19. He has a great imagination- he makes up stories for his characters while he's playing by himself.
20. He is really good when he plays by himself, except see #15
21. He can't wait to grow up and be a Daddy, but he's not getting mawied.
22. He's a surprisingly good snuggler when we're watching movies together.
23. He does not care if his clothes match.
24. His giggle can make even a grump smile.
25. I love him very, very much.

25 Things About Joey

2009-02-24T19:55:00.002-06:00

1. He is almost 7
2. He loves to read.
3. He hates cleaning up.
4. He's lost two baby teeth.
5. He only sleeps in underwear.
6. He sleeps in a cocoon, in the back corner of his bed, where no one can reach him.
7. He is sensitive.
8. He is a Cub Scout.
9. He likes math.
10. He has a funny shaped head, mostly because he insisted on being born upside down.
11. He doesn't like chocolate milk.
12. His brother drives him crazy.
13. He remembers everything.
14. He covers his eyes when he sees kissing on tv (hope that lasts a while)
15. He gets carsick when he reads in the car, but he won't stop.
16. He bit a hole in his tongue when he was 18 months old, and the hole is still there.
17. He's been to the ER several times, but only had stitches once.
18. We keep his hair cut very short, because otherwise he twists it into devil horns.
19. He is rarely sick - he didn't miss any days in kindergarten.
20. He can never remember what he did at school today. (See #13)
21. He's been to Disney World twice.
22. He's been to California, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and I think Iowa with his Grandma.
23. He loves our dog and won't leave her alone.
24. He has fallen out of the cart at Walmart, twice. (I'm a bad Momma)
25. I love him very, very much.

More Prayers

2009-02-21T09:24:00.003-06:00

I know I've been asking for lots of prayers lately, but here's another:
My Father-in-law needs a liver transplant. He has a tumor that is probably cancer and not easy to remove. Because he also has cirrhosis and Hep C, surgery is not a solution. My MIL does not handle stress well and is freaking out, but the rest of us have offered to get tested to donate our liver. Unfortunately, he is my husband's step-father so they are not blood related and that lessens the chances that they match.
So please help me send up some more prayers for my family.

PS My sister is still in the hospital. She started a blog to give updates. It's on my list to the left: Here I Come...Ready or Not.

Happy President's Day

2009-02-16T09:13:00.003-06:00

*The sickness is making it's rounds here at our house. Considering none of us gets sick very often (besides Ben's asthma), it's been extremely not fun. First I got a nasty cold complete with fever that lasted 4 days. Then Ben got it, and the poor baby can't breathe through his mouth or nose. Now Joey, who has not missed a day of school since he started, hasn't eaten anything in 36 hours. He threw up over the side of his top bunk Saturday night (sorry for the image), and ran a pretty high fever all day yesterday. Today I'm trying to at least get him drinking so he doesn't end up in the hospital. I feel so bad for my babies when they are sick. It is just not a pleasant experience, especially when you are not used to it.

*I finished the greatest book yesterday: The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb. If you have the time and patience for a 700 page book, I highly recommend it. I'm not going to give anything away, but it covered many relevant ideas and was very readable.

*Friday night we had a Sweetheart Dinner at school. It went well but I had a moral dilemma that I am now feeling horribly guilty about. There was a drawing for prizes. People could buy tickets for $.50 or 3 for $1. The prizes were mostly cheap, white elephant gifts from our houses. (It was a fundraiser for our scholarship fund.) So if your name was drawn, you got to go choose a prize. Well, as I was drawing names, I kept pulling the same names over and over again. So I threw some repeats back and tried to find new names to win a prize. I wasn't trying to cheat, and I wasn't trying to take anything away from anyone, but these kids are 3 and 4 years old. They don't really understand that not everyone can win something. So, we're certainly doing something different next year, but should I apologize to the families? I realize now that it was supposed to be a random drawing and I didn't follow the rules. This has just been eating at me. I wasn't trying to do anything wrong, but I screwed up again at work.

