To Move or Not

So far...we are staying put.

Just when we find ourselves saying, "Let's move," Chris' work pulls something that makes us think now may not be the best time.

So, for now, we are staying.

Not sure if that will change tomorrow...but it is what it is for today.

I guess I will go back to trying to enjoy winter in April.

Sigh.

At least the sea gulls stopped by shadow lake to visit.

Happy Birthday to Chris

Last weekend (yes, I am that behind on this blog), we helped Chris ring in another birthday! Since his big birthday last year was celebrated away from the kids in sunny Florida, Chris wanted to spend the day with the kids this year. So, I had a lot of fun activities planned for him to select from.

First, breakfast came from Daddy's favorite, Panera. The kids were about as thrilled with this as Chris was. As Daddy worked out, I finished up on his birthday treat (a home made chocolate cake with chocolate frosting that was so yummy!). After getting cleaned up, Chris wanted to take a family walk around the lake. The kids were not happy about this one bit. So, Chris decided to have them stay at his parents down the street while we continued our walk with Pippa around the lake. It was quite peaceful actually. We need to do that more often!

After talking with his parents, Chris decided to take advantage of the Home Depot mulch sale and go and buy a few bags of mulch. 75 bags later, he was home ready to dump it. Huh, that was not on my list of fun things to do. I suggested roller skating or a movie! Anyway, instead we mulched the entire yard. Yeah...got that done just before it rained and snowed all week. (sarcasm).

After our hard work all afternoon, we ordered pizza for dinner. That's special, right?! But, we were able to top it off with the delicious cake and ice cream. The kids gave their Daddy a gift card to Subway and chocolate covered almonds (because he is a bit nutty yet sweet), while I gave him new jeans that I believe were made of gold and the imitation ho hos that he asked me for instead of the cake that I made anyway. :) All in all, better than the napkin holder that I will never let him live down giving me.

Chris reported having a happy birthday best spent at home. Many More, too, Mr. Austin.

March 2013 In Review

 Another wild month behind us. Addison lost 3 teeth. That is a big deal to a 6 year old. Addison lost 3 teeth in a week. That is a big deal to the tooth fairy. Just saying. Asher started swim class. He is doing great! He loves the water. Alivia is running her little heart out in Girls on the Run. She is doing amazing. She ran 3 miles with me over spring break! Impressive, am I right?! That is good for an 8 year old. I got another year older (sigh), while Chris prepares to get another year older this weekend (sigh). We had more snow (moan) but the kids liked to play in it. I wish I could say the same about shoveling the darn stuff. We just finished up a fun week of spring break and celebrating Easter. Now, back to reality. BRING ON SPRING ALREADY!!


Enjoy MARCH PICTURES!

Accident Prone

It is not a secret, I am really accident prone.

In Hawaii with Chris, I cut my head open in the middle of nowhere on the road to Hana. A naked girl on site offered to help before Chris took off his shirt stopping the bleeding from my head.

At our previous address, I tried out Alivia's scooter hitting an uneven patch in the driveway going for flight. I landed face down. I still have a nice scar on my arm to remember that one. I now try to avoid scooters.

A couple of summer's ago, I went down our now driveway on my bike, slamming on the breaks to avoid something, and I flew over the handle bars...landing on my face (again!).

Last week, Chris and I were cutting back the grasses for spring and placing them in the large rolling trash bin. The trash bin was full when I tried to roll it closer to the plants Chris was trimming. Somehow the bin got away from me and came back smashing me...wait for it...in the face, AGAIN! Chris turned around to find the full trash can on top of me. I thought my chin was shattered. I opened my mouth and blood ran out.

It turned out to feel much worse than it was. I had a blood blister the size of a dollar coin on the inside of my lip and my chin has a nice bruise. I also manage to get a nice bruise on my knee, possibly from the trash can landing just right on it. But, my face did not look that bad for the fight I had with the trash can.

These are just the events I can remember since marrying Chris. I won't even get into the events of childhood! I must have 9 lives!

Spring Break 2013

We may not have gone on a big spring break vacation, but the kids still reportedly had fun. That is what is important, right?

We kicked off spring break at Jumping Jax in Papillion with Reding family. Funny, I saw a few other people there from Shadow Lake. Lucky for us, the place was not busy. The afternoon was filled with decorating Easter cut out cookies while Asher still went to his Monday afternoon preschool class.

