Wednesday, April 30, 2008

First Goal - Check

Alright girls......I did it. I finally achieved success. I cannot tell you how hard I have worked over the past 5 weeks. I live at the gym. I am there a lot. I work really hard and finally my first goal has been reached. Today I put on my "next size down" pant.............my "seven" jeans......my I "get to congratulate myself" jean. And this time instead of squeezing them zipped, I just zipped them right up! Now I am not saying there is not a little top overhang.........but hello they fit!!!! I went to coffee with some friends this morning who have supported me and told me that my butt looked good in them!!! (thx a and j) YAY me!!! Just thought I would share today.

I finally got to buy a pair of SEVEN JEANS!!!!

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

First Game




So here we are again............Baseball Season. Tonight was our first game and guess who got to play catcher, both innings!!!



He was so pumped up tonight. He still does not completely understand what he is doing out there, but he loves it and that is what is important. He begged his coach to let him play catcher again, which I think had to do with the fact that he could wear the cool gear and sit on his knees during play.



Not anything to do with really loving that position, in his mind it was the position that did the least! ha ha. But look at that pix above......he has the stance right. When he saw me coming with my camera........the got all ready and posed for me. so stinking cute! The best part of the whole night was snack...the mom handed out big league chewing gum and he was all over that! thought it was the coolest thing ever! It was a cold, but great first game.

Monday, April 28, 2008

I want to be Pink.......



This weekend we were fortunate to have my niece stay the night and boy was it fun! She was so excited to be here with the kids and she was so good. She is hilarious though. She has never stayed the night anywhere with big kids, so she was a little hyper. I was going to have her sleep in noah's room and move noah into syd's, but somehow they all got it into their little heads to sleep together!






So we layed out their sleeping bags all in a row and we sat down to read a few books. Sydnie was reading ryen a kitty book, where you can pick out which kitty you would want to own, ryen kept jumping up and yelling i want to be a pink kitty!!! Finally at about 9pm my kids fell fast asleep, but ryen was still awake, just laying there with her eyes wide open. I kept checking on her and i would peek my head in and she would look at me and smile, then she would give that big sigh....you know the one where your kids are almost asleep. So I would leave and check again in a little while and she would look at me and smile again! Finally about 10:30 she fell asleep. Oh Boy! The next morning they all woke up at 6am...ready to play. I stood outside the door for a moment and listened to their interaction. They were reading books to each other and I could here a little voice saying I want to be a pink kitty......ha ha. Apparently she remembered the discussion from last night.



That next day we kept her pretty busy, we had to go to noah's tball clinic and then came home and played playdoh and jumped on the trampoline. Sydnie was asking noah and ryen what dinosaur they woud like to be and ryen turned around in all seriousness and says "I want to be a pink dinosaur!" Oh the fun of pink. When your whole world revolves around pink....what to wear, what to color with, what your favorite blanket is, what your favorite cat would be.............






I finally made her take a nap (two hours and she did not move)! When she woke up her mom was here and she went upstairs to get her out of bed.....i guess ryen saw her mom, threw the blanket over her head and said "i want aunt shell!!" oooppppsss. Then we took her to ice cream. a treat that she gets to enjoy when she is with me!!! ha ha. I like to pump her full of sugar and then send her home to her mom and dad. Isn't that what aunties are for?

Friday, April 25, 2008

It is hard to be green

a couple of my friends have posted about what they love............here is what i love right now



I LOVE METHOD



a while ago i posted about trying to rid my house of all the bad cleaning supplies and so far i have replaced all my surface cleaners, hand soaps and window cleaning. it has made all the difference in the world. i no longer have headaches and stuffy head for a whole day after i clean. i would literally feel like my head was going to explode from the headaches i would get. now i clean and i have no after effects, it has truly been amazing. i am obviously very sensitive to chemicals.....i cannot walk down the garden aisles at lowes because the chemicals drive me crazy. when thad is doing something in the yard with fertilizer....i stay in the house. (ps-don't know if i have convinced him to check out organic fertilizer yet....maybe i will tell him i will help him do lawn work if he buys it{wink wink})


So over the past few months i have been investing in new organic cleaners, going phosphate free, voc free, antibacterial free, all types of bad stuff free. what i have not used of my old cleaners i am going to haul out to the toxic dump site, along with old paint cans, etc. on earth day i was reading a few blogs and came across this great new book that method had written about detoxing your home.......i am half way thru it and have already made some other new changes. did you know that 4 trillion plastic bags are made each year.........we have gotten into plastic bag rehab here....we own reusables and we recycle any plastic bags that accidently come home.




my next new purchase is one i am dying to go buy today (but won't because i am good). then i can get rid of all my floor cleaning supplies....bring on the 5 second rule. nothing bad in this here cleaner....pure organic goodness. my kids could eat off the floor with this bad boy! ha ha. well maybe not, cuz of the dog, but you know what i mean.



