Day After

So I can hardly walk today. If that's any indication of a really decent work out then I think I've found something that might work. Yoga tonight would feel SO GOOD. Too bad I can't go :( But yay for $10 well spent on that dvd. We'll see how this next one goes, wish me luck! Oh and this morning I weigh 2lbs more than I did yesterday?? I dunno how that's even possible, but I'm actually really looking forward to a new eating plan this weekend. And, I made the most delicious (or dee-yishish as some people around here say) smoothie for breakfast yesterday. Superstore has those mini drinkable yogurts now and last week they were on sale so I stocked up a bit thinking Kalea would like them, and she loves them, but now I do too. They were perfect in the smoothies and I didn't have to use as much milk/ice cream as I normally would. Yes I know the ice cream probably doesn't help it be very healthy... blah blah blah it's my breakfast!

Public Accountability

So if I tell the blogosphere that I'm starting a new fitness plan today, does that make me more prone to actually follow through with the whole "plan"??? Because I seem to have problems following through... K, well whatever. I'm sick of not enjoying my body. Can I be more honest than that? No really. Like, sick as in completely fed-up with what it's become. So the other night I bought 2, $10 dvds Jillian Michael's frontside and backside for beginners... I did frontside this morning and I'll do backside tonight when the kids go to bed. Kalea joined me for sit ups and crawled underneath me when I was doing my plank and push ups. I guess that increased the intensity a bit... I'm drinking more water starting today too... And more fruits/veggies and less of the kids' fruit snacks. Those little packs of fruity/sugary goodness really get the better of me. Back to salads, and hopefully with this nice weather I'll be able to start taking the kids on decent walks again. Bonus, hopefully I'll be able to get out on my own more often now too. I severely lack motivation to do things when it's cold out, it's even difficult to jump in the car and drive to my parents' to use their treadmill- so unmotivated. What else? I did go run on the treadmill the other night... a 10 minute half mile... Um I believe the cliche is 10 minute mile, so I have a ways to go, but I pretty much jogged it- even if it was a slow jog and I wasn't crazy winded/passing out at the end of it. I believe I can thank hot yoga for my cardio strength these days. I really didn't have much before I had kids, but I've noticed a HUGE improvement especially doing that dvd this morning- Jillian is tough stuff even when she's just your tv trainer! I've finally confiscated my 5lb weights from my parents house, so I can do my old bedtime routine on my "rest days" which equates to 25 sit ups, 25 push ups, 10 shoulder press, 10 tricep press behind the head thingers. I can't believe that was all I used to have to do to look half decent...sigh... those were the days. Anyways, I'm hoping I can get back to yoga soon too- my 20 class deal has expired, so my bday present might have to come a few weeks early. Even if it's just once a week, it's a really good change from the dvds... Oh yeah, I'm using my Carmen Electra dvds again too. LOL not the "sexy dance" parts, cuz we all know my moves are way better than that, but the actual work out ones... So I have always wondered how the heck the dvds even made it to production? In the leg work out section there are a couple leg exercises where they only do one leg, they completely forget the other one, so I always have to skip back and replay it so I can do the other leg. How did the editing people miss that? How did the trainer that is in the video miss that? How did Carmen miss that? I notice it every time and it's a huge pain in the butt!!! Sometimes I feel like I should get paid for noticing these things... Anywho, there, now everyone can ask me how my workouts are going and help pressure me into following through with the new "plan".

House Horrors

My parents were in Arizona last week so my Dad could indulge his yearly need to fulfill all his childhood fantasies going to Spring Training, etc... They had fun. They house hunted, you know, just in case they ever want to retire somewhere warm, I mean who wouldn't want to stay here in frozen Canada forever... With decent houses starting in the $60k region, I think they could definitely afford to retire there, and I will be pushing the idea until they make it a reality. Not that I have a selfish need for free accommodations in warm climates... So then it got me thinking, hmmm maybe I should just peruse some listings, just for fun. I have a dream house in mind, and this blog isn't big enough for all my ideas, but I can tell you what I have found that will not be on my list. Ahem, why would anyone put their microwave in their island, at exactly the height where children could spend hours upon hours playing with it??? Seriously, even if it's just being stored there, isn't that a bit crazy? I can only imagine how long it would be before my microwave was completely destroyed... The glass turn table shattered in a matter of minutes... the door torn completely off... dirty fingerprints all over it... Why home builders, why? Also, an entryway/foyer in my humble opinion, should be big enough to actually enter the house, get your shoes off and hang a coat up with very minimal stumbling over everyone else's stuff... I have big future plans, BIG FAT ENTRYWAY plans in mind. Also, I have a problem with the fact that in some houses they shove a den upstairs that is a few feet bigger than the 2nd and 3rd bedrooms. We all know that the den would end up becoming a bedroom and the smallest bedroom would end up being the den, so let's just label things accordingly to begin with. I know, all things that can usually be modified when you're building, but why not just package it that way to begin with and have the "bigger den" be the option? Sigh... I have way too much time on my hands today.

