Gratitude- :-)

Today is the last day of my gratitude challenge- I've missed MANY days- but that's coolio :-)  no stress about something that I want to use to relieve tension and help me focus, focus, dominocus.  I'm grateful for the opportunities to type- when they comes, for the chance to write a bit at night when the kiddos go to sleep and my brain starts to wander.  

Today was corporate takeover day #1 at work- Old company came and packed every.thing. up.  including the coatrack....

New company comes tomorrow and hopefully, it will be a seamless transition <--------- hahahahahahah ohmagoodness, i almost said that with a straight face :-)  It's gonna be wild and full of obnoxious amounts of paperwork.  Some people will no longer be employed full time, some people increased their hours. oof.  what a day!! 

Here are my plans for February.  

I've made all sorts of lists this month- things I love, things I want to change in our current home, what we want in a new home, what I want for my children in the coming year, what I want for my marriage, what I'm grateful for here and now, what amazes me about my babies, what makes me laugh and smile and dance....  in other words, everything under the sun.  

Here are three things that, to borrow a bit from Oprah, I know for sure-

1. exercise makes me happy

2. Now that I know about vanishing edge underwear, I refuse to ever, ever, have visible panty lines

3. We are ALL a work in progress.... keep going.  

Thanks to my lovely kindle, i read a new book last night and had 2.75 hours of sleep total out of the last 42 hours.... so I'm off to bed and wishing you a wonderful February :-)  see you soon!

xo 

Gratitude- my one and only

Today was most definitely an ice-cream sort of day.   4 cones to go- 1 for Dad, 1 for each child... which really meant 1 for Dad  and at least 1/2 to 3/4 for me as Big Kid likes to feel it but feed it to someone else, Middle B doesn't eat the cone, and Baby A gets full.... yum :-)

Yesterday I posted the lyrics to Between the Raindrops by Lifehouse  - finding the joy in the midst of the downpour.  Finding the good- we're better than alright.  That's us.  He and I.  'Hold on and take a breath, I'll be here every step'.

texts to tell me that he loves me. 

'There's nothing I would change, knowing that together everything that's in our way.... we're better than 'alright'"

Together.  

busy day, peeps.  again tomorrow and not even 5 hours before the alarm goes off. 

xo

gratitude- the day before the day before it's done.

tooooo busy, with his brother's neon Theraputty, his hot chocolate, and the PBS kids app on the iPad.  Too busy to smile... love the chocolate on his cheek.  

Too busy smelling? feeling?  contemplating life in the perfect sunlight in his sister's room, to smile- or taste the luke-warm chocolate that I put in his cup... eventually he tried it :-)  since the majority ended up back on the counter I'm going to guess it wasn't his favorite, even though he LOVES chocolate in it's solid form.

Toooooo busy matching momma's beads to her panther sweatshirt, climbing the changing table, stealing her brother's lukewarm cocoa... too busy growing to smile right now, momma.  

I'm so thankful for this new job.  for the time it gives me at home with my babies.  for the reminders to find joy and amazement in the little things- the sweet smudge on the cheek, the sunlight on his beautiful blond hair, the sideways ocean blue glance and chocolate kisses.  

I know that where we are right now.... it's fleeting.  and some of the very hard, very sad.... it will pass, and quicker than I might think.  I know that some will stay.  always.   I am grateful for the sweetness in the small moments.  

really... I warned him.  You see how high my eyebrows are??? Representing with my Walk for FX shirt- this year is the 10th anniversary!!! wowowowowow! 

Stats

1. Sweat time -70 minutes- volleyball.... we lost.  all games. yep.  

2. Calories burned- Some where between 200-300.  My heart rate monitor doesn't work so well when I attach it on my shoe- big bummer because my last one still tracked perfectly from it's perch atop my laces!!! 

while the kids had hot chocolate, I mixed a via packet with a cocoa packet and 10 oz hot water- delicious!!! 

Look around
There's no one but you and me
Right here and now
The way it it was meant to be
There's a smile on my face
Knowing that together everything that's in our way
Were better then all right

Walking between the raindrops
Riding the aftershock beside you
Off into the sunset
Living like there's nothing left to lose
Chasing after gold mines
Crossing the fine lines we knew
Hold on and take a breath
I'll be here every step walking between the raindrops with you

Take me now
The worlds such a crazy place
When the walls come down
You'll know I'm here to stay
There's nothing I would change
Now were back together
Everything that's in our way
Were better then all right

Walking between the raindrops
Riding the aftershock beside you
Off into the sunset
Living like there's nothing left to lose
Chasing after gold mines
Crossing the fine lines we knew
Hold on and take a breath
I'll be here every step walking between the raindrops with you

There's a smile on my face
Knowing that together everything that's in our way
Were better then all right

Walking between the raindrops
Riding the aftershock beside you
Off into the sunset
Living like there's nothing left to lose
Chasing after gold mines
Crossing the fine lines we knew
Hold on and take a breath
I'll be here every step walking between the raindrops with you

More lyrics: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/l/lifehouse/

Gratitude... where are we???

