It's a favorite phrase in my husband's family and one that has been around longer than me so I don't know where it started (something about a favorite book) but it's our phrase. Red was Gram's favorite color, the matriarch and quiet strength of our large, loving, talented and incredible family. Her health had been deteriorating for the past several years. Since I married in, over seven years ago, she had always been wheel chair bound and at our large family gatherings, she sat in her favorite red chair, content to watch the antics, supervise the going-ons and listen to the music and noise that always accompany us.
Two weeks ago, an infection took her to the hospital and as many times before, her spirit rallied. But this time, her body could not. She was sent home on hospice where we would spend a few lingering days with her. What precious time! Family gathered, singing and storytelling. And soon she "stepped gracefully into eternity". (quote borrowed from her beautifully written obituary). I think it was her last gift, to give us a few more days to prepare ourselves, call family together and delight in the stories and music that bind this family together.
She passed away last Wednesday. My husband and his dad were away on a business trip. It had been a tough decision for them to go but their goodbyes had been said and Gram would have insisted. Thursday, I took the girls to play at my brother's house so I could go with Husband's mom to visit the Aunties and see what we could do to help. We put ourselves to work and being useful always makes me feel better. I love being with these strong, incredible, flavorful women. I love their rich personalities, their strength and depth, their humor and their talents.
On Friday, I attended GroupKick training. That set me up for a rollarcoaster weekend and it felt strange to feel so exhilarated and have so much fun at training and then to step back into my home life, of a shared subdued grief. But truthfully, I think had she been able, a younger Gram would have trained along with me just for the fun of it. After Friday's training, I returned home to a house full of people. Husband was home, his parents were there, as well as his brother and his family who had just arrived and the girls were full of energy and excitement at the chance to play with their cousin. We got some food and played all evening, even roasting s'mores in our backyard.
Saturday was a repeat: intense training followed by another evening with family. And Sunday won for the most choatic (and emotional rollarcoaster) of all. I went to training and then dashed home to shower and ready for church. It was our annual visiting teaching conference which was wonderful for me as one of the sisters, but for Husband meant he was in charge of the Primary (so the sisters who were normally in Primary would be free to attend the conference). So I took Lovely to the conference with me while Husband played Primary leader. As soon as church ended, we loaded the girls in the car and drove north. Gram and Auntie L (my daughter's namesake) have been companions for many years and their beautiful home was host to the viewing that evening. A neighbor and dear family friend offered to host the family dinner at her house so we were able to eat there and then join the rest of the family at Gram's house for the viewing. Our girls were pretty wound up and eagerly and excitedly played with cousins all night. My parents also attended the viewing to offer the condolences (and see the girls) and eventually we headed home.
Throughout the weekend, I thought to myself about the various funerals I've attended. There are typically varying levels of grief and sometimes even an overwhelming sadness. But this weekend really was a celebration of Gram's life. I hope that everyone had the opportunity to grieve the way they needed to, and certainly tears were shed all weekend long. But for the most part, we held tight to our faith and belief in a joyous afterlife where we would be reunited with our Savior, with other loved ones and that our bodies would be restored to perfect health. So we leaned on our faith, acknowledged extra appreciation for our time with her and did exactly what she wanted--we celebrated her life.
Monday morning we gathered for family pictures. Everyone was able to make it except one cousin, currently serving a mission (and Husband's brother who passed away several years ago in an accident). The family picture will be undoubtedly beautiful with our large family gathered. As a tribute to Gram, we all wore our splashes of red and it made quite a striking sight. (red is best!) During the viewing and funeral, the women from the church arranged for a nursery so the girls got to play while Lovely napped. She slept through the family prayer but awoke right after so she spent most of the funeral in the nursery as well.
Emotion is a peculiar thing. And when I'm busy chasing my girls (or wearing out my muscles at training), it's actually easy for me to set emotion aside and take care of what needs to be done. But with the girls playing happily in the nursery, I could feel it creep in. But grief is good in that it is cleansing, so it came as I sat through the funeral, listening to the beautiful tributes, done with love, humor and especially song. It was a wonderful experience, with many family members sharing. Each of the sisters offered a trait that described Gram, accompanied with stories. Two of our cousins got to speak on behalf of the grandkids. There were several songs preformed, sometimes joined by a few family members, sometimes even the whole congregation. It was reverent and joyous, full of affection, respect, humor and love.
Husband was one of the pallbearers to help carry the pine casket, beautifully crafted by the grandsons (no one would have guessed it wasn't "professional"). They loaded it into the hearse, drawn by horses. And then after a brief collection of children, we were able to do a one-mile procession. The pallbearers and most of the family walked behind the horses and hearse. I was lucky enough to be the first car that followed (having felt like our kids wouldn't do well on such a long walk in the 90 degree weather) and it was an incredibly moving sight. The respectful solemnity was interspersed with some teasing the ladies about their heels, the men making a quick dash to throw their suit coats into my car, or a friend who thoughtfully stood halfway down the road with an armful of water bottles.
At the cemetery, Husband's dad offered the grave dedication and all of the grandkids were encouraged to take a rose with them.
Then we headed to the luncheon, where the aunties had ordered Gram's favorite--Winger's and Chick-fil-a. The sisters from the church accompanied it with sides and dessert for a fantastic meal. We feasted and then the girls, who really had been quiet and well behaved for much longer than any 2 and 4 year old is used to, were ready to run and play. So we took a drive, ran some errands and let them nap for awhile.
The last event of the day was a musical tribute, a backyard concert. Two of Gram's children are professional singers, recorded songwriters and artists who led the evening, with a few special numbers from less professional but abundantly talented cousins. We listened to the music, chuckled at memories and commented quietly to cousins and friends through the beautiful evening. My girls eagerly ran to sit on the blankets up front with the other kids. They played quietly, also enjoying the music. Butterfly began passing out hugs, starting with a few cousins her age, then moving onto the nearby adults, sincerely asking, "Do you need a hug too?" And once she got started, she simply continued moving down the row. She reached the end of the row, stepped to the next one and started again. She was sweet and sincere and not a single person turned her down. Eventually, after most rows had at least one hug and some rows had gotten four, she was becoming less sincere and more silly, having realized that everyone thought she was adorable. So I reluctantly stopped her, worried she was distracting people from the performances. But then her and sister discovered the table of candy and treats at the back of the crowd and she happily ran off again.
It was a wonderful day. A somber occasion and a great loss from this world but we celebrated as she wanted.
And as one last formal tribute (since the way we live our lives is a lasting one), we visited the cemetery near our home where Husband's brother was buried. We took one of Gram's roses to place at his headstone and Butterfly shared a tender moment with Grandpa, her tiny hands offering comfort to him when he needed it.
And then as Gram would have said, "now let's all go get a little bowl of ice cream". So we did.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
it's better in groups!
catchy isn't it?
It's one of the slogans from Body Training Systems, the company that comes up with the most brilliant and effective workouts. I've lost 35 pounds in the past six months and attribute it to #1, better eating habits and #2, group fitness classes (or "Group X").
A bit of background: when my baby was four months old, I joined a gym at my doctor's recommendation to deal with postpartum anxiety (and weight loss). I started with Pilates because I could take the baby to the studio. When baby was six months old I felt comfortable leaving her in the daycare and began to try other classes. I don't like working out on my own because it's too easy to procrastinate and I don't have the knowledge to create a program that will continually challenge and benefit me (this part is big for me, yes I can look at the little pictures on the weight machines but I don't have the expertise to use that and make a quality workout program). Treadmills are horribly boring and I wanted to be around other people--even if we weren't talking, I wanted to know my daily world included other adults (and not just my three small children).
The more classes I took, the more I loved it and soon I had so many favorite classes and favorite instructors that the classes overlapped and I found myself having to choose what to attend each day. I love DanceTrance, GroupPower, Spin, Pilates, Kickboxing and Zumba. I loved it so much and was there so often that as I was leaving one day, I nonchalantly asked, "Is there any chance you're looking for another instructor?" Imagine how thrilled I was when she responded, "well actually, yes." HURRAY!
