Holiday Season

It is at this time of year that I truly enjoy every second of everyday. I anticipate Christmas morning, I love to travel and see family and baking and cooking are my two favorite things. Along that line, I have been trying new recipes every night and coming across some wonderful meals, my hubby loves all the new things too and I enjoy sitting and going through all of my books and loose recipes, finding ones that I never tried. It's like a treasure hunt. Lately, we seem to be very busy and that is okay for now. Life is exciting, my calendar is full, I'm visiting with friends I haven't seen in awhile and eating until my heart is content...smiling big!

Brian started playing piano again and we are going to start practicing Christmas songs. We are actually planning our parents' Christmas gifts for next year. We are going to record a CD of Christmas music for each set of parents, Brian will play piano and sing and I will sing and we will have Hayden sing a song also(he can sing Jingle Bells really good!). Brian's friend knows how to do all the recording and has all of the studio equipment...I'm so nervous and excited at the same time!! Our first step is getting all of the sheet music, which Brian's mom has a lot of so I asked if I could make copies but she has no idea what it is for, she thinks we are just having fun at home singing and playing.

Exercising has been on the back burner for awhile, I go swimming but it isn't doing anything at this time with all that I'm eating...hehehee. Oh well, when I get motivated again, I'll start back into more. I haven't been able to get the kids outside much, it has been too darn windy and then Hayden doesn't like it because it's too cold and Vanessa hasn't been real thrilled outside either. Her snowsuit is letting in some moisture and I think because she has to sit the whole time, she starts to get wet and cold and fussy. Brian had them out for maybe a half hour and they wanted to come back in. I even ask the little boy that I babysit if he wants to go outside and play in the snow and he says no, it's too cold. It would be fine if we didn't have the wind, that just makes everyone more cold.

So, inside we have been but we are doing lots of crafts and puzzles, Hayden is helping alot with baking for our neighbors and he even helped his dad make dessert this past Sunday for a dinner we went to. I will also start taking them to the library more and more. Another big thing right now is Hayden is playing computer games and I am actually researching the little computer games from V-Tech and Leapfrog for my mom to get him for Christmas. I was even trying to find a toddler size computer and get him a desk and let him have computer time daily. He will be starting on the computer at school in January and he LOVES it, he begs everyday to play games. Nice thing is they have great games for his age on Noggin.com.

We have two projects we are going to start working on also, one is a mailbox for outside of his bedroom where he can put mail (drawings) for Mom and Dad and we can put mail for him and the other is a birdhouse we are painting for Spring...I figured after the holiday we can start those. So the holiday season for me started back at Thanksgiving and I am real thankful for everything good that we have happening in our lives...I think we may have actually found the church we want to attend, the pastor's wife is a pastor also and she came and spoke at MOPS and I felt such a connection to her speaking, she was so inspirational and FUNNY...Gotta love a funny pastor!

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! One sad thing that happened is one of my all time favorite singers died recently and he did one of my favorite songs called "Olde Lang Syne" and I've been hearing it a lot played on the radio, probably because of his passing and it was one of his biggest hits, but I always loved the storyline to the song and wondered if it really happened. I went online the day he passed away and there was the news coverage of his death and I read the article and it had a link to his website so I went on and he died from Prostate cancer and actually had a message on his website for men to start checking when they are 40 for early detection and I thought it was a great message, almost was haunting like he knew he was not going to make it.

Well, long story short, you could click on a FAQ'S and fans asked him questions and the first question was about that song and if it had really happened and sure enough it DID really happen. I smiled from ear to ear because all of these years I have loved that song and wondered and it has such a magic to it. It's sad that it took me all this time and his death to research that because it would have been neat to write him and tell him how I felt about it. I don't know what it is about the song, maybe I wonder about the woman herself and if she regretted not being with him. It was like a short story that I just loved the very first time I heard it when I was just a kid. He will be missed, I'm sure he is singing up in heaven now and they are listening to his beautiful voice. Rest in peace, Dan.....

Crazy Busy!

I know it has been awhile, life just keeps getting busier and busier...There is a so many things to talk about but I'm going to first talk about my children, especially my Hayden. I had a real proud moment happen the other day when he looked at me and said "Mom, I'm ready to give my toys to other kids so I can get new ones from Santa." The smile that came across my face and tears in my eyes told him how proud I was. He is starting to really show the graciousness and joy that is felt when giving.

I've talked about this before and how I have dedicated some serious time and effort in to teaching him why and how we give and he has given many things now to several people and organizations in our community. The importance and things he has learned from all of this, is what I feel has made him the gem he is. We made a apple pie for his teacher last night and he took it to her and told her Happy Thanksgiving but more importantly, we wrote a note telling her how thankful we are for all that she does. She was so thankful and her joy reminded me why I do what I do with him...Unfortunately, she said there is a lot of parents who do not teach their kids to give anymore and that makes me as a mom and a person very sad.

Another proud moment, which is more of a funny cute proud moment is when we tried Vanessa's Christmas dress on her, Hayden looked at me with his hands behind his back so proper, and said "I am a boy and I would like to dance with the princess" Meaning his sister!!! I about fell over because it was so darn sweet! Then he danced with her, holding her little hands and she smiled the whole time...It was just too precious!

So, my son is making me more proud each day and doing so good. He really has taken some big leaps and has given me so much joy. He will say to me, "I love you so much Mom" and I'll say "I love you so much" and he says "Does that make your heart happy?" and I say "yes, it makes my heart so very happy" and he says"my heart is happy too"...It's a tearjerker moment and he does it alot lately and I just love it.

Vanessa is precious as always and she gives us five now and Brian said to her "Up?" as he was standing at her crib to get her out and she said "Yea, Dad"...hehehhee...Too funny! She still isn't walking on her own, she has to always be holding onto something but her fine motor skills are incredible. She opened a bag of pop tarts and started eating them, I still can't figure out how she opened the package and she opened a lollipop and started sucking on it and all I could do is laugh because I couldn't believe she did it at first and the she was looking at me like "what, Mom?"

She is just a funny girl but so sweet and her laugh is so contagious, I just love it! Her two favorite things to do right now are to feed Daddy...she thinks it is so funny and cool to feed daddy. She even takes a bite of something, takes it back out of her mouth and tries to feed him that too...hehehe....Her second favorite thing, which she just started this week is cleaning up toys. She will dump a box of Lego's, or her box of animals just so she can clean them back up and when it is cleanup at night, she helps!! It is awesome!!! The really great thing is she is really good at it!

Well, that is what has been going on with the kids, as far as me, just busy with Tastefully Simple parties, I just had three in the last three weeks so that has kept me quite busy with paperwork. I also got 90% of my Christmas shopping done. What a relief! I'm going to be caroling in the downtown area of our town 3 evenings coming up, should be a good time...I'm really excited about it. I've wanted to do it the last two years but haven't been able to.

Brian and I are going to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra on the 1st. We are absolutely THRILLED. We saw them last year and vowed we will see them every year. Brian is in two parades and I may be in one as a caroler, I have to see but we have a third parade to go to also, we have wanted to go to it since we moved but haven't ever been able to...It's a Victorian Sleigh bell parade where everyone dresses up in Victorian pieces...I am sooooo excited to go to that one!! We have a couple Christmas parties to go to along with all the family ones, I'm just so excited for the whole season. Brian and I have already started listening to Christmas music, it is our favorite.

I have not had time to put up Thanksgiving decorations so I am going right from Halloween to Christmas...I got a real wreath for my front door and it was delivered and it is huge and beautiful, well I brought it in and needles were falling a little so I thought, okay, it's going on the door NOW...hehehe...So poor Thanksgiving didn't get much decoration. I did have up a Fall/Thanksgiving decor on my door for awhile now so I guess that counted. Well, I have to go and I need to write on here more often so my blogs aren't ten pages long...hehehe.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas if I'm not on before then !
P.S. I did 30 laps on monday!! yea!! Of course, I haven't exercised since then though....I'm so motivated!...hehehe

Sacrifices, obstacles and my wonderful children

Life again has thrown a loop at me...I injured my back about two weeks ago, it got better and somehow now, is worse than before...If it isn't one thing, it's another...It's been awhile since I have written, so many things have been going on between my daughter's first birthday to family visiting, to my children getting sick to my back injury and so life goes on and time goes by and I forget all about my little blog...smiling.

I quit kickboxing because of scheduling conflicts but I found a kickboxing DVD and it is pretty good...It's not as challenging as my instructor was but it will do for now...Exercise has been on the back burner the last three weeks and somehow I am just struggling to get motivated again...On top of that, chocolate is all around me since trick-or-treating and my hand is in the candy CONSTANTLY...hehhee...

I decided that first off I need to get my back better before anything else and then I can jump in again full swing exercising...Second, in the last three weeks I have enjoyed my kids so much...Hayden is just advancing further and further, he did a math problem the other day and now he keeps telling me what letter words start with and they aren't words he is looking at, they are in his brain and he gets them correct every time. I got to go to his pumpkin party at school and volunteer and I must say, that was really a fun time. I enjoyed that so much and so I decided to volunteer some more with the entire school...I signed up for evening activities, helping with fundraising, the end of the year picnic and the book fair...