Hilarity

Um, Brynlee is so funny, as in, here is what she just did...
I hear mischievous giggles and see her chewing a crayon and eating paper. She catches my eye while I give her "the look of doom". She unwittingly toddles over to me and hands me the half chewed crayon and wad of paper smiling all the way. Then she turns to walk away and starts to "cry"!?!?!? That's right, the cry of shame! (insert evil laugh here) I am really enjoying the fact that with this child, no words are required, and she even swats her own bum. Parenting dream!

Ewww Defines My Day

1. Steve had to get up around 5 to drive 8/9hrs to BC. Ewww too early and ewww the roads are hideous right now thanks to our first official "Spring Snow Storm", thanks mother nature... he made it safely though :)
2. Kalea woke up minutes after Steve did... and stayed up the rest of the day... with NO NAP... She finally crashed at 5ish... I put her in her bed, it'll be an early night for me too.
3. Whilst on the phone with traveling hubby, the kids were chit chatting with him and I noticed a puddle of spit up on the floor... EWWW! As soon as I turned to grab a cloth to clean it up, Brynlee made her discovery of it and stuck her hand in... lovely.
4. Kalea is obsessed with picking her nose lately, ewww. I don't blame her, she seems to have a really runny nose lately, so she's probably trying to plug her nostrils with her fingers, but it's gross and I have strategically placed boxes of kleenex all over the house just to help her deal with this problem that aren't being used! Sheesh...
5. Finger picking sometimes , scratch that, most times leads to nose bleeds. Today we had a grand outpouring, it was, as the kids say these days EPIC. How do you calm down a screeching, writhing, 2.5yr old when she doesn't want you anywhere near her and she's spewing blood everywhere? I sure as heck have no clue, but I tell you what, Brynlee was sure entertained by it all. What a gong show. Good thing I can handle blood without getting queasy, it was all over Kalea, all over me, all over a dish towel, splatters on the couch... Basically we looked like a crime scene.
I think the best part of my day has been discovering Kalea asleep, watching American Idol, and realizing that the shampoo I bought at Superstore smells like H.E.A.V.E.N. I had my doubts since my mother-in-law has been keeping my tresses well taken care of with salon products for the last few Christmas's and birthdays. I can breathe a sigh of relief knowing my purchase was $4 well spent. Now off to watch ANTM and have a "my husband is out of town" bowl of ice cream.

30 Etc...

Steve officially turned 30 on Saturday. I guess the day was more than he wanted it to be... He literally wanted to vacuum out the cars and do nothing the rest of the day, is it horrible that I told him no?? I just didn't see the fun in that... maybe I'm super weird to him? Anyways... Friday night we went out for some dessert, just to say we actually got to go out I guess. It was fun and for the first time in a long time our conversation actually didn't really revolve around our kids at all... YAY! Ha, instead we talked about how to pay off our debt faster... fun, right? LOL
Saturday we got the girls and ourselves ready and headed out to... drive around aimlessly until I figured out Steve was trying to inconspicuously check movie times. Once we figured out what time the movie was starting we drove to Petland to kill some time. Can you believe I told Steve we could get a puppy in place of having 2 more kids and he turned me down??? I was shocked, I for sure was willing to make that sacrifice- have you seen "kim and kourtney take new york" lately? I am seriously scared to end up with 3 girls, all the "i feel left out" is still happening and these people are my age?!?!?! No thanks, I'll take a puppy. And no I am not pregnant, we're just starting to plan for the next round of crazies and I was really hoping Steve wanted a puppy because I fell in love with one... On a side note, why do men take women to Petland if they have no intention of buying them an animal? I really fear that Steve is going to cave someday and we'll end up with Kalea's choice of noisy birds... Anyways, it was fun while it lasted and then we had to get to the movie. Steve chose the movie Tangled, and the girls lasted 1hr... This is great progress for Kalea- she probably could have lasted through the whole thing but Steve had to get up with Brynlee. Brynlee's first theatre experience and I was pretty impressed, she did really well considering it was nap time and she had no soother. Kalea did get up for a bathroom run- see public bathrooms are the key to potty training this one. Apparently she sang the whole time she was in there- I made Steve take her, hehehe. When we were done there we came home for an afternoon nap and then headed over to my parents for dinner & dessert coupled with some Jimmer-time. It was fun and so nice that my mom told us she'd watch the girls upstairs so we could go to the cave and actually enjoy watching the game! It was a fun day/night, even if Steve didn't get to do any of what he wanted- he made up for that on Sunday by staying home all day.
Sunday I taught our RS lesson on Charity, which I kind've taught a few weeks ago. It was good and we had great discussions and I dunno why but I am really comfortable leading these lessons. I guess that's a blessing since my 2nd and 3rd Sunday teacher has been given a stake calling so now I get to use my talent more often until we fill that spot again! It's so hard to find willing teachers sometimes, we've been through quite a few in the last 2 years, so hopefully we can find somebody consistent soon. Oh the joys! Anyways, we had a fun weekend and are so grateful to be Steve's posse of girls, he's pretty awesome and we love him!