So last weekend, I found myself joining five other AMAZING women that I have come to admire (and stalk, really. I figure if I want to look like them, I'll just follow them around to all their classes until I do) in training for GroupKick. This program is INCREDIBLE! The weekend started with a master class--a demo of what an actual class would be and we invited all the other employees to attend. The room was packed and the workout was fantastic. After the class, everyone else left (rubbing their newly sore muscles) and the six of us continued working with our fabulous instructor (I'm pretty sure they sent us the best they had, he was awesome!). We went over drills to perfect our technique, lectures on background, philosophy, coaching, cuing, physiology, more drills and finally went home...with homework! We each learned a track and returned the next day to teach our track and do more drills and lectures. Lather, rinse and repeat to total 3 days of intense training and working out. One of the other instructors admitted she feels cheated by her four hour Zumba certification because this program taught us so much about how to teach, how to modify for different levels, the background and benefits of each style of movement and more. Now we will spend a few weeks rehearsing and practicing before we do our final certification (film ourselves teaching the hour long class and submit for review) and launch our program!
So what's this program? It's an hour long intense cardio workout of boxing movements and martial arts. It's weight loss, toning, strengthening and building self confidence, all set to high energy music. It's dynamic, contagious, powerful and incredible. I LOVE this program.
I sound like I should be writing pitches for them. I would if they would let me! I believe in this program! BTS (the company who creates GroupKick) has over 100 instructors, trainers, physiologists, physical therapists, and other specialists and professionals of every variety who are working together to create the best workout possible and then brings this program into gyms all over the world. Our gym also offers their amazing weight lifting program called GroupPower and will hopefully offer more of their programs in the future (GroupStep, GroupCore, GroupCentergy, GroupGroove, GroupRide or GroupActive).
The training was intense but what an experience. I am SO excited about this program and can't wait to launch.
Let's Kick!!!
(and now back to our regularly scheduled program of my children's misadventures and anecdotes. Probably indistinguishable from the billion other mommy blogs out there but highly entertaining...mostly for my mom. and my other dedicated readers, all three of them. I love you.) :)
It's one of the slogans from Body Training Systems, the company that comes up with the most brilliant and effective workouts. I've lost 35 pounds in the past six months and attribute it to #1, better eating habits and #2, group fitness classes (or "Group X").
A bit of background: when my baby was four months old, I joined a gym at my doctor's recommendation to deal with postpartum anxiety (and weight loss). I started with Pilates because I could take the baby to the studio. When baby was six months old I felt comfortable leaving her in the daycare and began to try other classes. I don't like working out on my own because it's too easy to procrastinate and I don't have the knowledge to create a program that will continually challenge and benefit me (this part is big for me, yes I can look at the little pictures on the weight machines but I don't have the expertise to use that and make a quality workout program). Treadmills are horribly boring and I wanted to be around other people--even if we weren't talking, I wanted to know my daily world included other adults (and not just my three small children).
The more classes I took, the more I loved it and soon I had so many favorite classes and favorite instructors that the classes overlapped and I found myself having to choose what to attend each day. I love DanceTrance, GroupPower, Spin, Pilates, Kickboxing and Zumba. I loved it so much and was there so often that as I was leaving one day, I nonchalantly asked, "Is there any chance you're looking for another instructor?" Imagine how thrilled I was when she responded, "well actually, yes." HURRAY!
So last weekend, I found myself joining five other AMAZING women that I have come to admire (and stalk, really. I figure if I want to look like them, I'll just follow them around to all their classes until I do) in training for GroupKick. This program is INCREDIBLE! The weekend started with a master class--a demo of what an actual class would be and we invited all the other employees to attend. The room was packed and the workout was fantastic. After the class, everyone else left (rubbing their newly sore muscles) and the six of us continued working with our fabulous instructor (I'm pretty sure they sent us the best they had, he was awesome!). We went over drills to perfect our technique, lectures on background, philosophy, coaching, cuing, physiology, more drills and finally went home...with homework! We each learned a track and returned the next day to teach our track and do more drills and lectures. Lather, rinse and repeat to total 3 days of intense training and working out. One of the other instructors admitted she feels cheated by her four hour Zumba certification because this program taught us so much about how to teach, how to modify for different levels, the background and benefits of each style of movement and more. Now we will spend a few weeks rehearsing and practicing before we do our final certification (film ourselves teaching the hour long class and submit for review) and launch our program!
So what's this program? It's an hour long intense cardio workout of boxing movements and martial arts. It's weight loss, toning, strengthening and building self confidence, all set to high energy music. It's dynamic, contagious, powerful and incredible. I LOVE this program.
I sound like I should be writing pitches for them. I would if they would let me! I believe in this program! BTS (the company who creates GroupKick) has over 100 instructors, trainers, physiologists, physical therapists, and other specialists and professionals of every variety who are working together to create the best workout possible and then brings this program into gyms all over the world. Our gym also offers their amazing weight lifting program called GroupPower and will hopefully offer more of their programs in the future (GroupStep, GroupCore, GroupCentergy, GroupGroove, GroupRide or GroupActive).
The training was intense but what an experience. I am SO excited about this program and can't wait to launch.
Let's Kick!!!
(and now back to our regularly scheduled program of my children's misadventures and anecdotes. Probably indistinguishable from the billion other mommy blogs out there but highly entertaining...mostly for my mom. and my other dedicated readers, all three of them. I love you.) :)
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
nutrition and fitness
Something kind of awesome happened tonight. The Relief Society was planning a "Nutrition and Fitness" night. Since this has become a hobby and passion of mine over the last several months, I offered to help. So tonight, I ended up doing a short lecture on nutrition. Who knew.
It was fantastic. And as I began, I could see the good natured whispered teasing about me giving advice to ladies much larger and older than me. but I didn't take offense. (in fact, doesn't that just give further testament that what I said really does work?) So I clarified that I'm not an expert but that everything I've learned has come from reading and asking questions after realizing I was nearly forty pound heavier than I should have been (even after losing the bulk of the baby weight).
After my mini-lecture, one of my neighbors and good friends led us in a Zumba workout and we finished off the night with smoothies. I actually demo-ed this with my magic bullet knock-off (available for $20 at WalMart). one cup frozen fruit covered with skim milk, a handful of spinach and one cup of carbmaster/greek yogurt (I prefer the taste of carbmaster but either is good because of the high protein content). Another friend also shared her recipe of mixed berries, fresh squeezed lime, spinach, an orange and ice.
This was the handout and outline I offered (with added notes in italics):
Keep a food journal (I use “counter counter” or “my fitness pal” smartphone app). Count your calories and learn portion sizes. Daily intake recommended by US dept of Ag for women is 1600-2000 (men, kids and pregnant women need more. as you get older, you need less. find the right amount based on your height and age.)
Remember that your body is a gift! -- the greatest gift the Lord gave us was the Atonement. But perhaps second to that, He gave us our bodies and the stewardship over it. What an incredible gift! And someday, we will be accountable for that stewardship. We have also been given stewardship over our children for a number of years and it is our responsibility to teach them healthy habits. So start slow. Pick one a week, a new guideline to practice, something to give up, something new to add. Focus on small, measurable goals, learn all you can and enjoy the process!
It was fantastic. And as I began, I could see the good natured whispered teasing about me giving advice to ladies much larger and older than me. but I didn't take offense. (in fact, doesn't that just give further testament that what I said really does work?) So I clarified that I'm not an expert but that everything I've learned has come from reading and asking questions after realizing I was nearly forty pound heavier than I should have been (even after losing the bulk of the baby weight).
After my mini-lecture, one of my neighbors and good friends led us in a Zumba workout and we finished off the night with smoothies. I actually demo-ed this with my magic bullet knock-off (available for $20 at WalMart). one cup frozen fruit covered with skim milk, a handful of spinach and one cup of carbmaster/greek yogurt (I prefer the taste of carbmaster but either is good because of the high protein content). Another friend also shared her recipe of mixed berries, fresh squeezed lime, spinach, an orange and ice.
It was a great night, so fun and I'm still kind of amazed that this little hobby of mine has turned into such a passion.
