This...Is...War!!!

I am going into battle friends. Going into battle to regain my body, my health, and my fitness. This won't be easy. No, it certainly won't be easy. But the time has come. I suppose I could tell you that I will jump on a treadmill for 30 minutes when I get a chance. I could also tell you that I will watch my diet. BUT...I know exactly where I will end up with that plan. Still 30 lbs overweight and in the worst shape of my life. So I need a plan. I need supreme motivation. I need a goal to work for. I need to tell someone so that I know I will have accountability. I thought what could be more perfect than my blog in declaring my goals? It's public (to the people who actually read my blog)and it will get me motivated. So here's the plan. It's ambitious but doable in my mind. A 10k in September (September 19th to be exact. I've already signed up for it!Check out the website, wanna join me? http://www.tourdesfleurs.com/ , a sprint triathalon in October, and a half marathon to finish up the year in December. So I figured if I'm going into battle I need to identify my friends AKA my motivations and my enemies AKA my road blocks. First, my motivations. #1 and #2 are of the utmost importance to me. #3 and #4 are on the more shallow side but are definitely still motivations.

Motivation #1 My Health
I look at this as a battle for my health. This is no longer just a vain attempt to look good. I will be 35 in December and very soon I will have to face the harsh reality of genetics. Both diabetes,cancer, and heart disease run in my family big time. Being 30 lbs overweight and out of shape does not help my cause with any of these diseases.

Motivation #2 My Family
I want to show Kate and Carson that exercise and eating right is fun and a normal part of life. I especially want to give Kate a healthy role model when it comes to diet and exercise. She will get bombarded enough with society's expectations.

Motivation #3 My clothes
I have a closetful of pre pregnancy clothes that are begging me to wear them. I can hear them call out to me every time I enter my closet.

Motivation #4 A New Camera
I have a camera yes. I use it a lot. But I want a better one. A real fancy schmancy one. Jared has agreed with me that we will buy one at the end of the year if I complete my goals.

And Now my Enemies

Enemy # 1 Time

I have 2 kids and a husband AND a full time job. Where in the world am I going to find time to work out and train? I am sure that this will be an ever evolving flexible plan but for now my plan is to use my lunch break. My gym is right around the corner from work. I figure if I change at the office before I go I can jump on the treadmill and just GO! I am sure I will have to juggle this plan. I will just have to be very flexible.

Enemy #2 Peanut M&Ms

Don't laugh. This is real. My office stays stocked with Peanut M&Ms. There is a huge glass jar in the copy room. And the minute it is empty some wonderful/horrible person comes in and fills it to the brim. I am pretty sure that you can't lose weight or run a 10k eating handfuls of peanut m&ms everyday.Or Chick Fil A waffle fries or Blizzards from Dairy Queen. At least I can't.

Enemy #3 I have no natural meatbolism

No, this is not just an "I'm getting older I have slow metabolism" comment. I mean I have no natural metabolism. The thyroid gland controls metabolism and I have no thyroid. I had to get rid of it about 4 years ago with radiation due to an overactive thyroid. So everyday, I take a pill that synthetically gives me metabolism. It's hard to guage the right dosage so I constantly feel like my metabolism is slow.

Alright, enough with the enemies because I really want to do this. I want to do it for myself and my family. And the great thing is I have done this before. I did a sprint triathlon right before I got pregnant with Kate and I ran a half marathon a couple of years ago. So I feel good knowing that my body has already been down this road. I know I can do this because I've done it before. The other great thing is that I will not be alone. My friend Hope is joining me for the 10k and Sprint Tri (it's all women) and both Hope and my brother Burke are running the half marathon.
So there it is, my battle plan to reclaim my body, health, and fitness.I plan to do updates on the blog just for me, to keep me on track. Once I press "publish post" there is no turning back...........Ready Set Go!!!!!

Kate You're on Hidden Camera! Gotcha!