Hello!!! ....- WHOAH!!! I took a bit of a hiatus- why?  

Because my life was starting to feel a bit like the picture below- 

very happy, but out. of. control.

 going, going, going.  

laughing, laughing, laughing... but not, at all, in focus.  

So... i took a break.  

I learned about avocados and tannin- -  the bio-molecule that is stored in high amounts inside the avocado seed and, when exposed to air, turns red... science is so cool :-) <---- said the happy nerd. This picture has NO point... except that I love it.  and that's enough.  

Why is it I still don't know where to look when taking sweaty obnoxious  gorgeous self pics??

and why aren't my eyebrows symmetrical?  

I've been doing a LOT of this-  thanks to www.fitnessblender.com and our fantastic Replex.   

Stats for the day:

1. Sweat time- 51 minutes!  finished couch to 5k week 3, day 2- with my own modifications to make it a little harder but not enough to kiiiiiillllll me.  Lean arms on fitness blender, as well as 5 minute sprint a lap, walk a lap, and a 5 minute Ab workout.  

2. Calories burned- 554!! you know how it is... running kicks my butt. for real.  and it's still sore... now.   for real.  

 

Dad and I went to a super fun 9 pin no tap (uh huh.... I had NO IDEA!) fund raiser for Fragile X set up by my amazing friend Holly... actually, it set up by her 2 wild and crazy friends- how AMAZING is that???

anywho- here's my serious bowling face... did NOT help, I found out that I still really stink at bowling... and Holly with her Strike in the background! 

no smiles from silly boy when I volunteered in his classroom... but look at those gorgeous eye lashes!! he is so stinking pretty   handsome!

We spend a LOT of time together... close together.  anything that happens, wherever it happens... we do it together :-)  with a spatula.  

sweet baby has decided she must be on my lap... always.  and yes, that is pretty much a gallon of chemical wonderfulness in a love's cup that I sluped up throughout the day... aaaaaannnnnnndddd a medicine bottle that the peanut is chewing on.  Mother of the year.  

I am thankful, thankful, thankful,  for the reminder that I need to take time to take care of myself.  I tell people at work ALL THE TIME 'you have to give yourself time to heal'  'you have to take care of yourself in order to take care of anyone else'  'you are the heart of your family, and if the heart is not healthy, the body can't function'  <---- i've done a wonderful job of ignoring this when it comes to myself.  I'm working on this.  I'm working on figuring out a way to fit things in, to have time to workout and not feel guilty, to take time to be quiet and ALONE and not feel like i've abandoned ship. ... i'm working on it.  

 long post.  thanks for reading :-)  

pray for each other.  

xo

Gratitude- Day 11. SHOES!

I've found the mother lode of awesome velcro-sneakers for my big kid!!! Zappos came through for us- now all i have to do is decide which cool kicks to get him!  The easiest way I've found to truly judge his foot size is by trying on a pair of sandals- do they fit? too big, too small?  close?  So- we ordered these from Land's End and will double check his tootsies before we choose! 

Pretty cool, eh?? 

We had a good day.  Busy, busy at work, home, then off to grocery shop and dinner out (the kids, anyway) at Dairy Queen! They LOVED it! We don't do fast food much at all, and we rarely eat inside a restaurant, finding take out much more convenient - so this was a double bonus

 with ice cream on top!! 

I'm working really, really hard on being less 'in charge' of outings like this- it's hard for me to relax and not try and keep all of our hands to ourselves, bodies from leaning and touching, voices at a reasonable level etc. etc. and not become completely STRESSED OUT by the time we leave.  Tonight I told myself to caaaaaaaaaallllllmmmmm down.... be easy.  smile and find the good <--- and it was awesomely easy to do!  In line, Abe immediately went up to an older woman who was there with her two middle-school aged grandchildren- he leaned on her, smiled, rolled down her sleeves (pushed up sleeves, along with unzipped coats, are a HUGE 'fix it quick' situation for my kiddo right now), and smelled her neck- she was rather short :-) So the second time he did this (after I'd corralled him back the first time and thwarted  a middle attempt) I said something along the lines of 'oh goodness! Abe, do you think we know this kind lady?  You must think she smells really good!! Here, son, come back here by me!' She said 'Hi Abe, my name is Doris!  It's nice to meet you! You smell really good too!! These are my grandchildren Taylor and Michael- what's your brother and sister's names?'  :-) :-) :-)  So we chatted- and they came by our table to say goodbye-  heart happy!  

something else that makes my heart happy- look at this sweet baby when he was just 2 years old!  Bo is so grown up... hard to believe he'll be 6 in just about a month!  