This was the handout and outline I offered (with added notes in italics):
NUTRITION & FITNESS
There are no shortcuts or secrets: CALORIES IN & CALORIES
OUT. -- a calorie is a measurement of energy need to convert a measurement of food. so balancing calories in/calories out needs to be a balance of what you eat with how active you are.
Keep a food journal (I use “counter counter” or “my fitness pal” smartphone app). Count your calories and learn portion sizes. Daily intake recommended by US dept of Ag for women is 1600-2000 (men, kids and pregnant women need more. as you get older, you need less. find the right amount based on your height and age.)
Don’t diet. Eat healthy by habit. Measure success by your
level of energy and the way your clothes fit, not numbers on the scale. (a scale can show you progress but is only ONE measure of success. others are favorite pants growing looser, the "did you lose weight?" from an acquaintance) Please note that all this assumes no special dietary needs/concerns. And it's all stuff I learned for me. Use what you can and find out what YOUR body needs.
Your health is an investment. mental and physical. self confidence, quality of life. lowers risk of migraines, ovarian cancer, join pain, heart disease, digestive disorders, sleep apnea and MUCH MORE
Drink more water! Carry a water bottle with you everywhere, keep one on your desk.
Eat less CRAP:
Carbonation
Refined
sugars
Artificial
sweeteners
Processed foods
Instead, eat:
Less food,
more often – keep your metabolism consistent
A decent
breakfast - get your metabolism out of "storing mode" and back into "burning mode"
40-50 grams
of fiber a day - most Americans eat only 10! fiber helps your digestion system
More fruits
and veggies - give yourself more options, all day
More protein
– start your day with it
Whole grains - your body NEEDS carbs. whole grains are longer lasting/better satisfaction and cleaner.
More slowly - give your body time to realize it's full and you won't eat as much
Clean - cut out artificial sweeteners and processed foods.
Beware of cleanse diets. Most cleanse diets work because they are a seriously reduced caloric intake but that's not sustainable. or healthy. the weight will go right back on when you stop. Plus, your body already has it's own filtering system. Your kidneys will cleanse well enough on their own if you stay well hydrated and avoid bogging them down with toxins from processed foods.
Portion control (and how you fill your plate) a serving of meat is typically 3-4 oz, or the size of a deck of cards... and adult stomach is really only the size of your fist, it doesn't take much to fill it... and when you eat clean, you can eat A LOT more and it's more filling... instead of mostly pasta and chicken with a side of veggies, fill half the plate with veggies, one quarter chicken, one quarter veggies
Get moving. Think of
exercise as a pleasure and privilege.
Today’s pain is tomorrow’s strength.
Slow and steady wins the race
Food is
fuel, a car can’t run without gas
4 weeks til
you see it, 8 weeks for friends, 12 weeks the world
My personal favorites:
Oatmeal Smoothies
Carbmaster/Greek yogurt Whole
grain goldfish crackers
Nature Valley granola bars (oat and honey)
Reduced fat Wheat Thins String
cheese
Protein shakes (chocolate premier nutrition from Costco)
Sliced turkey Low
sodium beef jerky
Chocolate milk Toast
and jam
Craisins sugar free
pudding
Clemtines watermelon
Trail mix cherry
tomatoes
Grilled pineapple sugar
snap peas
Red bell peppers quinoa
Dried fruit pretzels
Cucumbers grilled zuchinni
Strawberries fish
Exercise: weights
& cardio -- you need BOTH. weight build muscle to help your metabolism, cardio to burn calories.
Tricks I’ve learned:
Sit down to snack, don’t
eat absentmindedly
Watch your portions, don’t
snack from the box - preserve portions in a cup or ziploc
Kill cravings with
mint gum - break the "pop and can't stop" cycle with fresh breath
Keep serving dishes
off the table
Beware of drinking
your calories - eat an orange over drink it because of sugar content/fiber/calories
Full glass of water
before any snack or meal
Dollar Store for veg
steamer bags
Sunflower seeds for
roadtrips
Premake salads, the
darker greens the better - make several (minus dressing) at one time
Keep fruits/veggies
ready to eat in prime fridge placement
Offer more than one vegetable at meals
Baby food/puree veggies to add when cooking
Make good choices - especially for treats We rarely order dessert because we are hungry. We order it because it tastes good. So consider, does my body need this? And if it is an occasion to have a treat, make a good choice. A homemade cookie, made with good quality ingredients, is a better choice than a prepackaged store bought full of preservatives and over processed ingredients. Or a delectable dessert, rich with natural flavors or a candy bar full of wax preservatives.
Make good choices - especially for treats We rarely order dessert because we are hungry. We order it because it tastes good. So consider, does my body need this? And if it is an occasion to have a treat, make a good choice. A homemade cookie, made with good quality ingredients, is a better choice than a prepackaged store bought full of preservatives and over processed ingredients. Or a delectable dessert, rich with natural flavors or a candy bar full of wax preservatives.
vigil
I married into an amazing family (I come from one as well but that's thoughts for another day). It's an amazing family, large and loving with strong connections to one another and bursting with talent. Among this amazing and talented family are many successful careers such as doctors, engineers, teachers, lawyers, builders, directors and more mingling with singers, musicians, chefs, caretakers, writers and such. Some of these are careers and others are occupations that fill our free time.
I envy many of these talents (I know I am not without my own. but I still have a healthy envy.) I particularly envy the musical talents as I listen to guitars and rich voices singing. I envy the writers as well, such as a cousin who blogs the most beautiful sediments to her daughter--things that I wish I could say with the tenderness, humor and wit that she offers. And an aunt that I've mentioned before, the master storyteller that lovingly draws you in to share her thoughts and emotions, using words that weave a spell. The picture she paints comes to life and surrounds you so real that you could reach out and touch it, yearning to be a part of it. Tonight she wrote this.
She wrote of our vigil with Gram. Our large, loving family has gathered. We mull around the house, waiting. Not with the depression, anxiety and tears that often come with this sort of stage in life but we hang around the house simply because we want to be together. The siblings, Gram's children, drift in and out of her room, taking turns holding her hand, sharing memories and singing and playing songs. The great grandkids, run around to play together, generally well mannered and respectful but excited to be together. And the grandkids--my generation, is somewhere in between. We delight in seeing each other and getting to hear the stories, but we subdue at the circumstances that brought us here. We try to help, offering food, errands and companionship. We often join in the songs and the music is our shared security blanket, an expression of love and emotion wrapping us closer together in this tender experience.
I've only been part of the family for a few years. I self-consciously admit a little jealousy, suspecting that her other grandchildren know her better than me and wanting to hear every story. She's an incredible woman, one who has lived a life of adventures and seen many trials. She's a woman of strength and dignity and so many more wonderful things.
In my mind, the space between two worlds grows closer. Rather than separated, they begin to blend, gently fading into each other. Just as loved ones on this side gather together in love and song, perhaps guiding her to the gate, other gather to greet and usher her in to the rest of the Father. The music is the constant, heard and shared on both sides.
I don't know how to end this. But perhaps that is the answer. There is no end, it's simply a bridge from this life to the next. And when she's ready, she will cross that bridge and may our love and our music carry her there.
I envy many of these talents (I know I am not without my own. but I still have a healthy envy.) I particularly envy the musical talents as I listen to guitars and rich voices singing. I envy the writers as well, such as a cousin who blogs the most beautiful sediments to her daughter--things that I wish I could say with the tenderness, humor and wit that she offers. And an aunt that I've mentioned before, the master storyteller that lovingly draws you in to share her thoughts and emotions, using words that weave a spell. The picture she paints comes to life and surrounds you so real that you could reach out and touch it, yearning to be a part of it. Tonight she wrote this.
She wrote of our vigil with Gram. Our large, loving family has gathered. We mull around the house, waiting. Not with the depression, anxiety and tears that often come with this sort of stage in life but we hang around the house simply because we want to be together. The siblings, Gram's children, drift in and out of her room, taking turns holding her hand, sharing memories and singing and playing songs. The great grandkids, run around to play together, generally well mannered and respectful but excited to be together. And the grandkids--my generation, is somewhere in between. We delight in seeing each other and getting to hear the stories, but we subdue at the circumstances that brought us here. We try to help, offering food, errands and companionship. We often join in the songs and the music is our shared security blanket, an expression of love and emotion wrapping us closer together in this tender experience.
