Kitchen Table Talk With My 2 & 3 Year Old Boys....

CAUTION: This is what happens when you're blunt with your kids....err uh I mean, your boys. But duh, right?

source

What age is it that kids realize that girls and boys are different?  My boys are on the brink of this age-dreading discovery.
This past summer, we took a family vacation to SeaWorld in San Antonio with some friends and their 3 kids. We had a ton of fun (that made me super tired for the entirety of August) but their newly-turned 3 year old boy left a lasting gift with my boys before they left. The word boobies.

Of course, when I first heard their youngest son say it, I laughed and then asked my friends where he got that from. I don't think I got a real answer, just more about how he's the defiant one of their brood.
Well, since the weekend of July 4th, that's all I hear my little guys talk about. We gave them the stipulation that they could only say that word AT HOME. And boy do they wear it out!

They use it in all kinds of ridiculous contexts....just to bother us. (They know they're bothering us because of our "Hey hey hey!!!" reactions. For example, they say, "Your name is Reid Boobies!" "You have boobies ears." "You have a boobies plate." "1-2-3-4-5-6-boobies-8-9-10! ---> W.T.F.

This is not every day but it is.....every other day. {blank stare}
A few weeks ago, the kitchen table talk was about boobies, butts and penises.
How do they know all of this stuff? We told them of course! But since they're boys, they wouldn't be normal if they weren't obnoxious, I guess.

We usually just stay silent, glance at each other and stuff our faces when they talk like that....and try not to burst out laughing.
Because laughing is like putting gasoline on a fire and getting upset would be unfair.
We've never really done the baby talk kind of thing, probably because our brain isn't that creative. We're engineers. (When I pledged my sorority in college, my lack of quick creativity really was shameful. Ugh.) When we bathe them we have them wash and dry their own private part and tell them that no one should touch it besides them.

On a separate occasion when I was out shopping with my kids, they needed to potty and I took them to the big handicap stall. I used the restroom after they did, my youngest tried to sneak a glance while I was peeing and said, "Mommy, that your penis?" Me: Uh, no honey. Mommy doesn't have a penis, only men do. Women have private areas. Now turn back around so I can wipe."
I can't have my baby walking around thinking everyone has a penis!

The night the kitchen table talk made me and my husband stuff our faces in silence, all we heard was, "Mommy has boobies but no penis just a butt." Then they went around the table and said whether each of us had "boobies" or "nippos."

Needless to say, my husband almost choked on his food. I just put my head down so that they didn't smell my shock, discomfort and laughter. I mean my kids are brutal to us because shock, discomfort and laughter fuels them.
I can't wait until the love affair with this word is over....but I won't be holding my breath for that to happen anytime soon.

Do you have any similar stories from your kids or kids that you know?

Low-Key Birthday

My husband celebrated his birthday this past weekend. We didn't do much but have dinner at Houlihan's. Our boys came down with fevers Saturday afternoon and we didn't want to leave them. They haven't been sick in forever so newly returned colds and fevers tend to wake them up and sometimes keep them up in the middle of the night. Next weekend, we'll go out and have some more fun after hours.
We hung out and watched some college football , gave my hub special meals and enjoyed chocolate cupcakes. Then we topped the evening off with dinner at Houlihan's. The original plan was to play a Par 3 golf course as a family and then maybe the pumpkin patch since the weather is still warm....but its hard to pull the hubby away from football sometimes. Especially when our typically losing-prone teams are kicking some butt and actually winning.
Next weekend we'll hit the course and I'm excited because my swing is 100 times better since I last played 5 years ago. That's what the range and the proper club can do I guess. I gotta be able to keep up with my guys. Mine little swings are crazy good, so I gotta have them think mommy's a beast too!

Jack + Malbec. That's how we roll.

Scallops and risotto.

Pot roast sliders.

S'mores fondue pot.

Hey! Open your eyes! And swallow those carrots little brother!

Peace! Wait...we can't see my oldest's eyes.

Take 2.
Fevers don't hold them down, especially when they're mild.
Yep, those carrots are still in there.

The pot roast sliders were scrumptious and my hub's scallops were perfectly cooked. I'm not a fan of lemon risotto but his dish was tasty. Our dessert was ah-mazing. Its the second time I had it and mu hub's first time. He really enjoyed it and even though the portion looked rather small, it was just the right amount for us.
I definitely recommend these plates if you haven't had them......espeeeeecially that fondue pot! You won't be disappointed.

What's your favorite menu item at your favorite restaurant?

Staying On the Move

I've had an extremely long hiatus. I did a lot of soul-searching about who I am and who I want to be and what I want to do as a mom and more. I felt like I was starting pick up too many random hobbies which was making me feel lost.....because, although I adore my boys more than I can ever say, I was not only meant to be a mom. And I don't want to twiddle my [intellectual] thumbs until they reach kindergarten.

Needless to say, I have figured out the direction I want to go in, but I will be waiting until I implement it before sharing because that just makes good sense. Oh, but I did realize that all of my random hobbies will probably be of good use in the future because I was meant to stumble into them. I just will have to devote time to them differently than I initially was; which is basically just not all at once.