Gabby, Alivia and Addison decorating Easter cookies

 Next up, member's hour and more at the Omaha Children's Museum where we met the Frederick Family. The girls loved Asher's little twin friends (as we typically only see them when the girls are in school!). We had the best time. And, I was so happy that Jill reminded me of member's hour at 9, to beat the rush. 

Maggie, Asher and Alivia

Wednesday brought more time with the Reding Family, this time at the zoo. The weather was kinda cool but not terrible. We were able to enjoy the indoor and outdoor animals, have a picnic lunch and end the day with an IMAX at 2. Alivia ended the day hosting a sleepover with her friend Gabby at our home.

Xander, Asher, Addison, Alivia and Gabby

Thursday was the day that was voted best of spring break. We visited Skate Daze in Omaha where the kids ran through their endless tube system and Addison roller skated (for maybe 10 minutes) with the Eickmeier family. The kids had a blast here. I will have to remember this to take them on very hot summer days, too. Addison ended the day having a sleepover at Kaitlyn's house.

Friday we went to the library and picked up some books and movies to enjoy at home. We spend the day relaxing at home (more because I needed to rest up for work at 7!). They were able to enjoy pizza that night with Daddy while I went to work (ugh).

The kids were also lucky to have Monday off of school. We woke up to a crummy April Fool's joke by mother nature...snow! We went back to the library and the kids read in quiet places, played educational games on the computer, etc. I love it that they love the library! Finally, a quiet place they like to go AND READ! Win win!

It was a fun spring break. It may (and probably will be) my last spring break as a really part time employee. Our future spring breaks may be more challenging to figure out. But, I am glad I was able to enjoy this one with them and our friends.

Easter Card Picture for 2013. Loved Asher's little tie (so cute!) and the little outfits I found for the girls.

Happy Easter 2013!

Happy Spring and Happy Easter!

Our beautiful Easter morning began earlier than the birds could wake up so we could make it to the 7:30 Mass. It was a beautiful Mass where we were blessed to be able to have a seat (thanks for arriving at Church at 7am.).

"I love you and your candy." LOL!

The kids saw their baskets as soon as the got downstairs before Mass, finding a book each, an outfit, a big chocolate bunny and a Lego friend. We saved the egg hunt for after Mass where they ran around, complaining of being cold, grabbing their 20 eggs each (that the bunny was caught hiding at 10 PM last night). The ate too much candy before we took off to my parents in Iowa for the day.

We ate dinner, had a wonderful Easter Egg Hunt of 25 eggs each!! and a big bag full of goodies, ate way too much, played outside, before making our way for home around 4:30. I was quickly reminded why I wished we did not live in our neighborhood upon our arrival home. Gees, gotta love the Holidays and Family. (Well, I am not sure we HAVE to love our family all the time).

ANYWAY, we at least enjoyed our day with my family in Iowa and are thankful they still invite us to Holiday gatherings. Our kids would not have it any other way, and are already looking forward to the fun egg hunt at Grandma and Grandpa's house next year.

Happy Easter!

Stuck in Limbo

Okay...here it goes.

Chris and I are considering moving to the Tampa, Florida area.

For those of you who know us somewhat, this will not come as much as a surprise.

First, Chris worked from there for a year, getting to know the area some and the weather a lot. He liked what he saw for the most part. He has joined a long term contract that will continue to bring him to the Florida area as well as at least one other area as of right now.

There are clearly things we like about the area, the obvious one being the weather. We would love to live in a warm to hot area. The proximity to the ocean is key as well. Additionally, there are fun things for us to do as a family year around (opposed to fun things to do inside during the winter here). We have researched the area up one side and down the other, finding areas in and around Tampa that have grade A school systems elementary through high school, are safe (low crime) and are in our price range. We watched one house we loved sell. Now there is another we love, and others we would like to see.