I've only been part of the family for a few years. I self-consciously admit a little jealousy, suspecting that her other grandchildren know her better than me and wanting to hear every story. She's an incredible woman, one who has lived a life of adventures and seen many trials. She's a woman of strength and dignity and so many more wonderful things.
In my mind, the space between two worlds grows closer. Rather than separated, they begin to blend, gently fading into each other. Just as loved ones on this side gather together in love and song, perhaps guiding her to the gate, other gather to greet and usher her in to the rest of the Father. The music is the constant, heard and shared on both sides.
I don't know how to end this. But perhaps that is the answer. There is no end, it's simply a bridge from this life to the next. And when she's ready, she will cross that bridge and may our love and our music carry her there.
last lap!
I told my cousintwin that I was going to make a cake decorated with a race track in honor of us entering the last lap of our twenties. So yes, I am now 29 years old!
Which incidentally surprises most people. They tend to think I'm older, somewhere between 32-34 which is kind of the wrong direction most women want to go for age-guessing trivia. I think it's the three kids, big house and husband's accomplished career that throws people off. But maybe just for fun, I'll start telling people I'm 35 and then reap the "but you look so young!" compliments.
This is where I make a brief reference to my "before I turn 30 bucket list". If I was fancy and blog-savvy, I would have used keywords to help me find it again quick and I could include the link. Or I probably could just search for it in the same amount of time it's taken to give excuses. But instead I'll just allude to it. I'm making slow progress. I'll let you know how it goes.
Onto the celebrating recap: 29 was a great birthday. Rather, a little bit bittersweet because there is a wide range of emotions with the current going-ons in my amazing family but that will be a separate post. Here's the birthday stuff:
Friday night (day before my birthday) was the annual party for my husband's company. And while that has nothing to do with my birthday, it was fantastic. His partners and parents hosted a fantastic evening with great activities and amazing food. For activities, our security adviser assumed his alternate personality as storyteller and nature advocate to put on a fun presentation complete with animal pelts and making casts of animal prints. We broke stones to find fossils and painted pictures. Husband and his dad put together a churrascaria (think Brazilian steakhouse) and played grill master to create an epically wonderful meal. We had a team building activity and ice cream sundae bar to finish out the night. All in all, a wonderful success and fantastic evening.
Saturday morning, the kids crashed my plans to sleep in but helped me make my favorite breakfast--honey wheat waffles with nutella, strawberries, bananas and whip cream. Then we cleaned the house. No really. A realtor was bringing people to see the house so we worked hard to get in ready in time (which means I don't have to do any chores this week. win-win.) They arrived early and we were still there, which means we spent the next 45 minutes talking with them, answering questions and giving them a tour. It was a lot of fun and I really liked this family. Later I concluded it's probably better to not know them because I really want them to buy our house. And then I want to buy a smaller house in this same neighborhood so we can be best friends. They were a lot of fun but we will see what happens.
We attended the birthday party of our cousin's daughter and had a ton of fun. So even though we didn't tell anyone it was my birthday, I technically still got a pinata plus cake and ice cream. The other birthday girl was thrilled and I love seeing that little kid excitement of knowing the whole day is meant just for them. The girls loved playing in the pool and I loved getting to see our cousins.
Then we met up with my parents to trade vehicles (ours had kids in it). The took our girls for the evening to run errands, attend a wedding reception and bring them home while we went on a hot date. My mom told me the quote of the day was when my Butterfly went into the bathroom and found the bride primping. She stared at her and politely offered, "do you need me to hold your dress while you go potty Cinderella?" Love that kid.
As for me and Husband, we went to visit his Gram. We planned to make it a quick visit but the time got away from us while we sat with our loving family and our lesiurely dinner turned into a quick stop and In'n'Out on our way to Capitol Theater to see Wicked. It was amazing! I LOVE this show and it was a fantastic production. We saw Wicked in London a few years ago and I wondered how this would compare. Well done, Capitol Theater. I loved, loved, loved it. Through the first few numbers, I couldn't stop smiling, knowing that the music and energy and passion was radiating through the theater, taking us captive, drawing us in with their fantastic talent.
On the way home, Husband decided I needed a birthday dessert (who am I to protest?) so we stopped at the grocery store bakery to buy an enormous delectable cupcake to share.
I spent Sunday morning lounging around with my parents (who had spent the night) while Husband had to go to church meetings. My mom made us breakfast and my parents helped me with my lesson for Relief Society. We went to church where the girls were actually better behaved than usual and I taught my lesson which despite my initial struggle in preparing, ended up being a lot of fun and went really well. And then we spent the evening at Gram's house again with tons of family and fantastic food as we shared in the bedside vigil (again, more later).
On Monday (yes, birthdays tend to last a very long time around here. Sometimes it's because turning three is just too much fun and has to be milked for all it's worth. and sometimes it's because it's hard to fit in time to celebrate properly.) Husband's parents took us to lunch at my favorite restaurant. The girls drew pictures on the paper table coverings, Lovely devoured mango, we stuffed ourselves on the amazing food and then shared the best tres leche cake known to man.
And then today, I managed to sneak in one more hurrah with my girlfriends. We left all our kids with a babysitter while four friends and I went to brunch at Kneader's. Mostly just because I loved these amazing women and look for any excuse to spend time with them. And because Kneader's french toast is divine.
And thus endeth my 29th birthday celebrations. Unless cousintwin and I find time to celebrate together. Then there will be cake. With a racetrack.
Which incidentally surprises most people. They tend to think I'm older, somewhere between 32-34 which is kind of the wrong direction most women want to go for age-guessing trivia. I think it's the three kids, big house and husband's accomplished career that throws people off. But maybe just for fun, I'll start telling people I'm 35 and then reap the "but you look so young!" compliments.
This is where I make a brief reference to my "before I turn 30 bucket list". If I was fancy and blog-savvy, I would have used keywords to help me find it again quick and I could include the link. Or I probably could just search for it in the same amount of time it's taken to give excuses. But instead I'll just allude to it. I'm making slow progress. I'll let you know how it goes.
Onto the celebrating recap: 29 was a great birthday. Rather, a little bit bittersweet because there is a wide range of emotions with the current going-ons in my amazing family but that will be a separate post. Here's the birthday stuff:
Friday night (day before my birthday) was the annual party for my husband's company. And while that has nothing to do with my birthday, it was fantastic. His partners and parents hosted a fantastic evening with great activities and amazing food. For activities, our security adviser assumed his alternate personality as storyteller and nature advocate to put on a fun presentation complete with animal pelts and making casts of animal prints. We broke stones to find fossils and painted pictures. Husband and his dad put together a churrascaria (think Brazilian steakhouse) and played grill master to create an epically wonderful meal. We had a team building activity and ice cream sundae bar to finish out the night. All in all, a wonderful success and fantastic evening.
Saturday morning, the kids crashed my plans to sleep in but helped me make my favorite breakfast--honey wheat waffles with nutella, strawberries, bananas and whip cream. Then we cleaned the house. No really. A realtor was bringing people to see the house so we worked hard to get in ready in time (which means I don't have to do any chores this week. win-win.) They arrived early and we were still there, which means we spent the next 45 minutes talking with them, answering questions and giving them a tour. It was a lot of fun and I really liked this family. Later I concluded it's probably better to not know them because I really want them to buy our house. And then I want to buy a smaller house in this same neighborhood so we can be best friends. They were a lot of fun but we will see what happens.
We attended the birthday party of our cousin's daughter and had a ton of fun. So even though we didn't tell anyone it was my birthday, I technically still got a pinata plus cake and ice cream. The other birthday girl was thrilled and I love seeing that little kid excitement of knowing the whole day is meant just for them. The girls loved playing in the pool and I loved getting to see our cousins.
Then we met up with my parents to trade vehicles (ours had kids in it). The took our girls for the evening to run errands, attend a wedding reception and bring them home while we went on a hot date. My mom told me the quote of the day was when my Butterfly went into the bathroom and found the bride primping. She stared at her and politely offered, "do you need me to hold your dress while you go potty Cinderella?" Love that kid.