i am not advocating that method is the only organic cleaner.......but with a smell that yummy......what are you waiting for.....go forth and clean mothers, in an organic way! and check out this site, if you want some method lusting news: http://methodlust.blogspot.com/

Thursday, April 24, 2008

One Year Ago


Disneyland


thunder mountain railroad


my little pirate

new orleans square


Riding the trolley to the main square


The Princess Lunch at Ariel's Grotto


Posing in the "A" of California


another "A" poser


This time last year we were arriving at the airport for our first trip to Disneyland! The excitement was an electric current that ran through our little group. First time on an airplane for our little ones. It has been a whole year and in that time I have heard "when can we go back to disneyland?" about 50 times! I think that Thad and I enjoyed it just as much as they did. We both would really love to take them back......soon, before the magic is gone! Although is it really ever gone? The sad thing is, it has been a year and I have not done one single scrap page. I have the album..some stickers, a few pix printed, but no pages. I think I am intimidated to wade through 500+ photos, to choose and print which ones I like. Maybe I should start with Seaworld...there are not as many photos there!!! So maybe this year on National Scrapbook Day that is my goal. that is what I am doing.........my Disneyland Album!!!

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

234 Days


I think of the song 'No Air" when I think of these two



Is he not the best edward you could imagine!
especially after i found out he is writing bella's lullaby
for the movie! how sweet is that.

Almost Free Coffee


So I went to starbucks the other day and used my registered, self-designed card...........and low and behold I was told that everytime i use that card.............


wait for it.............

are you ready..........

check it out..........

seriously joyous news awaits...............

put on your smile...............

get ready to go buy a card.................

your mouth is watering right now................


I don't have to pay for the cost of syrup. so my drink total came to $3.10 vs $3.80!!! That is like a free coffee every 5 visits!!! I also get free refills on drip coffee and everytime I buy coffee beans there, I get a free 12oz drink!!! So it sounds like SB is finally getting in the game and realize that they are frankly just too expensive. I also heard rumors of free two hours of WiFi.


Of course now that I am working out more........notice I did not say "on a diet" cuz I really don't feel like I am......I won't be drinking as many coffee's from them. I did have a sugar free, skinny cinnamon dolche the other day, but it did not settle well. Not sure what is in their sugar free syrups, but I could feel it in my stomach all night long. But it was only 130 calories!!! ha ha.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Results..............

Alright so I thought I would post about my progress in workouts and getting healthy! So have been going solidly for one month now, at least 4-5 days a week. I have got the whole routine down. I was seeing some results in measurements, but I would step on the scale and realize that I had not lost one pound! So after talking to some people I decided that I was not eating enough calories or enough protein. (suprisingly I really don't eat very much) but I do eat a lot of sugar....no suprise there.

So I cut out all of my sugars...no coke, no extra sugars at all. My friend told me about this great website to track your diet and excercise, so I signed up and started eating there recommended calories! WOW. in one day i lost 3lbs. i know that most of this is water weight, but still. I am super excited! Yesterday I was so hungry, I ate a bunch of protein and made sure I had my carbs right, but it felt like me stomach was eating my entire body! This morning I stepped on the scale and had lost another 5lbs. (That was even with a little fast food hamburger in there....what can i say, i was out with errands and it sounded good...but i did not have fries or coke!) So I have been eating the right amount of calories for 4 days now and i have lost a total of 8lbs!!!!

Once I started eating the right amounts of stuff, I could feel the difference in my workouts. They felt like I was working the muscles, rather than well......i don't really know how to explain it, but there was a huge difference. I was super pumped to hit group power this morning, but i had a sick little one at home........oh well. i will have to make it up on wednesday!

I am just excited that this website guidance is working and that it is doable! it is not like any other "diet" thing.......I did weight watchers once and I was not really allowed to eat many proteins on that. My body craves the proteins......if I don't have them I totally bonk. Although last night when i looked at my chart, it told me i was eating to many proteins and not enough carbs...so i will need to have a little better balance in the future.

YAY ME!!!!

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Is it April?

It is snowing outside!!!
Really!!!
It is the middle of April!!!
What is going on???

it's not really sticking, but i still see the flakes. the trampoline has some snow on it. wow. i guess when they called for snow this weekend, they actually meant it.

Friday, April 18, 2008

you know u r obsessed with TWILIGHT when:


**You download every song from Stephanie Meyers playlist and listen to them non-stop on your Ipod.

**You dream about it every night.

**When you want to go to Forks for your spring break.

**When you squeal every time you see a silver Volvo, even if it's not your favorite car.

**When you've ceased to believe that vampires actually have fangs or any weakness. And you believe all vampires must be inherently hot.

