Gratitude Tueday

Need I Say More??

Wacky Wednesday in kindergarten,
gotta love the missing tooth

She is my sunshine...

Funny memory about Mikenzie-- she came home
from school complaining her eye hurt. So, she made
this pirate like patch to wear while she ironed
her clothes-- too cute.

I can't really explain Kyle, other
than he is a 12 year old boy.

Jeremy playing his gee-tar, and enjoying it too!!

Our totally cool teenager

Belated Easter Craft

Well, I am not the best parent in the world, I freely admit that. We didn't do so well on Easter this year. We forgot to dye the eggs, which my kids will not let me live down. It is hard to remember when you have teenagers who could care less, the little ones just kind of got swept into that group. We will do better next year--maybe.

So, James and I were at Wal-Mart Saturday night doing our last minute shopping and saw the Easter aisle with everything marked down to 75% off. They had these cute little pre-fab gingerbread bunny houses, cheap. I knew the three youngest would have a blast making one, so for two bucks, why not?

Here are some pictures of the final project. It was broken when we opened it, but being eager beavers, they wanted to create anyway. Interesting is all I can say.... enjoy the pictures.

Lack of Gratitude Wednesday

I'm tired. I really am. I swore I would never be one of those moms who was always going a million different directions all at once. It seems my life is slowly, or quickly, sliding in that direction. I don't know if it has to do with the emerging teenage population in our family, or if I have just agreed to do too much, all I can say is, I am tired.

First, I think it starts with this little bird that has decided to sing outside of my window every morning, beginning around 4:00 a.m. That's right, 4 am!! I am so sick of hearing the morning music that I actually asked Heavenly Father during my morning prayers to tell the little bird to go sing somewhere else. I think that has something to do with being really tired. Who knows, maybe my prayer will be answered. I am not the kind of person that can roll over and ignore the noise, I am basically awake once Mr. Bird shows up and starts performing.

Second, this triathlon training thing is killing me!! I never would have guessed I would be at the gym until 10:00 at night, riding the bike for 12 miles and then trying to swim 200 yards in less than six minutes over and over. Then I go to my strength training class the next morning bright and early and start it all over again. This has been the deal for the last three weeks and it is catching up to me. I am trying to squeeze in months worth of training into 6 measly weeks. If my mom didn't have tickets to fly out, I am thinking I would give up. Maybe it is a good thing she is coming so I will stick to my goals, but I sure am tired.

Third, while the work is easy, going into the office a few days a week is really making it difficult to accomplish doing simple things at home like keeping up with the laundry and dishes. So, once again I am at the point of doing something I swore I would never do, hire a cleaning lady. This totally depresses me for a variety of reasons. My kids should know how to clean a house well by now, I should manage my time better, I should just be better at keeping house, etc. It sounds crazy I guess, I just want to be independent and do things myself. It is embarrassing to me that we may have to hire someone to do my job. Maybe I will love it, but right now I am totally depressed over it. But, I am too tired to keep up with it all, so I am calling today to get some quotes-- yikes, failure alert.

Fourth, we have members of both of our families coming out in the next few weeks and this has me totally stressed out. I know, they love us and are coming out to see us, not critique our house.... yeah right. Ladies, we all know how we are... give me a break, we all notice the fingerprints on the windows, the Christmas decorations still hiding in corners, the piles of stuff the kids shoved under their beds and pronounced their bedrooms clean. So don't kid yourselves ladies, we all look and we all judge. So, yeah, I am in a cleaning frenzy right now with very limited time before the first wave of family arrives. Don't be telling me to relax, no one will notice, I guarantee you, they will!!

Fifth, why do kids have to be so mean? I have worked really hard to teach my kids to be nice to everyone and make sure everyone feels welcome and included. How can other parents not teach the same thing? It is so hard to have one of my kids come home from a church activity and turn to tears as soon as they see me because they feel deliberately left out. All because of one bratty little kid at the activity that works extra hard to manipulate and control other people. I can't go into detail, but some days I really want to shake this kid and ask what the problem is. People should raise their kids better!!

Well, kids are calling. It may sound hypocritical-- Be Grateful!!

Tryin' for a Tri

A few weeks ago my exercise buddy and good friend Jodi called and challenged me to competing in a sprint triathlon. Sure, I said, I can do that, maybe. So for the last two weeks I have been training like a fiend, trying to whip this old body of mine into shape before the triathlon, which was six weeks away at the time she asked me to join her.

Surprisingly enough, it has been so fun to train for. It really mixes up the training and it has the whole family involved. My boys are thinking about competing with James on a team level and my mom is flying out just to participate with me. Who would have guessed all of this would have come about from a simple challenge? We have spent more time in the pool as a family in the last week then we have all winter. It has been fun racing each other, and cheering for each other as well.

Somedays I am a little discouraged when I watch my jiggly self in the mirror, don't kid yourself, I am not the picture perfect triathlete that would grace any magazine cover. I am looking pretty pathetic in my saggy old gray t-shirt with my black knit yoga pants. Everything seems to wiggle or jiggle while I am red-faced and running the 3 miles on the treadmill. Why do they have to cover every single wall in the gym with mirrors, I look much better in my mind than I do in those mirrors. But, I am a proud mother of six and wouldn't trade the kids that left all of the jiggles behind for anything.

Today was pretty exhilerating. I did the 5K on the treadmill and then did the 12 miles on the bike all without collapsing. It was a great feeling to leave the gym with that amount of continuous exercise under my belt. The swim would have been pretty easy to throw in, but I didn't prepare for it, so I had to leave telling myself it would have been a cinch. I felt awesome when I left the gym, even if I am a little jiggly and saggy, I still had a great work - out!! I think I am actually going to accomplish this crazy challenge/goal of mine.

Wish me luck!!
Be grateful!!

P.S. I know, I know, doing all of this exercise will be different outside, but give the pat on the back I deserve!!

Gratitude Tuesday--On Wednesday

I am typing today on a corn starch covered key board. Mikenzie thought it would be a marvelous idea to make that gooey corn starch mixture that turns to liquid if you stop molding it in your hands. Well, she forgot to keep it moving while she was on the computer, and now we have a dusty, yucky keyboard. Just gotta love those great ideas that the kids seem to have an endless supply of.

Yesterday was generally a great day. I gave myself the day off from the office and went to lunch with some friends. It was so nice to get all purdy-ed up and go out with the girls. We had a wonderful lunch together. We were celebrating my birthday along with another friend's. Just a good afternoon over all.

Later in the evening I went to the gym and ran a 5k on the treadmill. I know this isn't a lot for most of you, it felt great to do the whole 3.2 miles all in one run. I usually get bored and jump from machine to machine, but I stuck it out last night and it was really exhilarating once I hit the 3 mile mark. I am not the fastest runner, shin splints and sore knees kick in if I go too fast. It was so nice to feel gratitude for a healthy body, jiggly and all. I am so thankful for my health and strength.

We had a great time the night before at the pool. It was our FHE and the boys raced James and I up and down the pool. Mikenzie even jumped in on the fun. She wanted to race me, so we shared a lane, for about 10 feet. She was kicking and splashing. Once the zig zagging started, I had to quit and let her get ahead of me so I could swim without fear of injury. It was still a very fun FHE. I love my kids!!

My gratitude list:

Fun lunch with friends
Strong and healthy body
Great family to spend time with

Be Grateful!!