In the meantime, I've been enjoying a structure-less summer, but I'm definitely ready for their preschool program to begin next week. Keeping these little dudes entertained and busy tends to burn me out. And I've been pretty burned out for the past couple of weeks. We stayed on the move this summer, traveling to SeaWorld in San Antonio, Kansas City and DC. On the weekends we weren't traveling to somewhere, someone was traveling to us. I'zzzz tired.

On another note, I have TWO potty-trained boys! Woo hoo! We had a thousand accidents and a whole lot of nudity....some occasional bribery but my youngest did it!
Unfortunately, they both had a shitty accident (pun-intended) at a park playdate. My youngest had on a pull-up but my oldest had on regular underwear. Sigh.
He went to the bathroom, which happened to be pretty gross, and I guess he was so grossed out about it that he just said, "screw it" and went on himself. I was shocked. Normally he would've cried due to feeling embarrassed or ashamed but I think he didn't that time because he just didn't want to have to go back to that nasty bathroom.
Oh, the life of a mom. 

Now....if I could only get them to flush the toilet and wash their hands after each use without reminding them!

*By the way, what picture editors are you all using nowadays? Before my hiatus, I had been using PicMonkey but it started to freeze up on me too much. Have you had any problems with it?

Feeling Lost

Sometimes I feel so lost.

Have you ever just felt lost and like you didn't know the direction your life was headed?

That's how I've felt, off and on, since college up until now. It hasn't been a consistent feeling, but the fact that this feeling has been ever-present in my mind for a prolonged amount of times is "no bueno" (not good), "tres mal" (very bad) and just the pits.

Well I finally am done with feeling lost.

Hopefully.

Maybe.

I am ready to do what it takes to have assurance about the direction that my life is headed.

This doesn't mean that I am going to know exactly what I will be doing with my life (besides taking care of my precious boys), but it does mean that I will have comfort in knowing that whichever direction, industry and/or purpose I take on, it will fulfill me.

I have finally put my trust and faith in God, and that means I will not be "searching" for my next career field, but letting God reveal it to me. So when an idea spontaneously pops into my head or when I have a strong urging towards an idea, that's when I'll follow it because those are the ideas from God, and after all that's the whole point of my renewed introspection.

Have you ever felt lost about a certain area of your life? If so, what did you do to navigate your way through? Did you try to organize the clutter of your mind by making lists of desires and goals, by meditation or what?

The Post Partum Pooch = Diastasis

I've missed blogging a lot. I took quite the break, huh?
Well, I've been kind of overwhelmed emotionally regarding my career or life's purpose. I just couldn't find time for blogging in the midst of those emotions.
Plus, I'm still slooooowwwwwly unpacking boxes at our new place. I'd like to get every single box unpacked and have all the miscellaneous items that we haven't seen in 2 years.

I replaced my blogging time with nothing other than the gym. LA Fitness to be exact. I'm so ashamed to admit that I still am not at a place in which I can wear a two-piece bathing suit but the rest of me is looking pretty darn good! I only do about 10 minutes of running cardio a week and spend the rest of my time LIFTING WEIGHTS. And I'm in total love with it.
I'd like to think that I moved into beast-mode this past week. I do 4 sets with 30-45 seconds of rest in between each set. Supposedly this higher intensity burns the same amount of fat that our usual forms of cardio. I'm pretty sure I need to do both high intensity lifting and regular cardio. Now that the weather is more consistent, I'll probably do early morning runs. I detest treadmill running.

Regarding my post-pregnancy tummy: I did tons of research and realized that I had a slight abdominal tear, otherwise known as diastasis. This is where your abdominal muscles were spread so much that the tissues didn't come back together after birth. I wish it didn't take me 2 years to realize it. Oh and regular ab exercises actually prevent the muscles from coming together and tightening. [No wonder I still had a mini pooch.]

I visited a couple of body-building gyms, and one gym rep said that she thought I would need to have a tummy tuck and the other gym rep said I wouldn't. Of course I started obsessing and after googling and you-tubing tons of research on proper exercises, I'm finally starting to make some headway. I also bought a diastasis splint associated with the Tupler Technique. I'm hoping I'll be where I want to be or at least closer to my goal by the end of the summer. Hey, the end of the summer is better than never.

If you have an questions about the Tupler Technique or diastasis, let me know. You're not alone!!!

New House, New Workout Shoes and A New Snack

We're finally, officially Texas residents!

 We packed up the rental house ourselves; rented a UHaul and moved all of our shit household items ourselves (with the assistance of one very helpful friend) and then unpacked...okay well almost unpacked all of our boxes.
Mother Nature, who is obviously having an identity crisis, decided to rain on our 'moving day parade.' But like NeNe from Housewives of Atlanta says, "One monkey don't stop no show." We moved in the rain, with our tiny humans getting in and out of the way.
And of course, daylight saving's time was the next day. I'm tired just thinking about it right now. Especially since I'm sitting across from 5 different-sized boxes. Sigh. Life goes on....unpacked or in boxes.