I'm going to start babysitting a boy Hayden's age, who is also in his class, twice a week...I already had him over once and those two got along so well, I was so pleased to see that. The boy's mom also invited me to join her Pokino group...It's like Bingo and they get together once a month and have a lot of fun so I'm excited about that...I'm planning a cookie exchange also in December, I always wanted to go to one so I decided I'm having one...Next up, is making apple pies...I have a ton of apples and I like to make them and give them away to our neighbors and family.

Everyone who knows me knows I like to help others and this week I found out about a program where I can adopt a senior citizen and give them a Christmas gift so I have to call on Monday and then go pick up my ornament which has the name of the person and all the info I need...I just love things like that...I'm hoping to donate Christmas cards again to the soldiers, I didn't get to do that last year but I did get to send a soldier a gift...As long as I get to do something, it is extremely important to me...

I went through the kids toys and we started our box to give to the women's shelter, I'm very excited about that too...It brings me great joy to give to others and to teach my children to do the same...I know in time, they will get the same joy as me...

Hayden has conferences coming up and I'm anxious to hear about him, even though I ask everyday at school...hehehe...He's such a great kid and I'm so proud of him...Vanessa is my angel girl whom still gets so much attention...I still hear every time I take her somewhere how I should put her in commercials...It's so funny but honestly I would love to, I just have to figure out how I do that...

So, in closing I have endured some obstacles lately and made some sacrifices but through that I got to spend more time with my wonderful children and that means more to me than anything in the world...Tomorrow, daddy is taking Hayden to see the Bee movie and the joy in Hayden's eyes is enough to bring tears to both of our eyes...smiling.

Trying to stay positive

All I can say is UUUGGHH! My week has literally been nothing but uugghh...I ended up having to take Hayden to the ER Sunday night and he got a breathing treatment and shot in his leg for Croup...Waited two days and took him to see his regular pediatrician and she said he was on the upside of it only to have him come home and bark and cough all night long..I think last night I was up until 4:30 a.m. because of his coughing and I mean it sounds like a lung is coming out...I just feel so bad for him and he is all out of sorts...Not only is he moody, pouting, angry and sad but he's bored and can be mean and not listening...oh the list goes on...He just is sick and my patience is thin and his patience is thin...

At school today Miss Larson said he wasn't listening a couple of times but she did say several kids were that way and all of them are battling Croup...So, needless to say, that p*ssed me off, even though I was trying to be sympathetic...I took him home and he knew I was mad and he did everything in his power to make things better, he was behaving very well, like he normally does...It was a relief since I thought I was going to have another rough day with him...On top of that, my little Vanessa has an ear infection...

So, tonight already I had to take Hayden outside at 10:30 p.m. to get some cold air in him to help his cough and it did help but I hear him upstairs as I type this...I turned on his air conditioner to get his room cooler...We have tried a vaporizer, steam shower and cough medicine...It all only works temporarily...I'm really not complaining although I want to scream because I have gotten absolutely zero workouts in and I'm frustrated and feel like crap because of it...I'm also just too darn tired to attempt exercise right now...I'm only up right now because I'm trying to see how he does once his room cools down...

I haven't been eating the greatest either...We had a friend over for dinner and I'm one of those people who go all out when I have company so we had BBQ chicken, potatoes, salad, biscuits and pumpkin pie. Now, here is the thing, there are several pumpkin pies in our freezer from last year when my husband gave them away to clients and these were left over...They are Sara Lee brand and I thought let's make one for this nice dinner...I've been having a piece every night ever since....sighs...smiling. I wouldn't have ordered dessert at my book club meeting, on Sunday, had I known I would have dessert every night this week...hehehe

Then the crock pot has come out and scrumptious, hearty, family meals with lots of comfort in their titles have taken over my kitchen...hehehe...Here we go, it's the season for me to become a major cook along with baker, dessert maker and entertainer! What does that spell...calories, calories, calories! I'm feeling the stress of trying to fit in exercise and I know it's just one of those weeks but it seems EVERY week has been something...I'm really trying to stay positive...deep breath...

Game plan working out so far

The game plan is working so far, Monday I was dead tired from our weekend of home projects but I got up and drove to the pool at 5:30 a.m. only to be disappointed, it was completely full and the girl's swim team was arriving the same time as me...I was, however, relieved to not have to swim because my arms were so sore...So, I came home and jumped on the treadmill and did a 16 minute mile, just walking around 3.5-4.4 miles per hour. That night I went to kickboxing and our teacher just slammed us as usual, I was truly tired afterwards...

Last night I started my Hula DVD and let me just say, learning the Hula is not easy!!...But, I did show my hubby some moves this morning and he was like "you do that pretty good"...hehhee...This morning I didn't make it to the pool, I just needed sleep, I think the weekend was catching up with me and tonight was supposed to be kickboxing but Brian has an Ambassador meeting...

We talked about kickboxing and it isn't so much the money, it is that I keep having to miss classes because Brian has things going on and I can't take those away from him because they are important...So, it's good that I am going to stop kickboxing for awhile...I talked to my teacher and told her someday I will be back...then I had an idea, I could just buy a 100lb bag and do kickboxing at home...My teacher would probably order me one, she said she would order me gloves, I don't see why she wouldn't do one of the bags...We'll see...I'll have to think about that...At least I know most of the moves for kickboxing so I could do my own routine...

Enough about exercise...Mr. Hayden Lee is getting his school pictures done in November and he even gets a yearbook!! Too cute!! I just love his preschool and the fact that it is in a regular school, they do so many things because of that. I do have a proud thing to tell you about Hayden...he now takes showers and he wants to do it all by himself, I stand outside the shower (he wants the door closed) and put the soap in his hands for him but he washes his hair and his whole body, sticks his face in and washes it...

He has no problem at all and I am proud beyond proud!! I think it really makes him feel like a big boy and it is in the shower that we just fixed...Now, him washing himself isn't anything new, he has been doing that a long time now but it's the taking a shower by himself that is the new proud moment...

His class is having a Pumpkin party on Halloween and I'm going to volunteer...Brian wants to come for a little while also...We just have to find a sitter for Vanessa...Speaking of my little angel girl, she is completely off her Binky now!!! Yea!!!!! Happened sooner than I thought and she is doing fantastic...

She hasn't had one since Friday...I'm so proud of her...Well, that is pretty much it for now, looks like tonight I'll be doing treadmill and the Hula since tomorrow I probably won't get to do anything since I have my candle party...Friday it's back to the pool and I shouldn't have a problem getting in because I'm going to get up at 5:15 and be there at 5:30 so I can be first...See, I'm working this new game plan...looks like everything will be fine...smiling.

Making the best of it

Changes in our life sometimes can lead us to have to re-think our game plan...I'm having that happen right now...I have been so focused on what was going to be my strict exercise regimen, only to learn that things have to change. Not necessarily for worse but just different. Kickboxing has to stop for now and I'm seriously bummed about it but truth be told, it's very expensive. Unfortunately, there are other more important things in our life that have to take a front seat and one of which is Hayden's school along with saving to build our house.

Luckily, I still get to swim and I have my treadmill...Now, I just have to make the serious effort to get on my treadmill and actually block out time for it like I would kickboxing. I also thought, well, I might as well jazz up things a bit since soon I will be forced to exercise most of the time indoors, so, I bought a DVD that is going to teach me to Hula. It's supposed to be a great ab and bun workout and I thought why not? I will learn the seven basic Hula steps...How cool!!

I also decided I have a couple really good DVD exercise videos that I really need to use...I bought them so it's time to use them...One is dancing called Zumba and it is very much like Salsa, just real fun dancing and then I also have a Belly dance tape that is also really good...That gives me a couple different things to do for exercise and since I LOVE to dance, should be great...Oh, I also have Hip Hop Abs...Now that is a workout and the really cool thing about it is, they include hip hop moves to use when going to a night club...Not that I'm going clubbing anytime soon but I never had a hip hop dance class that taught moves from today...The last class I did was in college and it was more Madonna type dancing...

So, we pretty much got everything we needed to get done in the yard and landscaping...I have three plants to plant today and then we just have to put a border in one area and fill with mulch and we are done. Yesterday afternoon, Hayden and I raked the entire yard, it was just filled with tons of sticks and leaves from that wind storm we had Monday night...It looks good again and of course, I wasn't being completely thorough about it since we will have more leaves in no time soon...I mostly just wanted to rake to get the ground ready for seed and remove all those sticks...

Anyways, my arms were burning and I was sweating so it felt like a workout...I'm counting it as one...I'm making the best of exercise with what I got..smiling. No more griping about what I can't do, it's time to concentrate on what I can do. I'll let you know how my new game plan plays out!

Much better now...

The week is at the end and it ended up better...Kids are all good and healthy...I'm feeling better and I did better at swimming today. I did 22 laps in 25 minutes, so that is more laps in less time...my crawl was a lot better today, however I tried to do the backstroke and gagged on a bunch of water and had to take a minute to cough it all out...That completely sucked!

Still haven't had a chance to hop on the treadmill but I keep trying to find time to do it...It's hard with my hubby not home...the kids want to play and well, I can't not play...In the meantime, I got some other things done, I packed away more items for my spring yard sale, including all of Vanessa's bottles!!! Yea!!!...Thank goodness we are done with that..I had been letting her drink out of one before bed but I bagged it, she is fine on cups, it's cups all the time then...She just turned 11 months old on Wednesday, getting so big!!