*My sister has been back in the hospital and back in labor, but as of right now the contractions have slowed way down again and hopefully she'll be coming home again with the baby still in her tummy. We're hoping at this point to get at least past the 32 week point (and the baby shower).

Substitute Blogger

2009-02-11T17:10:00.003-06:00

A story:

uonc upon a

time there was a

boy named Jack

that traded his

cow for magic

beans. then he

planted them it

grew and grew

untule it reached

the sky he climed

it when he reached

the top he

found a house.

it had a giant

in it he was sleep-

ing he woke up.

he saw Jack

he said get out

Jack did not.

he said I was

just looking.

then he grabd

Jack he said

getout again.

but I was Just

walking by

said Jack.

there is nothing

to see said the

giant but evry-

thing is so big

and it's so neat.

well yes said

the giant

then he was

being nice.

he set Jack

down he told

Jack a story

Just like

What he did.

but it was

a little

difrent to what

he did it was

kind of neat.

but better

then what he

did but it

was what

the giant did.

but they put

them together

to make a

diffrent story.

they shared

the storyys

they thoght

they decided

witch story

they would share

in a book.

Jack had it

they gave

people books

about it.

the end

by Joey (age 6)

Check Me Out!

2009-02-08T19:52:00.001-06:00

We have to bake a cake and decorate it for Joey's Cub Scout hoo-rah next week. It was causing me a certain degree of anxiety because I am not a baker, not a decorator, and do not have a steady hand. So I decided we better have a practice run today. The theme is Valentine's Day (duh) and I think I did pretty good. I learned some things to do better for next time, so now I'm looking forward to making another one.

It was just a white cake, but it was pretty tasty, too.

Proud of myself for trying another new thing.

Here We Are

2009-02-01T15:57:00.001-06:00

A small photo update here:
This is a funny Ben story- he decided that he wanted a toy that he had left in the car. When Daddy didn't go fast enough to get it, he grabbed the garage door opener, put on his coat and boots (and nothing else) and headed out to the car. Fortunately we heard the garage door opening and found him. The car was locked, of course, and it was freezing outside, but whatever. He wanted his toy.
Here the boys are still helping get the bird stuff done. This is a feeded they are putting together.

And the coolest one- the pigeons will eat out of our hands now. Joey especially loves to go our and fed the birds each afternoon.

In this one I was brave enough to go into the loft with the birds flying around my head so I could get a good picture.

Ok, that's all I have for today. I have a board meeting at school this evening and we have many things to figure out. I hope it all works out but I'm nervous and don't want to screw anything up already.

This Week's Workouts

2009-01-31T16:37:00.002-06:00

I managed 6 days this week, 3 45-minute workouts and 3 30-minutes workouts, all with My Fitness Coach on Wii. Total of 225 minutes. I have now lost 5 pounds since Sep 1st, when I started this. Woo-hoo. 1 pound per month. I'm sure it will start picking up any day now.

Well, I'm off to get ready for scrap night with my girls tonight. Looking forward to a break from my boys for a little while.

The Latest

2009-01-27T18:16:00.001-06:00

Poor thing is stuck in the hospital for a couple more days, bored and frustrated. The good news is that contractions have stopped. Bad news is bed rest for at least nine more weeks. Yuck. But I remind her to be thankful that baby is still inside her growing and getting stronger.
Thanks for the prayers.

Update

2009-01-26T15:11:00.002-06:00

As of this morning, the contractions were finally much farther apart and she hadn't dilated any more. Rough night, but we're hoping that everything is going to be ok.

Please Help Me Pray

2009-01-25T17:37:00.002-06:00

My sister is 27 weeks pregnant and went to the hospital this morning with contractions. She was 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced, so they have admitted her and put her on several meds to stop the contractions. So far it's not working. She says the contractions are not painful, but they are frequent and she is worried. Now the meds are starting to make her feel icky, plus they won't let her eat anything.
So we're praying hard and often over here that everything turns out. We could use all the prayers we can get, so if you're the prayin type, please add us to the list.
Thanks

I Was Doing So Good...

