Every parent will agree with me, bedtime for children is one of the highlights of the day. Or if you've had a rough day, or the kids have been terrors all day, it is THE highlight of the day. But somehow bedtime becomes the hardest part of the day.
Children believe this is a conspiracy by parents to make them miss out on all the best stuff. They must think that once they're asleep, Mom and Dad are going to pull out these cool things to play with, all the candy and junk food to eat, and have a blast without the kids. At least, that's what I used to think when my parents put me to bed. Truth is, we're just so exhausted from the day, once the kids are asleep, we pass out too.
Bedtime at our house can turn into a circus. It usually starts around the time it starts getting dark. The oldest one starts, "I want to stay up." "Hey momma, let's have a movie night." "I'm not sleepy yet." "Since I don't have school in the morning, how about I stay up tonight and sleep late in the morning." (By the way all you new parents or people thinking about having kids, the term "sleep in" no longer applies, you might get to sleep until 7:30, if you're very lucky.)
Once I actually announce "Bedtime" to the kiddos, they run in different directions. The oldest runs to his room and picks out a stack of books that would take two hours to read while the youngest runs to our room yelling "Daddy's bed! Daddy's bed! Daddy's bed!" I firmly tell Connor to pick ONE book while grabbing Kenny off our bed. That's when the tears begin. "But I want to read two!" "NO! DADDY'S BED!"
Here lately I've been able to bribe Kenny back to his and Connor's room by saying we're reading a book. Then Kenny wants to read One Foot, Two Feet, while Connor wants to read How The Grinch Stole Christmas. We literally have hundreds of books for the kids as we've signed them both up for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library when they were born, so the fact that they pick out the same book night after night can get frustrating. But I read them, over...and over...and over.
So after finally settling on a book, we sit down on Kenny's bed and I read to them, doing all the voices, playing up the dramatic parts, and having Kenny point out different things from the pages. After this Connor hops up into his bed yelling "Cover me up! I want a super kiss and super hug!"
Let me just pause here and explain the super kiss and super hug. When Connor was about 3, I would kiss him good night and before I could leave the room, he'd wipe his kiss off and say I had to kiss him again. After a couple of nights of kissing him over and over (which I never get tired of doing, unless it's 8pm and I've spent all day chasing him around) I told him I was going to give him the super duper mommy kiss that could never ever be wiped off no matter how much he wiped his face. I then grabbed his face with both hands and planted a kiss on his cheek that lasted a good minute, with me making all kinds of kissy sounds. Then I had to do the same thing with the hugs. After that, I could give him one big kiss and the leave the room. So now every night, both boys want the super kiss and super hug.
Ok, back to our bedtime routine. So Connor is in his bed asking for the super kiss and super hug. I'm still at Kenny's bed, trying to get him to be still long enough for me to cover him up, because it's this time that he realizes the whole reading a book thing was a rouse to get him into his bed. Now he starts hollering for Daddy's bed again. After a few tries of tucking him in, I give up on covering him up right then and I order him to stay in that bed.
I turn to Connor, pull the covers up around him, give him his super kiss and super hug and tell him I love him. I then turn back around just in time to catch Kenny and put him back in his bed. It's usually at this time Daddy comes in and gives hims a big hug and tells him he has to stay in his bed. Kenny will calm down some as Daddy lays him down and covers him up then gives Connor night-night hugs and kisses.
Alls good until we turn out the light and leave the room. Kenny starts crying again. And not just "I'm mad" cry, this is a full on "You've broken my heart into teeny tiny pieces, I'll never be the same, I can't believe you'd leave me like this" heart wrenching cry. Even after almost three years of hearing this cry, it still gets to me. I don't know how he can sound like this every time he cries, but he has definitely perfected the heart wrenching cry. I poke my head around the door and tell him to be quiet.
Usually after this he settles down and we don't hear any more out of either of them until around 6:30am. That's our normal bedtime routine.
There are the occasional nights that Connor is crying just as hard as Kenny while tucking them in because he can't find one of his three animals that he sleeps with. He has Puppy, a small, tan blanket that has the head, tail, and feet of a puppy, Scary Bear, a black bear my parents brought him home from Gatlinburg, he's wearing a green Smokey Mountain hoodie and scares away any monsters that try to get in the room at night (hence his name Scary Bear) and Blue Bear, a blue, furry teddy bear. If even one of these characters is missing when it's bedtime, Connor hits meltdown mode. No substitutions will do, it has to be Puppy, Scary Bear and Blue Bear. I have scoured the house before looking for one or the other, even checking behind the couch and in closets and bathrooms. Once located, Connor is fine and goes right to sleep.
And then there's the nights we have a little visitor come crawl in the bed with us. At any time of night, I'll hear Daddy wake up with a start and Kenny will be standing there, staring, wanting in the bed with us. Brad will pick him up and put him between us. I usually give Kenny a little bit to go back to sleep and then I'll pick him up and take him back to his bed. Sometimes I don't hear him come in and I'll just wake up to him kicking me in the back or I'll roll over to see his face right there in mine.
I miss the days when Brad and I got ready to go to bed, we just got in the bed. We didn't have to put up with screaming fits, or little ones climbing in the bed between us, or being made to feel like I'm a horrible person just by laying them down and telling them to go to sleep. No doubt my kids think I'm just being mean, just torturing them, by making them go to bed every night. And I know that once they get older, all this will go away and there'll be days I won't be able to get them out of the bed. But I will always tuck them in and give them goodnight kisses for as long as I can get away with it. Even if they are crying cause they don't want to go to sleep.
Monday, January 6, 2014
Thursday, November 21, 2013
The Creep Factor
Yes, I know, it's been a few since my last entry. I've been one busy momma! Adjusting to a schedule since Connor started school has been more than interesting, Kenny getting used to Connor not being here has taken up more than a few days of constantly peeling him off my legs, and this exciting new hobby/business as a photographer has kept a lot of weekends and extra time consumed with taking pictures, viewing pictures and editing pictures!
But that's not what I wanted to talk about today.