The sellers left us a bottle of champagne in the fridge!

The seller(s) also left us a very nice note filling us in on the neighbors and their families and all of the upgrades that were made to the house since its construction.
We were able to keep the refrigerator since he didn't want to ruin the hardwood floors moving it out. So now we have 2 refrigerators! Which works out perfectly since we need but never bought a deep freezer. Anyway, our congratulatory champagne was a nice surprise.
Something we can do when we sell!

Even though my life was in boxes, my work out gear wasn't. #KeepItTight

I like my shoes. :-) They're the Pegasus' and really comfortable.
Orange laces. Yellow swoosh. #TeamNeon
 

Gotta stay colorful. #KeepItTight

 

We got our new mattress!!!!!!!

Goodbye back pain and hello peaceful night's sleep.
We had to get splurge-y and buy a memory foam. Our old mattress really messed us, well me up in the head. Death to spring-loaded mattresses!!!
I gained 40-lbs with each pregnancy and our old spring-loaded mattress was my support.
"You ain't got to go home, but you got to get the hell up outta here!"
{That's how I feel towards my old mattress}

My new snack addiction. $2.98 at Walmart.

Better than popcorn and pringles! Once you pop, you can't stop!

 

 

Weekend Birthday Pictures - Food & Family

So as I told you here, my 30th birthday was this past weekend and instead of 'painting the town red,' I spent time with and consciously appreciated being with my family.
I only got fed up with constant whining for maybe 5 minutes. Yay!
I was so excited to see them have fun during our day of no schedules.
Which included skipping church and letting Thomas & Friends babysit the boys while we took a nap. Hey, they like to get up between 6:30-7:30am even on the weekends so that nap was much appreciated!
I guess that means that 'schedules' create a bit of stress..............well, maybe it has more to do with always being behind schedule that creates some of my everyday stresses.
Annnnnnnyyyywaaaaaaayy, check out some family-food-filled pictures below.

Saturday, I found a new stylist, got my hair straightened and had a 1/2 inch trimmed off. Waahhh! At least it was a cute style.

I looked pretty darn cute and of course didn't take a picture. We were late to the sitter's house and then to dinner. Ugh. One day I'll get these outfit posts together. Anyway we had theeee most delicious sushi. We pigged out, ordering 5 rolls and spending a LOT of money. Oh well, we had a great time though. If you're in Dallas, go to RA Sushi and get the Viva Las Vegas roll (shown in the picture). We ordered it twice!

Say cheese!

Wake up Sleepy Head!!!

Yep, the front exterior is a gas station. Chef Pointe is near Fort Worth, TX.

#Foodie

The appetizer on the right is SO delicious! They are 3-cheese mushrooms drenched in a buttery, scampi sauce. They are 'smack somebody's mama' delicious!

I'm pretty lucky to have tiny humans that actually stay in their chair.
By the way, my oldest is usually a photobomber and makes the face he has in the picture on the right allllll the time, unless you use your stern voice. This time we coordinated a 'silly face' picture though.
Luckily my youngest doesn't do that yet, but I'm sure he will next year.

How was your weekend?

Turning 30 and Looking 18

Source: cheune.com via Larissa on Pinterest

Yesterday was my birthday.
It was my 30th birthday.
Finally.
How does it feel?
I don't know. A birthday is a birthday.
I feel good about turning 30 because I still feel and look so youthful. Ha! Thanks to my height, healthy eating and the lack of [ever] smoking, I'm still told I look 16 or 18. I'm reeeeeeaaallllyyyy going to appreciate hearing that when I'm 50!
I'm excited to finally leave my 20's. I feel like I made so many mistakes of caring what people think, being manipulated by guilt trips and not self-reflecting enough on what I want to do as opposed to what others want me to do. Others and people = my family and my husband's family (excluding my mom). They mean well even if it is for their own personally-fulfilling reasons.
I've been viewing my 30's or maybe just my 30th birthday as a magical time when a 'fairy godmother' flies over me sprinkling wisdom dust releasing my inner Oprah.
Then I won't waste any moments regretting not speaking up when needed or giving a damn when I shouldn't.
Wishful thinking but doesn't magic happen in your 30's? Only if you make it, I'm sure.
I have no big plans. No trips across the states or across the 'pond.' No self-thrown parties. All celebrations that my single/unmarried/kid-less friends did. And of course they'll be in my current season of family as soon as I leave it. Its just the way kismet-{fate} works.
Just me and my hubs having a kids-free night on the town.
And a moderately-sized shiny new house.
I'd say those are the only gifts I need.
The season of my life right now is all about family, my husband, our boys and providing stability in our routines. In a couple of years, it'll be a completely different story. For example, my 3-year old already wipes our kisses off. Pretty soon, he'll be requesting us to not kiss him at all in public.
I'm going to enjoy this season and hope pray for more wisdom.
I'm still going to be on the lookout for my 'fairy godmother' though.

Did you have any pivotal/life-changing moments on a specific birthday or did you have any hopes for life-changing moments after you reached a certain age?

