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A Future Vet

Today was Gracie's annual vet visit. Maddie really wanted to go with Jarrett to the appointment. She came out of her room all dressed up like a vet, too cute. Her cousin just sent her a bag of clothes and the vet outfit was in there. Thank you Ally!!

Paradise

We left today for Colorado. Jarrett has been out of town all week, flew in today, picked up a rental car and off we were to Colorado. He has business up there next week so we are tagging along. So we only got half way since he didn't get home until 3:00 today. We stopped at a Hampton Inn in Hayes, Kansas. When we walked into the door of our room Nathan said, "Now this is what I call paradise!" and then he plopped himself down on his bed. "It's got a telephone, a tv, a microwave and a mini fridge, what else could a kid want!" Jarrett and I were cracking up!! It reminds me of how excited I got as a kid when our family stayed at a hotel. My dad would always go out in the morning and get white powdered donuts and a gallon of OJ for all of us kids. If I remember correctly, all five kids and my parents would stay in one little room. God bless them!
We are going to stay with our friends Mitch and Taffy and their 4 kids in Denver. They homeschool as well. Traveling whenever we want is one of the best perks of homeschooling. I told Nathan we are taking a field trip to the Rocky Mountains. I wouldn't want him to think he is getting a week off of school now would I?.

Run, mamma, run!

Today I hit a small milestone. I ran 5 miles around Owasso! Jarrett was chasing me since I spent $140 on running shoes yesterday. (you know I am usually a bargain hunter, I just happened to forget to ask the price before the guy rang me up. I was at the New Balance store where they put the shoes on you and tie them up, I was really enamered with that kind of treatment since nobody ever ties my shoes and I spend half of my day tying my kid's shoes) I haven't really been running a lot during my workouts just a little on the tread mill here and there so I wasn't sure how my endurance would be, but I did fine. My trainer who I work with once a week now wants to kick up my cardio because I am losing inches which is great but I am not losing any pounds. I need those numbers to move on the scale for some encouragement. My metabolism has really slowed down in my thirties which is just darn depressing. I have come to terms that I may never be super skinny but I can be in good shape. Right now I am probably in the best physical shape of my life. I hope I can keep this up and stay healthy because I feel better than I have in a long time.

I'M to Saxy!

Most of you know how careful I am when it comes to what I let my kids watch and listen to. Some people may even say I am a little to controlling but I strongly feel that I am supposed to protect my kids from stuff their sweet little minds can't handle yet. Jarrett and I also feel that as believers we are called to be "set apart". Being in this world but not "of" this world is a constant challenge to many parents, including us. Where do we draw those lines?? For instance, Nathan used to want to watch "Sponge Bob" While we don't think there is anything horribly wrong with the show we just don't think it is the "best" choice for him to be watching. There are subtle things in certain shows that teach our kids to be disrespectful to their parents are desensitizing to their minds. I know our views are probably unpopular but that is ok with us. We are in no means challenging what other parents do, we all have to handle things how God has called us to. Plus each child is different. When it comes to TV Nathan gets sucked in and can seriously tell you word for word what he has heard on a commercial, he doesn't flinch while the tv is on. On the other hand Madelyn plays, draws, and dances around while she watches tv. We are ultimately going to have to answer to Him.

Ok, I didn't mean for this to sound like a sermon. I really just wanted to preserve a funny story. In spite of my good intentions to "protect" my kids, Madelyn heard a song on a cd that I had given her that was totally inappropriate for her barely "5" ears. Several years ago we bought the movie "Shrek" and it came with a free cd of songs from the movie. Madelyn loves to listen to her music in her room and was listening to that CD the other day and apparently the song "I'm too Sexy" comes on. I HAD NO IDEA THAT SONG was on there. She walks into my room and says "Mommy listen to this, I'm to sexy for my shirt, to sexy for shirt, oh too sexy." She was even shaking her hips back and forth. I was trying so hard not to laugh but I couldn't help myself. Once I regained my composure, I asked her to bring me the CD. So she brought it to me and I explained to her that the #5 song was not a nice song to sing when you are 5. I told her that daddy would copy that cd for her just with out that song. She was satisfied with my lame explanation. A few minutes later I hear her explaining to Nathan that she is not supposed to sing "I'm to saxy for my shirt." She goes on to say that "saxy is not a nice word but saxophone is fine to say."

Our new indoor playground

This is Nathan's new net swing. It helps him with self regulation and it is very calming for him. His occupational therapist highly suggested that we get one for him. Madelyn loves it too.