2009-01-24T08:44:00.005-06:00

And then I wasn't. This week has been rough for some reason. My body is going through all kinds of crazy things- hot flashes, cold flashes, sudden weariness, complete lack of energy, headaches.... Not to complain, but I didn't have much to say. I feel a little better right now, so we'll see if that's over.

This weekend I am working, working on getting my 38 progress reports ready to hand out next week. We are also making some changes for next year so I have to work on figuring that out.

Joey read The Tale of Despereaux last week so we promised him we would go see the movie this week. Woops. It is no longer in theaters here in town. So we will be figuring something else out for his reward.

I bought a new Wii game yesterday- My Fitness Coach. It's awesome. It's a workout DVD but better. I hope it will help me get re-motivated.

That's all for now. It's a start, right?

Pinewood Derby

2009-01-17T21:27:00.003-06:00

We had our first experience with the Boy Scout's Pinewood Derby today. If you have never had this opportunity, take a moment to get down on your knees and thank someone. No, seriously, it wasn't that bad, but it was a very long day. Joey and Daddy got there at 8 this morning and we didn't leave until about 4:30. Here is my midget carrying the flag.Here we are getting ready to race. There were about a hundred kids and they went only 2 at a time, 3 races each, double elimination. Lots of wait time.Which is what we are doing here. (Can you tell Daddy looks a little tired? He thought he'd go ahead and stay up all night last night working on his own derby car.) Joey was very good, of course, and Ben was really good considering what we were asking him to do. The other kids in the room apparently didn't have parents so they ran around like maniacs all day.

This is the car that beat my Joey (Joey's Speed Racer is on the left). Look how close it was! But he got second in his age group and gets to go to the regional races in April with Daddy.

He was a great sport and I am so proud of him. He had lots of fun today.

25 Things About Me

2009-01-16T21:56:00.003-06:00

1. I've always wanted a hammock. My ideal summer afternoon would be spent laying in the hammock reading a book with sun on my skin.
2. Sometimes I'm overwhelmed that I am a Mom. In a good way. I can't believe I made these boys.
3. Sometimes I'm overwhelmed that I am a Mom. In a bad way. I think I'm doing everything wrong.
4. My self-confidence is shaky at best most days.
5. I'll read almost any kind of book: Oprah's picks, horror, romance, historical fiction, science fiction, chick lit, action, literature.... My favorite is probably historical fiction.
6. I really like being a teacher, but sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have a job with less pressure.
7. I need lots of sleep to function regularly. Like 9 to 10 hours might be good enough.
8. I almost never wear make-up. I never learned how to make it look natural and good.
9. I've been thinking about braces for my crooked fangs - my teeth are my feature that I like the least.
10. I don't bite my fingernails, but I pick them and never let them grow more than a quarter inch.
11. I research my family tree even though I am close to very few members of my family.
12. My dream vacation is a cruise, specifically a Disney Cruise. Maybe in a few more years.
13. Once in middle school, a girl who was supposed to be my friend slapped my face. That's the closest I've ever gotten to a physical fight. (I laughed and walked away.)
14. I question my faith frequently. Not because of bad things happening, but because I forget and try to bring logic into it.
15. One of my pet peeves is toothpicks. My husband thinks it is hilarious to aggravate me by talking with a toothpick in his mouth.
16. I really like to make people laugh and tend to adopt other people's humor styles that I admire. The best thing is making little kids laugh.
17. I have no eyelashes. Well, not literally, but you'd have to look hard (see #8).
18. My favorite foods are cereal and cheese pizza. Adventerous, huh?
19. My husband and I like watching According to Jim and Everybody Loves Raymond so we can laugh at the similarities in our relationship. He is so Jim.
20. I have 3 recurring nightmares- one where I drive off a cliff and wake up with my stomach in my throat, one where I show up somewhere with no shirt or bra on, and one where I have to use the bathroom but there isn't one around so I have to "improvise."
21. I am a procrastinator. I usually accomplish what I need to, but not until the last minute.
22. I wish I could sing. Being in the choir at church would be so cool to me.
23. I don't drink pop and I get really annoyed when I hear "stop drinking pop and you'll lose 10 pounds".
24. I'm really an old person in a young person's body. We go to Stockholm Inn for lunch or dinner every Friday, ask for our regular waitress, and order the same thing each week.
25. I'm at the end of my introspection abilities here. Now tell me something deep about you:)