You know, a lot of people have a lot of advice when you become pregnant, when you have a newborn, pretty much any new stage of childhood, you get all kinds of either unwanted or sought after advice. I've read all these lists people post about "things they never tell you about being a mom", or "Ten things I wish I had known when I had a baby". I've read hundreds of these lists before. I've laughed at some of the things like, "You will never sleep again." True. I've teared up at things like "you will never know love until your son gives you a kiss and says 'I love you' all on his own." Which my two year old has recently taken to doing, and every kiss I get I squeal and tell him how much I love his kisses and his face just lights up.
But there is one thing I have never seen on any of these lists that I'm going to share with you now. No one tells you how creepy your kids will be! Seriously, they can scare the ever living daylights out of you. I'm not easily scared, okay, I like the jolt of adrenaline I feel with a good scare. But these toddlers are like combining all the horror movies and horror stories together into one small package. Stephen King has nothing on my two year old!
Why does he feel the need to come into our bedroom at 2am and just stand there, right beside our faces, for ten minutes without saying a word? Why can't he just crawl in bed with us? That's just what I need in the middle of the night, to roll over and have these huge eyes just starting at me two inches from my face! Once we wake up...with a shout of fear...and ask him what he wants, then he crawls in the bed and covers up, smiling at us. I heard him one night come into our room and go over to his daddy's side of the bed. I didn't move, I wanted to see just how long he stood there. I know I laid there at least five minutes before I felt my husband stir, then he jumped and I heard him ask Kenny what he wanted, which Kenny answered by crawling up into the bed.
Then there's the 'waking up after nap' scare he likes to do. He'll get up, silently, walk down the hall just a little way, and stand just out of sight. He'll stand there until I see him and tell him it's okay to be up. I've been walking through the house and just all of a sudden be aware that I'm being watched from the hallway or catch a glimpse of him out of the corner of my eye. I have actually started down the hall and he just be there and it makes me give a little shout every time!
He also has a habit of standing right outside the bathroom door, still and quiet, just waiting to scare the crud out of me when I come walking out. Oh, and when he does this while I'm expecting him to still be asleep is especially scary! One day here recently I had put him down for his nap and gone to take a shower. I left the bathroom door open so I could hear him if he called. I got out of the shower, walked past the bathroom door and there was nothing there, I turned around for a second and when I turned back, there he was, just standing there, like he'd been there for a while! It took ten minutes for my heart to beat normally after that one.
Let's not forget the creepy things they can say that makes you just stop cold. When my five year old was about three, he kept telling me at night he was scared in his room, he didn't want to go to sleep. I asked him what he was scared of. He pointed to the corner and said, "the little girl." ......uh...... And there was the time during potty training that, while Connor was sitting on his training toilet and I was sitting on the side of the tub waiting, he suddenly looked up over my head, followed something back and forth with his eyes (me thinking there was a bug or something I looked up ready to swat but saw nothing in the room with us), waved his hand and then said "ok, he's gone."
There have been other creepy things he's said over the years that would make me pause. And I'm sure once Kenny gets to talking really good he'll have his fair share of creepy statements.
So the next time someone is telling you all about what to expect when having kids, or you're reading all these posts by people who have those cute lists on things they never knew, just remember, kids are also creepy!
But that's not what I wanted to talk about today.
You know, a lot of people have a lot of advice when you become pregnant, when you have a newborn, pretty much any new stage of childhood, you get all kinds of either unwanted or sought after advice. I've read all these lists people post about "things they never tell you about being a mom", or "Ten things I wish I had known when I had a baby". I've read hundreds of these lists before. I've laughed at some of the things like, "You will never sleep again." True. I've teared up at things like "you will never know love until your son gives you a kiss and says 'I love you' all on his own." Which my two year old has recently taken to doing, and every kiss I get I squeal and tell him how much I love his kisses and his face just lights up.
But there is one thing I have never seen on any of these lists that I'm going to share with you now. No one tells you how creepy your kids will be! Seriously, they can scare the ever living daylights out of you. I'm not easily scared, okay, I like the jolt of adrenaline I feel with a good scare. But these toddlers are like combining all the horror movies and horror stories together into one small package. Stephen King has nothing on my two year old!
Why does he feel the need to come into our bedroom at 2am and just stand there, right beside our faces, for ten minutes without saying a word? Why can't he just crawl in bed with us? That's just what I need in the middle of the night, to roll over and have these huge eyes just starting at me two inches from my face! Once we wake up...with a shout of fear...and ask him what he wants, then he crawls in the bed and covers up, smiling at us. I heard him one night come into our room and go over to his daddy's side of the bed. I didn't move, I wanted to see just how long he stood there. I know I laid there at least five minutes before I felt my husband stir, then he jumped and I heard him ask Kenny what he wanted, which Kenny answered by crawling up into the bed.
Then there's the 'waking up after nap' scare he likes to do. He'll get up, silently, walk down the hall just a little way, and stand just out of sight. He'll stand there until I see him and tell him it's okay to be up. I've been walking through the house and just all of a sudden be aware that I'm being watched from the hallway or catch a glimpse of him out of the corner of my eye. I have actually started down the hall and he just be there and it makes me give a little shout every time!
He also has a habit of standing right outside the bathroom door, still and quiet, just waiting to scare the crud out of me when I come walking out. Oh, and when he does this while I'm expecting him to still be asleep is especially scary! One day here recently I had put him down for his nap and gone to take a shower. I left the bathroom door open so I could hear him if he called. I got out of the shower, walked past the bathroom door and there was nothing there, I turned around for a second and when I turned back, there he was, just standing there, like he'd been there for a while! It took ten minutes for my heart to beat normally after that one.
Let's not forget the creepy things they can say that makes you just stop cold. When my five year old was about three, he kept telling me at night he was scared in his room, he didn't want to go to sleep. I asked him what he was scared of. He pointed to the corner and said, "the little girl." ......uh...... And there was the time during potty training that, while Connor was sitting on his training toilet and I was sitting on the side of the tub waiting, he suddenly looked up over my head, followed something back and forth with his eyes (me thinking there was a bug or something I looked up ready to swat but saw nothing in the room with us), waved his hand and then said "ok, he's gone."
There have been other creepy things he's said over the years that would make me pause. And I'm sure once Kenny gets to talking really good he'll have his fair share of creepy statements.