As for me and Husband, we went to visit his Gram. We planned to make it a quick visit but the time got away from us while we sat with our loving family and our lesiurely dinner turned into a quick stop and In'n'Out on our way to Capitol Theater to see Wicked. It was amazing! I LOVE this show and it was a fantastic production. We saw Wicked in London a few years ago and I wondered how this would compare. Well done, Capitol Theater. I loved, loved, loved it. Through the first few numbers, I couldn't stop smiling, knowing that the music and energy and passion was radiating through the theater, taking us captive, drawing us in with their fantastic talent.
On the way home, Husband decided I needed a birthday dessert (who am I to protest?) so we stopped at the grocery store bakery to buy an enormous delectable cupcake to share.
I spent Sunday morning lounging around with my parents (who had spent the night) while Husband had to go to church meetings. My mom made us breakfast and my parents helped me with my lesson for Relief Society. We went to church where the girls were actually better behaved than usual and I taught my lesson which despite my initial struggle in preparing, ended up being a lot of fun and went really well. And then we spent the evening at Gram's house again with tons of family and fantastic food as we shared in the bedside vigil (again, more later).
On Monday (yes, birthdays tend to last a very long time around here. Sometimes it's because turning three is just too much fun and has to be milked for all it's worth. and sometimes it's because it's hard to fit in time to celebrate properly.) Husband's parents took us to lunch at my favorite restaurant. The girls drew pictures on the paper table coverings, Lovely devoured mango, we stuffed ourselves on the amazing food and then shared the best tres leche cake known to man.
And then today, I managed to sneak in one more hurrah with my girlfriends. We left all our kids with a babysitter while four friends and I went to brunch at Kneader's. Mostly just because I loved these amazing women and look for any excuse to spend time with them. And because Kneader's french toast is divine.
And thus endeth my 29th birthday celebrations. Unless cousintwin and I find time to celebrate together. Then there will be cake. With a racetrack.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
supermom
Sometimes I feel like I spend the whole day waiting for bedtime. I love my kids. and they are exhausting. I wish I was supermom with endless love and patience and creativity and enthusiasm. I would love to fill their days with crafts and projects and games that would expand their little minds, help develop their talents and lead them to the incredible brilliance that no doubt they are capable of. But most days, I'm just trying to keep up. I envy moms that always have it together, and who spaced their kids enough that they can more fully enjoy each individual stage and focus on each child. I know every mom has rough days too and you never really know what the most "together" moms are actually going through but as for me, I just feel like I'm treading water. I'm not doing a bad job, just not quite the kind of mom I hoped I would be.
This week, I'm rededicating myself to it. In the past few months, I self-consciously admit that my focus was the gym. I'm there nearly everyday, usually for two hours. I love it, the kids love the daycare and I'm thrilled with the effects. I didn't mind giving up all other hobbies, t.v., reading, sewing, etc. for this. I have a theory that a busy mom has very little free time and therefore really only gets one hobby at a time. For me, it was the gym. I've been plateaued at the same weight for a month. And I worked hard at it! I've been off sugar for over three weeks, worked out two hours a day, kept my calorie intake under 1600. And the stubborn scale refused to budge. So, I concede. I'm okay with this weight. It's not ideal. I would still like to lose two inches off my waist but more importantly, I want to restore balance to my life. So I'll still do an hour at the gym every day (as much for my sanity as my health), but I need to give more priority to baking cookies with my girls, going to storytime at the library, doing crafts, arranging playdates, etc.
And by day 3 of this week, I'm exhausted. I eagerly look forward to bedtime but once it's here and the kids are tucked away sleeping, I'm too tired to do anything. But that's okay, I need to keep in mind that they are my world and if all I get done in a day is taking care of them, it was a good day. ...well, and the house. Because it drives me crazy. I disagree with the too-frequent advice of, "if you can't do everything, let the housework go. the dishes will be there tomorrow but a cuddly child will grow too fast." this of course, is said by someone who remembers barely treading water and wishes they had taken time to enjoy it more. Which I understand and already fear that feeling. But in the meantime, dishes left for tomorrow pile up awfully fast and smell really bad. and send my anxiety through the roof. I need a clean house in order to enjoy playing with my children. So yes, priorities and balance, I'm working on that.
other tidbits...
I love my new calling at church. I teach Relief Society once a month (my first calling that is not in the Primary since we got married). I taught last month, I loved it and it went great. The lesson practically wrote itself, I had a fantastic object lesson to kick it off and I know that I had that heavenly guidance and confidence in the message that was shared. I teach again this Sunday and the preparation is a completely different experience. I've read it several times in the past month and still have trouble deciding how to go about presenting the material and I've yet to come up with a main point that would inspire an object lesson. hmm. so I'll keep working on that.
Next weekend is the certification workshop for Group Kick. We had a planning meeting last Friday with all of the Group Kick instructors and I am SO excited. I love these fantastic women, their humor, energy, enthusiasm. It's going to be a blast to be part of such a team. And as for the program itself, I can't wait. It's going to be an intense, high cardio workout and I love that I will get to teach it.
potty training sucks. And is not going well.
the house already had it's first showing. That in itself felt strange as if I didn't actually expect that to happen. It still feels a bit surreal. I love this house, love this neighborhood. It would be hard to leave but we know our reasons are sound. Maybe I'm just still wrapping my head around it.
my babies are growing way too fast. Butterfly is 4 and a half and eager to be a young lady. She's excited for school to start and begging to take dance classes this year. She's loved gymnastics but we let her choose.
We are also getting her ready for another school year and some of these first-time decisions are mind boggling. Which preschool? 3 day or 4 day/week programs? Which teacher? Art emphasis school or dual immersion school? Which dance studio? I realize that pretty much any of these choices will work out just fine. But all the information and choices can be a bit overwhelming and I want to make the best choice that will help her reach her potential.
I love my charming little impish Ladybug. She's such a good kid and her little personality grows and grows. She's still devotedly a Daddy's girl but lately, I'm getting my fair share of hugs and cuddles too. Lately we've been on a better behavior trend too with few tantrums, better dinnertime experiences and much better bedtime habits. She goes to bed more easily and (mostly) sleeps through the night in her own room (more consistently than even her big sister). Ladybug idolizes her big sister and they are great playmates, playing dress up, taking care of their babies, drawing pictures, riding their scooters and more.
And Lovely is getting huge! I can't get over how adorable and charming she is. She's perfectly lovely and sweet. She's so well behaved that it's been very rare for her to be corrected. But it has happened a few times, where I have sternly told her "no". She looks up at me, with huge startled eyes and as if her whole world has been destroyed, she bursts into sobs, convinced that her heart is broken. She has me completely wrapped around her finger. I love her spontaneous little hugs with her chubby arms tight around my neck and her face buried in against me. She's also started doing the classically charming "scrunchie face" with her eyes squeezed shut, her cheeks bunched up, her nose wrinkled and her open mouth grinning. It is make-me-melt cute and suggests that our little Lovely is a little ham too. She can easily and confidently pull herself up to stand and has even begun free standing a few seconds at a time or traversing a step or two while holding onto a table or chair. I love her speedy little crawl, moving as fast as she can and then she whips around to sit on her bum and grin at me. Sometimes she stops, pushes herself back to slide onto the floor. It's cute and silly and so fun to watch as she slides and rolls on her belly. If she's tired, she will slide onto the floor and rub her face onto the ground. It seems to be her own fun little variation, just like Butterfly was our only baby to army crawl and Ladybug had her clever and curious little spider crawl. We started her on formula. Our nursing time was dwindling and then came to an abrupt halt when I had the flu and she decided she didn't want to nurse anymore. But since I was at my mom's house, I didn't enough enough of my frozen stock and had to buy her formula. She wasn't impressed. It took several tries before she resigned herself to it but now goes back and forth easily between breastmilk and formula. Her birthday is less than one month away and she can start cow's milk.
okay, enough rambling for one day. (can you tell I took a long break halfway through? It's much less cranky.)