Initially, we did not tell the kids. But, Chris asked them one night at dinner (much to my surprise). Their feedback was positive with hesitation. But, they are kids. They don't really know what they are saying, what to expect, what fears and hesitations they should have (LIKE WE DO!). Alivia is probably 50-50. She knows what it is like to start a new school, and she is hesitant with that. When she sees homes we are looking at, that gets her excited. She knows she will miss her friends here, but she will be able to visit them because they all live close to her grandparents. Addison (who is like me), throws more caution to the wind and is ready to go. She is set with her face time with friends if we move and is ready. Asher is more like Alivia and says he will miss his little friends he has made. He is really too young to comprehend what is going on (I think he should have been left out of the conversation until we knew what we were doing. It just causes too unnecessary worry).

We have had the real estate agents come through, tell us what they would price our house at, and when we should do it (like yesterday). We have been in touch with a recommended real estate agent in Florida who has been quite helpful. We have the loan pre approval (so we can refinance if we stay), the house is organized and cleaned, and moving company estimates.

Now, we just have to decide.

I am not analytical like Chris. So, I have made my decision. Chris likes to keep us all hanging in Limbo (can you sense my frustration?). At this point, I just want to say let's just stay because I am so sick of being in limbo. I can't do anything to the house because we may move. I feel like I can't buy anything (like buy clothes for the kids for next year) because I don't know where we will be living. The whole limbo thing is getting quite old and frustrating. We gave ourselves until the end of March to decide.

Chris and I know this is a now or never decision. If we do not move now, it will probably never happen. The longer we are here, the more difficult it will be to do later. I am, for all intents and purposes, a single child. There is a small window now where my parents are retired but they do not need my help. That will not always be the case. We will, someday, have to move back to be near our parents. If we ever want to live in the land of the warm near the ocean, it is truly now or never.

Are we being selfish by leaving our family behind? Maybe. It depends upon how you look at it. Many people we know live here away from family. It happens and it works. They visit and they go to visit them. Chris talked to his parents about the possibility of our relocation, but I have yet to talk to mine. I know my family's opinion from the last time this came up.

We are an active family. I HATE being stuck inside all winter because I do not like being cold. We all go stir crazy. We are hoping that our family would visit us if we moved, but we can not count on that. Some of our family does not visit now and we live near them. So, who knows.  We will miss our family here in the midwest, but we know we would come back to visit, keep in close contact with them like we do now, etc, etc. We only get one life...where do we want to spend it and how do we want to spend it? Our parents chose to live here, do we have to forever too?

The main hesitation for not moving at all is the kids, the unknown factors, the expense of selling, buying and moving, the question of if I will get a job there and where (I'm pretty sure I can get a job, but one can't be so sure), the kids the kids the kids, etc, etc. It is a big deal to pick up a family of 5, hire a moving company, and truck it 25 hours away.  Chris would continue to work from home and travel to the Tampa, office and other work sites as he does not. So, as of now, his job would remain pretty much the same.

The month of March is coming to an end. I am hoping our time in Limbo is too.

Suggestions? Feedback? How do we decide? This all sounds vaguely familiar...

Private

If you are reading this, you know that my blog has gone private. I was not sure who was reading it locally before, so I am sure I blocked my readers by doing this. However, I had someone from another country download my entire blog over the course of a couple days. I have tried to find the images online, but only found one on some random sight about strep throat images. It creeps me out to wonder what this person from a whole other world was doing with my blog information and pictures.

Therefore, it is now and forever private unless someone asks to read it.

I feel my kids are safer already.

Thanks for reading!

Asher's Kindergarten Round Up

Today, Chris and I went with our last child, Asher, to Kindergarten Round up. We felt like the old parents as many were there for the first time. I could have stood up front and presented! Asher was so excited to go, running in front of us up to the school. This surprised me as he has been saying how he did not want to go. Now, things have changed, thankfully.
Once inside the doors, a crowd of parents and scared kiddos were gathering in the hall. Quickly, Asher was swooped down the hall in one direction towards the Kindergarten rooms while Chris and I were directed the other way towards the library.
The information was the same. Then, it was the counselor's turn to present. She ends her presentation with a poem that always makes me cry. I tried really hard to distract myself so I would not cry, but it did not work. I squirmed in my seat, make Chris annoyed, until the poem was over and I was struggling to hold back my emotions. I think this was the poem...