So the next time someone is telling you all about what to expect when having kids, or you're reading all these posts by people who have those cute lists on things they never knew, just remember, kids are also creepy!
Friday, May 3, 2013
Oh April, You Crazy Month
Yes, I know it's been a while since I've wrote anything on here. April has just been the craziest month for me! I'm exhausted and ready for a little calm. I was hoping May would be nicer, but it's shaping up to be nearly as busy. And the year is only going to get more interesting as it progresses......yay me?
First of all, the weather has me all messed up. This is spring right? April and May are spring months? I live in Tennessee, where April and May are supposed to be nice. Somebody forgot to tell them that. April couldn't make up it's mind if it wanted to be spring or winter. One day we'd have sunny, warm weather, we could wear shorts and flip flops. The next day it would be in the thirties, threatening snow. And the next it would be pouring down rain and thunder storms rolling in. We never knew how to dress going out because it might start out in the 70's, but drop to the 50's in a single afternoon. Now May is here and it's just wet. Today is the second day of rain. Where's spring? When do I get to say "Spring has sprung"? When can I safely go out in my shorts and flip flops and not have to worry about freezing or getting drenched?
This April I turned 29. I can remember when I was younger, maybe around ten years ago or so, thinking I wasn't going to get weird when I got to 29 and 30 like a lot of women do. I was going to be proud to be 30, I was going to embrace it. After all, it's just a number right? Weeeeellllllll. Now that I'm here....I'm not going to say I'm getting weird, but 29 will be my last birthday. Why does 30 sound so different from any other age I've turned? I know I won't reach 30 until next April, but it's closer now than it has ever been. I don't feel 29. I still feel like a kid. I was talking with my cousin, who's five days older than me, and we agree that we still feel like we're just playing house and playing mom. We don't feel like adults.
Also this April I registered my oldest son for Kindergarten. Talk about a kick in the gut. I look at him and still see my baby boy. He's not big enough to start school. He's not ready for this. It doesn't seem like he's been here for almost five years and is now about to go to school. It doesn't seem fair that I get my babies every day all day for five years of their life, then at five years old, they start school and will be in school 7 hours a day, 5 days a week, 10 months out of the year for the rest of their young life. What about me? But then again, both my sons together have been amping up the crazy in the house here lately. When they're together, they seem to be able to find every one of my stress buttons and the push them like a gamer fighting off the bad guys in one of those video games. My oldest spent most of the day with his grandma the other day and having just my youngest son was a breeze. It was so much calmer. And I realized, "this is what it'll be like when the oldest goes to school". It was like a light turned on at the end of a tunnel. How soon does August get here? Although I'm still nervous, and I wish I had more time with him before he starts his school career, I'm excited for him too. He's going to be okay.....I hope.
And last but not least, the biggest surprise we got towards the end of April. I'm going to be an Aunt. My little sister and her husband have been trying for a few months now to get pregnant. She called me the day before my birthday and told me the exciting news. Come December, they're having a baby! So now when I'm on the phone with her, all we talk about is baby. I'm trying not be one of those, "Well when I was pregnant" and "What I did was" kind of people. This will be an interesting 7 more months. My sister is.....well, it's hard to describe her, she's a lot like me in the hard headed and stubborn department. She's persistent when she sets her mind to something, and she can question you to death as well as any four year old. I've already been drilled on everything from early pregnancy symptoms (Thank goodness she's not had any morning sickness) to what the epidural felt like and if she should get one. (Which, based on my last experience with one, I will probably never get another epidural if I should have another baby) But my sister is also kindhearted, loves kids, and I have no doubt she'll be a loving mother. If we can all get through her pregnancy with our sanity intact! And I can't wait to meet little Wilson or Wendy!
So April was all over the place for me. May is looking somewhat better, but I have my first real photo-shoot scheduled, so I'm studying up on what I need to know. There's a big mud bog event scheduled just down the road from us, it was fun last year and I got some great pictures, so hoping this year will be even better. There's a couple of movies coming out I have to see in the theater, including the new Star Trek. Yes. I am a Trekkie. Judge me if you want, I don't care. I take my oldest for his Kindergarten screening and I get to meet with the principle to try and get him in Mrs. Angie's class. She's not only our cousin, but she was my Kindergarten teacher, and I think that would be awesome! And then we get to prepare for June, which holds our 9th wedding anniversary and our youngest's second birthday.
Wish me luck in this fun filled year!
First of all, the weather has me all messed up. This is spring right? April and May are spring months? I live in Tennessee, where April and May are supposed to be nice. Somebody forgot to tell them that. April couldn't make up it's mind if it wanted to be spring or winter. One day we'd have sunny, warm weather, we could wear shorts and flip flops. The next day it would be in the thirties, threatening snow. And the next it would be pouring down rain and thunder storms rolling in. We never knew how to dress going out because it might start out in the 70's, but drop to the 50's in a single afternoon. Now May is here and it's just wet. Today is the second day of rain. Where's spring? When do I get to say "Spring has sprung"? When can I safely go out in my shorts and flip flops and not have to worry about freezing or getting drenched?
This April I turned 29. I can remember when I was younger, maybe around ten years ago or so, thinking I wasn't going to get weird when I got to 29 and 30 like a lot of women do. I was going to be proud to be 30, I was going to embrace it. After all, it's just a number right? Weeeeellllllll. Now that I'm here....I'm not going to say I'm getting weird, but 29 will be my last birthday. Why does 30 sound so different from any other age I've turned? I know I won't reach 30 until next April, but it's closer now than it has ever been. I don't feel 29. I still feel like a kid. I was talking with my cousin, who's five days older than me, and we agree that we still feel like we're just playing house and playing mom. We don't feel like adults.
Also this April I registered my oldest son for Kindergarten. Talk about a kick in the gut. I look at him and still see my baby boy. He's not big enough to start school. He's not ready for this. It doesn't seem like he's been here for almost five years and is now about to go to school. It doesn't seem fair that I get my babies every day all day for five years of their life, then at five years old, they start school and will be in school 7 hours a day, 5 days a week, 10 months out of the year for the rest of their young life. What about me? But then again, both my sons together have been amping up the crazy in the house here lately. When they're together, they seem to be able to find every one of my stress buttons and the push them like a gamer fighting off the bad guys in one of those video games. My oldest spent most of the day with his grandma the other day and having just my youngest son was a breeze. It was so much calmer. And I realized, "this is what it'll be like when the oldest goes to school". It was like a light turned on at the end of a tunnel. How soon does August get here? Although I'm still nervous, and I wish I had more time with him before he starts his school career, I'm excited for him too. He's going to be okay.....I hope.