St. Patty's Day Events

I got 2 pictures of our whole day just different angles of Kalea asleep cuddled up to Steve's bum... Not really blog worthy, unless you care to see that... No, not today, sorry. There's another thing to love though, Steve is the best human pillow there is! His body temperature is probably a good 5 degrees higher than normal so once you cuddle up it's mere seconds before you're warm and fast asleep.
On another note... We colored our patio doors with rainbows and shamrocks in honor of our Irish ancestry, I mean deep down isn't everyone part Irish on St.Patty's Day? That's what I thought! My uncle lives in Ireland, I think that counts? We ate Lucky Charms for breakfast and made sure everyone was wearing a little bit of green. That's about as far as I take things, we'll do more when the kids care more and aren't freaked out by green food. We really just had a lazy day, once Steve got home and we had lunch we all crashed for the afternoon, it was great! We were well rested for the party that Steve's sisters threw for him last night. It was fun to just get together and let the kids run around and eat way too much, we were all painfully aware of the fact that we are out of practice when it comes to consuming so much sugar. But once you get past the sugar high, you crash pretty good, so I had a really great sleep and so did the kids. We also discovered how afraid of dogs Brynlee is, even though the dog itself was pretty mellow and not at all very interested in her. If she saw Bear she would just do her spazzy foot stomp dance and screech, good times! Anyways, it was a good night and fun to celebrate Steve's birthday with his sisters.
PS I just re-read this post and wow, boring. My apologies!

Don't Stop Til You Get Enough

Steve is constant fun in "unconventional for your age" types of ways. He can have more fun at a playground in the winter than almost any other adult I know. I don't mind at all, it's fun to watch somebody enjoying their life so much- even if us bystanders are freezing!

Great Expectations... Or Not

Some of the things I like and love about Steve directly relate to how laid back he is. Sometimes it's a pain but for the most part it makes life a lot more of an adventure, and it helps me relax a lot more than is in my nature.

Like the picture below, I am not one to randomly dress up, it's just not me. When Steve asked me to go to the monster truck show (while we were dating) he told me to dress "white trash"... Um, that really wasn't a huge part of my life so it was difficult and according to some I wasn't dressed "trashy" enough, but whatever. Anyways, he has a way of forcing me out of my comfort zone that I absolutely love and appreciate (most of the time).
When we got married we didn't have an actual bed. Yup, we slept on an air mattress for the first 6-8 mths of our marriage. It was great because Steve loved to make the bed and it was actually more comfortable when he did, sometimes I really miss it! *He still makes our bed sometimes*
Steve is really content with just me and the girls, doing nothing. This is a new thing, but I think since he's away so often, he really values the time we have just being a family and I love that. He is such a fun Dad and helps me have more fun being a Mom.
Steve isn't super emotional and there have only been a handful of times when I've seen him genuinely upset. This is great because I can really tell when he's actually upset over something- but generally he's not ever upset with me over anything, even though he could be. He's a good balance for this emotional girl I know...
Steve doesn't expect a lot from other people. He is a doer, and doesn't often see the need for anyone else to help him. When he does ask for help, you can bet it's because he's exhausted all other options. What he does expect is that because he is diligent at the things he does, and helpful when other people need it, that eventually his abilities will be rewarded and his good deeds reciprocated. That's a nice way to live, I don't have that kind of patience with people!
Steve is really good at finding a deal- he gets this from his Dad. For instance, he got himself a big TV for Christmas at a really great price, but he couldn't justify spending a huge amount of money for a wall mount. So he's been really patient with kids' finger prints all over his TV for the last few months while he's scoured the internet for an affordable solution. SCORE! He found what he needed for about a third of the in-store price including shipping and now our TV is out of the reach of little fingers!
Steve works really hard at any job he does and sometimes at his own expense. He takes his role as provider really seriously and as a result he puts up with a lot more than I ever have at any job. He's determined and he's self-sacrificing in most everything that he does.
He will also probably be very embarrassed that I shared any of this on our blog, but I think it deserves to be documented that at 30 years old, he's a pretty awesome human being.