A Bad Mattress, A Bad Diet & A Bad Attitude

Source: thatkindofwoman.tumblr.com via Deia on Pinterest

This past week [and weekend] was one of those weeks.
A week where I didn't get enough rest, didn't have enough coffee and didn't have enough patience.
I blame our old mattress for ruining my restful nights of sleep.
And I guess I can blame myself for not making coffee everyday.....but coffee everyday isn't healthy. At least not the way that I make it. (I double-boil white chocolate, mix with almond milk and then pour it into my coffee. The only other way I can drink it is straight black with Kahlua and that probably defeats the purpose of it.)

I had to hear so much whining from my two tiny humans.
I mean, sure it was probably the usual amount but my depleted amount of patience didn't think so. I just wanted to be left alone.
I didn't even have enthusiasm in my workouts, and that's usually where you blow off steam!
Do foods ruin your mood? Its possible that I've been eating so healthy that any form of 'cheating,' ("Damn you milk chocolate and ice cream!") can not only make my stomach churn initially, but it can also effect my moods.
I also discovered that I have a problem with thinking I have to eat all of the Valentine's Day chocolate until they're gone. Over a 3-day span of course. C'mon, I have a little bit of restraint!
But really, if you haven't tried Lindt Chocolate truffle balls...you are really missing out, even if they are addictive. "Once you pop, you can't stop" should've been their slogan, not Pringle's!

I'm sure it doesn't help that we need a new mattress or that I have been mentally running in circles while banging my head against the wall. Gosh, I hope I can settle that part soon.
We've had this mattress for seven years now. And its been through TWO pregnancies...with 40-lb weight gain each time! Oh and to make it worse, its a pillowtop....those can only be rotated, not flipped. Yeah, yeah I know mattresses are supposed to be replaced every five years, but time got away from us. Now my back and my peaceful nights of sleep are suffering.

I'm also anxious for our move at the end of the month (when we get our new mattress). We finally bought a house! But now comes the fun part --- in figuring out color schemes for the rooms, especially for the boys' room. I want to make sure that their room isn't too infant-toddlerish so that we're not re-decorating their room in another couple of years when they become "big boys."
I researched feng shui colors and finally can check decorating off my list.
Too bad I can't say that for the other tasks going on in my mind. {Throws pity-party confetti}

I'm still not looking forward to the amount of whining and/or fighting that this upcoming week will bring me, but hopefully the mattress fairy will come and sprinkle 'restful sleep' dust on our mattress every night this week.....or every night until we buy a new mattress.

People, women and moms can't be perfect. Some days, or unfortunately some weeks, will just be a time of survival. I can't be perky, fun and unfazed all the time but I will fix my eating and try to keep things in their proper perspective.


Please tell me that some of you have the same kind of day(s) or week(s) sometimes.

Potty Success! (With Tips)

During the Thanksgiving holiday, a miracle happened. My 3-year old (then he was a month shy of turning 3) all of a sudden decided to tell us each time he needed to pee-pee and poo-poo in the potty.

With most things in life, its easier to understand something once you go through it....so I now understand what other parents mean when they say, "They'll do it when they're ready."
That's a frustrating idea but I now see it as thoughtful preparation of situations we may encounter as parents.

I started potty-training him, rather inconsistently, a few weeks after his 2nd birthday and more consistently when he was 2.5 years old. I didn't wait until he was ready to start his potty-training but he didn't become fully [daytime] trained until he was ready.

I'm proud and relieved and so is our budget!
I wasn't sure how to feel about throwing empty/non-soiled pull-ups but I know its better than them being soiled. What's most important is that I'm glad to not be smelling and cleaning 3-year old crap. Now, its two months later and he's even night-time potty-trained! Completely on his own. Except for when he's sick, I think.
{I still want to put a pull-up on him for my security but that's kind of synonymous with a 2-3 year old with a pacifier. Its not needed, but there for security. My husband is the one who encouraged me to take them off.}

I'm not sure if my 2-year old will pick it up faster since he's been watching his older brother or if he'll make the process all his own and drag his feet. He's the headstrong and controlling one of our brood.....at least he was with eating so its quite possible he will be with pottying too.
Hey, at least I'm mentally prepared.



Tips:
-Give lots of praise and encouragement with each trip to the potty
-Bribe! Bribe! Bribe with a treat that is only given with each potty success: I gave 2 fruit snack gummies for pee and 4-5 for poo
-Entice with the bribe by giving a taste everyday, so they know what to work for
-Eat their treat everytime YOU go (this undoubtedly makes them upset when they're in the mood of resisting potty-training....but I always laughed to myself, mean I know)
-Find a peer of theirs that they really like that is or was recently potty-trained and let your kid watch them potty (that's if your kid is the only child or oldest child)
-Remind them about that treat all throughout the day. Dangle it.


The absolute only time my boys get fruit snacks is when they use the potty correctly. Their part-time 'school' uses mini marshmallows. Use anything that you know they would like that they have never had before. Another favorite of mine (when I'm out of fruit snacks) is dried cranberries.
I have the kind of 3-year old that remembers EVERYTHING so even if he goes in the middle of the night, he reminds me of his fruit snacks in the morning.