And last but not least, the biggest surprise we got towards the end of April. I'm going to be an Aunt. My little sister and her husband have been trying for a few months now to get pregnant. She called me the day before my birthday and told me the exciting news. Come December, they're having a baby! So now when I'm on the phone with her, all we talk about is baby. I'm trying not be one of those, "Well when I was pregnant" and "What I did was" kind of people. This will be an interesting 7 more months. My sister is.....well, it's hard to describe her, she's a lot like me in the hard headed and stubborn department. She's persistent when she sets her mind to something, and she can question you to death as well as any four year old. I've already been drilled on everything from early pregnancy symptoms (Thank goodness she's not had any morning sickness) to what the epidural felt like and if she should get one. (Which, based on my last experience with one, I will probably never get another epidural if I should have another baby) But my sister is also kindhearted, loves kids, and I have no doubt she'll be a loving mother. If we can all get through her pregnancy with our sanity intact! And I can't wait to meet little Wilson or Wendy!
So April was all over the place for me. May is looking somewhat better, but I have my first real photo-shoot scheduled, so I'm studying up on what I need to know. There's a big mud bog event scheduled just down the road from us, it was fun last year and I got some great pictures, so hoping this year will be even better. There's a couple of movies coming out I have to see in the theater, including the new Star Trek. Yes. I am a Trekkie. Judge me if you want, I don't care. I take my oldest for his Kindergarten screening and I get to meet with the principle to try and get him in Mrs. Angie's class. She's not only our cousin, but she was my Kindergarten teacher, and I think that would be awesome! And then we get to prepare for June, which holds our 9th wedding anniversary and our youngest's second birthday.
Wish me luck in this fun filled year!
Friday, March 15, 2013
My Weight-loss Journey
I have finally started to seriously start losing weight and getting healthy. As a little kid I was what they called a skinny minnie. I was a picky eater who never sat still. I can remember so many times my parents trying, begging, threatening, bargaining to try and get me to eat. When I reached middle school I finally decided to start trying new foods and I liked it. I started gaining weight and I got a little hefty. I was never over weight, but I was a little bigger than I probably should've been. I was not athletic at all, I didn't have an athletic bone in my body. I hated any kind of physical activity because I wasn't any good at it. When I reached high school I knew I was heavier than some of the girls, but I wasn't really worried about it. I had my friends who liked me for me and I didn't try to change myself for anyone. Until Prom came up. I started trying to lose a little weight cause I wanted to look good in my prom dress. I succeeded too! I lost a little and had a sort of flat stomach. I kept the weight off for two years and then I got married. In the first four years of my marriage I gained just a little weight, enough that it was starting to show. In the fourth year I got pregnant with our first son and after that I had that "mom pooch" around my waist that never went away. After our second son was born it got worse and I weighed the most I've ever weighed in my life. I'm about 5'4 and I weighed 147lbs. I was not happy with that. For two years I would stare at my body in the mirror wishing I looked better. I didn't like the way clothes looked on me, I didn't like how I felt about my body, and I knew there was only one way to fix it. But for two years I kept telling myself that I didn't have time for a workout routine, that I wasn't really fat, it would go away on its own, that I couldn't do a workout, I wasn't strong enough or coordinated enough. Then I started seeing other women my age on Facebook telling about their weightloss. I wanted that. I wanted to be able to post before and after pictures and say how many pounds I had lost.
I finally started one day after two years of putting it off. I started slow. I own Zumba Fitness 2 for Wii, and I started with that every other day. Zumba is so much fun and burns so many calories. After about a month of Zumba every other day I had lost two pounds. That was good, but I wanted more. So I borrowed the X-Factor ST workout from my sister in law, I printed out the workout calendar it provided, I stuck the Week 1 DVD in and I began. I am in Week 6 and have lost five more pounds. I'm down to 140 and I feel great.
It's been hard. I've changed some of eating habits, given up a few things and replaced them with healthier choices. I admit to that I slacked off my workout once one week and once the next week, then my mother took me to Applebees and I stuffed myself. With the slack off and the extra food, I gained two pounds back. But I'm working them off extra hard.
I've also started Zumba at my church once a week. I carry my Wii and my Zumba game and I boogie with a few of my church members! That's a sight, older people doing cha-cha's and salsa!! Even my pastor, his wife and my own parents have joined in. Everyone who has tried it has loved it.
When I get through with X-Factor in two weeks, I'm starting Les Mills Body Combat that I have ordered and is on it's way. My husbands cousin who lives in Wisconsin is a coach for BeachBody and she convinced me to get Body Combat and we're going to go through it together.
So if you're like me, thinking you'd like to do a workout and lose weight, but you don't think you can, take it from me. You can. I really did not believe I had it in me to do the moves: pushups, squats, lunges, planks. They seemed so hard and I knew I was not strong. But I did it. Some I have to modify so that I can get through them but that's okay. As long as you're doing as much as you can do, you're getting a good workout. Even though I'm doing assisted pushups on my knees, it's still a lot better than sitting on the couch watching tv, which is how I used to spend my mornings. Sometimes during the workout I have to stop and rest, sometimes I'm going slower than the trainer. But that's better than walking around with a box of Cheez-Its in my hand.
I wanted to share my journey with you. It's been a little over two months so far, and I plan on it going for a very long time. My overall goal is to lose the 'pooch' around my stomach and tone up my muscles. I'm not concerned too much over the number I weigh. As long as I'm fit and healthy. I'm not looking for a body like those Hollywood skeletons, I don't want my bones showing through. I hope my story has encouraged you to consider where you want to be and what you have to do to get there.
I finally started one day after two years of putting it off. I started slow. I own Zumba Fitness 2 for Wii, and I started with that every other day. Zumba is so much fun and burns so many calories. After about a month of Zumba every other day I had lost two pounds. That was good, but I wanted more. So I borrowed the X-Factor ST workout from my sister in law, I printed out the workout calendar it provided, I stuck the Week 1 DVD in and I began. I am in Week 6 and have lost five more pounds. I'm down to 140 and I feel great.
