It's Time

Final T-Ball Night

Last night was our last t-ball game. It was like 105 degrees. At 6:45pm. With a HOT breeze. Ugh. But you know what is awesome? Aidan plays on Team Dairy Queen. After game party at DQ!! Bring on the ice cream and food for everyone. He had a blast at the game and even more fun at DQ. It was a great end to a fun season. He is going to play on the same team next year so yay for more ice cream, I mean baseball :)

VBS Goodness

Aidan and Elin have been thoroughly enjoying vacation Bible school this week. He is actually bummed he has to miss tonight for his last t-ball game. Elin has been hanging with The Babies (as she calls the littles) and Aidan is having a ball with all the big kids. Just a few snips from the first night:

                                          Martha is really rocking that spinner hat, hehehe

 That trick was Aidan's highlight of the night :) This is definitely his favorite station! These are all pics from my VBS group that I led. Aidan was in another group, but we met up at....snack time!

 Last night was root beer float night. Clearly he and Elin were elated about that! So was momma :)

It has been such a fun week so far. We will surely be sad when it's over tomorrow night! The kids are so fun to watch and it is so great to see them all so excited (heck even the grown ups!) about God and celebrating Him in this way!!

Swimming and The Lake

 Pictures of what we spend a lot of our time doing these days...swimming! Well, in Elin's case, floating on Chad :)

                                We spent Father's Day weekend at the lake with my parents.

                                 Lots of time spent with more swimming and going on the boat.

 Elin was petrified of the boat for a while. She has her sun goggles strapped on and is not moving a muscle. Every few minutes she would get excited when she saw another boat, then would say "I'm scared." and sit back down. She was fine after a while going between me and Grandma and Aidan :)

When we got home though, she reminded us she was scared but also that she wanted to go again. Of course.

Happenings

 I have lots of pictures to unload, but that will take a bit of time :) We had an awesome weekend. Tons of pool time, a trip to Walmart (that obviously is not so awesome), more pool time, the best fried chicken ever and vacation Bible school.  Sunday after church we went to the place in the above picture, simply called Claysville Country Store. That's it. That is all of Claysville. It is down a windy road on the river, right next to the Katy Trail. Family style. All they serve is ham and fried chicken with all sorts of sides. We ate like hogs. It was terrible. And amazing. Afterwards we went home to float our bloated selves in the pool to recover!

Sunday evening Aidan and I headed to VBS. He had a blast. We were there until almost 9 last night. We will be there all week. On a side note, Chad sent me a photo from one of his adventurous days at work:

He spends a lot of time on some back country roads and one day he rolled up on this. The little fawn could barely walk. Mama came back for it, but it was struggling across the road. My dear hubby stopped his car to stop traffic to make sure baby and mama made it safely across :) See, hunters do love animals!

This week is supposed to be STEAMY. Figures my 5k would be this week. Dang.
Stay cool!

Beauty School Drop Out

We had our first "incident" at preschool. Not too shabby that we made it this long! It's quite hilarious really. And as far as "incidents" go, this is nothing. I go to pick up the kiddos and one of the teachers says to me, "I guess I have to tell you about something that happened today." Crap. I figured Elin kicked some boys butt or something. She is kind of a brutus. Nope. It was my sweet angel Aidan. Apparently his bff had asked him to cut his hair for him. So Aidan being the friendly guy, did what his friend asked. And cut Wyatt's hair. Oh lord. Poor Wyatt has a snazzy baldish spot on the front of his head. Aidan's answer, "Well, he asked me to!" Right. So we had a little discussion about who was qualified to cut hair ("Moms, dads and the lady at Supercuts") and maybe if our friends ask us these things we should consult a grown up before proceeding. Wyatt's mom and I laughed over these two crazy boys. They are something.

Eggs and Other Things

I really don't like to eat eggs. Unless they are secretly mixed in to some other recipe, but I just don't like to eat eggs by themself. Well, per my book I am supposed to eat 2 eggs a day. Hmmm. How to do this??? I need eggs that aren't eggy. There are lots of various low carb sites that show these "pancakes" you can make with eggs. Here is what I figured out (that DOESN'T taste like egg)...
2 eggs
cream cheese
vanilla
cinnamon
That's it. Mix them all together. I used about a teaspoon of vanilla and then just a bit of cinnamon (I didn't measure it out). This gives you your "pancake" batter. Use a non stick skillet and make them like pancakes. They are a bit runny so watch what you are doing. They are pretty tasty. I top mine with some Splenda and a bit more cinnamon. That's it. Easy peasy. Low carb AND get your 2 eggs in for the day.

Next week is The Color Run! Woo hoo! It is going to be a blast. We are meeting family so it will be even better!