Something to Say

2009-01-15T20:46:00.002-06:00

Akk, it's been over a week again! I'm a baaad blogger. And the crazy thing is I get mad at other people for not updating their blogs. Come on!

Not much going on here. Today was no work due to the record low temps and wind chills (can you say 40 below 0?) and tomorrow looks to be the same. I was able to work out twice today in between laying around in my pjs all day. I've still been good, doing at least 30 minutes a day on Wii Fit and Turbo Jam a couple days a week. Still no weight loss, but.... Starting to think my body really likes being in the 180's. Ohhh, I said my weight. I feel very liberated now.

Monday I went back to the dentist for a follow-up on my root canal. My gums were still swollen and tender, and the procedure hurt worse than the original visit. My mouth is still sore and swollen, but now I am on a different antibiotic. Hopefully it starts working soon, because he said the next step is surgery. Um, ouch. No thank-you. All for a little tooth-ache.

We find out next month about the whole director job question, and I've pretty much decided that I'd like to go back to being assistant director. I got a part-time job for a reason, and the pressure and stress are more than I want to deal with right now. We've had some minor drama the last couple weeks and it really convinced me that I am happy just being a "worker bee." I get plenty of satisfaction from teaching the kids, and it looks like next year I might get to add a day to my classes. So don't worry about me. I'm not not standing up for myself (well maybe a little), I'm just choosing to be happy rather than stressed.

I tried to do Project 365 (taking a picture every day), but I only lasted the first 3 days of the year. Still taking pictures, just not every day. I knew I wasn't that organized. I have been keeping up with my gratitude journal, though. Today I am grateful for the furnace. Can you imagine living in a time or place without heat? I cannot, and for that I am truly grateful.

I haven't officially made an announcement on here, but my sister is having a baby! It is a boy and he is due in April. This past weekend we got creative and hand made baby shower invitations. It felt like it took the whole weekend, but they turned out really cute. Love my Cricut.

Ok, well that feels like a pretty good update. I solemnly swear to try to do better in the future (if you care to read). And I am going to upload some pictures very soon, too.

Now's The Time

2009-01-07T16:03:00.002-06:00

We had an appointment today to apply for a mortgage refinance. We've been having a heck of a time just getting a hold of someone. Apparently many many people would like to refinance right now. Today the rate was 4.3%. That is really really awesome. We haven't locked in yet, so hopefully it doesn't go back up in the next few days. We're looking forward to lowering our payment and paying off the house sooner. Yay for the bad economy:)

Today's Workout

2009-01-07T16:02:00.000-06:00

Turbo Jam Cardio Party, 44 minutes, 550 calories.

Yesterday was 45 minutes of Wii Fit

Today's Workout

2009-01-05T22:09:00.003-06:00

Turbo Jam Fat Blaster, 30 minutes, 350 calories

The most amazing thing happened today. Even though I've been doing at least 1/2 an hour a day on Wii Fit, I wasn't feeling like it was quite as much of a workout as I've been doing. Today I did Wii Fit, and then I still felt like a good sweaty workout, so I did Turbo Jam. And it was great! It felt so good. I never thought I'd enjoy working out as much as I do. Now if only those fat cells would pay attention ;)

Frickin A

2009-01-03T20:41:00.002-06:00

Well, I thought I would be sooo cool and find a new blog template like everyone else. The only thing I got was my blog list deleted. Frick! I was able to get some of my more important blogs back on, but there are some that I have no idea what the www was. Grrr. I'm just keeping my boring layout, dang it.