More Kalea Funnies

*When Kalea is between outfits she ALWAYS takes a minute to pause and say "Brrrr isss cold" while giggling and doing a little wiggle dance, only after she has done that can we proceed to put her clothes back on.
*"I princessssss" (she likes to exaggerate the "S" at the end of any word that has it)
*She is OBSESSED with pigs right now, anything resembling a pig must be hers and I'm not even allowed to "oink" anymore, only she is allowed to have anything to do with pigs.
* Sometimes Kalea will just say "Mommy" over and over and over again only the influx in her voice is what makes it hilarious/annoying all at the same time, it starts normal and then gets a little crazy with the pitch.
*When Kalea is sick of me she literally pushes me by the bum/back of my legs in the direction she wants me to go in order to get away from her, she's got strong little hands, sometimes it makes for a great massage!
*"I want snack... I want treat... No food" some of her favorite things to say
* When Steve is away and I have to play tough mommy with her, she will run to the door and yell "Daddy home NOW! Now home!" while pointing at the door or pointing as if she wants him to come through the door and stand next to her. It makes our "tense" moments far more entertaining, it's really hard for me not to laugh at her all day long :)

On a completely unrelated note I finally got a Kodak picture book done and I'm so glad it turned out so good. To be honest, it's not my favorite site to use because you don't have much flexibility with their online program, but we had a "free" coupon from one of our Christmas gifts, so it was worth it. I actually cheated the program a bit and ended up with something that I like a lot more than what they offer. Curious? I first went into Picasa and made collages of pictures from each month since July I think it was (the first half of the year was stuck on our old computer for a while). Anyways, from prior experience I knew that photo-books sometimes come out darker than you want them to be, so I made sure to lighten all of the collages except for I think the last two, oh well. It worked perfectly! When I was in the Kodak gallery program all I had to do was pick the page layout with the biggest "picture" spot, put my collage in as a single picture and voila, done. I ended up with a few more pages than the coupon allowed for it to be free, but I only paid $3.12 and had it shipped to Future Shop so I didn't have to pay for shipping! I wouldn't pay the $25 the books usually are because you don't have much control over the font size and other things that I usually like to play with, but the quality is really great. Hopefully I can find an online coupon somewhere so I can do the first half of the year now too!

The Kiddos and Our Upcoming Week

We are enjoying the kids a lot these days. Kalea is saying and doing the funniest things, they are cute, but sometimes super annoying... Like when I put her to bed while Steve was away this past week, we'd do songs and prayers and say goodnight and love you and then she would say "Mom wait! Mom wait! Mom wait!" and I'd turn around to see her with her hand making a "stop" sign, and the first night I thought that's what she was trying to show me, but now I just think it's her new "delay bedtime" thing. It's weird and she literally says "Mom wait!" about a million times, even when the door is closed and I'm clearly not waiting. Maybe she just gets stuck on the thought and keeps verbalizing it? Even when I say "what is it Kalea" she just keeps saying "Mom wait"? We lost her sucky/soo soo/binky/soother on Thursday night- actually my Mom couldn't find it and she was babysitting for me, so Kalea went to bed without it. Well wouldn't you know it, I couldn't find it either?! Shocking! Last night was the first night she fell asleep without begging and pleading for it. The meltdown that happened the night before was heartbreaking for her and for me, I almost caved- oh yeah I found it in the most obvious spot I dunno how she missed it. Anyways, I think it was a victory for both of us that I didn't cave and give it to her that night. She's doing really great at ignoring Brynlee's too, she steals it once a day, so that's not too bad considering how attached she was to hers. Yay! I think we're half way with the potty training thing... Maybe I just need to take her out more since she seems to always want to go potty in the public places that we go to... In contrast to other kids who are scared to death of the giant potties, Kalea very much appreciates their size and the acoustic sound quality of any public bathroom. Lucky us! She's going first thing in the morning and before bed now though, so I know she gets the routine. Success is just around the corner with that one!
Brynlee is quite the character these days too. She's so dang sweet and so dang demanding all at the same time! My favorite is the new scowl she does, it's like she's just discovered that she can control the muscles in her forehead. Steve pesters her just to get her to scrunch her face up now, it's mean/funny. She also does the cutest little foot stamping when she knows you're fixing a snack or sippy cup for her, she knows she's getting what she wants, so it's this little impatient foot stamp accompanied by squeaking. Cute now, probably not so cute when she's past the age of 3... She is really smart for her age- and I'm not just saying that because I'm her mom. I really think having an older sibling helps the younger ones catch up real fast. When Steve or I ask "What's your name?" or "Who's that? (pointing at her)" Brynlee will point at herself and say "Nee nee" (her nickname) and now when she climbs onto the kitchen table or anywhere she's not supposed to be, when she sees me giving her "the look" she says "Nee nee NO! DOWN!" I don't even have to discipline her myself, she seems to have taken care of that for me! Ha, now if only she'd listen when she tells herself to get down! She loves books and still likes to sit in my lap and read with me. I love it, she knows just exactly how and where she wants to sit and there's no changing positions or stretching out my legs, I must be cross-legged and she must sit directly in the middle. She loves blocks and building towers to knock over. She is starting to sing to herself and when she wakes up from her nap you can usually hear her singing or talking to her teddy bear.
This week Steve has a BIG birthday. We are looking forward to hopefully having him all to ourselves on Saturday so we can celebrate. In the meantime we'll be posting favorite pictures and things we love about him all week.