It's been hard. I've changed some of eating habits, given up a few things and replaced them with healthier choices. I admit to that I slacked off my workout once one week and once the next week, then my mother took me to Applebees and I stuffed myself. With the slack off and the extra food, I gained two pounds back. But I'm working them off extra hard.
I've also started Zumba at my church once a week. I carry my Wii and my Zumba game and I boogie with a few of my church members! That's a sight, older people doing cha-cha's and salsa!! Even my pastor, his wife and my own parents have joined in. Everyone who has tried it has loved it.
When I get through with X-Factor in two weeks, I'm starting Les Mills Body Combat that I have ordered and is on it's way. My husbands cousin who lives in Wisconsin is a coach for BeachBody and she convinced me to get Body Combat and we're going to go through it together.
So if you're like me, thinking you'd like to do a workout and lose weight, but you don't think you can, take it from me. You can. I really did not believe I had it in me to do the moves: pushups, squats, lunges, planks. They seemed so hard and I knew I was not strong. But I did it. Some I have to modify so that I can get through them but that's okay. As long as you're doing as much as you can do, you're getting a good workout. Even though I'm doing assisted pushups on my knees, it's still a lot better than sitting on the couch watching tv, which is how I used to spend my mornings. Sometimes during the workout I have to stop and rest, sometimes I'm going slower than the trainer. But that's better than walking around with a box of Cheez-Its in my hand.
I wanted to share my journey with you. It's been a little over two months so far, and I plan on it going for a very long time. My overall goal is to lose the 'pooch' around my stomach and tone up my muscles. I'm not concerned too much over the number I weigh. As long as I'm fit and healthy. I'm not looking for a body like those Hollywood skeletons, I don't want my bones showing through. I hope my story has encouraged you to consider where you want to be and what you have to do to get there.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Boys are......Different
As most of you know, I am mom to two boys. If you count my husband, three boys! Cause we all know grown men are just boys in big bodies! Sometimes I watch the three of them doing something together I wonder what in the world is going through their heads?! Unfortunately , (so far) I don't have a little girl. So I really have nothing to measure the difference between little boys and little girls, but I have to think, (maybe hope) that little girls aren't like little boys. I'm still hoping to have a little girl someday, but that's in God's hands. God, in His all knowing wisdom, and to my befuddlement, has seen fit to give me two.....boys. I say that hesitantly because I think my boys aren't all boy.
They're a mixed breed. I have seen:
1) Monkey: their feet hardly stay on the ground. They are always climbing on something. Every time I turn around I'm having to pull my almost two year old off of something. A chair, the back of the couch, the kitchen table, his table, the breakfast bar, the front of his high chair, etc. I'm surprised I haven't caught him dangling from the light fixtures yet.
2) Howler Monkey: My ears ring all the time because they think it's so much fun to scream out at the top of their lungs for no reason. When one starts, the other starts copying. You know, monkey see, monkey do! I don't know if they're trying to see who can scream the loudest, or the highest pitch, or what, but I'm surprised I can still hear.
3) Octopus: These boys can have more arms and hands than I do. It seems no matter how far out of reach I put something, they can still reach it. If I had a dime for the number of times I've taken things away from them they're not supposed to have, I'd be a billionaire. I can set down here at my computer to do things and here comes the two year old. He starts grabbing. I move things from one end of the table I'm sitting at to the other three or four times. You'd think all those toys they have would be enough, but no, they only want the things they can't have.
4) Monsters: Some of the sounds that come out of these boys are not human. They growl and groan and sometimes I think there has to be something other worldly in the house with me. Then I realize it's just them. The two year old does the most growling, but his older brother holds his own.
I've also noticed several things they have become proficient in. And I'm afraid that they'll only get better at these things as they get older. So here's a list of occupations they could be gainfully employed in when they reach adulthood:
1) Demolition Crew: If they go into business together in this, they'll make an absolute fortune and take care of me and their Daddy for the rest of our lives. I can't count on both hands the number of things I've had to super glue back together, or the things that just wouldn't go back together. I have a waiting list of my things that are waiting to be glued back together. There's a little hole in their wall behind their door that mysteriously appeared. You cannot leave them alone with a roll of toilet paper if you want any toilet paper left on the roll. And if they can't break it, they'll lose it.
2) Police/Soldier: They're scared of nothing. They'll try anything. Even after be threatened with a spanking, they'll go ahead and do what they were just told not to do. Even if they just got hurt doing something, they'll turn right back around and do it again. They have bravery just oozing out of them. Not to mention everything they pick up suddenly becomes a weapon. Nothing turns on my mom radar more than hearing my oldest say, "Come on, let's fight!"
3) Comedians: They could be a team! The oldest has a witty sense of humor and can say the funniest things at the perfect time. The youngest has a more physical sense of humor. Faces and body language is his specialty.
4) Nude Models: Not a profession I will allow them to do, but trying to keep clothes on these kids is near 'bout impossible! I can put pants and a shirt on the oldest and ten minutes later he'll come through the room in his undies! For no reason at all. And if I don't keep pants on the youngest, then before I know it, he'll come through without a diaper on.
5) Ninjas: For someone who is always making noise they can be sneaky when they want to be. I've always heard that when the kids get quiet, you better start worrying. When my kids get quiet I get down right scared! It doesn't take but a blink of an eye for them to get into something they're not supposed to.
You know the saying that boys are just noise with dirt on them. It's true, just in case you were wondering. My boys are always making noise, even when they're sleeping. And they're always covered in some kind of dirt, and usually it's sticky. The oldest has this one spot on his cheek that always has a black streak. I can wash it off and five minutes later it's back. The youngest usually has his dirt around his mouth. I sometimes wonder if dirt and stickiness grows from the boys, like instead of sweating, they just ooze dirt.