Spring Break

We are taking a much needed break from school. I am finally catching up on stuff. We've been swimming, we went to the movies, have played with friends, the house got cleaned, the laundry is caught up, bills have been paid, we have gone to the park and we are going to the air and space museum tomorrow. It has been a fun filled week. Madelyn left today for Texas with Grammy and Grampy to visit her cousins. She woke up at 2am this morning and came into our room to see if it was time to go yet. She was so excited to go. I forgot how easy life is with one child, especially when your talkative and energetic 5 year old is gone. Nathan is so much quieter than Madelyn. Madelyn started playing soccer. We'll just say that this will probably be her one and only season to play. She cries the whole time we are getting her ready to go and says that she just wants to do gymnastics. Once she is there she has fun the first half but when the scrimmage starts she runs off the field. Part of me just wants to allow her to quit but I know that is not right. I feel bad that she doesn't like it. But on the other hand I know better than to let her quit. What kind of mother do you think I am. I am trying to instill perserverance. We told her that she has to finish what she starts. So we all will endure. Luckily it is just once a week.

Please pray for my big sis Karen. She is in the hospital on bed rest and will remain there for the remainder of her pregnancy.

Happy Birthday To Madelyn

Our sweet baby is 5! She was born 3-3-03 at 3 am. Such a cool birthday!! Madelyn was sick all of last week and we ended up at the Doctor's office on Friday with an ear infection. Luckily, after 24 hours of antibiotics she was feeling better. Saturday morning Madelyn and I went to see "Madeline and the bad hat" at the performing art center with my mom, Aunt Kim and Ella. The girls loved it! We celebrated her birthday later on Saturday with a princess spa party. My friend Leah's teenage girls came and did hair, makeup and nails. The little princesses had a great time.

Daddy stayed home today and was the story reader in Madelyn's class. He leaves tomorrow am for a trip to Tennessee so it was really nice having him home. Tonight we celebrated at "Teds" with a Mexican fiesta with my parents and sister. Grammy and Grampy were suppossed to be there but their plane got delayed in Chicago. They are coming home from a mission trip to the Maldive Islands. My mom and dad gave Madelyn a cute table to go with her dolls and when we got home she had a sweet little tea party with her dolls. Anyway, Maddie had a great birthday.

The unwanted invader

Tuesday Nathan sneezed and told me he was sick. I said, "Nathan just because you sneezed doesn't mean you are sick." Famous last words. At 5am the next morning he walks into our room with a raging fever. I was just commenting last week how healthy our family was when it seems like everyone around us is sick. We went to the Dr. yesterday and he said it was the flu. They did the flu swab in his nose and he was so lethargic he didn't even care. The dr. was shocked when it came back negative. He thinks that they didn't get enough snot or the test was messed up. He has all the symptoms. High fever, lethargic, achy, his neck hurts, some strange sounding barky cough, and poor guy has lost his voice. We haven't been anywhere in two days and no home school. It is amazing how much I can get done when we aren't doing "school". I have to say it has been nice being home during this yucky weather. So far the rest of us are feeling good and hoping that we don't catch this unwanted invader.

Happy Valentines Day

I am reminded today of how our lives have changed over the years. When Jarrett and I were first married we were so poor so when it came to celebrating Valentines day we didn't have a lot of money to spend. For a couple of years, we were so frugal that we would go to the grocery store together, search for the perfect card, show it to each other, then put it back. Ahh, the memories! I hope you all have had a happy valentines day.

A four year old makeover

This is Madelyn and her friend Shelbi. I think the picture speaks for itself!

Oh, my aching tummy

It is 2:15 in the morning and I am awake with horrindus heart burn. I am debating weather or not to go to walgreens and get some medicine. I am suppossed to take daily meds for this because of my stupid eshopogas ailment (aka choking all the time)but I ran out about 2 months ago and haven't gotten around to calling my dr. to get some more. I didn't realize how much that stuff actually helped. I will be calling on Monday. Desparation is getting the best of me so I just looked up homemade remedies and found out that eating an apple can neutrilize the acid along with chewing gum. There's nothing like eating an apple at 2am. It seemed to help right away but now I am in pain again. It's my own fault, not taking the meds and giving in to temptation eating 2 pieces of pizza. I am watching "Hey Paula" Paula Abduls annoying reality show. Sorry for the ramplings.

Let it Snow!

Today it snowed all day! It was absolutely beautiful!!! We had so much fun at Short Christian Academy today. One thing I love about homeschooling is that we get to be flexible and change things up when opportunites come our way. For example, I had all this other stuff planned today but instead we did "snow" stuff. Nathan learned how to read a thermometer when he wanted to see the tempature falling. Both kiddos drew winter landscapes and wrote and illustrated books about a snowy day. Then they sat in our "author's chair" and read them aloud to us. Of course, we did some of our regular work but we got to do it in front of big window watching the snow fall. After lunch the kids got bundled up and went outside to play. Even though a lot of the snow didn't stick they still managed to have a pretty good snowball fight. This pic of Madelyn is when Nathan hit her in the face with a huge snow ball. Thank you God for a good homeschooling day.

Our Space Unit

We are paper maching (I don't know how to spell)two of the planets, Earth and Venus.

Another Miracle!

You know how we have been trying to get Nathan to eat fruit and veggies, well it is going pretty well. Tonight he mixed his corn with ketchup and Jarrett fed it to him by the spoon full. He ate 4 big spoon fulls. He tries to swallow them whole, then his gag reflex kicks in. The faces he makes are hillarious!