The First Day of Kindergarten

I used to be little, but not anymore,
Tomorrow I'll get up and walk out the door.
I'm going to Kindergarten--it's the first time for me.
It's great to be big, but I'm scared as can be.
My tummy's in knots. You want to know why?
I'm thinking that maybe, just maybe I'll cry.
When Dad leaves the school and I'm there all alone,
I'm thinking that maybe I'll want to go home.
But wait--Mommy said I'll play lots of new games,
And meet lots of friends--I can learn all their names.
The first day of Kindergarten, oh there's so much to do!
There's painting and books and a big playground, too!
I used to be little, but not anymore.
Tomorrow I'll get up and walk out the door.
I'm going to Kindergarten--it's my first day, you see.
It's great to be big! I'm so glad that I'm me.

Asher had a great time! We walked in to the classroom to find him singing and doing the actions to a song. I remember the girls at round up, both staring at their toes scared to death. Asher, well, he was having a blast! He was stuck to the side of his friend Cameron, so we were happy they had each other to overcome any fears.
It makes me so sad that all my kids are growing up and going to school. I have loved and cherish my years at home with them. I will miss their hugs, laughter and many "I love you, Mommy" during the day while they are all in school. The plans for me are still up in the air, but I am sure I will keep busy doing something. I hope to get a part time nursing job to fill my nights until I can get a pharmaceutical job. At least the nursing job can be scaled back during the summer months so I can still enjoy those long summer days with them.
 I am not going to count the days. But, I will cherish these last few months with my little boy home alone with me. We will go out to lunch, go shopping, go to the park, take bike rides, play cars and just enjoy each other as long as we can.
Gosh, growing up is so tough! Asher is ready, I just need to get there.

Summer Sick

I am sick of winter or summer sick. Like being home sick, summer sick is the term I am using for missing summer. Bring on the green grass to mow, the pool, the sunshine, the suncreen. the bugs, the bike rides, long evening walks after dinner, soccer, daily running, lemonade, ice cream, etc, etc.

No More Snow!

The kids had a teacher in service on Friday, making this last weekend another 4 day weekend since today was yet another snow day. I am not sure what this means for spring break (or will the kids be going back to school after labor day?). I can not keep up with the ever changing schedules. All I know, is I want it to be warm. Yes, it is March and I know I am to expect variable temperatures. But really, enough is enough.

I shoveled the wet snow while Chris snow blowed the fluffy snow last night for 1 hour and 45 minutes. Today, I shoveled the driveway, returning in the afternoon to shovel our never ending side walks. Chris wants me to do Insanity with him! Really?!??! NO!! I was the insane one that shoveled, thank you very much (I really need to learn to use the snow blower).

I keep saying, we can live anywhere we want to, so why do we live in this snowy tundra? :)

Summer...I miss you.

Love,
Krista

Mommy's Birthday

Last week was my birthday.

I hate my birthday. My parents say I used to talk about my birthday months in advance when I was a kid (much like my kids do now). They say I loved my birthday. But, over the years (and there have been many birthdays now), I have grown to not like my birthday. Not only am I getting older, a year older at a time, but my birthday tends to end with disappointment. As adults, our birthday, at least now, is just another day.

Unfortunately, this year was not much different.

With that said, Asher and I tried to go out and have a little fun. We loaded up in the car and set out. I had a store I wanted to visit, lululemon.

We ran a few errands, visiting Von Maur shopping for Chris' upcoming birthday, shopping at a few Village Pointe stores before ending up at Lululemon. That store is cool if you are into cool work out gear. The Bodyrock.tv host, I believe, wears things from there. I did not buy anything as Asher was not into shopping or allowing me to try anything on. But, I looked a lot. :) Somehow Asher and I ended up at Orange Leaf at Village Pointe. Yummy. We had fun together. 

At home after school, Chris had made me a chocolate chocolate cake. It was really yummy and pretty. I am impressed with his cake decorating skills. I asked the kids where they wanted to eat for dinner. You'd think I asked them where to go to get their teeth pulled or something. Mamas Pizza was too far so they wanted to go to 5 Guys (where I would have had a grilled cheese). Somehow Chris convinced them to go to Mamas. Next year I am picking. :)

The kids gave me a gift card to Orange Leaf while Chris gave me a napkin holder and a gift card. In all fairness, I had dropped a line about wanting a napkin holder. Chris knew he would receive some flack for his gift giving skills this year or lack their of. I joked that I am going to give him a keychain for his upcoming birthday (payback is hell! :) ).