Back Again

2009-01-03T08:59:00.003-06:00

Yes it has been many days since I have updated my blog. Sorry. It's not even that we've been that busy, I just haven't really been feeling it again. I seem to go through phases of wanting to supply you with every mundane detail of my life, then realizing how boring it is and feeling like it's a waste of time.

Anyway...we had a really good Christmas. The Wii went over great in spite of our blunders. I've been spending lots of time on the Wii Fit (that's why no Today's Workout entries, although I did wear my heart monitor yesterday and burned about 400 calories. Plus I've been doing it every single day so I'm still getting a good workout.) and the boys love bowling on Wii sports. They are both surprisingly good at it. Joey bowled a 205 the other day.
We've also been watching lots of movies and mostly just laying around being lazy. The transition back to school and work in 2 days is going to be interesting. I'm really ready for it, though. I've discovered that the less I have to do, the less I get done. If I stay busy, more gets done and I feel more like a contributing member of society. I know I've said it before, but I could not be a stay at home Mom. I need routine and structure and I am not capable of keeping myself on track without someone else's schedule.

My New Years resolution is just to try to be more organized and less lazy. I'm not saying lose weight because I've already been working really hard on that. It will come. I also made a gratitude journal (Thanks Sarah) and plan to write in that every single day. And take more pictures more often. Not ready to commit to Project 365, but working towards it. Maybe next year.

That's all I have to say about that. Until next time. Happy New Year.

Santa?!?!?!?

2008-12-23T08:21:00.002-06:00

Here's what happened: Remember how I ordered the Wii and Wii Fit a couple weeks ago? Obviously (to everyone but my husband) it was for Christmas. Specifically it was from Santa. Can you see where thi is going? Daddy happened to be home with Ben when the package arrived and OPENED IT RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM! Then he left it out in the living room so Joey could see it when he got home from school. I tried to recover and act like it didn't happen and the boys didn't mention it for a long time, but then I said something about asking Santa for a Wii the other day and they both reminded me that "we already have that." Oh. So I tried saying that Santa dropped it off early and needed extra help and blah blah blah, but they aren't really buying it and still are asking Santa for different things. Things we cannot afford. Hello, the Wii costs a lot of money! I'll be sending my dear husband to the store today in the snow to get some Santa presents for under the tree. Grrr. Sometimes it feels like he doesn't even live here (but that's a whole nother story that I shall not get into.)

Today's Workout

2008-12-22T17:13:00.000-06:00

Turbo Jam Punch Kick and Jam, 48 minutes, 550 calories

Today's Workout

2008-12-20T14:54:00.002-06:00

Turbo Jam Cardio Party 2, 42 minutes, 520 calories

Total for week, 214 minutes, 2115 calories

I also shoveled for 90 minutes yesterday, so I'll count 45 minutes and ~400 calories for that (lots of breaks)

Total, 259 minutes, 2515 calories

Snow Day?

2008-12-18T18:14:00.003-06:00

I am one of a very few people who do NOT wish for a snow day tomorrow. It is our last day before the 2 week holiday and we have our Christmas Party scheduled. We do not want to put it off until January. It's not quite the same to give Christmas gifts two weeks AFTER Christmas.
But it is not looking good at all. The storm is starting later than they were saying, but they are still saying 12 plus inches of snow. If ever there is justification for a snow day, 12 inches would probably do it. Dang it. There are days when a snow day sounds great, but tomorrow is not one of them.

PS Sorry I'm a bad blogger lately. We've been busy but in a boring way. Not much to report. One story coming soon about ruining Santa for my kids. Many of you are aware of my problem in that area but this time it is not my fault.