During the meal we put the food out in front of them and didn't say another word regarding eating, not eating, mess, etc... We want ALL of our children to have good manners.  We want ALL of our children to be comfortable no matter the situation, and that, often, involves knowing how to act appropriately whether you're eating at a picnic or at a Thai restaurant.  BUT... but, but but- we want all of our children to be independent, free thinkers, who enjoy life more than they care about 'fitting in' or following a certain norm.  I never want to correct my children with the tag line of 'what if so and so saw you, what would they think!!' or 'I'm so embarrassed by x, y, or z'.   Being so noticeably different in so many ways has helped me move past much of the importance I placed on other's opinion.  <---- does that make sense?  in other words, it doesn't matter to me that Abe spit out just as much chicken as he consumed because he was TRYING something new!  I don't care if Bohdan eats in small, quick little bites because he wants to eat like an Aardvark and his IMAGINATION is outstanding!  Aurelia's repetitive exclamation of 'oh wow! it's good!!' is FANTASTIC because that's 2 2-word phrases together!!! 

blurry photo in the back of my car- half faces and all- notice the ice cream... uh huh.... just a smidge messy by the time we got home... just a smidge!

big kid and his bag-o-beans decided to sit and enjoy the cereal aisle today- Elmo and SuperWhy!  two of his favorites :-) He probably would have stayed here all night!  

Stats- Another successful morning workout is in the books!  

1. Sweat time- 40 minutes, run, stairclimber, and Fitness Blender 's  Lean Arm Workout... killer.

2. Calories Burned- 434! Whoot!  

I hope that you (and when I say you, I mean us <---- :-)) find the good in the whacky, the happy instead of the stressful, and the friendly faces in random places that make life beautiful.

xo

Gratitude- Day 10- keeeeeeep going

I'm  alive :-) but now it's late and the alarm goes off way too early so here are my stats-

1. sweat time- ran in the gym with the 3 little bits for 45 minutes, played rec volleyball for 60 minutes- we didn't stink quite so badly this time around :-) thank goodness

2. calories burned- total- 395- not bad :-)

later peeps- thanks for all the encouragement! always nice to know there are others working hard out there to make their piece of this world amazing- and wake up far too early in the morning to get their sweat on! 

Gratitude- Day 9- YAY!!!!

Busy Day! and yes, that is our Christmas tree hanging out behind me... no ornaments, still alive and shedding until we can plant it in our back yard :-)  I think I was brushing a few needles off my jeans, but whatever- this was the picture and I'm posting it! Love the turquoise on royal blue, denim and, of course, my boots!! 

So!! I WOKE UP and WORKED OUT this morning :-) and I really, really, didn't want to, but man did it feel good today, knowing that I didn't have to worry about going tonight, knowing it was already done!!

1. Sweat time- 40 minutes, ran and stairclimber and a quick bicep/shoulders/back routine

2. Calories burned- 438.  which I more than made up when the Husband and I went to Chili's and used a card from our gift certificate stash! 

Tomorrow I have to be at work by 6 a.m. so no sleeping in AND no exercise.  

Hope you all do something that you don't think you can... something that will make you happy :-)

xo

Gratitude- Day 8, haircuts

Happy Sunday!  I gotta tell ya- I am really, really digging this 'no work on the weekend' business!! Two weekends in a row with no travel, paperwork, or personnel concerns- ahhhhhhh :-) And even more important- Meeting, Time with the kids, the husband, the parents, and friends!  

Pardon all the tired eyes, we're still recovering from cooking, organizing, partying- but our Party Hats are still going strong!! Bebop loves them and would really prefer to have one on 95% of the time... and for momma to wear one too, of course :-)  here she is fresh from the tub- 'Hat on!'

Bo has finally figured out that I'm willing to take a TON of pictures, multiple times during the day, in order to get a good one... so he may as well smile  right off the bat so I'll move on :-) Don't he and Abe look so handsome with their new haircuts?? Bo's hair grows so quickly!!  He and I roamed around outside in the freezing cold today, and discussed our upcoming gardening plans- we have a 9x2 foot plot that we take very, very, seriously... w're expecting 2013 to bring us a bumper crop! 

Did I mention tired eyes?? Big kid is rocking in his sleep- love his hand on his daddy's...  The husband is such a wonderful daddy, and has been a great help this weekend (as he always is) with keeping everything running smoothly and happily along.  

Stats- 

1. Sweat time- 38 minutes- running and stairclimber today- oof!! 

2. Calories burned- 400... confession, as soon as I saw 399 on my heart rate monitor, I stopped.  That was my goal for today, and once it was met, I was OUT! 