Now we are working on her Binky, so far she screams her head off for an hour then conks out...hehehe...Well, she did that yesterday, today was more like 20 minutes...I'm trying to wean her off and just give it to her at night at bedtime...She's just going to have to find another way to comfort herself so I have been doing a few things with her to try to help...

She has a bear with a small blanket attached and it has satin edges, so I rub that on her cheek and she holds onto it and giggles...We'll see how it goes...today I slipped when I took her to the store and she pooped about 10 minutes into shopping, well I wasn't stopping so after about 15 more minutes she started to wiggle around and get antsy so I gave in and gave her the Binky...

Hayden didn't have a Binky so this is a learning experience for me also, I should have had her off of this a long time ago but the doctor said not to worry about it and then life just goes on and you don't worry about it...until now, I just feel crappy because she truly has an attachment to it...So, I'm in the store and a gal is behind me probably in her 30's also and she tells me that they didn't get rid of her daughter's Binky until she was 3 1/2 years old...I thought to myself, WHAT!!!!

Just can't quite comprehend that but she went on to say that the dentist told her they don't worry about it until they turn 4...The weird thing about it is I keep seeing all these celebrities and their children who are 2-3 years old with Bink's and I cringe..I thought it was because they are spoiled and have nannies and don't care but it must be a real thing...I just can't do it...I will let her basically wean it until she is 1 but, as soon as her birthday comes...the Bink's are in the trash...If we have to cold turkey it, so be it...

I understand the first year and maybe, just maybe a few months after but that's it...Anyways, Hayden has been bringing home more art work and he had show and tell again today and he took in two airplanes...Miss Larson said he did very well...I do have something so cute to share about Hayden...he got some scholastic book order papers, 3 to be exact, so the other night I was sitting on the couch looking at them and he came and stood with his hands behind his back, so proper...smiling...

And he went through each one, carefully turning the page and scanning all the books..then he would say "Mom, I would like to read this book" "and this one" and so on...He did this with every page putting his hands behind his back while he observed everything so thoroughly...I marked all the ones he liked...Then at the end of all 3, he looks at me and says "you can give Santa my list?"....Oh it was too darn cute!!!!!!!!!!!!

He's growing up into such a fine young man, school has helped...Since starting, he has just blossomed so much and he was always a great kid and used his manners but it's like he has become more polished with school...One thing I really noticed about him, is he takes the initiative more..He would always clean up real good and help with anything but now we don't ask, he just does things...This is so much fun for me also, I get excited to pick him up and check his box for projects and papers that come home...I get so giddy!!

Well, this blog is getting so longgggg...Just wanted to catch up and let everyone know my week ended up better than when I wrote last...Good news, I lost 2 pounds in my two weeks of exercise...yea!!! Only 48 more to go!!!...hehehe...Like I said, I'm much better now....

Not such a great week so far...

I knew today wasn't going to be a great day by how I felt rolling out of bed at 5:30 a.m. I am TIRED, just plain tired...But, I made it to the pool and did 20 laps...I asked the lifeguard if it is a lap going up and back but he said no, it's a lap just going one way...So, that is cool and I really enjoy saying I did 20 laps where in my head I thought I was doing 10...I'm pretty much doing 20-25 laps every time and by mid-October I want to be doing 30-35.

I didn't make it to kickboxing Monday night, first because my son ended up with 101 degree fever and by 2 p.m. I was feeling lousy...The kids took a nap at 2 and I laid down and we all slept until 4:30 p.m. That is just CRAZY! I never sleep that long in a nap but I think I was just exhausted from my first week of exercise and it caught up with me...My tiredness today is from staying up too late with my hubby looking at house plans...Oh well, we were having fun!

I won't be able to make kickboxing tonight or Friday also because of plans Brian has with work related things and he is volunteering Thursday, Friday and Saturday for The Chamber of Commerce Ambassador's big meeting, which he is an ambassador too...I said that is fine as long as I make swimming...It's probably good with how tired I feel...I still didn't start the treadmill routine either...I'm not slacking off, I'm running out of time with two little ones and trying to do mommy things, house things and everything else...

I had to make two dishes for MOPS Monday night and then last night Hayden's snack for school...It was his turn to bring the snack so I made mini blueberry muffins for all the kids...They ended up really liking them...I didn't have time to make homemade so those were the box kind...Next time, maybe I can do something homemade....

Hayden has show and tell on Friday, it's his turn again already, Miss Larson does several a day so they get through all of students in a couple weeks and they start over again...This time he wants to take his airplanes...He keeps bringing home beautiful artwork, almost every class and so we started a portfolio for him...He paints BEAUTIFULLY! I had tears when I saw the one painting, it was so pretty I must have told him 10 times and he was beaming saying "thank you, mom".

Well, hopefully I can get on the treadmill tonight...It's just the kids and I so that may not happen ...again...sighs...See, I said this just isn't a great week so far...Tomorrow's a new day...smiling.

Adding more exercise

Well, the novelty of swimming has worn off...it officially feels like exercise now...hehehe...I'm still doing 24 single laps (12 full) and that is fine for now...I figure maybe after a couple weeks and more stamina, I can build it up. I do still love it and there is just something about hopping in a pool at 6:00 a.m. that is soooo refreshing. I actually got there early today and was in the pool by 5:50 a.m., which to my amazement, when I arrived one lane was open..There definitely are some early birds at the pool.

I really felt tired this weekend and I knew that would happen with my first week of regular exercise, hopefully that will change with time and endurance. Kickboxing is insane and sometimes I think to myself, am I enjoying this torture?...hehehe...But, I honestly am enjoying it...I feel like I ran a marathon after class and there really isn't any other exercise that I can physically do that gives me that feeling.

I didn't get a chance to do my treadmill routine last week and hopefully this week I can get to doing it but the weird thing is, I had this routine I was going to do out of Shape magazine but then my friend gave me another one and it sounds more impressive...It's about getting you from couch potato to running a 5k in 2 months...I'm not sure I would ever run a 5k but the routine helps eliminate a lot of weight. The only thing is I have to do it 3 times a week for it to work the way it says which means I would have to do three exercises on one of my M-W-F, which I should be fine to do...I THINK!

Can you imagine?...uuuggghh...Guess I said I REALLY want this weight off...Adding more exercise is not going to be fun at first...hopefully I can make it a habit!

I really am trying to kill myself...not literally but exercising!

Okay, so I started back at kickboxing only to find out her class has expanded A LOT and it is WAY more harder now. She told my friend and I to do half because we had a few months off but there was no way we were doing that when we are so gung ho to be back...yea, maybe we should have listened because it wasn't 15-20 repetitions like before...it was 50-60 repetitions!! Holy kill me now class!!...I was sweating from beginning to end, drenched...She is tougher and they have advanced immensely.

But I'm not discouraged, in fact, I don't care...just as long as I get there, do the best I can and my weight comes off...That is all that matters at this point...Although, M-W-F, I will be dead to the floor with this double workout system I got going. My arms are on fire tonight from all the exercise today...Tuesday and Thursdays are going to be easy with my treadmill workout, at least that is only 30 minutes long and I'm done.

Wow!! I knew I was ready for all this mentally now it's just the physical part...Maybe I'll be in the size I want a lot sooner WOOHOO!!!

I really LOVE swimming!

I got up at 5:30 a.m. today and got ready and went to the pool to start my lap swimming. I got into the water about 6:10 and swam until 6:40...I did 12 full laps or 24 single laps, I am SO proud of myself and I feel great! I can feel it in my arms and that is real cool since my arms are so flabby...I signed up for six months and I am just so excited...I have been feeling sluggish and getting up that early gave me a different energy...

It was pretty busy because the girl's swim team was there practicing and I had to share a lane at first but eventually someone left and I had a lane to myself...I couldn't do the crawl stroke because I didn't have goggles and every time I tried, I gagged a little because I couldn't see and water would get in my mouth...it just wasn't working so I did side, breast and back stroke the whole time with a little crawl in between...

With probably at least 12 people swimming in this pool there was some movement and that is why it was hard...The pool is 75 feet long so that made it a nice long lap to swim...I ordered another swimsuit, one styled more for lap swimming so that will be nice also. I did notice everyone had goggles and could do the crawl with ease so I guess that is my next purchase, along with a swim cap.

Anyways, my goal is to work up to 40 laps in a half hour...my friend, that swims also, did 20 full laps today but she was doing crawl so that made it easier...I probably did more work than her with the other strokes so that is why I only did 12...I noticed that breast stroke is definitely a workout, which I did a lot of because I really wanted to work my arms...It's hard to swim laps doing breast stroke repeatedly and without stopping...I swam 30 minutes non-stop.

Like I said, I'm proud of myself and so happy because I really enjoy swimming...Now, tonight is kickboxing...talk about my arms getting a workout!...smiling big!

Getting rid of clutter

And so it begins...my sudden urges to tear a closet apart and De-clutter! It all started with my day of cleaning and I mean all day...(the deep, nook and cranny cleaning) and having to remove too many things to dust my dresser and shelves above it...So, I threw away a bunch of things and moved some of the other clutter to another part of the house...hehhehe...Then once that was done, I went through my dresser drawers, I reorganized some clothes in my closet and then cleaned off my closet shelves.

