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Low-key weekends are lovely…

Posted on August 15, 2011 | 2 comments

Pardon the cell phone photos – I didn’t pull out the real camera this weekend…

Saturday was a day spent doing a whole lot of nothing and it was glorious. We managed to leave the house once to take the boys to get donuts (the original plan was the farmer’s market but it was raining like crazy so we traded fresh produce for fried dough – a delicious treat).

Sunday morning I got the supreme pleasure of meeting Wesley Levi, who arrived into this world at 4:35 Saturday morning 8 weeks early but weighing a ginormous (relatively speaking) 5 pounds, 14 ounces. He’s spending some time in the NICU but everyone is praying for a brief stay. [Side note: I’m not sure what this says about me, but I kind of love being at the hospital. Perhaps I should think about a health-care related career, one that doesn’t involve endless years of school and residency.]

Sunday afternoon we headed to Lansing for some quality family time. Lunch and card playing with grandpa and grandma and then dinner and more birthday celebrations with the rest of the fam at my brother and sister-in-law’s house. I love my family.

My niece and my great-nephew (ha, I can’t write that and not laugh because it seems I should be really old to have a great-nephew).

Jack entertained himself by hiding in the ottoman, I can only imagine how much fun he’d have at Art Van.

I love unamused/uninterested Andy (my un-great-but-still-awesome nephew) is trying to appear in the photo on the left but right after singing, he got a big kiss on the cheek from his dad and his grandpa and the illusion of cool is gone.

A good time was had by all. Including my brother’s dog, who we found standing on the dining room table, starting in on the pasta salad.

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Posted in Life in general

It’s Friday… Friday!

Posted on August 12, 2011 | 3 comments

This has been another one of those weeks where, when each day reaches its end, I have to think of what I’ve accomplished because it doesn’t feel like anything got done. The days flew right by, which is good and bad. But sometimes when these weeks do happen, it’s hard to remember to be thankful for things or what has been checked off the list. So, how about a little thankfulness/done list?

I’m thankful for my husband who did all the kids’ laundry today “so I would have one less thing to think about.” Awww – so thoughtful.
I’m thankful for my parents who spent last weekend with us, herding children and celebrating Liam’s birthday. I hope I can work as hard as they do when I’m 75-years-young
Also super thankful for our families and friends who love our kids and help them have special birthdays
I’m glad to finally get our new smart phones (another Droid for me and an iPhone for Simon to replace his “dumb” phone)
Ever-amazed by capable medical professionals both for myself and for my friends
Grateful to the teachers at the boys’ daycare – they are excited to go there their two days a week and that takes a load off my mind
Blessed to be able to spend time with two of my best friends at the Sara Barielles concert two nights ago (especially thankful for our contraband mixed drinks and wine); equally blessed by the thoughtful husband who gave me the gift.
Glad the flow of work is consistent at my office, though I could use a few more hours in a day at the moment
Appreciative of friends, always.

And because it wouldn’t be Friday, without Five Questions, here are the five questions I hear most often:

Can I watch [Wiggles or Noggin]?
Can I have [food – mainly chicken nuggets, gogurts, monkey drinks or caramel milk]?
Is it my turn to…? (Even though he’s 2.5 years younger, Jack seems to think it’s only fair that he share equal turns/responsibility for things like giving George treats and holding the door open between our garage and house.)
Can I play with my Legos? (We keep the Legos up out of Jack’s reach to avoid the typical choking hazards but mostly to avoid sibling fighting that would inevitably arise from Jack messing with Liam’s toys.)
What are we going to do today that’s special? (Liam’s apparently of the mindset that every day needs to have an element of the unordinary in it – thankfully going to daycare, church and the mall both count as special things along with parks and playdates.)

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Posted in Five Question Friday, Life in general

Things I Love Thursday: Sarah DB

Posted on August 11, 2011 | 16 comments

Sarah’s the lovely lady in the center in purple with glasses.
We might have drank a few mojitos prior to the taking of this photo.

I’ve been blessed with some wonderful friends in all areas of my life – I definitely know the best people around (though I’m sure your friends are pretty awesome, too)! But one of my dearest and truly sweetest friends, is Sarah. I’ve known her since day one of college and she even lived in Chicago for part of the time that I lived there so we haven’t lived too far apart from each other for over 15 years (but we’re not old). Like me she also has two boys so we get together fairly often for playdates and Saturday night dinner and games. She even watched my kids for a week when we went to Arizona last year (she’s no saint – we did pay her – but she sure is close, though she’ll hate reading that, it’s true).

I just love that girl (though we are to the age when I should say woman) and all the happy memories I have of her and with her. She always brightens my day and is someone I know I can call for help – whatever I might need. She also hardly ever swears and was known to say, “I’m swearing in my head!” when we were in the dorms. I do recall one time when she shouted “sh!t” and ran of the room (I think related to some brownies in the oven) and it left the rest of us in a fit of laughter because it was so unexpected. Our freshman year I used to tuck she and her roommate into their loft beds before I continued my studying for the night. If I could find it, I would share with you a video I have of her from our 30th birthday trip to Key West – she’s hilarious and delirious in it, purely because she’s tired – it’s awesome! Four years ago she invited me to join her MOPS group and I’ve been going ever since and loved sharing that experience with her.

I love her delight of life, her giving and caring spirit and her friendship that has blessed me so very much. And I love that she always has Diet Coke in her fridge and often homemade baked goods on the counter. Plus you need to see her when her feet get too hot or her curly hair gets out of control – mucho entertaining.