I sure, hope this helps someone! I sure was looking for some information or tips like this last year.

A New Year's Resolution: Showing Appreciation For Where I Am

Being appreciated is so important.

How do you show your loved ones you appreciate them and what they do? Or do you forget to?

I'm guilty of that.

So is my husband.

Sometimes its easy to have expectations for one another without showing a single bit of appreciation or even internal gratitude once that expectation has been met. I think this is very normal. The problem lies in never reflecting on when and how our expectations were met.

In the new year of 2013 and beyond, I've decided that I will do my best to be more conscious and present of the blessings around me. When I'm more present and conscious, the appreciation -- hopefully daily -- should flow much more easily than it does now.

Daily appreciation ---> warm words of kindness and thanks to GOD, my husband, family and friends and even friendly and helpful strangers. Not drawn out soliloquies, haha.

Each year, as I get older, the desire I have to be the woman that GOD created me to be deepens. As this desire deepens, I realize that having a heart of 'intentions' just doesn't cut it.

Its about doing. Its about action.

So where do I begin? I'm beginning with showing the gratitude and appreciation that I have for what's in front of me to TO those in front of me.

Lately, its been hard to show my appreciation to those in front of me when I don't connect it back to the gratitude I have [to GOD] inside of me. For others it can be an easy thing. It used to be an easy thing for me to do, but times of confusion throughout the years have proved the task of internal gratitude to be something that I've taken for granted.

Being consciously appreciative will also keep my attitudes to a minimum. {fake laugh with a side eye}

Watching the news reminds me to correct my attitude and 'pity parades' but being conscious of the blessings around me will lead me to the blessings that I want and have yet to encounter.

I guess this is my primary  New Year's resolution and sharing it for you to see will help keep me true to it.

Have a great time bringing in the New Year! I'm looking forward to seeing all of your New Year's Eve festivities!

Life Isn't Always Easy, But Its Always Precious

Disbelief, shock and disconnected.
That was my initial reaction to the tragedy that happened on December 14th in Newtown, Connecticut. All I could think about is why someone would do something like that. Of course in these situations, that's a never-ending question that never gets an answer.
I'm usually skimming my phone checking emails, Twitter and Facebook, but this past week and a half, the time I spent perusing my phone was to read articles and updates on the tragedy that took place.
Still disconnected, I had to know every update.....that is until the names of the children were released. I read stories of the teachers and Principal's heroic acts and shook my head in disbelief.
I read the names of the victims in an emotionally disconnected state just once.
We traveled to our home state for an extended weekend to have our Christmas visit with family when this tragedy took place, so even though this news was on every television of every house that we visited, I was disconnected to it.
Probably because I was trying to keep my boys from breaking anything and reminding them to cough into their elbows, share and say "Thank you."
By the end of our trip, I had a hard time looking at their names and my natural reaction was to turn away, look away, change the channel or close my browser. Well the pain of what happened finally made its connection to my heart after I dropped off my kids at their childcare/school. I ran some last minute Christmas errands and then found myself rushing to pick them up. While I was speeding to get to their school early, I felt the anxiety that parents around the world are feeling.
I said a prayer for all of the victims as well as for my kids' safety. Since I've allowed the tragedy to 'connect,' I've been crying like a baby when I think about ALL of the victims and all of their families, especially when I see the children's names written on Christmas ornaments.
I'm still in disbelief and shock but now I'm connected, and I hope that you are too.

If you've ever read the book The Shack and envisioned the innocent little girl playing with Jesus after her life had been taken from her, then you have a vivid idea of what the children and teachers are doing in Heaven.
And if you read that book, that amazing book, then I'm sure you bawled through that part of the story like me.

The last of the victims were laid to rest this weekend. Say an extra prayer of thanks for your loved ones tonight. Though life isn't always easy, its certainly more precious than we realize.

Budgeting Fitness & Doing Supersets

When I first started staying at home with my oldest son, I didn't want to buy a gym membership or technically keep it because I didn't want to have an 'unnecessary' expense. I'm our family budgeter and I thought I could just work out at home.

I invested in Insanity dvds (purchased off of Craigslist) and a couple other exercise dvds that were only used consistently for about a month.

Well, like plenty other SAHMs (stay-at-home moms), that's sometimes impossible to do.

During naptime/downtime, chores and adult [reality] shows always win.

 

{'Adult' shows sounds so x-rated, but its funnier than saying grownup shows.

Especially when your kid repeats to your friend or family member that they got to watch an adult movie.

Iron Man is not what comes to their mind. But its always funny.}

 

I finally realized how important going to the gym really is and since this past late August/early September, I've made an effort to go weekly. At worst, I go bi-weekly, but that's only when I'm sick or traveling.

I realized that it IS a necessary expense. Health and fitness should be budgeted INTO the family budget because it is important physically, mentally and even spiritually.

I'm much happier because I'm in better shape than I was 3 months ago.

 

When you feel good, you look good. Not for vanity's sake, but for the sake of positive self-esteem.....which out precious children have a natural tendency to lower, stretch and leave all wrinkly.