Today's Workouts

2008-12-18T18:11:00.002-06:00

Turbo Jam Booty Sculpt and Abs and Cardio Party, 76 minutes, 720 calories

Total for week, 172 minutes, 1595 calories

Today's Workouts

2008-12-16T19:02:00.001-06:00

Turbo Jam 3T and Fat Blaster, 66 minutes, 555 calories

Total for week, 96 minutes, 875 calories

Gotta go watch BL finale. I was not the Biggest Loser. In the time that it has been on this season I have only lost 4 pounds:(

Today's Workout

2008-12-15T16:55:00.000-06:00

Turbo Jam Fat Blaster, 30 minutes, 320 calories

Today's Workout

2008-12-13T16:39:00.003-06:00

Turbo Jam Cardio Party 2, 43 minutes, 460 calories

Total for week, 240 minutes, 2433 calories

Today's Workouts

2008-12-12T17:44:00.001-06:00

Turbo Jam Turbo Sculpt, 40 minutes, ~300 calories (I didn't wear my heart monitor)
and Turbo Jam 20 minute, 19 minutes, 217 calories

Total for week, 197 minutes, 1973 calories

Aaaakk!!

2008-12-10T15:53:00.001-06:00

I just took the plunge and bought the Wii and Wii Fit for us for Christmas. I hadn't really decided for sure that I wanted it, but I was on ebay and bid on one that wasn't too outrageous and somehow I won. Definitely having some buyers remorse right now, but trying to convince myself that we are going to have fun. Oh boy. How do I get myself into these things?

Today's Workout

2008-12-10T13:48:00.001-06:00

Turbo Jam Cardio Party, 43 minutes, 457 calories

Total for week, 138 minutes, 1456 calories

Today's Workout

2008-12-09T19:08:00.001-06:00

Turbo Jam Cardio Party 2, 45 minutes, 466 calories

Total for week, 95 minutes, 999 calories

Today's Workout

2008-12-08T17:23:00.000-06:00

Turbo Jam Punch Kick and Jam, 50 minutes, 533 calories

I'm Catching Up

2008-12-07T14:04:00.010-06:00

Finally got our decorations up Friday night, and our Christmas pictures taken for our cards this afternoon. This is NOT the card picture since many of you will be receiving that soon enough, but it gives you a hint of our theme this year. Fortunately, the Bears are actually doing well today so we can be proud of our team.

Also, I realize I haven't really been updating much besides my workouts, so I thought I should borrow Jacque's meme:

Ten years ago I:

*Was 21

*Had recently moved out of my parents house.

*Worked at a bank

*Was dating my now husband

*Was still in school

Five things on tomorrow's to-do list

1. Lesson Plans for the week

2. Grocery shopping (not going on a Sunday)

3. Drop off and pick up kids at school.

4. Clean the bathroom. Bleh.

5. Take some books back to the library.

5 snacks I enjoy

1. String cheese

2. Jelly Bellys

3. Fruit chips

4. Chocolate

5. Dark Chocolate

5 things I would do if I were a millionare

1. Pay off bills

2. Buy a house in the country

3. Save for the kids education

4. Help someone in need

5. Get a maid. Oh yes I would.

5 places I have lived

1. Mountain, Home Idaho

2. Bismark, North Dakota

3. Guam

4. Clearfield, Utah

5. Rockford, Illinois

5 jobs I've had

1. Fashionation - cashier, then 2nd assistant manager

2. First of America Bank, changed to National City- teller then CSR

3. COL- Toddler teacher then Preschool teacher

4. Grace Lutheran Preschool- preschool teacher and assistant director

5. Hmmm...Well I did give direct sales a try last year.

Maybe now you know something about me that you didn't before. Stay tuned for more interesting posts.

Today's Workout

2008-12-06T22:35:00.001-06:00

Turbo Jam Cardio Party 2, 43 minutes, 450 calories

Total for week, 235 minutes, 2513 calories

I Elfed THe Boys!

2008-12-05T13:39:00.001-06:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Today's Workout

2008-12-04T18:49:00.001-06:00

Turbo Jam 3T and 20 minute, 50 minutes, 430 calories

Total for week, 192 minutes, 2063 calories

Today's Workout

2008-12-03T19:10:00.001-06:00

Turbo Jam Punch Kick and Jam w/1 lb weights, 50 minutes, 558 calories

Total for week, 142 minutes, 1633 calories

Today's Workout

2008-12-02T18:57:00.001-06:00

Tubo Jam Punch Kick and Jam w/ 1 lb weights, 49 minutes, 575 calories

Total for week, 92 minutes, 1075 calories

I feel much better today. Better than I have in a couple weeks, actually. Thanks for the sympathy yesterday.