**When you're counting down the minutes until Breaking Dawn comes out.

**You quote lines from the books for use in your everyday speech.

**You know you love the Twilight series when you solidly believe your husband is a vampire simply on the basis that he's sexy.

**When you refer to your ideal boyfriend as an "Edward."

**You pre-order your copy of Breaking Dawn at Borders and want to go to the release party.

**When you count down the days till Edwards birthday 60 days before it starts. (June 20th)

**A love song comes on and you immediately think of Edward and Bella.

**You have bought both the audio books.

**You have bought t-shirts from twilight teez dot com.

**You carry the books with you.

**You go to Forks.

**You almost faint when you first saw the cover of Eclispe.

**You think you can feel Edward beside you while you're reading(or just doing nothing at all).

**You talk to nothing but think you're talking to Edward.

**You stay locked in your room until you've read it over a million times.

**You talk to your friends about it...even though they have no idea what you're talking about!

**You ask them how you know you love the Twilight series even though they STILL don't know what you're talking about.

**You sleep with the book cradled in your arms.

**You are highly considering naming your future children the characters names.

** The name Edward becomes your new favorite name.

**You didn't let anybody else touch your books.

**You own two copies of each book, one to read and one to loan out.

**You make a protective cover for your twilight to ensure that you never leave your copy of Twilight when it goes with you to yours friend's house.

**You and your friends try to guess the entire plot to Breaking Dawn.

**You start imagining scenes from the books in your head before you go to bed.

**You cry at sad parts of the book... Even though you've read it 20 times.

**You're avatar has something to do with the book series or Edward

**You know Edward's favorite 'food' is mountain lion, and Emmet's is grizzly bear

**You look up your vampire name online....ha ha.

my vampire name


Found this site on twilight moms that generates your vampire name...thought it would be fun to post it, since people keep telling me i am obsessed with this book. give it a try, here http://www.emmadavies.net/vampire/ And now the big reveal, my vampire name is:



The Great Archives determine you to have gone by the identity: Musette de Pompadour

Known in some parts of the world as: Bitch of Seducers

The Great Archives Record: Beautiful and alluring - hiding great power, great danger.


I especially love the second one...made me laugh. Coming next: You know you are a twilight fan when?

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Moral Compass




I think that as parents we have enough on our plates teaching our own children the rights and wrongs of this world..........and if you have a stubborn child, it is even more work. But these past few weeks as I have driven two extra children to awana, I find myself having to step in to their conversations and remind what is right. Last night was a prime steppin' time and I was exhausted by the time we dropped them off. Now don't get me wrong, I know that this is a ministry. I shoulder that responsibility......but I think it just overwhelmed me last night. I don't like to discipline other people's kids......but when they start hitting each other and kicking my car...then I have to step in. I think that those kids are more comfortable around me and therefore able to show their true colors. They are good kids, but last night was just a challenge.




Plus we got into the moral story of a third friend at school blaming the older two in the car for getting into trouble. So we had to have a little talk about how that made them feel and then when they did it to somebody else, how did that make the other person feel. Blaming people seems to be a skill that second graders have bred into them.....it is a hard one to defeat. Any suggestions for other moms?? I could use them for my two kids.




We have also had to have a lot of discussions with our oldest about some of the stuff kids at school are doing. The whole......"would you jump off a bridge, just because tommy did?" It has been a challenge....but she does get it. She is so black and white, that she often times will do the right thing, without being reminded. I am finding that this little friend of hers....who I am thankful that she has someone...is not from the same "character" background that we are.....so we have to have a lot of talks about stuff. I like to see it as building our future together, one talk at a time.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

happy thoughts!!

Monday, April 14, 2008

The ants go marching 2 x 2


Yesterday we spent the day down at my brother's celebrating my mom's birthday. I of course got half way down the freeway yesterday morning and realized that I had forgetten to bring her bday present!! ha ha. We met with my niece on friday night and took some pictures for my mom.......that is really all she wants, except her world would be perfect if it were only pictures of my brother and my daughter, since they can do no wrong and are the prefered children. ha ha.


Randal broke out his rock band for us to play!! The kids and I had been waiting for a week to play this. So Much Fun! Sydnie rocked out on the guitar and drums and singing!!! I unfortunately realized, as I was belting out my songs, that really I cannot sing. ha ha. The drums were so much fun to play. My mom even got on and rocked out for awhile and so did my niece. This is all the kids want for christmas! Which is quite a bit of xms present....maybe we can throw bdays in there too. It is so much fun. I am not sure I want syd singing some of those songs......they need to make a rock band for smaller kids with songs that they love. She had never heard most of the songs that she was singing yesterday.