 

Weight training is just as important as cardio.

Of course cardio burns the fat, but weight training tones and sculpts.

 

My cardio: intervals on treadmill and stairmaster

My weights: leg press machine and 15lb dumbbells

Squats

Calf raises

 

Supersets on the leg press machine are doing squats and calf raises. You work the whole leg at one time on one machine.

I do 3 sets of supersets on the leg press machine after doing cardio and then some sort of bicep curls.

I actually experiment with other forms of the same muscle-working machines just for the fun of working out.

 

 Of course budgeting fitness means cutting out a certain amount of shopping and dining out......darn those white chocolate mochas that tempt and taunt me on the days that I can fall asleep while singing and coloring.

 

Do you have a fitness routine?

I Ditched NaBloPoMo & Took An Unexpected Break

I am so not good with traveling and blogging.

I don't know how you all do it, expecially when you have little ones to tend to while on vacation. My little ones wanted to stay on the go Go GO.

 

It didn't help that I had caught a pneumonia/sinusitis bug the day before we got on the plane.

We were there for about a week and I enjoyed myself in the midst of my phlegm-hacking and nose-blowing (gross, sorry). 

When we got back I thought I would just take my over-the-counter expectorants and fever reducing meds so that I would be healthier and refreshed for the coming week but, my little illness really showed me.

 

Annnnnddddd, my husband had to go out of town for the WHOLE week for one of his projects.

That was last week.

 

At the end of last week when I realized that the boogeyman living in my nose and chest for 2 weeks wasn't going away, I went to the doctor and was prescribed 2 different forms of medicine for pneumonia and sinusitis.

 

Before finally going to the doctor, I figured I may have had 'walking pneumonia' because my chest and lungs physically hurt for several day with a fever to follow a few days after.

The kids at my boys' little MDO school just cough and cough without covering their mouths and wipe their snotty noses on their hands. Yuck. Last year, when RSV (the absolute worst virus for toddlers!) was shuffling around their MDO school, they were tested for walking pneumonia and strep throat before being diagnosed with RSV.

 

Just writing this is making me think about taking them out of that little MDO school until February, the end of nasty-airborne-virus-amongst-kids season.

And by the way, my oldest coughs into his elbow and wipes his nose with his shirt. He was even complimented by his teacher for it.....not the shirt part, lol.

 

Anywho....

My prescribed anitbiotics had the side effects of drowsiness and dizziness, so since taking them for the past 5 days, I've allowed myself as much sleep rest as possible.

What did my kids do while I rested you ask [this stay at home mommy]?

Sigh. Unfortunately they were snapped on pretty often, then ignored, but also fed all 3 meals.

Hey....at least they were fed.

 

There wasn't much....oh who am I kidding, there wasn't ANY learning, singing or anything going on. There was a lot of quiet time, tv watching and shushing with "Sorry honey Mommy's sick."

My poor kids.

 

They haven't seen any of their favorite shows since, haha. We're back on the go.

 

Oh and I also let them make a complete mess of their toys and my room.

Since my hubby was gone for the whole week, I never cleaned up.

 

But I did disinfect. {smile}

 

 Guess I should start taking all of the immune building supplements I give my boys. Duh.

 

 

 

But....I missed you guys and reading your blogs! I have to catch up on them like homework.

 

I'm going to be bombarding you with posts and bombarding your blogs with comments!

 

Hope you all are well and healthy!!!!!

Unusual But Special Holiday Traditions

Thanksgiving is next week!
At the end of this week, my family and I will be getting on a plane and heading to the west coast.
San Francisco, here we come!
Our current tradition, since having kids, is to head west for the Thanksgiving holiday and go to our hometown for the Christmas holiday. My mom lives in San Francisco for now and we actually have more fun in California because we're not jumping from house to house visiting family and friends. Those kinds of 'vacations' pretty much suck.

The older I get, the more I like not having the same ol' year in year out traditions.
I appreciate those traditions and know they're always a great backup, but I love being able to travel on the holidays. It would be even better if we could travel with some family members on the holidays but unlike some people who probably wouldn't if their family can't travel with them, we'll probably choose to do so anyway.
It's another chance to make memories with our kids.
A chance to do something with our kids that we weren't able to experience with our parents.

I'm sure there'll be a time when it no longer fits our budget for awhile, but right now, we're enjoying our new tradition. And I'm enjoying taking a break from cooking Thanksgiving dinner for our house.

What are your plans for the holiday?
And what are your special family holiday traditions (including travelling or that special dish that everyone waits for the holidays to eat)?

Top 5 Reasons Boys Are (More) Awesome (NaBloPoMo)

5) When they fall, you can tell them to 'get right back up' without rushing over to pick them up and you won't 'look bad.'
Of course this does not include the infant/early toddler stage, but around 18 months, you're free to not run and superman-slide to prevent any bruises. This may bother you at first, but we have to encourage our boys to be 'tough' (not rough & tough).
Parents of little girls, have the option of encouraging their daughters to be tough our "girly" in the cutest of ways. <----that takes more superman-slides and resulting rapid heartbeats though

4) Boys are nasty...so you don't have to worry about preventing them from getting dirty.
They actually prefer to be one with dirt sometimes.
This realization and acceptance keeps your blood pressure and frustration levels down.
Plus, your trusty bag of wipes take care of the necessary quick fixes.