A couple of nights ago we tried to get him to eat a grape. He didn't want the skin on it so I painstakingly peeled the skin off an entire grape. Try it sometime, it's fun. He freaked out once it got in his mouth and he swallowed it whole and then his entire dinner came spewing out onto the floor. It was pretty funny!

I have moved!

This is a pic of me really enjoying one of my last cokes!

Sorry, I haven't been around lately. I now live at the YMCA. Seriously, if I am not at home or running kids somewhere I am at the Y. I am doing 4-5 hours of cardio and 3 hours of training with Holly. Plus the kids go to swimming lessons and gymnastics there twice a week. I have come to terms that I will never be "skinny" I am short and squatty and that's ok! Instead of my legs or arms get skinny they are bulking up. My trainer now can see my triceps when I am doing tricep dips. Isn't that what every girl wants to hear? I just have to keep telling myself that I am making my heart healthy.

I am still drinking around 90 ounces of water a day. The girls at sonic know my name and always know to give Madelyn 2 mints. Everytime I order they hear her screaming "And two mints for Maddie!!!" I hear the sonic water with lime is catching on girls. Keep it up! If you need me just call 272-YMCA!!

He's Back!!!

Jarrett got back tonight and is alrealdy sound asleep and snoring, it is 9pm. He is exhausted, poor baby. We missed him dreadfully. I kept the kids very busy or shall I say they kept me busy. Sunday we went to a really cool children's hands on musuem in a town about 2 hrs a way. The kids had a blast!

We have been so busy I feel like homeschooling has been an afterthought lately. Nathan has been doing his work but I know we could be doing better. I like for us to take a subject that he is interested in a really explore it. We did that with Space for the last couple of weeks and it was so much fun. Some weeks I am better at the balancing act than others. The next two days I will be taking care of my 6 month old nephew while my sister is out of town so I figure this week is pretty much a wash.

Madelyn has started in the last week becoming more interested in our homeschool. She is asking for some "work" like brother and I made her some flashcards with simple three letter words and she is reading them. She is still writing everything from right to left though. I have brought out all my old kindergarten games that I had kept and we are playing those together. When we have "DEAR" time (drop everything and read) she is participating more and more. I am starting to think Maybe, I can homeschool her. Some days we think we should send her to "school" but then part of us wants to keep her home. I am believing that God will make it clear to us what we are to do so for the time being I will just continue to pray and enjoy my days with her at home.

Another Nathanism

This morning Nathan woke up before me and starting playing the Wii (which he not supposed to do). When I woke up and fixed his breakfast I told him it was time to turn the Wii off. He said in his most serious voice, "Mom, God said that men need to finish what they start, so I need to finish playing this game." I told him, "God also told you to obey your mother and father so turn it off now."

Not to leave sweet Maddie out, she is twirling around the tile floor pretending to be Karlie Karslie from the movie,"Ice Princess" She wants to take ice skating lessons. Oh, to be four again!

Jarrett leaves us for 7 days tomorrow. He is going to Savannah for a sales meeting. Pray for me! While I was gone last weekend to Florida/Georgia for Mama Bear's service Jarrett was mister fun dad. I have a lot to live up too. Madelyn asked me on the phone before I came home if I could stay gone for one more day. Isn't that just so sweet?? Do you all remember that this was my child that wouldn't leave my hip. Jarrett took them hiking, out to eat, to the movies, up to the lake with Grammy and Grampy,etc. It just isn't right. Now I have to be the one who instills order and limits back on them.

Yesterday I took a boot camp class and when I woke up today I could hardly move. Sitting on the toilet was pure torcher, especially when you have to pee every 10 minutes because you are drinking 75 ounces of water. I also started eating 1200-1400 calories a day. That is a lot harder than I thought it would be. I bet I have been eating over double that. My trainer who I started with tonight is having me write down everything I eat along with how many calories are in them. I was pretty sad when I realized how many calories were in my cereal and OJ I eat every morning. I suffered through the humiliation of her measuring each region of my body and measuring my body fat. Luckily my body fat has not really gone up since this summer. But my but and hips have definitely expanded. I just got a little pudgy from not being aware of how much I was eating and how much pop I was drinking. I am bearing all of this in hopes that it will keep me accountable and that I will stay aware of how I am treating my body. I have been given this body to take care of and treat with respect. So I will try, and if you would like to get ahold of me this week you can find me on the elliptical trying to burn 500 calories or keeled over from lack of food.

My healthy living tip for the day comes from my sis Kim. Stop by Sonic and order a Route 44 ice water with Lime. It cost 26 cents and is a great way to get a lot of your water in. The Lime really gives it a kick. Good luck fellow friends who are trying to get healthier. (I am refusing to call this a diet) By the way, to all of my friends and sisters who are pregnant, you just go right on ahead and enjoy all your pizza, pasta, cookies, chips and don't worry about me.