Hmm, what else? Oh yes! Tonight it is back to the pole!! I am sooo excited. Last year I took pole fitness classes in my parent's town as we were living there during construction. Well, there are finally classes HERE!! It is the most fun way to get strong. Talk about upper body strength!! Heck, I will own amateur night ;) I kid, I kid.

I hope I can walk/type tomorrow. It's quite a work out. That's all I got.

Hello Monday!

Fitness Friday

This week went super. I have been following Ms. Warner's eating guidelines for the first two week part of her "plan." The exercise plan she has advises you to start with just the cardio for the first two weeks to get started, but since I have been running consistently for a while now, I went ahead and added the strength sessions as well. Holy hell those are hard!!! My muscles ache!! But in a great way. Not weighing or measuring (yeah I took the dreaded measurements) for two weeks. We will see, but I definitely feel super. I will be tightening up my diet this next week. The first week is just to introduce new foods and then slowly start paying more attention to what goes in :)

Monday: 20 minute high intensity interval cardio; 30 min strength circuit
Tuesday: Ran 3 miles
Wednesday 20 minute high intensity interval cardio; 30 min strength circuit
Thursday: Ran 2.5 miles
Friday: will fit in one more cardio and strength session before the weekend!!

A new session of my most favorite thing in the entire world starts next week...pole fitness!! I can't wait to start up again! It is so amazing for flexibility and upper body strength...and and your abs!!

Have a great weekend!

Support

Since starting running I have learned the importance of support. Not mentally (well that always is good too! And I definitely have that!), but of the "bodily" variety...every girl knows what I am talking about! I have always been one to just grap whatever sports bra was cheapest and go with it. I learned that running + boobies = whoa. I finally made the decision to buy a GOOD sports bra. A blog I read mentioned Moving Comfort bras. I headed on over to Dick's Sporting Goods (just calling it "Dick's" just didn't look right for a family blog) and tried them on. OMG. Amazing. I left without it though because I could just not swallow the price tag!! Ugh. Oh well, one more run and I knew I had to bite the bullet. I hopped on the Athleta website and I bought the Maia.  While perusing, I also found the Shock Absorber. Sounds serious, huh? Seriously best bra EVER. So while I am sure my hubby and my father aren't really enjoying a post about bras, I felt the need to share the awesome boobie knowledge. Protect your assets!! Invest in some good support. I run so much better with them. I will never buy a lesser one now, I would rather pay the money and have a good product that does what I need it to do!  

Just a Regular Evening

 These two silly gooses (geese just doesn't sound right) spent the evening doing what they do best: having fun with each other. I think they scared the cows across the street they were screaming and laughing so loud!

                                         I mean seriously, you think she wasn't having fun???

Weekend Update

The other weekend we spent it at home doing lots of things. I had said that Chad and Aidan spent the entire day at church working and then I remembered I had some pictures of our adorable country church! Elin was infatuated with the cherry picker they were using to wash the outside:

 The men sure worked hard that day. Unfortunately, Elin and I couldn't join them as Elin really wouldn't have been much ACTUAL help :) We did have a very productive adventure to Hy Vee though.

 Also that weekend? The fishing. Oh lordy the men and their fishing. Good grief. And in my backyard?? This:

 What? Don't you have a nasty fish cleaning "station" all propped up to disassemble the poor little fishies?? PS...fish remains attract animals. EVEN if you clean it all up, the nasty scent o' fish is there. We have a pet bobcat now. AWESOME. Insert eye roll here.

 T-ball is in full swing. We finish up the end of the month. Aidan LOVES it. We are so glad he has taken a liking to this. SOOOO glad this is not Soccer 2.0 The Epic FAIL. We definitely don't have a future David Beckham in this family :)

 And finally, Elin is giving you The Dirty Look. It's new favorite thing in the entire world. She gives it to everyone. Then laughs. Don't take it personally if you get The Look. It's given with love.

New Day

I read a fantastic book this weekend...no not 50 Shades, but even better...Jackie Warner's This is Why You're Fat.  Wow. Amazing information. I am beginning her plan today. Took the blasted measurements. Ugh. Her plan doesn't seem to ridiculous and this is why I know I can do it. She doesn't ban carbs. I have tried that. It's insane. You have to have carbs. I am upping the GOOD carbs and cutting the crap. Her plan let's you eat clean for 5 days then you can have 2 treat meals after that. Yes please! So here is to lower sugar and no crap!! So far today, I have had a low-fat yogurt (which is AGAINST her plan because it's not GREEK, but I already own it and am NOT wasting it), strawberries and granola, with a whole grain English muffin. The first two weeks of The Plan, you don't cut anything out of your diet. You just add in certain foods. It jumpstarts your body. So that is what I am doing. The eating plan includes a cardio/resistance plan as well. Here we go!!