Like I've said before,when the camera goes on Kate looks away. 95% of the shots I take of her are of her looking away from the camera. So I shoot like a paparazzi. I just keep clicking and out of 80 shots I MIGHT get 2 or 3 that I can use. So I am getting wise. Today I set up the camera nonchalantly at the table. I turned it on and just acted natural.I got singing, chatter, laughter and smiles! As the say in the movie business......ACTION!

Fingerpainting ....and I am using that term loosley

Ohhhh!!! You said FINGER paint I thought you said BODY paint!!!!!

Daddy and the Kiddos

You know how I've said before that there are days when Carson really looks like Jared? Well, this was one of those days...:)

Daddy and his girl

That Daddy! Always good for a laugh!

A Song in Her Heart

Kate is all about singing. She sings every where but in the car she can really get going. I just love listening to her in the morning as we are driving to day care. She will sing while staring out the window. I tilt the rear view mirror down to watch her and she is just so precious. When she catches me looking at her she breaks out into the biggest grin. Her favorites are twinkle twinkle little star which comes out "dinko, dinko, itto sta, how wa wowa"(twinkle twinkle little star how i wonder" then she breaks off and picks back up with......"u bu bu da wo" (up above the world". I try to fill in the blanks for her but want her to sing as much as possible and work it out in her own head so I try to hold back. Another favorite is the itsy bitsy spider complete with hand motions. Her little spider is the cutest thing going. She also sings her ABCs. She will muddle through the first part and get to "lmno" as one word and then pick it up with "dubbledo) W and Y Z. How priviledged I am as her Mommy to get a front row seat to all of her new accomplishments. Everyday it seems her little world is opened to new possibilities and I get to experience it with her. I am one blessed woman! Praise God for my wonderful singing girl!

Love, Kate and Carson

Dear Daddy,
Since I am the coeditor of this blog, Mommy let me do my very own special Daddy's day post. Carson and I wanted to do something to make you feel special on your special day so we put together some of our favorite pictures in the whole world. Of course these are pictures of you with us! Mommy helped me pick the song. It's a Beatles Song called All You Need is Love. We chose it because it keeps saying "Love, Love, Love!" That what we think of when we think of you Daddy. How much we love you and how much you love us. THIS MUCH!!!!!!We love you so much Daddy and want you to know that of all the Daddies in the whole world you are the best. Enjoy your special day!

Love, Kate and Carson and Mommy (she helped us out a little bit;)

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A Day at the Gardens

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Daycare Wonders and Blunders

Daycare is part of our real world right now. Every morning Monday through Friday I get them up, feed them, dress them, spend some time with them, and then load up in the car to take them to daycare. As with anything there are positives and negatives. Although I never thought I would see any positives to leaving my kids under someone's care for 9 hours I am beginning to see a fresh perspective. I know that this perspective is coming from God. I am confident that he allows my mind to be open to the positive things about this situation. Otherwise, I can honestly say my heart would drown in sadness. This post is not meant to rationalize my children going to daycare. Be assured. There is not one minute that goes by every day of the week that Jared and I aren't thinking of ways that I can stay home. But this is our life right now and God is comforting my heart right now by helping me to see the positive aspects. With out this comfort I can tell you my spirit would be crushed. So here is the list of the great and not so great aspects of daycare.

Of course I'll start with the negative. ;)I know that this list will make all of the stay at home Moms who read this fall down on their knees and thank God that they are able to stay home with their kids. But read on to the positives for a another perpsective.

1. A week ago one of Kate's classmates contracted a disease called Hand, Foot and Mouth disease. Although this sounds like a disease that only horses can get it is apparently very real in daycare. It involves blisters on ... the hands, feet, and inside the mouth (Hence the name). So far neither Kate or her classmates have developed any symptoms and her teachers seem to think we are in the clear.