This week, I'm rededicating myself to it. In the past few months, I self-consciously admit that my focus was the gym. I'm there nearly everyday, usually for two hours. I love it, the kids love the daycare and I'm thrilled with the effects. I didn't mind giving up all other hobbies, t.v., reading, sewing, etc. for this. I have a theory that a busy mom has very little free time and therefore really only gets one hobby at a time. For me, it was the gym. I've been plateaued at the same weight for a month. And I worked hard at it! I've been off sugar for over three weeks, worked out two hours a day, kept my calorie intake under 1600. And the stubborn scale refused to budge. So, I concede. I'm okay with this weight. It's not ideal. I would still like to lose two inches off my waist but more importantly, I want to restore balance to my life. So I'll still do an hour at the gym every day (as much for my sanity as my health), but I need to give more priority to baking cookies with my girls, going to storytime at the library, doing crafts, arranging playdates, etc.
And by day 3 of this week, I'm exhausted. I eagerly look forward to bedtime but once it's here and the kids are tucked away sleeping, I'm too tired to do anything. But that's okay, I need to keep in mind that they are my world and if all I get done in a day is taking care of them, it was a good day. ...well, and the house. Because it drives me crazy. I disagree with the too-frequent advice of, "if you can't do everything, let the housework go. the dishes will be there tomorrow but a cuddly child will grow too fast." this of course, is said by someone who remembers barely treading water and wishes they had taken time to enjoy it more. Which I understand and already fear that feeling. But in the meantime, dishes left for tomorrow pile up awfully fast and smell really bad. and send my anxiety through the roof. I need a clean house in order to enjoy playing with my children. So yes, priorities and balance, I'm working on that.
other tidbits...
I love my new calling at church. I teach Relief Society once a month (my first calling that is not in the Primary since we got married). I taught last month, I loved it and it went great. The lesson practically wrote itself, I had a fantastic object lesson to kick it off and I know that I had that heavenly guidance and confidence in the message that was shared. I teach again this Sunday and the preparation is a completely different experience. I've read it several times in the past month and still have trouble deciding how to go about presenting the material and I've yet to come up with a main point that would inspire an object lesson. hmm. so I'll keep working on that.
Next weekend is the certification workshop for Group Kick. We had a planning meeting last Friday with all of the Group Kick instructors and I am SO excited. I love these fantastic women, their humor, energy, enthusiasm. It's going to be a blast to be part of such a team. And as for the program itself, I can't wait. It's going to be an intense, high cardio workout and I love that I will get to teach it.
potty training sucks. And is not going well.
the house already had it's first showing. That in itself felt strange as if I didn't actually expect that to happen. It still feels a bit surreal. I love this house, love this neighborhood. It would be hard to leave but we know our reasons are sound. Maybe I'm just still wrapping my head around it.
my babies are growing way too fast. Butterfly is 4 and a half and eager to be a young lady. She's excited for school to start and begging to take dance classes this year. She's loved gymnastics but we let her choose.
We are also getting her ready for another school year and some of these first-time decisions are mind boggling. Which preschool? 3 day or 4 day/week programs? Which teacher? Art emphasis school or dual immersion school? Which dance studio? I realize that pretty much any of these choices will work out just fine. But all the information and choices can be a bit overwhelming and I want to make the best choice that will help her reach her potential.
I love my charming little impish Ladybug. She's such a good kid and her little personality grows and grows. She's still devotedly a Daddy's girl but lately, I'm getting my fair share of hugs and cuddles too. Lately we've been on a better behavior trend too with few tantrums, better dinnertime experiences and much better bedtime habits. She goes to bed more easily and (mostly) sleeps through the night in her own room (more consistently than even her big sister). Ladybug idolizes her big sister and they are great playmates, playing dress up, taking care of their babies, drawing pictures, riding their scooters and more.
And Lovely is getting huge! I can't get over how adorable and charming she is. She's perfectly lovely and sweet. She's so well behaved that it's been very rare for her to be corrected. But it has happened a few times, where I have sternly told her "no". She looks up at me, with huge startled eyes and as if her whole world has been destroyed, she bursts into sobs, convinced that her heart is broken. She has me completely wrapped around her finger. I love her spontaneous little hugs with her chubby arms tight around my neck and her face buried in against me. She's also started doing the classically charming "scrunchie face" with her eyes squeezed shut, her cheeks bunched up, her nose wrinkled and her open mouth grinning. It is make-me-melt cute and suggests that our little Lovely is a little ham too. She can easily and confidently pull herself up to stand and has even begun free standing a few seconds at a time or traversing a step or two while holding onto a table or chair. I love her speedy little crawl, moving as fast as she can and then she whips around to sit on her bum and grin at me. Sometimes she stops, pushes herself back to slide onto the floor. It's cute and silly and so fun to watch as she slides and rolls on her belly. If she's tired, she will slide onto the floor and rub her face onto the ground. It seems to be her own fun little variation, just like Butterfly was our only baby to army crawl and Ladybug had her clever and curious little spider crawl. We started her on formula. Our nursing time was dwindling and then came to an abrupt halt when I had the flu and she decided she didn't want to nurse anymore. But since I was at my mom's house, I didn't enough enough of my frozen stock and had to buy her formula. She wasn't impressed. It took several tries before she resigned herself to it but now goes back and forth easily between breastmilk and formula. Her birthday is less than one month away and she can start cow's milk.
okay, enough rambling for one day. (can you tell I took a long break halfway through? It's much less cranky.)
Monday, August 13, 2012
house
We didn't do it on purpose. But we kind of pulled a dirty trick on our neighbors. Last Friday we put a "For Sale" sign in our front yard and left town for the weekend. They didn't think it was funny.
But yes, we listed our house for sale. Our beautiful, amazing dream house.
And we've come up with lots of reasons why such as "it takes too long to clean." or "he's trying to get out of his calling." (I'm completely kidding about that one.) But truthfully, we've listed it because although we love this house, we want to downsize. Our house is 5300 square feet. And we would be perfectly happy in 3500 square feet. We would like to get into a more modest home and do better things with our money. This house is beautiful and it would be hard to leave (I have second thoughts on a regular basis), but it is just a house and we will fall in love with another. (The hardest part would be leaving our ward and neighborhood. I LOVE it here and hope that if we do sell, we could stay in the area.)
So we will see what happens. Gut feeling? The market isn't moving very fast and while obviously we'd like to sell (we did list it after all), we would only do it if we could get a fair offer. But we've been thinking about it for a long time and just have the feeling that this is what we should do. So here we are...
I'll keep you posted.
But yes, we listed our house for sale. Our beautiful, amazing dream house.
And we've come up with lots of reasons why such as "it takes too long to clean." or "he's trying to get out of his calling." (I'm completely kidding about that one.) But truthfully, we've listed it because although we love this house, we want to downsize. Our house is 5300 square feet. And we would be perfectly happy in 3500 square feet. We would like to get into a more modest home and do better things with our money. This house is beautiful and it would be hard to leave (I have second thoughts on a regular basis), but it is just a house and we will fall in love with another. (The hardest part would be leaving our ward and neighborhood. I LOVE it here and hope that if we do sell, we could stay in the area.)
So we will see what happens. Gut feeling? The market isn't moving very fast and while obviously we'd like to sell (we did list it after all), we would only do it if we could get a fair offer. But we've been thinking about it for a long time and just have the feeling that this is what we should do. So here we are...
I'll keep you posted.
family reunion
We spent a fantastic weekend in the southern part of the state for a family reunion. The drive was long and borderline miserable. I realize that my parents and many other have made these kinds of drives (and much longer) with no dvd or other electronic entertainment. But this was our first. We borrowed Grandpa's truck, leaving our dvd player equipped vehicle home. We survived on books, games and toys...barely. But next time, it's back to the dvd player.
We arrived late Friday night, set up our travel trailer in front of my grandma's house (she lives at the end of the lane with an ambling horse pasture so there was plenty of space) and wrestled our tired but stubborn children into bed. The morning kicked off bright and early but with a tone of fun. There were plenty of cousins to play with and lots of adults to help cuddle the baby. We made a run to the store for doughnuts, fruit and chocolate milk (much tot he delight of my nieces) and had a little breakfast banquet in the front yard as we played. Eventually we got cleaned up and ready for the reunion. This epic reunion was for my grandma and all of her siblings so it was a ton of people, many of whom I have never met.