My birthday was okay. It really is just another day with an additional year tacked on to my age. Birthdays are what you make of them. So, from now on, I am going to plan my own day. I am very thoughtful about making everyone else have wonderful birthdays, so it is my turn to make mine wonderful...starting with next year's birthday! It is going to be fabulous!

The Busy Tooth Fairy

Addison has been keeping the tooth fairy quite busy. On March 4 (last Monday), Addison lost her first front tooth. Then, yesterday, March 9, Addison lost her second front tooth! She looks so different.

The first one was pulled by her friend Kaitlyn during school. It bothered Kaitlyn that Addison's tooth was "hanging by a thread." How funny is that! That night, the tooth fairy must have thought it was too windy because she did not make it (ooops!). The second night, the Tooth Fairy remembered and brought Addison a chapter book that she asked her to bring and $5.

The second tooth was hanging by a thread after lunch yesterday. Addison reluctantly allowed me to pull it. Really, I barely touched it and it came out. She was beyond thrilled. Addison asked the tooth fairy for fairy dust this time (FYI: I found the fairy dust at Hobby Lobby and put it in a tiny corked bottle. The corked bottles come in a package of 9 or something. The fairy dusk is actually called fairy dust but appears to be very fine glitter. It comes in many different colors. Addison got purple, of course.). She received money plus the fairy dust this morning.

Here is Addison's new look. :) She's pretty excited! She had face time with her friend Kaitlyn to show off her new look!

February 2013 in Review

 We got through February bringing us one step closer to warmer days (PLEASE!). There were snow days (too many), visits to the zoo and OCM, open gym, Jumpin Jax, Valentine's Day parties, play dates, sleepovers on the farm, and so much more. Chris finished up his big ol widget and lost a few hairs in that 10 month long process. Gees! His team is lucky to have snagged a whopper contract that will keep him safe for a few years (no thanks to the drama Obama team and apocalypse sequestration.) So, whew! That is something we do not want to experience again (and hopefully I will be working if it does!). We are so thankful he took the contract in Florida moving onto a team out of Philly so he could keep his job. He does not think his old team was so lucky...so it was all about making hard choices that kept his job this time. Thank God for watching out for us! Onto March, Girls on the Run, swim lessons, a birthday maybe, Easter, an adventure or 2, and maybe, just maybe spring?

So, Chris finished the month with a few days off after working 13 hour days for the last 2. I think he found it nice just to chill and rest his coding brain a bit. He continues Insanity work outs when he can and is trying to cut out drinking Coke (oh, help him!).
Alivia remains as social as ever. There are days were her teenage years that are coming sneak in. We wish they could stay young forever. She is such a sweet girl, generally. :)
Addison was sick less in February (but started off March getting sick!). We will get there I hope. She likes to play her her bestie little friend from school and play with her many stuffed dogs.
Asher is a wild 5 year old who is never tired. I take him places that wear me out and he still wants more. Where does he get his energy? He likes to play with his friends, but he likes to stay in and play cars and pirates with Mommy and Daddy, too.
Me. Yeah, nothing ever changes with me. I stopped looking for a job when Chris secured his, cancelling a pharma interview (I could not go to work now anyway, not yet). I know now that I need suits before I apply in the fall so I am prepared. For now, I will just keep being a Mom and trying to stay sane. :)

Happy March and Bring on Spring!

February Pictures

Snow Day Part 2

Really? 2 snow days? Will there be a summer break at all?

I may be exaggerating a bit.

Today the kids had yet another snow day. Funny, they have yet to get bored. They played well with each other for most of the day. Alivia went to her friends this afternoon to play while Addison and Asher stayed here rotating between playing outside and playing in. While they played inside, I kept busy continuing my spring cleaning (one can hope for spring, right?!) that I started a couple weeks ago. I cleaned Addison's closet and drawers. Believe me, Addison is not a tidy little girl. She likes to keep everything. I found my tupperware, her socks and a set of mittens in her DESK DRAWERS! After cleaning her room, the hallway closet and Asher's room about 3 times (since the kids were playing in there), I continued with laundry.