Wish me luck, tomorrow I start my morning workouts as the Husband will be busy supervising, running tournaments, coaching etc. until June!!! and I'm determined to stay focused with the exercise!

xo

Gratitude- Day 8- PARTY :-)

WOW!!! What a great day :-)  

We had a blast at Abe's party at the Replex!  We swam for the first hour-

doing everything under the sun including a few crazy games of 'Man from Mars' 

push feet with gram!- Abe had such a great day- I think all the kids could have stayed in the pool the entire time!

baby girl is a swimmy fish!  Put that puddle jumper on her and away she goes!

What a fun class of kids!!

moved on to the cupcakes- Elmo decorations here and there :-)

rotten boy- even with the cupcakes and juice boxes I still can't get a smile! 

more revelers- possibly the only time they were quiet- when we were passing out and consuming food! 

our birthday boy!!

chit chatting with these sweet girls- and adding goldfish to cupcakes!

baby bell wanted everyone to have a 'party hat'- including baby Will!  

sweet kiddo! our precious first born. 

finally- after everyone had left and we were cleaning up, Abe decided he DID want a cupcake :-)  love that chocolate face! 

The kiddos in Abe's class definitely know my big kid- he had presents of goldfish and popcorn galore!  These were 2 of the sweet cards from his friends.  

Between the swimming, eating, throwing bags, and balloons going crazy in the high-powered fan, I think all the kids had a wonderful time!  I was so thankful for each one that came- the kids in Abe's class, his amazing 1:1 aide, our neighborhood and football friends, and all the parents too!! 

I am really glad that Abe's party went so well- I worry that some of this stress and grief has led me to  become more pessimistic or at the very least, more of  a doubting Thomas, when I really, REALLY need and want to be an optimist.  Days like today, and my January focus, help me remember to look at what can go RIGHT, what is AMAZING, what I am THANKFUL for :-)  

Stats- 

1. Sweat time- 40 minutes spent with my friends at Fitness Blender completing Kettle bell until you Drop!

2. Calories burned- 278- not bad, and a good way to end  a crazy fun day! 

xo

Gratitude- Day 7- an outing

The Husband had to supervise tonight so Mom, Dad, The KIDs and I went to B-town.  Our purpose for this trip was to measure EVERYONE's feet (ok, just the kids... and yes, it really does seem to take one adult per child at this point)  as shoes have grown tight- along with wrists showing out the end of long sleeves and ankles peeking out the bottom of pants.  

When I tell you our trip was a little crazy.... i mean it was a souped up clown car with duely back wheels and a glass pack on the exhaust pipe kind of crazy.  for real.

I don't know if peanut is getting an ear infection (the PED DEVO noted fluid in her tubeless ear and the amount of clingy has been over-the-top here lately), anywho... she decided she wanted shoes, Hunter Rain boots to be specific, and she wanted them on her feet Right NOW!!! NOW! NOW! NOW!!!! oy (no idea where she gets this from... no. idea. :-)).  and then she didn't want ANYTHING on her feet....  and we were those people with the screaming crying toddler in the beautifully quiet store with the piano player.  yup.  

picture post working on ADL skills and doing a little painting- gorgeous face.  

Big kid did a great job sitting calmly on the couches... but , really??? take off my shoes here?!?  no.  thank. you.   and don't touch the toes either!  We're guestimating on size and getting ready to embark on an internet hunt for cool dude size 4 boy's shoes with velcro... any ideas?

I don't know if it was the shoe/toe thing or the trying to pour hot sauce and salt & pepper on everything at dinner that wore him out... but he was DONE IN!!!

Middle man LOVES the shoe store- big love.  loves to slide on his socks around the shiny tiles, digs the couches, likes to measure his feet... really!! he loves it all! he came out the big winner- police car shoes that flash in so many places he's practically a walking strobe light!  

How does he have so much energy?? We got home and he immediately began ping ponging like crazy (yes.  inside. against the door.  not lightly, either) Then he switched to a bouncy ball, then to a football. for real.  

sprinkle cupcakes are baked for the big party!! 

I KNEW I needed this 24 pack of markers and the circle stickers!!! 

to make the 'Quarters for Fragile X' jug, of course :-)   

alright- so tired.  Sorry for the lack of post yesterday but I downloaded a book... and you know, this darn Kindle makes it way too convenient to read a book until all hours of the morning... so yeah, maybe that's why i'm tired, too :-)

I'm thankful that we keep going places, doing things- it would be very, very easy for me to simply say 'forget IT!!' we're staying home... but how will anyone ever learn about the world around us if we stay in our safe, calm little spot on Elm?? How will the world learn to understand work with our differences if they never see the good, bad, and ugly that comes with the awesome, amazing, and confusing that is our life??  

get going!

xo