We started with family pictures, a fantastic lunch in a picturesque setting and introductions. Then we headed to the city park for a presentation about my great-great-grandfather (who crossed the plains at age 16 and was a carpenter) and tons of games. I hosted a treasured hunt (a timed search through a massive pile of sawdust for candy and prizes--harder than it sounds) and a ring toss, my sister ran a craft table to make beaded animals, another sister coordinated red rover, Papa and Grammy ran the turtle races and monster twister. Another relative offered "train rides" (a tractor that acts as engine to custom made cars) around the parking lot, the park had an awesome splash pad, someone brought water toys and the day's finale was Grammy and Papa's water balloon launcher--one of my childhood treasures and traditions. The men took turns running the 3-man slingshot to launch water balloons out to the rest of the group who worked in teams to catch the balloons in their towels. It was fantastic and as always, ends in an epic water fight. What a great day.
After clean up and goodbyes, we made plans to crash my cousin's hotel for a leisurely dip in the pool. But Ladybug and Lovely were asleep before we arrived so only Butterfly and Daddy got to swim. Then we spent a wonderful evening back at my grandma's house. With our large group, varying ages and tastes in food, we made dinner simple--go get what you want and bring it back to the house for a picnic. But when we went to pick up our pizza, we found four other family members at the same place with the same idea! So we spent the evening hanging out on the grass with plenty of pizza, playing with cousins, reminiscing and enjoying the perfect weather. I can't imagine a better way to have spent the evening.
On Sunday we attended church with my grandma. I've previously (and frequently) commented on the choas of taking three small children to church. But this particular trip, something brilliant happened. We knew we would need three rows to accommodate our large group. Grammy and Papa sat in the first row and like flies to honey, every grandchild raced to sit with them. The second row was filled with adults (my cousins, grandma, aunt and uncles). So Daddy and I took a seat on the third row and with only our baby to play with for most of the meeting, actually got to sit together and enjoy the meeting! We may have even held hands for a few minutes. (it's the little things that count.)
After church we dutifully packed up our stuff, said our goodbyes and returned to our own home once again.
We arrived late Friday night, set up our travel trailer in front of my grandma's house (she lives at the end of the lane with an ambling horse pasture so there was plenty of space) and wrestled our tired but stubborn children into bed. The morning kicked off bright and early but with a tone of fun. There were plenty of cousins to play with and lots of adults to help cuddle the baby. We made a run to the store for doughnuts, fruit and chocolate milk (much tot he delight of my nieces) and had a little breakfast banquet in the front yard as we played. Eventually we got cleaned up and ready for the reunion. This epic reunion was for my grandma and all of her siblings so it was a ton of people, many of whom I have never met.
We started with family pictures, a fantastic lunch in a picturesque setting and introductions. Then we headed to the city park for a presentation about my great-great-grandfather (who crossed the plains at age 16 and was a carpenter) and tons of games. I hosted a treasured hunt (a timed search through a massive pile of sawdust for candy and prizes--harder than it sounds) and a ring toss, my sister ran a craft table to make beaded animals, another sister coordinated red rover, Papa and Grammy ran the turtle races and monster twister. Another relative offered "train rides" (a tractor that acts as engine to custom made cars) around the parking lot, the park had an awesome splash pad, someone brought water toys and the day's finale was Grammy and Papa's water balloon launcher--one of my childhood treasures and traditions. The men took turns running the 3-man slingshot to launch water balloons out to the rest of the group who worked in teams to catch the balloons in their towels. It was fantastic and as always, ends in an epic water fight. What a great day.
After clean up and goodbyes, we made plans to crash my cousin's hotel for a leisurely dip in the pool. But Ladybug and Lovely were asleep before we arrived so only Butterfly and Daddy got to swim. Then we spent a wonderful evening back at my grandma's house. With our large group, varying ages and tastes in food, we made dinner simple--go get what you want and bring it back to the house for a picnic. But when we went to pick up our pizza, we found four other family members at the same place with the same idea! So we spent the evening hanging out on the grass with plenty of pizza, playing with cousins, reminiscing and enjoying the perfect weather. I can't imagine a better way to have spent the evening.
On Sunday we attended church with my grandma. I've previously (and frequently) commented on the choas of taking three small children to church. But this particular trip, something brilliant happened. We knew we would need three rows to accommodate our large group. Grammy and Papa sat in the first row and like flies to honey, every grandchild raced to sit with them. The second row was filled with adults (my cousins, grandma, aunt and uncles). So Daddy and I took a seat on the third row and with only our baby to play with for most of the meeting, actually got to sit together and enjoy the meeting! We may have even held hands for a few minutes. (it's the little things that count.)
After church we dutifully packed up our stuff, said our goodbyes and returned to our own home once again.
bonzaiii!
Daddy was gone most of the week so we decided to go play at Grammy's house. We arrived Monday afternoon and played through the evening. The girls were eager to share all the special "Grammy house toys" with Lovely. Her favorite was the lego table with the big mega blocks. While not coordinated enough yet to build anything, she certainly loved toppling my towers and even more, loved pulling the blocks out from the table side pockets and scattering them everywhere.
That evening we took them in the "'cuzzi". The big girls splashed and played in the hot water while Lovely took turns cuddling whichever adult wasn't currently the jungle gym of choice. (the big girls like to climb, wrestle and "bonzai"--jump from the side of the jacuzzi into the middle). But the best part of nighttime swimming is how soundly the girls sleep after.
Except Lovely. She sleeps great at home, typically 11 hours without making a sound and after practically putting herself to bed. But she doesn't like sleeping in a pack'n'play and always ends up in my bed cuddling. Which wouldn't have been too bad except that the uncomfortable knots in my stomach throughout the day (I assumed muscle soreness from a new workout), turned into a raging stomach flu.
Therefore, Tuesday was miserable. Grammy and Papa were at work so the girls and I had planned a trip to the park and a picnic lunch until Grammy came home at 2. But instead, they watched movies, played with toys and climbed on the back yard playset while I battled out the flu. The girls were actually exceptionally good, especially considering how little parenting I was doing. By the time Grammy got home, I could barely stand up straight and the body aches had taken over. She drugged me up and watched the kids while I finally slept and eventually it was Wednesday. It's still kind of a blur.
I had planned to go home Wednesday to do a rock climbing competition at the gym. But still exhausted and achy from the flu, we decided to stay another day and get to do some of the fun things we had originally planned. So we played, went to a park, ran a few errands and best of all, went swimming in Grammy and Papa's new toy--the swim spa. It's like a spa, with jets and seats in one end of the above-ground fiber glass structure, but at the other end (20ish feet away), it's four feet deep and has jets to create a resistance current for swimming. The girls loved it! They took turns calling a "bonzai taxi" (Papa) to shuttle them to the deeper end where they climbed up onto a high seat and cannonballed themselves into the middle of the current which them carried them splashing and giggling back to the start. They found water toys they could fill and use to shoot streams of water in every direction. It was such a blast and again, thoroughly wore them out for bedtime.
Thursday morning, we packed up, stopped at each of the schools where Papa and Grammy now work to say good bye and headed home to prepare for the next adventure.
That evening we took them in the "'cuzzi". The big girls splashed and played in the hot water while Lovely took turns cuddling whichever adult wasn't currently the jungle gym of choice. (the big girls like to climb, wrestle and "bonzai"--jump from the side of the jacuzzi into the middle). But the best part of nighttime swimming is how soundly the girls sleep after.
Except Lovely. She sleeps great at home, typically 11 hours without making a sound and after practically putting herself to bed. But she doesn't like sleeping in a pack'n'play and always ends up in my bed cuddling. Which wouldn't have been too bad except that the uncomfortable knots in my stomach throughout the day (I assumed muscle soreness from a new workout), turned into a raging stomach flu.