While they played outside, Chris and I cleared the driveway and walks. Chris snow blows and I shovel. This morning, that worked fine. After the plows went by and filled up our side sidewalks and snowed us back in (THANK YOU!), I was sore and tired and had to call Chris out to help me. I was swearing up a storm at the snow plow. How does he get it all the way over to our side walks and fill them all up like that?! And, it was not the pretty fluffy stuff anymore, it was heavy street snow. I was not pleased. I have to remind myself, don't work out when it snows. The shoveling is enough work out! Gees!

Chris made his special spicy shrimp dinner tonight celebrating the completion of his project at work. Now, let's hope that does not mean the competition of his work altogether. He will find out what is next for him on Monday (hopefully!). Dinner was AMAZING!

As the day comes to a close, Alivia is at a sleepover, Addison is mad at me (Huh, didn't the day begin that way?!) and Asher is tucked into bed. Huh, what do you know?! I got my way! I asked for a 4 day weekend where I was not working and I got it.

Hum, what can I ask for next? Oh, I want to win the lottery and live somewhere warm WITHOUT SNOW! One can dream, right?!

Not the only one waiting for spring...

Snowmageddon 2013

Another Snow Day?

I miss last winter. I liked not having snow days so we could have more summer days. That is just me.

Today school was cancelled for the third time this year. This time, there was not even snow on the ground or in the sky or in the area when school was cancelled. Crazy! People are sure afraid of law suits or something. What happened to early dismissals or cancelling school when it really snows?

Anyway, the kids were, of course, thrilled.

The kids got ready for the day with much excitement. Addison and Asher were invited to play dates, so Alivia and I drove to Council Bluffs on the dry roads to visit the Great Grandparents briefly and deliver some home made banana bread that Asher and I had made yesterday afternoon. It is always difficult to see those you love in pain, and this visit was hard on Alivia and I both. Alivia was sad to see her Great Grandma sad, but she knew that Grandma loved seeing Alivia and appreciated her visit and the cards they had made for her. As we left Council Bluffs around 11:00, the snow was just starting. Some was kinda sticking to the grass by the time we got home (there so could have been a half day of school!).

With Addison and Asher home from their play date, Chris put in a movie for us to enjoy. The kids have been outside twice to play in the little fluff of snow (still not much out there), drank their fair share of cocoa, before we settle down for some home made pizza for dinner. I do not enjoy winter AT ALL, but I do not mind an afternoon of feeling like I do not have to go anywhere.

Let's just hope this is the last of the snow days as spring has to be coming here soon, right?

4 Day Weekend

When I was a kid, WAY BACK WHEN, I do not remember getting so many days off of school. But, then again, I may have just forgotten.

Last week, the kids had off Friday and Monday from school (Teacher In Service followed by President's Day). So, what were we to do to fill up the time?

Addison kicked off the long weekend hosting a friend for a sleepover. Addison is getting better with sleepovers, but she still needs work. Addison has a very strong personality at home, but she does not seem to act like that around her friends or in school. She was the only one having a sleepover, too, so she liked feeling special.

Jumpin Jax in Papillion was the hot spot on Friday morning. I had a daily deal for there, so it worked out perfectly. It ended up being rather busy, but the kids had fun. After lunch...Grandma Bet and Grandpa came to pick up the kids to take them to the farm to stay. The kids were SO EXCITED! My parents are about to have a major overhaul to their home on the farm, so sleepovers will not be happening for a while. The kids could not wait to sleep in Grandma and Grandpa's bunk beds!

The kids left, the house went silent, and I went to bed while Chris worked. I had to work both Friday and Saturday over night while Chris was finishing up his project and worked all weekend, too. We are so much fun around here it is crazy. I texted Chris at 2 AM and he was still up working! He is nuts! I mean, I was up working, but I was AT WORK.

Anyway, the kids had a blast and my parents and my parents survived. :)

Monday morning we took a little trip to the zoo before Asher had his afternoon montessori preschool. It was absolutely freezing and it even snowed a little! We did get to see the baby lion cubs, so that made the trip worth it.

The kids had a fun long weekend. Next time they have multiple days off, I am NOT WORKING! Gees!

Valentine's Day 2013

I know, I am really falling behind on blogging. I will get there, eventually.