These girls LOVE their Daddy. It is so sad when he's away and they ask for him and we do the back and forth "Daddy at work?" "Yes Daddy's at work" "Daddy home now?" "No, Daddy home in a few days". He is noticeably absent and very much missed all of the time that he's away from us. But we're thankful he works so hard and he is always welcomed home with squeals of delight and lots of hugs and kisses.

He might be turning 30, but he's still just a big kid!

If You've Ever Wondered

The link below is to the blog of a distant cousin of mine, on my Dad's side. She experienced a traumatic brain injury as a result of a pretty scary car crash around American Thanksgiving. It's a complete miracle that she survived and is doing SO well.
I have just been feeling like this is something I needed to share, because so many people do wonder where they come from, where they'll go when they die and who will be there.
I think Maddi sums it up pretty perfectly, since well, she's experienced a bit of it.
You will need some kleenex, seriously do not read the post without it.

http://maddisized.blogspot.com/2011/02/ancestors-by-maddi.html

Thanks for sharing Maddi, we are continually amazed by you and grateful that you have the courage to share so much with us!

And Because You Can't Tell a Negative Without a Positive

This little girl has been my awesome buddy all day long. I don't think we've ever had such a fun day playing together. Kalea happened to fall asleep early this afternoon, so Bryn and I built towers, read books, wrestled, had a giggle fit, played in Rubbermaid container "cars" and made dinner. This is why I don't go to "work", my job is awesome!

Seriously...

My Monday posts are usually positive and reflective of the Sunday I had. Sorry, this post is not one of those, although Sunday once again was a great day... well until... nevermind... I will post about the good part of Sunday later... when I'm less agitated/livid...
This is going to sound uncharacteristically rude of me, but after the last week or two of dealing with other people and their inability to think logically or make sense of their own actions I just wonder... Has anyone else ever wanted to tell someone to, in the words of Steven Tyler
of Aerosmith and American Idol,
"Go F*$! a Duck"?
Cuz today, that's about where I'm at with a certain group of individuals- who are not family, and who I don't consider friends.
Again, apologies, there is just no other phrase that could sum it up so perfectly.
And although I don't wish these people harm of any kind, I do wish that they knew how to better utilize the grey matter between their ears, because right now it seems like such a waste.
I need an outlet, I wish I could go to yoga tonight and just release everything,
that or I wish I could go kickboxing with our RS President, for real.
I guess I'll settle for a night of ice cream and The Bachelor... Ugh!

Sending Out Our SOS

Dear Winter,
You are causing us grief. You are turning us into crazy people that run out the door in our bare feet in weather that is hardly "barefoot friendly". You are making us do strange things like stick toothbrushes in our sisters' diapers. You are so boring that we are falling asleep in strange places, ie. the ottoman. We don't get to go for car rides because it's too dang cold to go anywhere, so instead we squeeze ourselves into another ottoman and "drive" around the living room area rug. You even have us jonesin' for summer so bad that we are wearing our favorite hats with our polar fleece nightgowns. Winter, we tried to find a happy medium, but it seems our relationship is going nowhere fast. It's not you, it's us. We're ready for Spring, we've missed her. We hope you understand. Please go on vacation, you deserve it. Your season has been long and you've been working hard. It's okay to take a nice long break, we won't mind your absence.
Sincerely,
Kalea & Brynlee and most especially, Mom