Friday Fitness

Checking in to review how I did this week on my fitness. I have been super diligent in following The Plan. It's not a difficult one. Keeping calorie intake around 1400 and following the running guidelines I have for the half marathon training. So...this week.

I only went over slightly on calories on Tuesday. I had 1517 calories that day. I did work out every day that I was supposed to. I ran on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday and will go for a long run tomorrow. On Tuesday I biked 3 miles and lifted weights. Not too shabby. I was happy with myself for actually following the food plan. That is my Achilles heel (funny, I accidently typed "hell" first...EXACTLY). The exercise isn't awful. I enjoy it. I just love food. The hardest part is breakfast because I LOVE breakfast. Especially at my office because we have the most tasty food in the cafeteria. It has taken every ounce of will power to stick to the low-cal breakfast this week. BUT, it got easier and I totally felt better. Next week will be even better!!

I have a goal for the month to lose 5 pounds by July 1. I am down 1.5 so things look good there!

Boring with no pics, I know. But hey! It's Friday!!!

A Mother's Prayer

“First, Lord: No tattoos. May neither Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the FSU logo stain her tender haunches.
 May she be Beautiful but not Damaged, for it’s the Damage that draws the creepy soccer coach’s eye, not the Beauty.
When the Crystal Meth is offered, may she remember the parents who cut her grapes in half And stick with Beer.
Guide her, protect her when crossing the street, stepping onto boats, swimming in the ocean, swimming in pools, walking near pools, standing on the subway platform, crossing 86th Street, stepping off of boats, using mall restrooms, getting on and off escalators, driving on country roads while arguing, leaning on large windows, walking in parking lots, riding Ferris wheels, roller-coasters, log flumes, or anything called “Hell Drop,” “Tower of Torture,” or “The Death Spiral Rock ‘N Zero G Roll featuring Aerosmith,” and standing on any kind of balcony ever, anywhere, at any age.
 Lead her away from Acting but not all the way to Finance. Something where she can make her own hours but still feel intellectually fulfilled and get outside sometimes And not have to wear high heels. What would that be, Lord? Architecture? Midwifery? Golf course design? I’m asking You, because if I knew, I’d be doing it, Youdammit.
 May she play the Drums to the fiery rhythm of her Own Heart with the sinewy strength of her Own Arms, so she need Not Lie With Drummers.
 Grant her a Rough Patch from twelve to seventeen.Let her draw horses and be interested in Barbies for much too long, For childhood is short – a Tiger Flower blooming Magenta for one day – And adulthood is long and dry-humping in cars will wait.
 O Lord, break the Internet forever, that she may be spared the misspelled invective of her peers And the online marketing campaign for Rape Hostel V: Girls Just Wanna Get Stabbed.
And when she one day turns on me and calls me a Bitch in front of Hollister, Give me the strength, Lord, to yank her directly into a cab in front of her friends, For I will not have that Shit. I will not have it.
And should she choose to be a Mother one day, be my eyes, Lord, that I may see her, lying on a blanket on the floor at 4:50 A.M., all-at-once exhausted, bored, and in love with the little creature whose poop is leaking up its back. “My mother did this for me once,” she will realize as she cleans feces off her baby’s neck. “My mother did this for me.” And the delayed gratitude will wash over her as it does each generation and she will make a Mental Note to call me.
 And she will forget.
 But I’ll know, because I peeped it with Your God eyes. Amen.”
 -Tina Fey

Gone Fishin'

 Low key weekend...I have some photo catching up to do, but until then...Chad and the men went fishing on Sunday. They left right from church (Billy and Chad even got special attention from Pastor Karen!!) and weren't home until after 8. To say they had a successful trip would be a huge understatement. Chad, Jamey, Hunter and Billy cleaned up!! And then they cleaned the fish. In our backyard. Eew. And you wonder why I have a part time pet bobcat back there???!? So anyhoo...these are some of the bounty:

          Aw, you can see the pride in his face :) They had a blast of course! Fish Fry at our house!!

Destin: I Forgot

Flashback: I found a few more pictures from our Destin vacation that I forgot to add. Nothing fancy, just my gorgeous babies :)

                                          This is totally her mermaid-supermodel pose:

                                                                          Our House:

 

                                                              Elin AVOIDING the sand:

                                                           Aidan LOVING the sand:

                                                      After the airboat adventure:

 It started pouring on us 5 minutes before we were done. We FLEW back to the dock in the rain. It was wonderful. Not. Rain hurts when you drive quickly through it!

                                                                   The wet family:

                                                                Chad reeling one in!

                                                                     My little fish:

                         Another attempt at a family picture...notice the photo-bombing baby????

 Happy Friday! We have some t-ball action tonight and hopefully some pool time this weekend!!!