But you know, I wouldn't have it any other way. I love my boys, all three of them, more than anything on this earth. It's amazing to me that my husband and I could create something so wondrous and perfect as these two little boys. They can do something and I think, that is their Daddy in them, then they can do something and I see myself. My babies are healthy, happy, they have a good nature, smart, funny, and imaginative. I couldn't ask for anything more. I know all the things they do right now that annoy me, make me mad or frustrated, will pass. They'll grow out of it. I'm so proud of my howler monkey octopus monster comedian, demolition nudist ninjas!
They're a mixed breed. I have seen:
1) Monkey: their feet hardly stay on the ground. They are always climbing on something. Every time I turn around I'm having to pull my almost two year old off of something. A chair, the back of the couch, the kitchen table, his table, the breakfast bar, the front of his high chair, etc. I'm surprised I haven't caught him dangling from the light fixtures yet.
2) Howler Monkey: My ears ring all the time because they think it's so much fun to scream out at the top of their lungs for no reason. When one starts, the other starts copying. You know, monkey see, monkey do! I don't know if they're trying to see who can scream the loudest, or the highest pitch, or what, but I'm surprised I can still hear.
3) Octopus: These boys can have more arms and hands than I do. It seems no matter how far out of reach I put something, they can still reach it. If I had a dime for the number of times I've taken things away from them they're not supposed to have, I'd be a billionaire. I can set down here at my computer to do things and here comes the two year old. He starts grabbing. I move things from one end of the table I'm sitting at to the other three or four times. You'd think all those toys they have would be enough, but no, they only want the things they can't have.
4) Monsters: Some of the sounds that come out of these boys are not human. They growl and groan and sometimes I think there has to be something other worldly in the house with me. Then I realize it's just them. The two year old does the most growling, but his older brother holds his own.
I've also noticed several things they have become proficient in. And I'm afraid that they'll only get better at these things as they get older. So here's a list of occupations they could be gainfully employed in when they reach adulthood:
1) Demolition Crew: If they go into business together in this, they'll make an absolute fortune and take care of me and their Daddy for the rest of our lives. I can't count on both hands the number of things I've had to super glue back together, or the things that just wouldn't go back together. I have a waiting list of my things that are waiting to be glued back together. There's a little hole in their wall behind their door that mysteriously appeared. You cannot leave them alone with a roll of toilet paper if you want any toilet paper left on the roll. And if they can't break it, they'll lose it.
2) Police/Soldier: They're scared of nothing. They'll try anything. Even after be threatened with a spanking, they'll go ahead and do what they were just told not to do. Even if they just got hurt doing something, they'll turn right back around and do it again. They have bravery just oozing out of them. Not to mention everything they pick up suddenly becomes a weapon. Nothing turns on my mom radar more than hearing my oldest say, "Come on, let's fight!"
3) Comedians: They could be a team! The oldest has a witty sense of humor and can say the funniest things at the perfect time. The youngest has a more physical sense of humor. Faces and body language is his specialty.
4) Nude Models: Not a profession I will allow them to do, but trying to keep clothes on these kids is near 'bout impossible! I can put pants and a shirt on the oldest and ten minutes later he'll come through the room in his undies! For no reason at all. And if I don't keep pants on the youngest, then before I know it, he'll come through without a diaper on.
5) Ninjas: For someone who is always making noise they can be sneaky when they want to be. I've always heard that when the kids get quiet, you better start worrying. When my kids get quiet I get down right scared! It doesn't take but a blink of an eye for them to get into something they're not supposed to.
You know the saying that boys are just noise with dirt on them. It's true, just in case you were wondering. My boys are always making noise, even when they're sleeping. And they're always covered in some kind of dirt, and usually it's sticky. The oldest has this one spot on his cheek that always has a black streak. I can wash it off and five minutes later it's back. The youngest usually has his dirt around his mouth. I sometimes wonder if dirt and stickiness grows from the boys, like instead of sweating, they just ooze dirt.
But you know, I wouldn't have it any other way. I love my boys, all three of them, more than anything on this earth. It's amazing to me that my husband and I could create something so wondrous and perfect as these two little boys. They can do something and I think, that is their Daddy in them, then they can do something and I see myself. My babies are healthy, happy, they have a good nature, smart, funny, and imaginative. I couldn't ask for anything more. I know all the things they do right now that annoy me, make me mad or frustrated, will pass. They'll grow out of it. I'm so proud of my howler monkey octopus monster comedian, demolition nudist ninjas!
Monday, December 3, 2012
My Bluebird of Happiness
I have grown up with a few traditions in my family. One that I really like is how my grandmother would buy each of her grandkids an ornament to attach to our gifts. She has given me twenty eight ornaments over the years. Each one hangs on my tree every year. My mother has carried on the tradition by giving my sons an ornament with their gifts. Connor has four, Kenny has one. I started a small tradition after Connor was born of buying him a book each Christmas. He gets books all through the year and has a bookshelf full of books. But I love to read and I hope that he will too and I liked the idea of giving him a book every year.
I have a special little tradition I do every year that's just for me. When I was little, I don't remember what age, but I do remember this happening, I would stand and stare at my grandparents Christmas tree, looking at all the ornaments. There was one ornament that I fell in love with. It was a little bluebird. It was wood, painted blue and white with little colored dots. Every year my Pawpaw would take it down and let me play with it. Then one year, he told me, my sister, and my cousin we could all pick out an ornament off their tree. I picked the little bluebird. Now, every year since I've had my own tree to decorate, it has always been the very first ornament to go on and the very last ornament to come off. I don't remember how or why that started, but I always do it that way. It's tradition.
This year my husband said he wanted to start the tradition of getting a live tree every year. So we got one this year. We'll see about next year. My husband is kind of the forgetful type. We might get to next year and he might rather go back to our old faithful fake tree. But this year we have a live tree, which is wonderful. It smells so good, it's a great shape. I finished putting the ornaments on today, and just like always, the little bluebird was the first one on it. That tree had no idea what it was destined for as it was sitting outside of Wal-mart in the gardening section. It didn't know that when we walked up, it would be going home with us, that it would be lucky enough to carry on a special tradition of mine.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Give Thanks....Now Grab What You Can
I know Thanksgiving was a week ago today, so Happy late Thanksgiving. I hope everyone got to spend the day with the ones they loved and stuffed themselves full of turkey, dressing, and all the trimmings and desserts. I know I did!