She’s currently pregnant with her third boy (bless her) and has been in a bit of a scary spot for the past day as she was having contractions at 32 weeks while up north with family and ended up getting sent by ambulance down to our city in case their efforts to stop labor weren’t successful. At the moment – labor is paused but child #3 might prove himself to be determined to come out so we wait and pray. Bedrest will definitely be in the near future – which seems fairly impossible with an almost 6-year-old and a 4-year-old to look after. I know she’ll rise to the challenge and all will be well but in the meantime, this wasn’t exactly how things were planned. So I thought I’d throw a little extra love her way because if anyone can use it, it’s her. And if anyone is going to be a fantabulous mom of three BOYS, it’s my sweet Sarah! You are the best! Really, truly. Love you my friend!

This post is linked up with Jill at Diaper Diaries.

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Posted in Friendship, Things I Love Thursday

Bad Word Baby*

Posted on August 10, 2011 | 6 comments

We all know that our kids know how to push our buttons and often they say things more for the reaction they get from us than because they are being bad, saying dirty words with purpose or being mean-spirited.

And we all know that kids pick up everything we say, especially the things we never want them to repeat. And repeat them, they do, at the most inopportune times and with regularity (see above: button pushing).

But does anyone know how my two-and-a-half year old knows to save his mouth from a good soaping when he first says “f*ck” and when admonished, instead sweetly says, “I was just saying foot. Foot. Foot. Foot.” While untrue, it’s a reasonable explanation and one we’ll let people at the grocery store believe is true. But I feel like his knowing this level of word-twisting and conniving at such a young age does not bode well for the teenage years, but after that, I’m quite certain he’ll make a good lawyer or politician.

And don’t get me started on where he picked up that word – not that I would place any blame – but if I were to give you a hint, it would stare with “s” and end with “imon.” [Love you, honey.] From me he’s more likely to learn the word moron, a term I use repeatedly while driving and yet neither of my kids has ever said it.

* The title of this post comes from a phrase Liam used to call Jack when his little brother was messing with whatever he was playing with, “You bad word baby!” It was his clever way of getting around actually saying a bad word.

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Posted in Life in general, Parenting

Top Ten Thoughts on 10 Percent

Posted on August 9, 2011 | 19 comments

It only seemed appropriate that this week’s top top ten list had to do with losing 10% of my body weight since officially starting my better living journey (a.k.a., Weight Watchers), a milestone I reached this past weekend. (Unofficially, I’ve lost more since last summer – more like 20% – but I wasn’t making a concerted effort until April.) It made me laugh when I was given the option to start maintenance, rather than set a new goal; now that I’ve come this far, there’s no way I’d settle for staying where I am.

Here’s what I’ve learned (so far):

A balanced breakfast to kick off the day is as important (if not more important) as any other aspect of diet and exercise. I have a boiled egg, yogurt and fresh fruit (and often a slice of whole wheat toast) most every morning and it makes a difference.
I hadn’t even realized how much sugar was in my diet until it wasn’t there anymore. And I don’t miss it. I’d much rather eat some black forest ham than a gummy bear for the same number of points. [I had cake and some gummy fruit slices yesterday for Liam’s birthday and today I have the biggest headache.]
People who are openly supportive are awesome, inspiring and great for keeping me accountable. I started using myfitnesspal.com a couple weeks ago to see if I liked it better than WW and it’s been great to have people I know on there and see what workouts they are logging and be able to comment and cheer them on, and vice versa (it’s like Facebook for diet and exercise). I also have a great walking partner and knowing we have a standing “date” every week with our boys commits me to working out at least once a week.
I enjoy exercising and I’m done with excuses for not doing it, because there are many and they are valid but being healthy is MORE important than the excuses. I walk at least once a week with the lovely Sandy, but my goal is at least five times a week of 30 minutes of activity at a time. It’s hard with working full time, having a spouse who works when I’m not working and having two young children but it must be done. I borrowed a stationary bike from friends and have it in the basement and after the boys are in bed, my Kindle and I hit the basement and sweat it out. I’d love an elliptical or a treadmill (I’d love to do the Couch to 5K program, but with Simon working nights, the only way I could do it would be on a treadmill or getting up before work. You can see why I’d choose a treadmill.)
I sweat, a lot. According to my dad, it’s hereditary. Sorry to anyone who sees me after I work out. It’s just the way it is.
I don’t know that I’ll ever feel “skinny,” but I know I’ll feel healthy. I don’t love the way my body looks but I never have – no matter what size I was. I also don’t hate my body and never have. But I do love having endurance and more energy – that I can tell a difference with. What’s most important is feeling good about myself, not based on what I look like or the number on a scale (though it’s nice to have it be smaller), but based on how I feel. Right now, I feel good but I know I can feel great.
I totally don’t mind eating cucumbers or bananas for a snack. If I’ve got points/calories to spare, pretzels and tomatillo salsa are also yummy.
I love salads. A good salad should take time to make; if you take the time, it will taste delicious. (My favorite salad: greens, cucumber, tomatoes, carrots, black forest ham, boiled egg and shredded parmesan cheese (red wine vinegar and garlic salt for dressing) – 4 pts. on WW and delicious, I’m not even kidding.)
Splurging once a week on a meal out where I don’t worry about calories is great and allowable, and key for not getting burnt out. I’m learning to not feel guilty about it because it’s obviously not a deterrent overall.
I’m proud of myself and doing this for me but I’m also glad to be doing this for my kids and while Jack has no clue what’s happening, I know Liam is proud of me, whether he gets that feeling or not.