~My youngest loves to touch our tires as we are loading and unloading him and his brother into the car. Imagine how it is seeing his little palm covered in black just after you get him in his car seat when his palm was clean as a whistle before exiting the house.

~My oldest likes to stomp, I said STOMP, in the freshly rained on mud as well as lay in gravel rocks. Good thing it doesn't rain too often.

3) Boys aren't bossy.
Boys just like to play, share and not share, and fight over silly things. Girls like to do those things too, but come on, we all know girls are bossy.....and it starts at the toddler stage. It could be due to the fact that girls mature 'faster' than boys in most stages or that girls are better communicators at all stages. Either way, girls are bossy and their bossier than boys.
My husband had a dream a long time ago that we had a girl as our 3rd child.
I asked him, "What was she like?"
He answered, "Bossy as sh*t."
We both sort of laughed and he tried to remember just how she bossed her older brothers around in his dream.
I actually was thinking, "Good, somebody needs to keep those boys in line." Hahahahaaaaa
Bossy isn't necessarily bad, just annoying as all hell.

2) You don't have to do their hair.
Duh. This gives you more time to yourself in the evenings and more time to your bed/sheets in the mornings. Just moisturize, brush and go. Oh and haircuts don't take that long either. Luckily, my husband cuts their hair (for now).

1) Shopping is a breeze.
There's no need for 3-piece items. All you have to do is find a nice looking shirt: button-up to be church fancy, polo to be casual and graphic [tees] shirts to learn shapes, colors, objects and animals from as well as to get dirty in.
Depending on the sizes and selections available, you can be done in as little as 30 minutes. This goes for shoes as well.
I figured this out when I shopped for a baby girl baby shower and bought a jumpsuit-like dress and turtleneck but not the tights or shoes to complete the outfit. It was too much work so I bought a couple of books instead.


What's your list about your boy(s) or girl(s)? Write your own list and let me know about it or link it back to this post!

This post is inspired by and dedicated to my non-blogging besties that have girly-tough girls that make my womb itch.

*NaBloPoMo.....I want to throw up the 'west side' symbol everytime I try and mumble that.

Christmas Shopping...What's Your Routine?

The winter holidays are here! Okay, they're not here just yet.
But they are right around the corner.
My mind is still in the early part of the fall season. The weather here in the DFW area still feels like early fall and I'm pretty darn grateful about it.....although the warmer days are a bit more sporadic. One week, the temperatures are in the upper 70's and then the next week the temperatures are in the low 60's, like they will be next week.
With the year passing by so quickly, Christmas (and my boy's birthdays) will be here in a few blinks.
Have you done ANY Christmas shopping yet? I know I haven't and I'm starting to feel overwhelmed about all of the gifts I need to accumulate in 6 weeks.
I prefer to have all of my shopping done before the 1st of December.
My husband, on the other hand, loves being in the shopping rush in the few weeks that lead up to Christmas.
Sometimes shopping in the rush is fun and other times I get so impatient that I am taken home....by myself. Hahahaaaaa. {my twisted little plan}

He gets more engulfed in the Christmas spirit brushing shoulders with fellow shoppers, hearing the booming speakers playing Mariah Carey's version of "Jingle Bells" and seeing the Christmas decor. He even likes the snow......something I can do without. I think his love for the Christmas season and holiday is why our first son was born on Christmas as opposed to his actual due date. When he was born, there was 13" of snow on the ground by late Christmas morning.
So yeah, I can do without winter snow for a long time.

We'll be travelling so much this month, that I guess I'll have to get creative.

Do you have a routine for Christmas shopping? When do you start and finish your Christmas shopping?

*NaBloPoMo

Welcome to 30! (NaBloPoMo)

I've had 20/20 vision since......well birth I guess.
It could be due to 30 welcoming me with open arms in February or due to me looking at tiny engineering words, numbers, lines and maps.
Most of the men I worked with would take off their glasses and read the maps and drawings from about 4" away from their face. I always thought they were crazy to not use a magnifying glass but hey.
To their defense, drawings are done in black, gray, light gray and even lighter gray colors. This is to distinguish between the existing landscape (light gray and lighter gray colors) and proposed construction (dark lines) changes. The problem is that proposed construction has to be tied into existing thus causing MAJOR eye strain. The office magnifying glasses were always occupied!

Anyway, I had been straining my eyes when reading my phone and when using the computer. I got my eyes checked and the optometrist I went to said that I seem to have developed farsighted traits and recommended a lens prescription.

At least I got an extremely cute yet expensive new accessory......some cute Michael Stars frames.

What physical (yet not disappointing) changes has age brought you?

They Can 'Smell' My Desire To Give In

What goes on in the mind of a child when they cry?
Notice, I said child.....not baby. Maybe I should really say toddler.
Anyway, enough of the technicalities.