I'm Not Complaining....

2008-12-01T12:10:00.003-06:00

But it has been a rough week. No updates because I couldn't bear to talk about it. Right now while I'm numb I'll try to fill you in (more on that in a minute).
It started on Tuesday when my monthly friend arrived. During class. Complete with irritability and cramps.
Then I had my review after my morning class. It really went ok, but see previous problem. I was very sensitive to any negative comments and left feeling a little down.
The boys have been very resistant to helping clean up their toys so I've been getting really frustrated with them, and then feeling like a bad mom for yelling. Endless cycle repeated itself a few times this week, but as of today we seem to be back on good ground.
Then Tuesday night my tooth started hurting. On Wednesday it throbbed every time I moved. On Thursday it was Thanksgiving- no dentist. On Friday I woke up with a fat lip. Great. Definitely an infection. Still had to go out of town for my Dad's Thanksgiving dinner, then Saturday to my mom's. We had a good time at both despite my being in constant pain. At least I could eat, it didn't hurt any worse as long as I didn't bite down hard on my front teeth. Finally today is Monday. Called the Dentist at 8, got an appointment at 10. He looked at it for a minute, said yep, you have an abcess and need a root canal. Let's get that going. So I had a root canal this morning. Yay. The worst pain was the numbing needle and it was over in less than half an hour. Now I am home with a prescription for antibiotics and vicodin for when the numbness wears off. Hopefully this will be the start of a better week.
But now I can't work out! So I might need a few more days to get in a better mood.
And I didn't get my Christmas decorations up this weekend because all I could do was lay around:(
Hope everyone else is doing better than me.

PS Yesterday's Workout:
Turbo Jam Cardio Party, 43 minutes, 500 calories

Today's Workout

2008-11-26T20:30:00.001-06:00

Turbo Jam Cardio Party w/1lb weights, 43 minutes, 500 calories

Total for week, 135 minutes, 1512 calories

Today's Workout

2008-11-25T18:45:00.002-06:00

Turbo Jam Punch Kick and Jam, 47 minutes, 508 calories

Total for week, 92 minutes, 1012 calories

I'm having one of those icky days, but at least I still worked out. More tomorrow when I feel better.

Today's Workout

2008-11-23T17:08:00.000-06:00

Turbo Jam Cardio Party 2, 45 minutes, 504 calories

Dr Visit

2008-11-21T18:08:00.002-06:00

When I went to the Dr Monday it was for my annual exam (pap, bleh), but I really wanted some advice or help with my weight loss. I should have known that there is no magical solution. After going over my lab results (everything is fine except I'm a little anemic) she asked about my eating habits. She eventually suggested keeping a food diary, which I did back when I was losing weight last winter, and trying to eat 4-5 smaller meals a day. So I've been keeping my food diary and it really does keep me from eating mindlessly, but I also don't think I was eating all that much more before. We shall see. I am down 1/2 a pound from my minimun since September 1st, but according to what I've been eating and working out this week I should be down 2 pounds at least. So blah, blah, blah. Mostly that whole discussion can be summed up by saying nothing has changed, yet.

Today's Workout

2008-11-21T18:06:00.002-06:00

Turbo Jam Turbo Sculpt, 39 minutes, 344 calories

Total for week, 276 minutes, 2996 calories

A new record for me. I worked out 6 days this week.

Today's Workout

2008-11-20T17:08:00.002-06:00

TurboJam Punch Kick and Jam w/1lb weights, 49 minutes, 548 calories

Total for week, 237 minutes, 2652 calories

We can all celebrate because I am finally down 1/2 a pound. Woo hoo.
I started back keeping a food diary so hopefully that will help. I already realized that I am eating way too much cereal for breakfast.