Valentine's Day was crazy busy around here. We started the morning out with Valentine's, of course. The girls received Justice shirts (I know, don't say it. Addison selected them, they were on clearance, so I caved) and new outfits they will wear for Easter, and Asher got a Spider-Man sweatshirt and airplane PJs. Chris got me a card about how he liked by butt, one rose (I hate flowers because they just die), along with some things he would like to see me wear. ;) The card...
"Nice Butt!"
"You know, I usually have such a hard time finding the right Valentine's Day Card for you."

This card has now been quoted to all the grandparents, by Alivia. I about died when Alivia told Chris Grandparents about the card. The card was opened and placed in a spot that I thought was out of reach. Alivia immediately jumped up and got it, reading it aloud to anyone that would listen, even reading Chris' words inside. Okay, I should be mortified. Honestly, I am. But (no pun intended), I will not always have a piece of my body to comment on positively, so I should accept it while I can, right? I mean, not everyone can get a card about their nice butts! :) Ha ha.

Anyway...

Asher had a party in the morning at preschool that I helped with, then lunch, before my parents arrived to take Asher to his afternoon Valentine's Party with his La Vista Library preschool group. Meanwhile, I went up to the girls' parties at school, helping with Addison's party and stopping by Alivia's. Lots of sugar later, we were home, in one piece. I awoke with a cold so was exhausted and sick by the end of the day. I tucked the kids into bed at 8 and went to bed. Chris worked until after midnight.

Wow.

Happy Valentine's Day?

There is always next year. :) It was fun day as the kids had a blast. That is what our days are about anymore anyway.

Lenten Season 2013

Between Chris' long periods in front of his laptop, Asher and I were able to steal him away to go to Ash Wednesday Mass with us this morning. After Mass (in which Asher pointed out that the cross on my forehead in ash did not look like a cross at all...:) ), I asked Chris what he decided to give up this Lent.

His response, shocking and not repeatable.

Chris gave up Coke a week and a half ago, so I will say he will continue with that. And, I will give up Diet Coke. Now, this is going to be a real effort for me, too. No, I do not drink a Diet Coke on a daily basis. Hardly. I drink it only when going to Costco, we eat out, or if I work overnights for the caffeine. Yes, I am going to have to work ALL NIGHT LONG without any Diet Coke. I suppose, if Jesus could go 40 days without eating in a dessert, I can go 12 1/2 hours on my unit with no sleep without a Diet Coke.

Hum, I will have to see about that. Funny, we did just get an email about how it was not acceptable to sleep at work (really, who was doing that and why were they not fired? Nope, we just got an email).

I did not give up caffeine, so I could always try coffee. :)

I am also going to try to say only kind things about others, certain others in particular, if anything at all. I believe I will do best just remaining silent. Chris has taught me that well.

I may have to start counting shifts I need to get through.

I can be nice. I can be nice. I can be nice.

I can go all night on no sleep without my Diet Coke.

Repeating it over and over will help right?

What did you give up? Anything?

Beachbody Beach Bum

My love for Beachbody's Turbo Fire is not a secret as I have been working out to Chalean since last spring. Throughout the warmer months, I continued to run 4 miles a few days a week. I tend to make sure I get in 1 hour of cardio 5 times a week, and I get in some cardio (but not an hour) on weekends. When I work, I tend to get in little if any cardio as I don't sleep much between Friday morning and Sunday night. My cardio energy is reserved to help me stay awake for that long of a stretch.

Anyway, I started doing Bodyrock.tv a little bit more and more as the months have passed. I love their workouts. They are typically short bursts yet high intensity. Some workouts are only 12 minutes. But, I am dead following them. I even splurged a little and purchased a Lebert Equalizer using my gift cards earned from wearing my pedometer. The equalizer is used all sorts of way in the Bodyrock workouts, but I like to used it for dips, aguility, abdominal pull ups, used as a weight and more. It is amazing! Bodyrock is like a 12 minute burst of Beachbody's Insanity (and I will get to that) without Shawn T yelling at you all the time, "Let's GO!!!!" and "DIG DEEPER!!!" And, instead of Shawn T, there is a quite skinny, fit girl named Lisa. Gotta love her toned body, and you get used to seeing a lot of her body in the images along with the workouts. There is a Sean in Bodyrock, too, but he does not yell (thank goodness). Can you tell I just love Bodyrock?! I would recommend anyone to try their workouts. I do not have all their equipment, but I exchange the Ugi Ball with a plain old weight, etc. No big deal. It is workable. Oh, and I even can get Chris to do it with me on weekends. Yeah! I have learned to jump rope, which is a great all around cardio exercise. With that said, it is very important to have the right jump rope. I whipped myself using my jump rope and had to switch to Chris' (and never missed!).  Believe me, you do not want to make that mistake! Anyway, I just finished their 30 day challenge, and I feel like I am in the best shape since my honeymoon. I may not weigh the same, but I have 4 pack abs (I'm still looking for the lower 2). Bodyrock Works!