So we spend all of Thanksgiving day giving thanks for everything we have. At least, we're supposed to. I give thanks to God every day for all that I have and on Thanksgiving I just repeat that. I'm thankful for my husband, my children, my family, God's salvation, my church and church family, my music, my love for reading, and everything we have, like my husbands job, enough money to get by on, a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs, and a few extra personal possessions that make me happy. I'm very happy with all that I have and don't ask for much more than what I do have. My husband and I were talking about Christmas and how we just want to get the boys Christmas presents. He agreed with me when I said I couldn't really think of anything that I wanted.
Which brings me to the point of this blog. This crazy tradition the retail world has started known as Black Friday sales. Let me get this straight: We spend all day on Thursday being thankful for all we have, eating a good meal with our family and friends, being these nice, sweet, even Christianly people. Then we leave our houses, go stand in line outside a store for hours in the freezing cold and when the stores open, we run in, trampling other people, to grab as much as we can, usually away from other people, because these things are on sale?
Now, I have participated in this madness twice in my life, and never again! One year, I went to Walmart with my husband, mother in law and sister in law. We got there sometime close to midnight I believe and didn't get back home until somewhere around 4 in the morning. I had never seen Walmart so packed! It was insane. I didn't really do much shopping. My husband wanted a GPS, my sister in law was getting a popular game system for her son, and mother in law was picking up different things for the grandkids. I found a movie I wanted. We pushed and shoved our way up front, stood in line for a while, paid for our things and went home to collapse in bed.
Last year though, I actually dived in with the other people trying to grab things myself. Never in my life have I ever experienced such greed. So here's the story: My husband and I had already made a list of the toys we wanted to get our boys for Christmas. It wasn't alot, just a few things for each boy. But most of what we had picked out was going to be on sale at Walmart during Black Friday. So Thursday night I talk my mom into going to Walmart with me to get their things. I was thinking of the money I could save. My husband didn't want to go, so he stayed home and took care of the kids.
My mom and I got to Walmart around 11. It was already packed. We had parked way out and walked to the store. Everything that was on sale was wrapped up in plastic on these wooden crates out in the middle of the aisles. Whatever you wanted, you stood by that crate and waited for midnight when they would be opened. One of the hottest items was the Just Dance 3 game. My mom offered to stay there while I went over to the crate that had the Tag Readers. My oldest son loved the first two Just Dance games and I wanted him to have the Tag Reader. So I'm standing there, chatting with these other ladies. They seemed nice, it was only about four of us standing at the Tag Reader crate so we were all confident we would get the ones we wanted. At ten til midnight, from the front of the store, comes this scream. We all look down the aisle, and there comes this roar up the aisle like a tornado. People had started ripping into the crates, as each group saw the one in front of them tearing into a crate, they would tear into their own, and it caught like wild fire. The woman standing beside me said, "oh well," and tore into the tag reader crate. She reached in, got the one she wanted then handed me one. As I was walking away, Walmart employees were running and shouting, "Put it back! Put it back!" Of course no one was listening. They had their hands on what they wanted and there was no way they were letting go. I paused, wondering if I should. But I looked back and there were still plenty of Tag Readers left, so I kept walking too, feeling a little guilty. Like I cheated. We found out later that a fight had broke out up front, and in the middle of that chaos, people took advantage and started tearing open the crates.
I get over to the Wii game crate to see my mom, squished between two people and a buggy. Some woman had wedged her buggy up against the crate so no one else could get close. My poor mother looked so uncomfortable and so out of her comfort zone. See, we are not pushy people, we are not confrontational. This was not the place for us. When she saw me coming she said, "You stand here, I'm getting out of here, I'm scared!" So I hand her the Tag Reader and tell her I'll wait. When midnight actually came, the people at the game crate got downright ugly. The Just Dance games were gone before I could even stretch my hand out to grab one. The woman with the buggy grabbed one at the same time as a man did and they tugged over it, yelling at each other, and calling each other very ugly words. I got out of there as quickly as I could. We walk over to the glass doors, where all the games are normally kept, and there are a bunch of Just Dance games in there. So I stand there while my mother goes to ask if we can get one of those. While she's gone to find an employee, more and more people are gathering around me as they too realize there are Just Dance games. I hold my position. I was there first. But if fists started swinging, I would let the game go.
So an employee came over, shoved her way through the crowd to the door to unlock it. By this time, I look like a bug on a wind shield. The crowd had me pressed up against the glass. The employee unlocked the door, the crowd surged, she grabbed a game and held it up. Never mind that I was there first, she just held it up for whoever could get there first. I have a very strong sense of fairness, and that just really made me mad. But I was able to grab it first since I was the closest. I clutched the game close to my chest because I thought it might be possible to actually lose a hand or an arm if someone spotted me with the game and tried to jerk it away from me.
After that, my mom and I went around to the toy aisles and found the last few items that we wanted. We kept the Just Dance game hidden under the other toys because everyone was looking for one. So we battle our way up front and get in line. And we wait. And we wait. We inch forward. And we wait. We stood there for an hour and a half. Finally, with sore legs and numb feet, we reach the cashier, pay for our things, and get the heck out of Walmart. My Mom swore if she never saw the inside of a Walmart again it would be too soon!! We hurry out to my car, keeping an eye out for any crazy person that might try to grab our bags and make it back home in tact.
Jokingly, I asked my mom this year if she wanted to go with me again and I got a very emphatic "NO".
I told my husband about our experience and I described it as just pure greed. Watching all those people fighting over THINGS, calling each other horrible names over THINGS. I never fought over one thing in that store, I was not going to compromise who I was for a THING. I'm not saying everyone who goes shopping on Black Friday are greedy, horrible, people. There are a lot of people that are nice about it, who can shop Black Friday and still be civil. Alot of people shop Black Friday simple because the savings will allow them to buy Christmas for the kids and family. That was my reason. I didn't buy anything that Black Friday that was for me or simply because it was on sale. I had a list of toys for the kids and that's the only things I bought.
Just remember, you've spent the day being thankful for all that God has given you. Don't turn into a monster the next day just for a few more things you probably don't even need. And be careful if you do shop Black Friday, because there are monsters out there that will do whatever they have to for that one item they can't live without.