Like so many other houses in this beautiful state of ours..........my brother's house has ants! And they all congregate in the playroom. Now that could be because my brother is a slob and leaves all his old dishes and cups laying around.......and ants like that! We were all sitting there watching people rock and suddenly noah screams.........."there's an ant on me!" Well that pretty much started it. He ran out of the room. He then saw ants wherever he went in their house. He saw them on the carpet, on toysand in his ice cream (which was kind of funny because it was vanilla bean, so it did kind of look like an ant). Just as we were walking out the door, noah decided he was thirsty, so my SIL helps him get some water and then she comes running outside to tell me this little story.............


"So I give noah his cup of water and he says, "there is an ant in here" I take the cup and say there is no ant in there, look inside and sure enough..........there is an ant in his water cup."

nuff said

Sunday, April 13, 2008

sucks - in all the right ways

Check out this video from MTV about the movie! just thought it was cute. I love the whole "i don't know, they've got brooms" line!!! ha ha. I will have my tickets pre-bought and ready to go watch the movie on December 12th.....even if there is a midnight showing! Ohhh, maybe i will pull out the SAHM card and go during the day...when all the teenagers are in school! Who else is up for that??? RR- wanna go?

Motivation

Last week I blogged about the fact that I know have a gym membership....yay for me. I have gone faithfully and I love going to the classes. This last week I had to miss group ride because of my orientation, but I went last sunday and I went yesterday morning to ride. I have to tell myself to not get on the scale right now, because I know that I will either maintain my weight or have gained some because of muscle mass...........but I really want it to come off immediately. well really who doesn't. That is not to say that I have not had change. I have lost inches all over.......which is really what counts, right? But why does it have to start from the top down!

So when I cannot go to class I work out on the eleptical for at least 45min. But that, as we all know, is frankly, boring. No matter if you have your ipod or not! So I decided to bring out the big guns for this workout! I have blogged about my favorite books before {http://lifeworthliving-rochelle.blogspot.com/2008/02/love.html} but now I have decided to reread them again, but only while I am at the gym on the eleptical!!!! Can I just say that I am going crazy right now! I woke up this morning dreaming of edward and bella.......I...must...go...get...on...the...eleptical!!!!

So thank you stephanie meyer for making me get my butt to the gym and immerse myself in the amazing world that you have created! Thank you edward and bella for being the driving force to get myself into my nike dri-fit and be dazzled by your unique story.

Friday, April 11, 2008

Pump It Up


Rambo Style

The Birthday Boy


The kids actually won both rounds of lazer tag

What you cannot see from this pix is that jason is completely
soaked to the bone...all the kids ganged up on him.

Last night we joined the Heinny's at Bullwinkles for some birthday fun with JJ. My kids have been wanting to go there for the longest time...we just haven't yet. So we decided to tag along and join in on the fun. The kids had a blast! They all loved the bumper boats, good thing it was kind of warm outside, because they got soaking wet. Then we moved inside for some game action, dinner and the roller coaster. But the best part of the evening was Lazertag! We were the only ones in there and the dads played too. It was great, they even let them play a second time for free! Angela and I sat in a corner and watched them all run around, screaming, looking for someone to shoot. Of course the kids all got their prizes, which broke on the way home...gotta love that stuff. Good times.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

A New Adventure


Well.......I am officially on the payroll of our local school system and will be earning my own income shortly! This has been a process that has taken most of the year and finally is done.


As every stay at home mother knows, the wrestling match that takes place in our very souls, the question that all husbands ask us as our children become school age.............."when are you going back to work?" My husband has been bugging me for about two years now and finally my school year next year is wide open. Of course in my mind it is open for coffee, bible study, lunches, work outs and general me time. But then I started to realize that I would probably be severely bored.


As I have volunteered throughout the years, I remembered that long ago dream of becoming a teacher, those college hours put in, but never finished. I also took into account all of the comments about how perfectly suited I am for working in the schools and mulled it over in my brain. Finally this last january I felt God calling me to act upon this desire and I applied to be a substitute Instructional Assistant. I went to the orientation this week and found out that I did all of this a little too early and I have to sub this year at least twice in order to be on the call sheet for next year!


I am generally excited and a little scared. The ultimate goal is to obviously have a full time asst position in a school that is close to my house and I am still able to be there for my kids. The job that I am seeking is a kindergarten IA and they are hard to come by. Several people have asked me if I would go back and get my teaching degree??? I just don't know right now. I am still trying to figure out if working is really the path that God has for me or if this is just a test of faith. I know that I will probably have to put in a few years as a sub in the district, but God willing I will be able to be a building sub at our school next year. It is a little scary to think of going into a new classroom, with new people and different teaching styles...I don't know how my friends do it. It is a great adventure (flashes of Steven Curtis Chapman singing in my head...this is the great adventure!!)

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Happy

This just makes me absolutely happy. Every week this guy comes up with something creative and fun. He literally makes me smile every time I hear him sing and really who does not love the dreds!