Therefore, Tuesday was miserable. Grammy and Papa were at work so the girls and I had planned a trip to the park and a picnic lunch until Grammy came home at 2. But instead, they watched movies, played with toys and climbed on the back yard playset while I battled out the flu. The girls were actually exceptionally good, especially considering how little parenting I was doing. By the time Grammy got home, I could barely stand up straight and the body aches had taken over. She drugged me up and watched the kids while I finally slept and eventually it was Wednesday. It's still kind of a blur.
I had planned to go home Wednesday to do a rock climbing competition at the gym. But still exhausted and achy from the flu, we decided to stay another day and get to do some of the fun things we had originally planned. So we played, went to a park, ran a few errands and best of all, went swimming in Grammy and Papa's new toy--the swim spa. It's like a spa, with jets and seats in one end of the above-ground fiber glass structure, but at the other end (20ish feet away), it's four feet deep and has jets to create a resistance current for swimming. The girls loved it! They took turns calling a "bonzai taxi" (Papa) to shuttle them to the deeper end where they climbed up onto a high seat and cannonballed themselves into the middle of the current which them carried them splashing and giggling back to the start. They found water toys they could fill and use to shoot streams of water in every direction. It was such a blast and again, thoroughly wore them out for bedtime.
Thursday morning, we packed up, stopped at each of the schools where Papa and Grammy now work to say good bye and headed home to prepare for the next adventure.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
recently
I haven't been journalling much lately. I don't even have a good excuse. We've been deep cleaning the house and working hard in the yard. Now my house is even more of a beautiful, relaxing haven and my yard is well on its way to being an eden. If I could just keep it that way...
But we do make time to play.
Husband and I went an a fantastic date night. We met some friends for dinner and then played a few rounds of pool. It was wonderful--fantastic company and doing something I haven't done in... well, ever really. But playing pool sounds like something cool and sophisticated people do. Mostly I hoped for beginners luck in my shots and enjoyed watching the Olympics on the big screen behind us. (by the way, my husband is amazing.)
We took the girls swimming to reward them after a particularly long yardwork day. All three of them are little fish. Ladybug's favorite part is the big waterslide. Butterfly likes the playplace in the middle on the pool (complete with water pulleys and slides). Lovely lives to hang out in her little float and be pushed around by her ever willing sister. (who are also menacing sharks that chase and attack me every once in a while.)
We made a quick visit to see family. The circumstances that took us there were unfortunate but it was great to see the Aunties (I LOVE these amazing ladies!) and Gram. We apparently arrived just in time to see her turn the corner in the threatening illness that took her to the hospital and return to being her feisty, wonderful self. Hopefully her recovery will be smooth and speedy.
The girls love going to the gym's daycare and each have a few favorite friends in particular. Butterfly regularly declares that she's going to marry one of them and Ladybug especially likes playing in the drinking fountain. The color me new pictures nearly every day and love playing with their friends. But their favorite part is coming to the window to watch the "dancing" (group aerobics room) and trying to imitate the teacher.
We color A LOT of pictures. Ladybug's coloring has recently made signicicfant progress. Instead of long, sweeping scribble strokes, she's begun to identify different things in the picture and color/scribble them individually. So it's still messy, but it's progress. Butterfly's drawings amaze me. She's prefers to draw her own pictures now, rather than use a coloring book. Her drawings have impressive detail in them. Like the day she drew a picture of us camping in our travel trailer. We were each smiling and waving out the window. The trailer was complete with tires and the ball hitch on the front. Or the picture she drew of her and me wearing princess dresses (complete with puffy sleeves) practicing cartwheels (that's why we have crazy hair) in front of our tree house (complete with ladder down the side and even tree roots in the grass).
Lovely surprised us with an upset stomach which I will blame on green bell peppers. It was her first time eating them and they certainly turned her stomach upside down (but thankfully no rash so not certain it's an actual allergy). No other symptoms that would indicate a flu since she was her usual pleasant, sweet self (no fever, crankiness or apparent discomfort). So we will avoid peppers for awhile but in the meantime, her and I spent most of the weekend cuddling at home while Daddy took the big girls to a friend's birthday party (swimming, pizza and watermelon cupcakes--which we helped make the day before. we weren't sure what the requested "watermelon cake" was supposed to be so we used a pink strawberry cake mix, dotted it with chocolate chip "seeds" and decorated them with green frosting and sprinkles).
And then today was a very busy Sunday, starting early with a baby blessing, hanging out with friends after, church meetings and having friends join us for dinner/playdate this evening. Ladybug, having had a very busy day and no nap, feel asleep in the middle of a wii game before seven o'clock. Daddy and I argued who got to cuddle her but in the end he let me hold our sweet, impish little girl. It was a rare and precious moment to cuddle our busy little girl who is growing too fast. Butterfly, our self-appointed family social director, played hard until the very end and then was charming and sweet for Daddy for bedtime book and cuddles while I put a very eager Lovely to bed as well. Sleep tight little family. More adventures await.
But we do make time to play.
Husband and I went an a fantastic date night. We met some friends for dinner and then played a few rounds of pool. It was wonderful--fantastic company and doing something I haven't done in... well, ever really. But playing pool sounds like something cool and sophisticated people do. Mostly I hoped for beginners luck in my shots and enjoyed watching the Olympics on the big screen behind us. (by the way, my husband is amazing.)
We took the girls swimming to reward them after a particularly long yardwork day. All three of them are little fish. Ladybug's favorite part is the big waterslide. Butterfly likes the playplace in the middle on the pool (complete with water pulleys and slides). Lovely lives to hang out in her little float and be pushed around by her ever willing sister. (who are also menacing sharks that chase and attack me every once in a while.)
We made a quick visit to see family. The circumstances that took us there were unfortunate but it was great to see the Aunties (I LOVE these amazing ladies!) and Gram. We apparently arrived just in time to see her turn the corner in the threatening illness that took her to the hospital and return to being her feisty, wonderful self. Hopefully her recovery will be smooth and speedy.
The girls love going to the gym's daycare and each have a few favorite friends in particular. Butterfly regularly declares that she's going to marry one of them and Ladybug especially likes playing in the drinking fountain. The color me new pictures nearly every day and love playing with their friends. But their favorite part is coming to the window to watch the "dancing" (group aerobics room) and trying to imitate the teacher.
We color A LOT of pictures. Ladybug's coloring has recently made signicicfant progress. Instead of long, sweeping scribble strokes, she's begun to identify different things in the picture and color/scribble them individually. So it's still messy, but it's progress. Butterfly's drawings amaze me. She's prefers to draw her own pictures now, rather than use a coloring book. Her drawings have impressive detail in them. Like the day she drew a picture of us camping in our travel trailer. We were each smiling and waving out the window. The trailer was complete with tires and the ball hitch on the front. Or the picture she drew of her and me wearing princess dresses (complete with puffy sleeves) practicing cartwheels (that's why we have crazy hair) in front of our tree house (complete with ladder down the side and even tree roots in the grass).
Lovely surprised us with an upset stomach which I will blame on green bell peppers. It was her first time eating them and they certainly turned her stomach upside down (but thankfully no rash so not certain it's an actual allergy). No other symptoms that would indicate a flu since she was her usual pleasant, sweet self (no fever, crankiness or apparent discomfort). So we will avoid peppers for awhile but in the meantime, her and I spent most of the weekend cuddling at home while Daddy took the big girls to a friend's birthday party (swimming, pizza and watermelon cupcakes--which we helped make the day before. we weren't sure what the requested "watermelon cake" was supposed to be so we used a pink strawberry cake mix, dotted it with chocolate chip "seeds" and decorated them with green frosting and sprinkles).
And then today was a very busy Sunday, starting early with a baby blessing, hanging out with friends after, church meetings and having friends join us for dinner/playdate this evening. Ladybug, having had a very busy day and no nap, feel asleep in the middle of a wii game before seven o'clock. Daddy and I argued who got to cuddle her but in the end he let me hold our sweet, impish little girl. It was a rare and precious moment to cuddle our busy little girl who is growing too fast. Butterfly, our self-appointed family social director, played hard until the very end and then was charming and sweet for Daddy for bedtime book and cuddles while I put a very eager Lovely to bed as well. Sleep tight little family. More adventures await.
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