So we spend all of Thanksgiving day giving thanks for everything we have. At least, we're supposed to. I give thanks to God every day for all that I have and on Thanksgiving I just repeat that. I'm thankful for my husband, my children, my family, God's salvation, my church and church family, my music, my love for reading, and everything we have, like my husbands job, enough money to get by on, a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs, and a few extra personal possessions that make me happy. I'm very happy with all that I have and don't ask for much more than what I do have. My husband and I were talking about Christmas and how we just want to get the boys Christmas presents. He agreed with me when I said I couldn't really think of anything that I wanted.
Which brings me to the point of this blog. This crazy tradition the retail world has started known as Black Friday sales. Let me get this straight: We spend all day on Thursday being thankful for all we have, eating a good meal with our family and friends, being these nice, sweet, even Christianly people. Then we leave our houses, go stand in line outside a store for hours in the freezing cold and when the stores open, we run in, trampling other people, to grab as much as we can, usually away from other people, because these things are on sale?
Now, I have participated in this madness twice in my life, and never again! One year, I went to Walmart with my husband, mother in law and sister in law. We got there sometime close to midnight I believe and didn't get back home until somewhere around 4 in the morning. I had never seen Walmart so packed! It was insane. I didn't really do much shopping. My husband wanted a GPS, my sister in law was getting a popular game system for her son, and mother in law was picking up different things for the grandkids. I found a movie I wanted. We pushed and shoved our way up front, stood in line for a while, paid for our things and went home to collapse in bed.
Last year though, I actually dived in with the other people trying to grab things myself. Never in my life have I ever experienced such greed. So here's the story: My husband and I had already made a list of the toys we wanted to get our boys for Christmas. It wasn't alot, just a few things for each boy. But most of what we had picked out was going to be on sale at Walmart during Black Friday. So Thursday night I talk my mom into going to Walmart with me to get their things. I was thinking of the money I could save. My husband didn't want to go, so he stayed home and took care of the kids.
My mom and I got to Walmart around 11. It was already packed. We had parked way out and walked to the store. Everything that was on sale was wrapped up in plastic on these wooden crates out in the middle of the aisles. Whatever you wanted, you stood by that crate and waited for midnight when they would be opened. One of the hottest items was the Just Dance 3 game. My mom offered to stay there while I went over to the crate that had the Tag Readers. My oldest son loved the first two Just Dance games and I wanted him to have the Tag Reader. So I'm standing there, chatting with these other ladies. They seemed nice, it was only about four of us standing at the Tag Reader crate so we were all confident we would get the ones we wanted. At ten til midnight, from the front of the store, comes this scream. We all look down the aisle, and there comes this roar up the aisle like a tornado. People had started ripping into the crates, as each group saw the one in front of them tearing into a crate, they would tear into their own, and it caught like wild fire. The woman standing beside me said, "oh well," and tore into the tag reader crate. She reached in, got the one she wanted then handed me one. As I was walking away, Walmart employees were running and shouting, "Put it back! Put it back!" Of course no one was listening. They had their hands on what they wanted and there was no way they were letting go. I paused, wondering if I should. But I looked back and there were still plenty of Tag Readers left, so I kept walking too, feeling a little guilty. Like I cheated. We found out later that a fight had broke out up front, and in the middle of that chaos, people took advantage and started tearing open the crates.
I get over to the Wii game crate to see my mom, squished between two people and a buggy. Some woman had wedged her buggy up against the crate so no one else could get close. My poor mother looked so uncomfortable and so out of her comfort zone. See, we are not pushy people, we are not confrontational. This was not the place for us. When she saw me coming she said, "You stand here, I'm getting out of here, I'm scared!" So I hand her the Tag Reader and tell her I'll wait. When midnight actually came, the people at the game crate got downright ugly. The Just Dance games were gone before I could even stretch my hand out to grab one. The woman with the buggy grabbed one at the same time as a man did and they tugged over it, yelling at each other, and calling each other very ugly words. I got out of there as quickly as I could. We walk over to the glass doors, where all the games are normally kept, and there are a bunch of Just Dance games in there. So I stand there while my mother goes to ask if we can get one of those. While she's gone to find an employee, more and more people are gathering around me as they too realize there are Just Dance games. I hold my position. I was there first. But if fists started swinging, I would let the game go.
So an employee came over, shoved her way through the crowd to the door to unlock it. By this time, I look like a bug on a wind shield. The crowd had me pressed up against the glass. The employee unlocked the door, the crowd surged, she grabbed a game and held it up. Never mind that I was there first, she just held it up for whoever could get there first. I have a very strong sense of fairness, and that just really made me mad. But I was able to grab it first since I was the closest. I clutched the game close to my chest because I thought it might be possible to actually lose a hand or an arm if someone spotted me with the game and tried to jerk it away from me.
After that, my mom and I went around to the toy aisles and found the last few items that we wanted. We kept the Just Dance game hidden under the other toys because everyone was looking for one. So we battle our way up front and get in line. And we wait. And we wait. We inch forward. And we wait. We stood there for an hour and a half. Finally, with sore legs and numb feet, we reach the cashier, pay for our things, and get the heck out of Walmart. My Mom swore if she never saw the inside of a Walmart again it would be too soon!! We hurry out to my car, keeping an eye out for any crazy person that might try to grab our bags and make it back home in tact.
Jokingly, I asked my mom this year if she wanted to go with me again and I got a very emphatic "NO".
I told my husband about our experience and I described it as just pure greed. Watching all those people fighting over THINGS, calling each other horrible names over THINGS. I never fought over one thing in that store, I was not going to compromise who I was for a THING. I'm not saying everyone who goes shopping on Black Friday are greedy, horrible, people. There are a lot of people that are nice about it, who can shop Black Friday and still be civil. Alot of people shop Black Friday simple because the savings will allow them to buy Christmas for the kids and family. That was my reason. I didn't buy anything that Black Friday that was for me or simply because it was on sale. I had a list of toys for the kids and that's the only things I bought.
Just remember, you've spent the day being thankful for all that God has given you. Don't turn into a monster the next day just for a few more things you probably don't even need. And be careful if you do shop Black Friday, because there are monsters out there that will do whatever they have to for that one item they can't live without.
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