So now the bug is in me...which means I have moved to another room and started to De-clutter that one and as I sit here in the computer room...I look at that closet and thoughts start to arise....hmmmm...what can I throw away?...hehhee...It's crazy, I get this way every couple of months and look out!! There is something about it that makes me feel good, I seriously, in the past, thought of starting an "organizing your house" job or a "planning your party" job...I LOVE to organize and reorganize and again reorganize...hehehe...Maybe it's an anal clean thing or a growing out of my house so let's throw things away to make it look bigger thing...Who knows, except when the urge comes...I dive right in.

Last night, I ran to the store for a few things, came back and tried to put some away in our pantry and something happened, next thing I know, everything is out and I was organizing. Brian just shakes his head at me because he knows I do this constantly. Which explains why my son is an organizer, he doesn't just put toys away, they have to go exactly where he got them. If he finds one thing long after he put toys away, he will dig out whatever it is that it goes in so that it is in the proper place before moving on to the next thing. It's too funny!

MOPS started today and I met my table of ladies that I am a leader of and it felt so good to be back at MOPS...I missed it all summer...The kids did excellent, Hayden made a cross and it says Jesus Loves Hayden...He's now in the 3-4 year old room which is nice because they do lots of crafts. Vanessa is now in the 1 year old room, which was great because it is just loaded with all kinds of age appropriate toys and they said she played the entire time up until 15 minutes before picking her up...she zonked out.

I cut 10 inches off my hair, again getting rid of clutter in a hair kind of way...smiling...It was really bothering me with tangles and dryness so I decided to cut it off, I found a bunch of pictures and took them to my hairdresser and tweaked them with my own ideas and we came up with a nice cut. I really like it. It feels so much better and I get so many compliments. On top of that, I knew I wanted to donate it if I had enough to cut and so my ponytail went to children with cancer. That just made me feel so good.

So, I am back to organizing and getting rid of clutter and feeling good and life is good. Now if only I could have more time in the day, life would be real good!

Excitement is in the air!!!

Hayden LOVED school!!! Yea!!!!! He was so well behaved, Miss Larson said and really enjoyed himself. I am so proud of him! He's going on a field trip soon and I got his snack schedule for the month and he takes one in at the end of the month. I took his picture with his teacher and he made that face where he is trying not to smile...we all laughed and I took the picture anyways and figured it would be funny to show him later...I also took one of him in front of his locker and he goes "MOOOOMMMMM!" You know like an older boy who doesn't want kissed in front of the other kids...It was SO funny!

Well, the fall schedule has started, our trip to Pennsylvania was so much fun. Brian and I went to Hershey park by ourselves and it was one of our best dates! Brian thought he would hate the roller coasters but he ended up really thinking they were cool. We watched 4 shows, one was a sea lion show and that one was great. We played games, ate junk food, laughed alot and just had a fantastic time. We had a locker so we had a change of clothes for after the water rides. We were drenched and laughing so hard.

At my dad's house we visited with family and friends and I even had a day of just swimming in my dad's pool and that was just the greatest. Brian and I really enjoyed that...We were racing each other doing different swim strokes and handstands and I just felt like I was getting a ton of exercise...Brian also went golfing with my dad and had a good time.

Our drive out and back was smooth sailing, the kids pretty much slept the entire time so it was easy...Brian and I listened to an audio book called "Tick Tock" by Dean Koontz and it was quite a different story..It definitely made you want to keep listening to see what was going to happen...

We also had to go to Hershey's Chocolate World and, of course, buy chocolate...I think I replaced all the calories I burned with delicious chocolate...sighs...Oh well, again, I'm having too much fun...life is just too much fun for me to lose weight...laughing.

Yesterday, I got a call from a gal at MOPS and was asked to be a small group leader and I said yes and I'm really excited about it. I like the idea of being "in charge" of people...smiling. It should be fun and it entails enough to keep me busy at MOPS and only a small amount outside of it. I only have to have our group get together once a semester outside the meetings and that works for me since the next 10 months are busy. Yea, 10 months, that is my exercise calendar. Swimming and Kickboxing start on the 17th of this month and doesn't end until June 13th. With little breaks in between for holidays and vacation.

We are all signed up for Rome, Italy...we leave the end of February and go for a week. I am so excited!!!!!! I've already talked to two people who went and they told us all the things we have to do and see and it just sounds like so much fun.It will also be a ton of exercise because we will do a lot of walking. Good thing my friend and I are walking some nights weekly because it will help. Speaking of which, Renee, when you read this, I'm back...wanna walk tomorrow?...smiling.

Brian and I also picked our next trip, which we have to wait and see if he gets it, but it would be in the summer and it will be a Mediterranean Cruise...I can hardly breathe thinking about it because it goes to Venice, Italy and 4 places in Greece...aaahhhhhhhhh...Please, God, let Brian get the next trip!...I keep praying EVERYDAY!

So, as you can read, lots and lots of excitement is in the air....and I'm breathing it all in.....smiling big!

Carefree days and changing seasons

I hopped on the scale only to my dismay, I have gained weight over summer and even though I want to complain, I'm not going to...These extra pounds have come from my carefree days, eating good...sometimes really good and enjoying life. I've traveled, I've spent most of my days playing with kids and doing fun activities all summer long.

Although, I think California is when it came on because I ate the most scrumptious, to die for food out there and didn't give a you know what about how many calories anything had and I savored every bite and enjoyed every morsel...so now I pay the consequence and like I said...I'm not even going to complain.

Our visit to the house for sale went okay...It's a very nice house but still for $269,000 was not perfect...not that we expected it to be immaculate but the things that we didn't like were some major things and for that price there shouldn't be major issues. Then yesterday we went and looked at a few more, even a spec house and even that one had things we didn't like.

So, we have pretty much decided we are probably going to end up building our own. We can pick and choose everything then and get everything that we want the way we want it. But, we are having fun looking at homes. Now, I told Brian, we should go and look at the $400,000 and up homes just for fun!!!...hehehe...There is one here on the lake for over a million dollars, how cool would it be to go and walk through that one!!!

This month has flown by and I feel Fall coming, which is just my favorite season... We actually did a bunch of yard work this weekend and I had a hugely successful yard sale. There is just something about Mums and knowing that Fall is around the corner and I have a bunch planted and they are so pretty. We still have a ton of tomatoes and have made three batches of salsa and given away even more to neighbors...It was a very plentiful year...

Now I have to work on my flower boxes even though, whatever it was I planted in them in Spring, is still very full and gorgeous and I'm not sure if I should even touch them and do you think I could remember what I planted?...Of course not...I knew the look I wanted, went and found plants that looked like they would do what I wanted and planted them...I never looked at their tags or anything.

Our yard is really coming together nicely, we really have been doing little things here and there and since I had a lot of carefree days this summer, I really took care of my flowers and plants...Now I'm itching to do some more, I don't have much more but enough to keep me busy in September.

We leave Wednesday for Pennsylvania, another road trip and we are really looking forward to it...just to get away again feels nice and I can't wait for everyone to see the kids. My little Vanessa is walking along furniture and standing more than crawling now. She really amazes me with how fast she is picking things up from Hayden.

Hayden is doing great also. I tried to get him on a soccer team but he has to be 4 years old...The coach wanted to let him join but insurance policies don't let them take on a 3 year old anymore...When I told them how good he is, they took my name and number and he is the first they are calling in Spring to join...I was excited about that...

Well, I guess soon my carefree days are ending, September brings A LOT of craziness...I've been preparing for it, well...maybe I haven't but I guess I just really enjoyed my summer as the weight gain is the sign of that but again...I'm not complaining...hehehe...I did, however, walk 2 1/2 miles tonight with a friend and we didn't take any kids and we walked fairly fast so it felt like a good workout...

I'm ready for the changing season...I get so much more energy in Fall...maybe it's the cooler weather..I'm ready to work off these extra pounds...I'm still NOT complaining!!...smiling big!

Feeling good about a lot of things

There is just something about a friend telling you that you look good that just makes you feel so good inside...My friend, Molly, yesterday, first complimented me on my jeans and said I looked nice in them and then she went on and on about my hairstyle and loved it, so when I headed off for the day to run errands, I felt like a million bucks! What a way to boost the self-esteem, which is an area I need ALOT of help in...Thank you Molly!

Hayden's picnic was great, Brian met us there and we got lunch along with Hayden and they gave us all kinds of snacks and Hayden got more gift certificates and won prizes playing the games...I was just the very proud parent! I think Hayden really was proud also and really enjoyed himself. There are some more upcoming events at the library and you bet I'm getting him involved in them...What a wonderful thing to have my child absolutely love the library!

Brian and I may have found the house we have been looking for...it's awesome! It has beautiful landscaping and a three car garage...Here is a website to see it:
http://www.forsalebyowner.com/listing/B7198 There is a next button under the picture and it will show more photos...It's not a definite thing but, it really is exactly what we are looking for. We go today to walk through it. I'll let you know.

I did some landscaping around our deck, just some minor things but enough to make it look real nice..adds some appeal for when we go to sell the house. I put in a bunch of Mums and put a stone border..The stones were already here in another area. Now I will do something with the area where I took the stones and it will all come together...I'm going to have another yard sale this coming weekend and that will get rid of more things we have in storage...

I still haven't really exercised, but September is around the corner and some hardcore exercising will happen so I guess I am enjoying myself until then...Brian and Hayden slept in a tent in our yard for a little camping experience..They had a fire and made smores and called me and ordered drinks and popcorn...too funny! Then yesterday, Brian took him fishing and Vanessa and I went shopping and talk about deals! Wow!! The mall is having sales galore and I got Vanessa an outfit for her first birthday party coming in October...It is such a fashion queen outfit...I got it at The Children's Place on sale for so cheap!

Then of course, for myself, I had to hit Bath and Body Works which was having a zillion sales and I got a ton of stuff for only $30...They have all of their hand soaps on sale for 5 for $15 which is awesome.

Life is just good lately and things are going really well and I wanted to share...I really am feeling good about a lot of things...

Summer Reading Program and Zucchini

I am so excited for Hayden!!! He finished his reading program at the library and he got a gift certificate for Wendy's, a gift certifcate for Hungry Howie's, a gift certificate for Subway, two gift certificates for Coldstone Creamery and a new book...WOW!! Plus, he gets to go to a picnic this friday at a park here in town and gets a free lunch..I'm so proud of him!!! Oh, that's not all, plus he got 15 stickers! Way to go Hayden!!!!!!

The best part was when he had to pick out his new book, we walked over to the cart and the first two shelves were books for older kids, so then I saw the third shelf was more for his age so we sat on the floor and I dug around and pulled out about 6 that looked good, so he slowly said no as I asked him about each one..We get down to two and one was about a bear and cub but more factual with great illustrations and one was called " A Kiss Goodnight" (I think) Anyways, that book was about a mommy bear and cub and doing the whole night time routine, reading a book, tucking him in and giving kisses...

Well, ever since Hayden was born I have done this routine with him, we read a book or two or 8...hehehe, I rock him and sing songs and he sings, I tuck him in, sit at his side and rub his belly and we do a regular kiss, an eskimo kiss and a hug..Some of which happened a little later than just born...So, I show him the two books and I tell him what each one is about and he picked the one about a mama bear and baby and the whole bedtime routine..How perfect, since I did the reading program with him also! I was overjoyed!!

Then we went up and we checked out 11 more books...just because we are having so much fun reading and I swear we have read all his books more than a dozen times each...The kid is a book fanatic, which is great! Plus, I'm finding some really good ones to buy him down the road...

Well, I made 3 loaves of zucchini bread, which 1 loaf was for us and half is gone already because my kids devour it...hehehe...The other two loaves I gave to friends today...Tonight, Brian and I are making salsa and canning it so that should be fun...He wants to make some of his own because he wants it HOT! We have been eating so much zucchini we are going to turn into one...hehehe

Well, just wanted to say summer reading programs are AWESOME and I intend on having both kids do it next year! Can't wait! Have I been exercising?...Nope because I have been busy eating zucchini bread!...smiling big!

A Mother's Love

Here I go again bragging about my kids but man, I am soooo proud of both of them! First my little Vanessa is a go getter, I wouldn't be surprised if she is walking in a month...She is a FAST learner and a determined little bug!...hehehe...She is crawling so fast now, I lose her if I turn my back for more than 30 seconds!

Today, she decided to check out the kitchen while I was loading up the dishwasher and she was climbing up the drawer knobs and of course opening and closing the drawers...She keeps doing all these little things too that just crack me up, like this morning she grabbed the hair brush that I brush her hair with and I turned away for a second and when I turned back, she was brushing the back of her hair! It was the cutest thing I had to call Brian at work...He said he thought he saw her do that also.

Then Brian was changing her diaper and he left the wipe box open, well she reached over and closed it and then clapped her hands....Too funny! I know they are just little things but so special to me because I enjoy watching her discover everything so much.

Now my big guy, my handsome boy...he is learning great things and I'm so proud of him...Twice this week at the playground he helped another child with something, one day a little girl dropped something and he picked it up for her and another time a boy lost his shoe and he gave it to the boy's dad. Our garden this year is amazing, we have tomatoes coming out of our ears and we have already shared with two neighbors well, he heard Brian say to me that we should give some more away and immediately jumped up and asked to carry the bag...

So, we go to another neighbor's house and he hands the lady the bag and he says "Now, these are Roma and Cherry Tomatoes" and points to them like he is teaching her and what a delight that was for me to watch...She thought it was so cute and really smart of him to know that...He beamed, he was so proud of himself. That was another delight for me.

For awhile now, I have been struggling with whether or not I want to go back to eating vegetarian and the only struggle I had is that with a family it is a hard thing to do...So, I decided, well, I will just start adding more vegetarian dishes, appetizers or whatever into my meals and Hayden LOVES everything I have tried so far...Zucchini bread, fried Zucchini, and to my amazement...red pepper hommus...I was estatic!!!

Next is grilled Zucchini and Squash mixed with olive oil, which will probably be my daughter's favorite. Her absolute favorite food is squash but I will say, she eats absolutely anything! Doesn't matter if it has chunks either, she is definately not a texture baby...She even loved spaghetti the other night...but I was estactic that Hayden liked Hommus since I have been on a Hommus kick since June! I just haven't tried it with him, well now I know I can and I am opening the door to my old vegetarian ways just slightly...it brings back a comfort for me...

So, my hairdresser gave me a bag full of zucchini, and I am soooo excited because it is my absolute favorite vegetable..Well, anyways, I am so proud of my kids, I really am, they are the greatest! I love them with every breath I take...tears!!!...smiling big!

Everyday Journal Thoughts

Where to begin...well, Vanessa had her doctor's appointment today and she is 19 pounds and 28 inches long. She's growing beautifully and doing fantastic. She crawls MUCH faster now and is now pulling herself to a stand. She woke up with a runny nose and sneezing today so she is feeling a little under the weather but doing good.

Hayden is doing awesome as well, we went to the library today for about an hour and a half and he had so much fun...In the children's section, there is toys and such so he met some other children and played while I picked some new books for his reading program. Vanessa sat in her stroller the whole time just amazed at watching the kids.

Speaking of his reading program, two of the books he read were so good that I had to write them down for his Christmas list, one is a true story about a hippo and tortoise and the other is about America...Let me just say, he LOVED both of them but especially the one about America...It is such a great book, he learned the Pledge of Allegiance and I sang America the Beautiful to him and afterwards he said "Mom, that was GREAT!"

It has all about the fifty states and our flag, which he knows 5 states already...Hawaii, Alaska, Texas, Michigan and Pennsylvania. I just LOVE this book! It had so much more in it but it wasn't extremely hard for his age. I'm so glad he loves to read as much as me...I'm reading him 8 books at night and I finally have to say, okay, that's enough...We do reading and singing, we read the books and then sing 3 or 4 songs.

I was also looking at the library for audio books for Brian and I, we are going to listen to two on our way to Pennsylvania..They really have a good selection and they even have John Grisham, whom Brian just loves as an author.

Things have been mellow this week, which is so nice for a change, we were sort of home bound for two days while the van was in the shop but that gave me an excellant opportunity to get things done...I just let so many things go with all the hustle and bustle and I was so sick of it...Plus, I have some small projects I needed to start working on....

Brian and I finally filled out our passport applications, Brian is pretty sure he has the next trip so we are definately going someplace outside the country in March. We are looking at Italy but we are still deciding. I'm extremely EXCITED for that trip because there will be a lot of exploring and I'm going to definately try to get some great photography shots that I can use to build up my portfolio again...I said before I want to get my work into galleries again and this will really give me some opportunities to get some fantastic shots...

I finally exercised last night, I've just been too busy or too tired but I forced myself...I did arm exercises with 8 pound weights and Kelly Ripa's Alphabet routine, (I heard about it on Regis and Kelly) which gets you huffing...I did them while watching a Lifetime movie...hehehe...

Other than that, I'm getting orders for Tastefully Simple and I have 5 parties coming up so that is going to start getting real busy. I don't want too much more on my plate because September starts swimming and kickboxing and Hayden starts school and Karate and I may do a class with Vanessa at Kindermusic so that will be wayyyyy more than enough for me over the next couple of months.

I am still planning on starting a Women's Investment Club, Brian is getting the info for me and I just got some more info about it from another Edward Jones' spouse that started one a year ago...I know I have a wife of a well known doctor in town who is interested...keep your fingers crossed!...As far as my "secret" venture, it is a small catering company...a cupcake business to be exact and I'm still checking all the details...I would start from home with my own recipes and start by word of mouth but I may have to put that on the back burner right now because honestly I don't have time at this point...

It's either going to be a cupcake business or a non-profit organization that just takes donations and I would make a meal for families who just had a baby...I'm still working on all the details of what I even want to do and if I could do it out of my home and all that jazz...I really would love to own a little boutique in downtown Ludington and I could see my cupcakes taking off big time and then just volunteer at MOPS to do the meals...

There is a chef in town who does classes and I may sign up for a couple of those so I can pick her brain...She's really good and she own's Le Serving Spoon downtown but she started out catering...Then right down the road from Le Serving Spoon is The Red Door Gallery where my artwork/photography will be...YES!!!!...hehehehe....In time, in time...it all takes time, which right now is limited so I will slowly work on my ventures...Until then, life is great with the kids and we are on our way to the playground now, which will be our second time today...gotta love it!!!

The Apples of My Eyes...

It is a wonderful, absolutely wonderful thing to wake up to my son's hugs and kisses...That is how he wakes me every morning and I am so glad to have him home! He looks so handsome with his tan and sun bleached hair...sometimes I can't believe he is mine...If only I could look at myself the way I look at my children, maybe I would have better self-esteem.

Vanessa went and saw the plastic surgeon about her Hemo-somethings...Can never remember what they are called..I only know they are blood vessel tumors...Thank goodness she DOES NOT have to have them lasered off. The procedure sounded horrific and I felt myself literally becoming sick as the doctor talked about it. Not only would she have to have her eyes covered and her body held down but her parents, us, would have to wear glasses and masks and he would not do just one laser but multiple and they feel like rubber bands snapping you and that's not all...if she had to have it done, it would be done 12 times every 4 weeks! I about vomited!

Deep breath....sighs...I thank God every minute for this procedure to not have to be done...I honestly don't know if I could have handled it. The doctor said it is very horrifying for kids and I really appeciated his honesty. He was a great doctor, his judgement and ethics were really professional and I felt he told us exactly what was going to happen, if needed and what to expect..etc... He could have just said let's do it but he didn't...Instead, he is seeing her in 4 months to re-measure them and hopefully they continue to get smaller. (they have already gotten smaller)

So, with that the kids are great and we had a pool day yesterday...this heat I can't stand...It really makes me not feel like doing anything so as far as exercise, I have done nada...I was going to start kickboxing tonight but some things have come up and it looks like September will just be a much better month to start..I start on the 15th along with swimming...Hayden will also start back at Karate then, which will be nice because he starts school on September 5th and then we can just get into the groove of everything at once...

August consists of some more traveling, Brian wants to go to Chicago for a weekend and take the kids to the aquarium..There is also a zoo and a couple of other things kid related. Should be a good time and of course, we have our Pennsylvania trip..This month is slowing down but still busy enough for me. We may add a Michigan Adventure day yet but we will see how the rest of August plays out.

Here in Ludington, they have movies in the park every thursday night for kids and they have other activities also and it is all free so Hayden will be my date every week...This week is Happy Feet, which he already saw but before the movie is a Penguin dance...Next week, is Over the Hedge and the kids get to ride a choo choo train...Another week is Barnyard and they will have a petting zoo and another is Charlotte's Web and they will have pony rides. Should be a great time for him...What he will absolutely love is watching a movie outside...Kind of like our own mini drive-in theatre but without cars.

Now we have the whole family together again and I'm enjoying my days so much..Since Vanessa is crawling, Hayden has been having a lot of fun with her and she follows him everywhere, which sometimes annoys him and I laugh...hehhee...So it begins....the tattling has already started also..."Mom, Nessa is touching something"....I keep reminding him that I am the Mom...hehehe....The Apples of My Eyes....most definately!

So much to say...

I have to say I love my blog, I love that I can use it as my journal and share with my friends my thoughts...I know there is quite a few of you who read these and I love your comments and your emails (most of you comment through email). Well, since coming home from Cali, I finished another project, I organized my foyer and it looks SO nice! I wanted to do that for sometime now and it feels good to have it done.

Hayden comes home tomorrow and I am excited!!! I miss him terribly!! I'm very anxious and can't wait to give him hugs and kisses...smiling. My exercise plans are just about to start again, I start back at kickboxing and Hayden starts back at karate...I can't wait because they added a day so now I will be doing it M-W-F, which will be fantastic! I also ran into a friend this morning and she asked if I would be her swimming partner and we would meet at the pool and swim laps at 6 a.m. three mornings a week so I said I would think about it...Well, we start that in September...smiling...So, now I will not only be exercising three hours a week but six and hopefully that will kick up the weight loss...

I just want to be down 3 sizes by June 2008. That's a pretty good goal, not a ton to lose but enough to feel better about myself. In the meantime, I have another plan I am thinking about but I can't tell my secret yet...it's in the works and could take some time to figure out but when it happens, you all will be the first to know...It's not anything exercising, it's just a business venture...

I am just about done with my book club book, it has taken me awhile to read it basically because of limited time...We have a meeting coming up in August so I am cramming it in...but I CANNOT wait to find out what our next one is...I gave Brian a book to read for our trip away and he read the whole book on the plane ride there to Cali and back and let's just say, he is completely addicted to this book...He finished it and then had to do research online about it because he was so intrigued, the book is called The Innocent Man by John Grisham....The book is based on a true story. It was cool to see him get into a book so much..

I should go for now....I know I have so much to say...always...thanks for reading! Wink!

Summer Lovin'

"Summer Lovin' had me a blast"....singing...smiling. I think that is the words...hehehe...Anyways, California was awesome! Had a fantastic time, would do it again...My hubby and I explored and conquered San Diego and ate some of the best food! We really were on vacation and took full advantage of all of our free time. Everyday was such an adventure, we walked miles and miles. I, of course, got a bunch of exercise in, only to ruin it with my dinners...I think I gained about 5 pounds...hehehe...Wouldn't be vacation though if I didn't try all the wonderful Mexican food.

The San Diego zoo was awesome, I saw my panda bear and he didn't see me(He wouldn't turn around) but that was okay...La Jolla Cove and Shores was a fantastic place. I could go on and on but I basically took 204 pictures so that should tell you we did some sight-seeing and many activities. We were whooped by the end of each night. The zoo was 100 acres itself and we walked 99% of it!

Today was the day, July 27th, 2007...my little Vanessa crawled all over the place and boy oh boy, she sure is getting into EVERYTHING! WOW!!! Hayden is going to come back and not know what is going on because she will be following him everywhere...hehhee...Now the fun begins and my time will be very limited...smiling. I can't let her out of my sight, she crawls room to room...Not that I did before but you know, the days of setting her down and she plays in one spot are officially over...Walking is around the corner! WOOHOO!!

Well, I can't believe summer is almost over..really just one more month...gotta get some more Summer Lovin' in fast! Next up, Pennsylvania!

Ahhh...finally some exercise and accomplishments

I finally got some exercise tonight, I went walking with my friend Renee and her daughter Nicole. It wasn't a real long walk, about 45 minutes and then we sat and talked for the last 20 minutes but I worked up a sweat and felt good afterwards. We are walking tomorrow night also so that will be good. Hayden is chasing crabs on the beach in Virginia, he is having a blast...I'm so happy for that. Vanessa has been a lot of fun, still almost crawling.

My hubby put up two shelves in our closet so I got about 85% of the closet done. I wanted to organize it for sometime now and it looks fantastic, I'm so excited. I got all of his side and my side all organized and orderly, as far as our clothes and shoes. All I have left is the side shelves that have all my purses and artwork and paints etc... That all needs organized yet. So, it looks like I will get one of my projects done that I wanted to do while Hayden was away.

I'm meeting several friends this week for lunches and I just love that. I could do that more often, meet friends for lunch and catch up on life. My one friend, Cathy, I only see once every couple years it seems and I get to see her new home this time and I can tell she is just thrilled and feels so blessed to have it. I'm very happy for all her happiness and joy. She deserves it!

This is so funny and those of you who read my blog will laugh but I saw an infomercial today that caught my attention, it was for a product called Flirty Girl Fitness and it is a group of DVDS of dance exercises, like pole dancing and chair dancing and booty dancing...hehehe...The thing about it though, it really looked like fun!...hehehe...I was so tempted..I still am but I may wait until fall when I would do more video exercises. I would buy it now and it will sit along with my Hip Hop Abs...yea that was another one I got off an infomercial...I'm such a sucker!...laughing!!!

You can even buy the pole and it attaches and detaches easy for easy storage, I'm still giggling...you know why, because I can see what would happen, I will put the pole up, attach it and go to spin around it and drill it right through the floor because my butt will be too heavy!
I'm still thinking about buying it though...smiling...Darn infomercials!...At least they give me the drive to do it for the 30 seconds it takes to dial their number, than the stuff comes and goes in...you guessed it, another pile!

I need to get more will power, to stay focused on exercising...at least I'm getting SOME exercise...better than nothing I guess..yea, I'm still thinking about Flirty Girl Fitness....wink!

Relaxing Days

Well, my son is in Virginia Beach, having a great time and I am having a lot of down time...almost too much down time. Wow, when you only have one child around, it is much quieter. I wouldn't say I'm lazier but I'm able to sit down more and enjoy my moments with Vanessa AND my husband. Actually, Brian and I have been having some romantic dinners, last night we had steak and opened a bottle of wine. We have watched a movie the last two nights.

It's quite different not having our busy toddler. I went to some yard sales yesterday and this morning and today I found brand new children's books in mint condition and got 11 books for $6.00, what a steal. I just go for fun and only buy the very nice stuff. I'm super picky when it comes to yard sales. I also got some really nice Danskin workout clothes for me. I usually never buy clothes for me at yard sales but these were really nice.

We leave in 6 days for California and I am just so excited. We decided we have to go and find a vineyard and do some wine sampling one of the days while we are there...I'm looking forward to escaping Ludington and seeing someplace new. Sometimes I just get those urges to go and travel, thankfully we are able to do that. It will also make the time that Hayden is away go by faster...I do miss him...smiling.

I just got an email from one of his favorite music groups and they will be in Ohio and Illinois, it figures he is away and I can't take him. But for all of you that read these blogs and have little ones, this group is really a fun, entertaining group called "The Dirty Sock Funtime Band". Hayden and I LOVE them and dance, dance, dance when we hear them. They are a big hit with kids and you can see them on Noggin on Jack's Big Music Show. There are several really good music groups for kids on there. Two more are "The Laurie Berkner Band" and "Milkshake". He has two of Laurie's cd's and loves to listen to them.

I've been trying to get some walking in and I have but none of it has been for exercise...I found this past month to be so busy...these last couple days of not being busy, I haven't felt like exercising...I actually have felt pretty tired and it could be that all the craziness has caught up with me and I just needed some resting time... I know it feels good to have absolutely nothing on my schedule except a wax and haircut on Thursday...I know starting Monday though, I want to get some things around the house done before going away but it will be nice to just take my time and play with Vanessa in between. I can take her for some walks and to the playground. She just loves the baby swings and giggles away!

I also have a stack of things to read that have piled up for months..mostly magazines but some are for landscaping and gardening..I'm reading up on some different plants and plans and just want to get some ideas of what I want for our next home...Kind of future planning in case we decide to build our next home and even if we don't, we will be buying brand new so I'm cutting out some ideas. That is about all I can do as of now since I don't know what kind of land we will have but I have some neat how-to's that have come in the mail.

Keep in mind, this is stuff that I can't do on a normal basis, that is why the stacks piled up so if there is anytime to do it, it is now...Vanessa sits on the floor and plays for long periods of time so it makes it easy to do things like that and I can sit right next to her and do them. The same with my piles of photographs that need to be put in albums...hopefully I can also get that done while I have this down time. It's just things I put off due to being busy.

One thing I did get done is, I got the kid's journals up to date...I was a few months behind, usually I write in them every few weeks...I started journals with both kids when they were a couple months old and I will write in them until the day they get married and then I will give them to them or if they don't get married, I'll wait until they are ready for it. Something fun for them to look back on...I also have a couple of containers of stuff for scrap booking but lord knows I won't have time for that until they are in school full-time.

It's weird, I can have the house clean, laundry done, kids taken care of, outside all watered and good, etc...everything done and then I look around and all of a sudden there is things to go through, photos to be put away, magazines to be read,...laughing...it's silly, I think, oh I have nothing to do when in all reality there is ALWAYS something to do. So even on my relaxing days...I'm busy....smiling.

My Prayers and Joys

My little man, is in my prayers today...tomorrow, we venture to Ohio where we will meet his grandma and then thursday she will take him to Pennsylvania....so I had a little talk with God to keep all of us safe on our journeys, there will be a lot of traveling going on..Michigan to Ohio, Ohio to Pa...Pa to Virginia, Virginia to Pa...Michigan to California, California to Michigan and then a repeat of Michigan to Ohio and back...yikes!

So, as I put Hayden to bed, I thought of all the things still left to do and he asked if I would rub his belly and I said I'll come back later...I walked out of his room, did something for 5 minutes and went back in and yes, I sat right down next to him, rubbed his belly and showered him with so many kisses and hugs...He giggled in delight because he had his mom there by his side and I felt his delight all the way to my soul...I actually am crying as I type this...smiling...good tears...all good tears..He is my joy in these tears and basically, I'm weeping because I already miss him...smiling.

My darling daughter, is amazing to me also...she is such a peanut at times, a pork peanut...laughing...but stronger than I ever imagined....She has been sitting up on her own from belly to a sit up position for a couple weeks now but tonight she actually crawled backwards a few steps and then sat up...So Hayden and I were on the floor about two feet away encouraging her to get back on her hands and knees and crawl to us and she started to...We both were so excited, she got on her hands and got herself on her knees and moved one arm forward and one leg forward and it was soooo close and then she decided to go backwards again and sit up...I was soooooo proud! Hayden and I cheered and cheered and she smiled big and clapped her hands, it was hysterical!

I believe crawling is in the near future but it could still take awhile, she may be teasing us...smiling. It's funny how every child is different also because we are trying cups and she is not grasping the concept nor does she want to...She gets so mad and cries and turns her head and tightens her lips...I just chuckled today when I tried the cup...She did give it several tries before throwing her tantrum so I still cheered her on...She's just not ready yet and that is okay...I still have lots of time to get her off a bottle before her 1st birthday. She definately has GIRL attitude....hehehe. All I can do is laugh at it right now but give it another 14 years and I probably won't be laughing.

My children are such a joy for me and always in my prayers, I could never imagine life without them...in fact, I really don't remember much about my life before them...They make me whole and complete and I guess my blog today is celebrating them, although I celebrate them everyday!

Fun times and wishes

Well, the weekend is here and it is time for some fun. Tonight we are going to see B.B King in concert and how amazing is that going to be! Definitely a concert to not be missed. Saturday is INXS and Sunday is The Cars, like I said a fun weekend. I haven't gotten to do much exercise only because July has been super busy already but I have taken some walks with the kids. The one day it was a two hour walk and I was definitely feeling like I worked out.

Pushing the stroller, adds some extra weight so hopefully I am burning extra calories! I've been thinking about all the projects I want to do while Hayden is gone for 2 1/2 weeks and the funny thing is, all I want to do is hang with Vanessa and really get some one on one time with her. Maybe I will get to the projects and just maybe I won't and it really doesn't matter....smiling.

I've also added a few things to my "To Do" list when the kids are in school full time. Of course, this list is just in my head so I figured I better actually list them so I don't forget...hehehe.
Ready for this exciting list, smiling, (Anyone reading this probably does not care),

Take a painting class
Start doing my photography again and getting pieces back into galleries
Finish my two children's books that I have started (which will be alot of work, first I MUST buy a new MAC)
Scrapbook
Learn Conga and Steel drums and maybe Saxophone
Start a band and start singing out and about at places.
Take a clay class
Read, Read, Read
Organize EVERYTHING!

So far that is all I have but that is a lot...needless to say, half of which, I'm not sure when I will get to because when the kids are in school, I plan to be VERY involved with school...I hope to be on the PTA board (if Ludington has one) and possibly helping with some kind of coaching.

My latest endeavor, is I'm looking into starting a women's investing club. I can start one through Edward Jones (my hubby's work) and it basically is getting women to invest for their own savings, whether they save it for retirement or save it for if something happens and they need a chunk of money or save it in case anything happens with their health or marriage or whatever. Another Edward Jones spouse does it and was telling me all about it and what a fantastic thing for women. I'm really excited about it.

Well, Hayden leaves on Wednesday for 17 days...sighs...I know he will have so much fun, he has done this the last two years, goes to Pa with his grandparents and then Brian and I have our San Diego trip coming up also and what a fun time that will be. We plan to go to the San Diego Zoo, bike around Seaport Village, take a cruise in the bay, go to La Jolla shores and Gaslamp District, which is a street with nothing but all kinds of different bars from jazz to salsa to blues and they are all smoke-free, yea!!! Didn't I say life right now is nothing but fun times....smiling.

Disappointment is no fun but...life is still good

Well, we didn't win anything at our singing competition and it really sucked but the good news is some of my stage fright has gone away and that is most important. The way the competition was done didn't work very well and needless to say, out of 180 people, at least 50 were kids and they voted for all the comedy acts and other kids performing so some of the winners were not exactly "real talent" but it is okay.

The broker who came up with the whole idea and set everything up was, to put it mildly, very upset about the votes...He apologized to me many times and thanked me for performing. We had just about everyone coming up to us saying they thought for sure we were going to win and of course, that made me more sad and I had to cry but I think I cried, not because we lost so much but because it took every nerve of mine to get up on the stage so it was a personal disappointment for me.

I believe they are doing another talent show in the future and doing it differently...It would have been better had they had categories or something because the top 3 prizes were very serious prizes. Other than that disappointment, we had a great time on Mackinac Island. Brian won some awards, I was so proud of him and we really had a great relaxing time. We walked miles and miles and rode bikes around the whole island which was 8 miles so I definately got lots of exercise and I really did not eat much so that was cool. We also met a wonderful young couple who are new with Edward Jones. They really were so much fun to hang out with.

Hopefully I can keep up with the exercise and eating less, all I know is I have been so hot these last two days and unfortunately that makes me nothing but tired...but we have some concerts coming up and that should be a great time, we also have a playdate on thursday and I get a facial on saturday...didn't I say life is still good! Smiling!

Proud Mama!!!

He did it! Hayden Lee passed his Karate test and got a stripe on his belt!! Woo Hoo!! He also got a certificate and his picture taken and it's going to be in the newspaper...I was and still am, the very proud mom...I had tears in my eyes watching him, he did the best out of all the Little Dragons, not to brag, seriously he did. We captured it all on video tape. They all did super and what I mean about him doing the best, is all his moves were just about perfect and he was the only one who had his hands up at his cheeks during kicks..Little things like that...saying "yes, maam" to his instructor and oh I could go on and on but I am just so darn proud of him!

Today I also had a spa day that my husband had bought for me and that was absolute heaven! The massage therapist was so good I was snoring!!....hehehe...She was fantastic...Then I had a pedicure and manicure and that was very nice also, my feet were in terrible shape because I run around barefoot constantly. I get my facial in a few weeks, I set that aside for another day. Afterwards we went to Muskegon and I found a necklace to go with my pretty dress for our trip to Mackinac Island. I have to say a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders because I was really stressing out about a bunch of things, but one was finding a necklace...

It started out as one of those things I wasn't worried about but now we are 4 days away from leaving so the stress had built up. Well, this has to be brief because today was so busy and I haven't finished getting my hubby's Father's Day gifts ready. He's going to be sooo surprised! I can't wait! He deserves more, he is a fantastic person, husband and father...I'm so lucky in love!

Bummed and happy at the same time...