My back is at least whipped into shape!

Next, Chris who has been a sedentary hermit for nearly a year (LOL) decided to step it up and do Insanity again, starting last week. To push him, I have been doing the workouts with him in the afternoons generally. I forgot how insane they are, how much I dislike the yelling to dig deeper, etc. With all of that said, Insanity is a killer workout. I am in much better shape after Bodyrocking and doing Turbo Fire for months, so I am actually able to do push ups! I know, amazing for this girl!

And, just for fun, on the weekends, I try something else to go along with my Bodyrock workout on my "day off." I have done just a few of Zuzana Light's workouts. Let me give you a little background story, although I do not know much. From what I have found, Zuzana and her husband started Bodyrock. Last Janurary, they separated (now divorced). Zuzana moved away and started her own web site and her husband continued Bodyrock with Lisa. Anyway, Zuzana's workouts seem tough, too, but different than Bodyrocks workouts now. I did not follow them when they were together, so all I know is what it is like today. Zuzana seems more real with a more real woman's figure (but she has killer abs and muscle tone,too). Her workouts are intense yet short, like Bodyrocks. I guess since I started with Bodyrock, it is more difficult for me to get used to. I will continue to try her workouts on weekend and TRY to do one when I work, too.

As Chris and I work out, the kids get into it. Addison likes the Insanity stretches, Asher likes the weights with Daddy and tries to do push ups. I think he just likes to pretend with Daddy. He does not really do much. But, he is learning the importance of exercise. Alivia, who is about to begin girls on the run, went running with me on Saturday afternoon. She did great! It was weird for me to run with someone who did not sound winded and never asked to stop. Not wanting to push her too hard, I would stop at given points to give her a rest. She did amazing! We are teaching the importance of keeping fit, to say the least.

Last but not least, Chris started using an app on the iPad to keep track of his exercise and food intake. So, I did as well. I hate keeping track of what I eat. We did this last year and lasted 3 weeks, so we will see. We are using the same app from last year, myfitnesspal, and find it easy to use. I have been trying not to eat after 8 pm, drink within an hour of bed (both of which are extremely difficult). I am a big snacker and love to eat at night. Drinking at night disrupts my sleep, so it is best to cut it off early. Eating at night disrupts my workout in the early morning, so I need to get better with that, too. I eat a lot of sugar, too, so that is next on my list to improve upon. I have my work cut out for myself, but want to take tiny steps. I am not going to give up my snacks, but hopefully find better snacks to eat (apples and plain almonds versus chocolate covered almonds for example. :) ). Chris is doing great, having given up Coke last week cold turkey! I'm sure that is hard. He is now drinking water. Amazing! I have started to drink some water along with my green tea and one cocoa a day.

So, that is how we are working it to become beach bums. :) I can't wait for summer. Okay, I can't wait to go outside without freezing! Please! Bring it! I want to run again!

Addis's First Grade Program

At the kids' elementary school, the classes perform in a singing program once a year, one class at a time. Last week, Addison and her entire (all 4 classes!) 1st grade class had their turn. The theme: Snow.

We find we learn more about our kids when we see them perform. From Addison, we learned that she does not like to perform in front of people and does not like the attention so much. Her lips were moving, but as her Mommy, I am not sure she was really singing. We attempted to make her smile to no avail. It was cute to see. She is one funny girl. She was lucky to have Grandma Bet and Grandpa Bill there to watch her too.

2013 First Grade Class

There's a smile! (Addison is in the middle in the denim dress and braided piggy tails).