What does it feel like to cry at the top of your lungs to get something you want? The age of not being able to communicate is over but not the habit of crying to get the response you want.....not need.

I would have an extreme headache if I cried at the top of my lungs when I didn't get what I wanted the WAY I wanted it. I get slight headaches when I cry for a few minutes when watching a sad movie or hearing of deaths, etc.
I wonder if 'they' get headaches........?
I'm not going to give in, even though that's the only logical thing to do to get the crying to stooooooppppp.
Just like dogs, babies/toddlers/kids have a sixth sense. They can 'smell' fear.
I think my kids can smell my desire to give in.



Do your kids have the same sixth sense? Do YOU give in? Ignore? Or cry-whine with them?
I alternate doing all three.

10 Things I Say To My Kids That You Probably Don't Say To Yours

1)"Hey no more vegetables for you, me and daddy want some."

Not sure how common that one is.
My oldest (2.5 year old) is a pretty good eater most days and sometimes he asks to eat the veggies off
of our plates too. Meanwhile, we're forcing my youngest (1.5 year old) to eat his veggies.

2)"Have you lost your mind?!?"

I say this maybe every other day when I'm in pure shock of what I see happening. Usually when my boys are standing on their kiddie table throwing toys clear across the room while I'm trying to eat lunch or empty the dishwasher.

I also say this when my youngest gets ahold of lotion bottles....that his brother gave to him <----interestingly enough, his face is always spotless.

3)"We don't eat our boogers! We wipe them on our shirt!"

After my 2.5 year old's second week of school, he would say to us, "Look, a booger." Then he would pop it in his mouth and cheese. He was reminded that mommy and daddy don't walk around eating boogers.
Hey, its not like he's going to run and find a kleenex and it was all I could think of at the time so now I roll with it to be consistent.

4)"He's not allowed to have cake or cookies."

Anytime we go to picnics or parties, I tell whoever is offering cake that my youngest "can't have any because he doesn't eat meat or vegetables."
I usually get a weird look and a response like, "not even a little bit?"
Me: "No."
I've given in once and my youngest devoured said dessert, yet still won't [willingly] eat meat or vegetables. Just last night he 'ate' the tiny amount of salmon, rice and asparagus put in front of him and hoarded the food in his mouth. Full-jawed with food juice seeping out of his lips. (Yuck.)
He didn't swallow his food until we put a spoonful of sherbert in his mouth.
And before you think "of course he wouldn't eat salmon," he won't eat hot dogs, grilled/baked/fried chicken, Chic Fil-A chicken, tacos, chili, burgers, quesadillas.....NOTHING! I can't burn him out on pb&j's and grilled cheeses because that's what he eats for lunch!
If he had his way, he'd live on peanut butter, bananas, yogurt and graham crackers.

5)"If you boo boo in your underwear again, you're cleaning it up, not me."

I tried this [old school] tactic on my oldest in efforts to strongly encourage him to boo boo on the potty. I think I used this method maybe 3-4 times before I abandoned it. My mom said after 1 time of having to clean his own boo boo, my brother was potty-trained.
Well, screw that, I've paid my fare for the "he'll do it when he's ready" train.
This seat is comfortable too.

6) "Eat the cookie." "Eat the candy."

Actually I don't say this, my husband does and it always makes me chuckle. My oldest doesn't have a big sweet tooth. He'll ask for desserts and after 2 or 3 bites, he's "all done."
I like to say he prefers the "sugars of the earth." If I ate like him, I'd have my 6-pack by now.
(His non-fresh fruit desserts are fruit snacks, dried cranberries, yogurt and vanilla ice cream.)

7)"Get your hand out of your butt."

I'm saying this allllll the time. Apparently I need to let them go 'cowboy' more often so their privates can see freedom every now and then.
I just hate accidents on the carpet. I don't mind their beds, but when they leave the bed, underwear and diapers it is.

8) "You're going to be my height by the age of 8!"

I'm 4'11" tall. My husband is 6'1" and his family members are 6'1" or taller. Right now, my 2.5 year old comes to the bottom of my ribs. I'm pretty sure that most moms aren't saying that!
{secretly jealous of you tall chicas}
Not to mention, he says weekly, "Mommy yittle and daddy big." I laugh and say you're right, thanks.
Naturally, I have a big personality and tall friends. In heels most of them are 6' + some.
So glad our party picture days are over so I no longer look like I'm breastfeeding.....hahaha.

9) "Stop poking your finger in my deodorant!"

Seriously, why must I say this at all?!? My youngest is curious in the worst way.

10) "I think you need anger management for toddlers."

My youngest's first response is to hit. Its not a hard hit but that's not the point. When he gets sad or upset with his brother, he will penguin-walk or penguin-run around the house and hit him.
No, not take the toy back or tell mommy or daddy....just straight up hit him. Then the back and forth hitting takes place. Sometimes its funny because they'll hug and say sorry to each other before "I come over there." I always turn my head to laugh.
Luckily, he doesn't do that to other kids, but we're still working on it.





Today I'm linking up with Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop.