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!