I am sad and relieved at the same time today...I had my last kickboxing class and I am so bummed out that I have to stop, but our next 6 weeks are crazy busy...Hayden had to also stop karate for right now. He is still having his first test on Saturday and that will get him his first stripe on his belt so I am so excited for that. If we had signed up again, we would have each missed 6 classes in a row right off the bat and so I had to make the difficult decision to stop for now.

I'm relieved in the sense that it is one thing off my shoulders...We have so many fun things coming up and it would have just been a weight on my shoulders knowing we would have to be at a certain place at a certain time and wondering if we could make class or not...Now I feel we can just really enjoy the rest of summer. We are both starting back August 1st so it isn't that bad of a break because I definitely want both of us to continue our classes.

I also had to talk to Hayden's teacher about maybe waiting until he is older to get him started again because I have to take Vanessa and it is a parent participation class and now that she isn't in her car seat to be carried, it makes it so I can't participate. So his instructor told me she was thinking of switching it anyways to a drop off class and we tried it today and he did awesome...

They reviewed for their test on Saturday and she said he did all his moves perfect. Plus, he was the best behaved with me not there. Not that he was bad but between every exercise he wanted to come and hug me and it was distracting when he is in a disciplined environment.

So, in August it will switch to dropping him off and that will be a lot easier with Vanessa...I am also a little bummed about our summer flying by...just yesterday I was outside all day with the kids, Vanessa was in her pool and Hayden was in his and we had so much fun and it was one of my best days so far this summer.

In two weeks it will be July and in that two weeks, we have a lot of stuff going on and also the 4 weeks following so it bums me that I may not have many of those days of lounging in the yard with the kids. We all were laying on a blanket later on in the evening, just playing and tickling each other and Vanessa and Hayden were laughing so much. What a joy it was, I could have stayed there forever.

On a good note, the other students at kickboxing said they will miss me and can't wait until I come back, which is so cool because we all have become pretty close and spend time before and after class getting to know each other. My other joy is, early morning, Vanessa woke up crying, so instead of trying to soothe her, I brought her to bed with me...

She was out within seconds nestled against me and slept like that for a long time afterward. Hayden woke up, came in our room and crawled in bed and all three of us slept a little longer but I was snuggled with them just like on the blanket and again, I didn't want to get up...smiling with tears.

Monthly friend is soon visiting

Yes, my lovely monthly visitor is coming soon because I am eating the whole house down! Not that there is much I can do about it but it reminds me of when I was pregnant and craved just ANYTHING...well, first salt then chocolate...Gotta have the whole salt/sugar duo...smiling...Speaking of which, I ordered, awhile ago, a bucket of popcorn from a boy selling goodies for school...It finally came and sat on our counter for sometime until finally I decided to check it out...BIG MISTAKE!!!...

First of all, it is called Chicago Style Gourmet Popcorn...It's a blend of buttery caramel corn and cheddar cheese popcorn...YES, the ultimate dish for a woman about to get her "visitor"...I never should have opened it because not only do I dig in a little each and every day but so does my husband and I have a little more then and so does my son and I have a little more then...It's a nightmare...a darn good nightmare but I'm on this whole Chicago Style popcorn kick now...

I also hate that every time I walk into the kitchen, I open the refrigerator...I don't even know what I am looking for, just anything I can sink my teeth into...It's so ridiculously funny! So, we have this big summer regional meeting on Mackinaw Island and I want to look good for it so you would think the week before leaving I would eat just salads and light food but instead it's that whole week before a visitor comes where I just want to swallow the refrigerator plus some....sighs...Hopefully my beautiful new dress still fits!...hehehe

Then tonight I went and got my hair highlighted...WOW!!!...It really turned out quite blonde...yikes!!....It took some getting used to and probably just because I haven't done highlighting in over a year but the more I look at it, the more I like it and the more it looks caramel blonde...My friend stopped by and she loved it so I guess that is one good thing...My husband wasn't sure at first (kind of like me) but now he loves it...He thought the hairdresser did it wrong because the bottom is darker but I had her do it that way and then he was like "OHHHHH, I love it!"

Well, I think I have to try to add some more major exercise to make up for all that I am inhaling in food....sighs...as I eat Toasty peanut butter crackers...you know what is next...CHOCOLATE!

Kickboxing Rocks!!

Thursday was unbelievable!! Kickboxing class was absolutely the hardest ever!! She made us do double and triple time on most things because we started the class 6 minutes late. Then the Ludington Daily News was there doing an article on our class and an intern did the class with us and documented our comments and her photographer snapped photos of us during the entire class. So, that ended up being really interesting.

Needless to say, the last 20 minutes of class are ab work and she really kicked our butts! The intern said she didn't know what to expect but this class is really hard. She took a yoga class in town and liked it so much she signed up. I'm not sure she is signing up for kickboxing. We were all sweating out of pores we didn't know we could sweat out of...hehehe...It was crazy, insane, hot as heck and felt darn good afterwards so I guess that is all that mattered.

I had a puddle, literally a puddle, of sweat between my breasts, the sweat was burning my eyes, I had to stop the flow of sweat...(yes I mean flow!!) my arms were bright red, everything burned like fire, my hair was so wet it looked like I took a shower...I came home, my hubby took one look at me and was like, holy cow!!!...He said, WOW, you look exhausted!...I showed him some of the moves we had to do and he couldn't believe it...

One of the most exhausting parts was we had to punch and kick our bag for 3 minutes straight as fast as we could, using the techniques we have learned and you have to constantly move around the bag and if we stopped or slowed down, she would tack on more time to the whole class..It's sounds like 3 minutes isn't long but let me tell you, it is hard as hell, but I did it... barely...The good news is it felt like I had burned 3000 calories!...hehehe...I wish, but I probably burned away everything I had eaten that day and more...Not just from that one exercise, but from the whole hour of class..

To sum it up, I did a kickboxing match literally with a 150 pound bag and beat the crap out of it!...smiling big! Yea for me!!!...Kickboxing rocks!!!

Wednesday is hump day

"Today is hump day", is what my husband said to me this morning...hehehe..I never heard of it until I came to Michigan I think it is the funniest thing calling Wednesday hump day because, your halfway through the week and on your way to the weekend. Of course, in his mind, he was thinking other thoughts as he said it with a devilish smile. Gotta love him!

We have been practicing singing for a competition we have coming up in about two weeks and I have been trying to build my confidence more. I think I sing pretty good, it's just I have terrible stage fright so then I mess up or shake and it sounds bad. I keep visualizing a huge crowd in front of me because, to be honest it will be a huge crowd...Makes me slightly sick to my stomach. So, I'm trying to really be positive and hold my head high and act like I am this great thing and I sit at the end of practicing thinking the very opposite...I have two weeks to really perfect this and not take it so seriously. I mean this will be in front of brokers and their wives, half of which probably have no musical talent so we will sound like Gods to them...laughing!

I also pray everyday to make this fear go away. The fear I suddenly got after being raped my senior year. I was always so fearless, I would do anything...I would sing in front of thousands if someone let me, I was moving to New York to pursue my dreams of singing and acting...It all slipped away after a date rape. I lost the one thing that was so important to my being...my fearlessness. So now at 36 years old, I still fear the stage trying desperately to get over it. My own personal battle, my own bad self-esteem...

The one thing I have gained through the years though is being able to be strong and speak my mind. I used to hide my feelings and just try to please everyone but somewhere along the way, I believe motherhood and womanhood came and I changed. So Wednesday is hump day and I'm actually looking forward to the weekend and being outside all day everyday. The weather should be letting up by then. Maybe the clouds will lift from my being also and I can sing my songs with no stage fright...smiling.

Rainy Mondays and Stuff

Rainy Mondays always make me tired....sighs...All I want to do is read and sit around and be lazy today but with two kids that is impossible...Life couldn't be much better actually..I have two great kids, a wonderful husband, a roof over my head and lots of love. What more could I possibly want right? Well, the fact that my blog name is babyjellybelly should tell you something...laughing!

Yes, the biggest pouch you ever saw sits on my gut from my two beautiful children...smiling big! I'm slowly working into having the unbelievable will power and drive, my sister-in-law has, to exercise my brains out. She is amazing and inspiring truly. I guess my approach is a little slower because honestly, I am eating up every second of my youngest child being a baby since I won't be having anymore and that makes life pretty much stop...

I enjoy our moments sitting on the floor or a blanket outside watching her big brother and in the end I'm not getting much exercise but I'm able to write in her journal all the wonderful small memories we are already creating. So life has taken me to a little bit slower pace at this time but what a joy watching and playing with my kids is everyday. I figure if the weight has to slowly come off for now, that is fine. What if I'm not here in a week, what would I want the last thing I had done to be? Sitting with my kids and playing.

So as envious as I can get about others exercise and weight loss, maybe someone somewhere is envious of me and the time I spend with my children. My day will come where I can focus on me but as of now, it is my children because they grow so fast too quickly and I don't want to miss a thing. Just yesterday, I sat with my 7 month old and she was so involved in a book and I layed on the floor watching every move she made and watched her little brain spinning, her hands feeling every little inch of that book and her eyes amazed at the colors and patterns. That is my life right now. Last night, I listened to my 3 year old read me a book and what joy I have in knowing he is going to do so well this Fall when he starts preschool. Oh, how emotional I can also get on rainy Mondays. Smiling.