Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Parenting 101

Not a good idea to buy 2 kids a cupcake to kill time between school pick-ups even if you tell them that they should probably keep that information to themselves.

Because when we pick up the third kid, it will be the first thing G mentions to him.

*edited to add: Also, don't take G with you to buy your 10-year-old a birthday present unless you want G to tell 10-year-old about the Lego Starwars ship he'll be getting.



Also today: Jillian's 30 Day Shred and Gilad.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Making it Your Own

So, G had a big birthday over the weekend. He was excited about the Lego Space Police, and even more excited about the crazy straws (only one milk spill all weekend!). Instead of buying cards, each family member has to make a card (use some effort!) for the birthday boy (or girl). Since G's favorite animal is a lion, mommy felt that this was the obvious choice. After he fawned over the card for a bit, I put it up on the counter with the rest of the birthday wishes. A few minutes later, I returned to the kitchen to find this improvement:


Much better.



*edited to add: Total Body Sculpt w/ Gilad, and Level 1 of Jillian. Go me!

Monday, September 28, 2009

Gilad and Jillian to the Rescue

I haven't worked out in ages. Old habits that I knew were ingrained have just fallen by the wayside. Among other excuses, I haven't been able to figure out exactly where I can fit exercise into our new schedule.

Today, I decided to put my preschooler in front of NickJr (when did it stop being Noggin?) for a bit while I worked out to my hero Gilad, and I squeezed in a level of 30-Day Shred before having to basically run through the shower on my way to pick up Son1 from school. I feel great about not making excuses today.

And I'm calling myself out to keep it going.

I'm making it a habit. Especially because there was cake on Fri for G's birthday, and there'll be cake again for E's big day.

image from Netflix

Monday, September 14, 2009

The Spark

Why is it so much easier to find when you step on the scale and realize that you've lost 4 lbs. since the last time you weighed? I'm feeling totally motivated and getting ready for Jillian Michaels' right now.

*edited to add: better not find out that someone was fiddling with the scale and I've actually gained weight.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Back to School

This week has been completely amazing. I've forgotten how much easier it is to get everything done around here without an 8-y-o and a 9-y-o hanging around to remind me of how boring everything is. And how hot it is outside, and how I'm mean because I don't allow video games every day. Also, 3-y-o isn't missing the older kids half as much as I'd thought he would.

The thing that's not so great: the sixty miles of driving them back and forth to school everyday. Which amounts to 3hours in driving and waiting around for their respective school day(s) to begin and end. So, how do I still have all of this extra time? Is it because I'm back to waking at 6am? Should I get up at 5 so that my workouts can be done before the rest of the house so much as *thinks* about waking?

Everything about this week has been beautiful, including the weather: lows in the high 50's and highs in the upper 70s-low-80's. The kids haven't been weighed down with homework, so we've had time for art projects, some studying on the computer, and for running around the neighborhood with friends. I just want to freeze this week in time so that I can pull it out whenever things aren't so smooth or easy. When there's so much homework that there aren't enough minutes in the day to get everything done, when the weather keeps the kids inside, or when friends aren't around because so many of them have to go their other parent's house tonight.

Tonight we'll be together, toasting marshmallows and enjoying each other's company. And I'll also be thinking about the perfect day 8 years ago when the world seemed to change. The day when I worried about what kind of world I had just brought my new baby into. And I'll think about the families that were not so fortunate on that day.

Today I'm thankful that our family is whole, and loves each other; and that our kids have us to lean on when everything isn't so great.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Good Fortune

So, everything is turning out to be very manageable. The broken appliances turned out with the best case scenario as far as repairs and a little reaching by the providers of our extended warranty. So now we have clean dishes and cold food after living for a couple of weeks with a mini fridge and a manual dishwasher.

We spent a couple of days this week at Kensington on the cross country course. While we were there, we saw deer, fish, turtles, swans, geese, turkey, cranes, a mole, and a cat. The kids initially resented us for the forced march, but they warmed up and were really excited by all of the animals by the end of the trip. Even with the gorgeous weather and fresh air, I have to admit that I've gotten really comfortable with not eating mindfully or exercising regularly. I have to make some changes. Starting right now, I need to journal every bite and get at least 40 minutes of exercise every day. With husband home on vacation this week, I have no excuse that there's not enough time.

I'm changing things up around here on the blog too. Just a bit to freshen things up.

Just bought read the Dave Ramsey book, and am feeling really stoked to completely change our lifestyle to continue to keep things in the right direction.