2. Last Monday Carson was fed the wrong bottle and formula. Yuck.There is another baby in his class, a girl named Carson. Guess who's formula and bottle he was fed? They were extremely apologetic and of course I accepted their apology.What else could I do? I watched the tape of the day before and watch the lady go to the wrong cubby and get the wrong bottle and feed him the wrong formula. The director has implemented a new system to make sure it never happens again.

3. Boo Boo reports. This is a report they fill out when your child has been injured in any way. Kate had 2 of these last week. Nothing major.Just a couple of bumps from tripping. She probably would have eventually done this if she were home.

4. Endless colds! My kids basically have a cold all of the time. And they have both had pink eye. I am told that all of this exposure will build strong immune systems. We shall see.

4. Missing smiles, laughs, giggles, hugs, kisses, words, silly behavior, cute faces, wrinkled noses, cries, feedings, rocking, holding, cuddling, (you get the picture.)

Ok, that's enough of the negatives. Here are the positives. By the way, I never thought I would write down a list of the positive things about my kids going to daycare. Again, it's God giving me this perspective.

1. Kate, a girl who will hardly touch real food (except for bread) at home eats everything they give her at daycare. Hamburgers, chicken, tater tots, pears, strawberries, mixed fruit, corn, carrots. You name it this girl eats it...at daycare. I've been told this is quite common. I think it's because she sees the other kids doing it.

2. Kate is a versatile sleeper. She sleeps on a mat at daycare. I think this is pretty amazing for a baby her age. She loves her crib and I didn't think she would do this. Her teachers say she goes right down for her nap.

3. Kate gets so much social interaction. She loves the other kids and wants to get down the minute we walk in the door. The kids actually come up and give her a hug.

4. I would say right now that Kate has no separation anxiety. For the first couple of days she would kind of hold on to my leg for a bit. Now when she steps in the room she is off and playing with a quick "bye!" to me.

5. Singing!Kate sings all of the time now. We can actually tell what the song is. She may not get the words down but she sings the tune. So far we have picked up Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and the itsy bitsy spider. She does the hand motions and everything. It is so cute. I think I heard her singing the tune to the alphabet song this morning.

6. This last one is hard for me but I think very good for my kids. I can tell that both of my kids are very happy and comfortable with their teachers. They smile at their teachers. Kate even reaches out for them. I think it is pretty cool to see that my kids can trust and be comforted by someone other than Jared and me. Of course, we are their ultimate comforters but it is nice to know that they feel that can look to others for comfort also.

Well, their it is, the nitty gritty and the upside. This is our life right now and even though it is not ideal we still feel blessed. We feel blessed by the daycare and the teachers that take care of our kids everyday.

A Fantastic Four Months

Carson turned 4 months last Friday. This boy is growing by leaps and bounds. He loves to coo and talk. I love picking him up from his crib every morning and smiling at him. He beams a big smile right back at me. "Good Morning Mom!" He is a very happy boy except when he is hungry or tired. He is losing his hair in little patches. He didn't have that much to begin with so it's not really a loss. :) I think he looks different everyday. Somedays he looks like me, other days he looks like Jared, but mostly he looks like Carson! He loves to stand on his big strong legs. He loves watching Kate and all of her antics. We are getting laughs now. His Daddy can really make him laugh when he tickles his tummy. He has rolled over to his side but not to his tummy. And when he is on his tummy he is content to lift his head and look around and doesn't seem interested in rolling over. He is starting very slowly to get the hang of sleeping through the night. It is sporadic and when he does I feel so blessed and like a new person! I think the trick to Carson is that I have to put him in his crib fully awake and let him put himself to sleep. I say I think that is it because I'm not really sure. We do become students of these little guys don't we?***UPDATE-Report from the next morning. He didn't sleep through the night. So that's not the trick. Back to square one!***** Enjoy the very short slideshow of his progression from one month to four months. I love watching how his face changes.

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Ridiculous Expectations

I hope to someday have a wonderful photo shoot of my two dearest little ones. Heads touching. Smiling at each other. Arms around each other...Ahhhhhh......But for now.....this is what I am getting!