It's been a long Winter

Winter started out fun for everyone. We couldn't wait to get outside with the kids and play in the snow! They loved it! I was surprised how much Addy liked it, despite hardly being able to walk in all of her snow gear! She was a trooper though and kept getting back up! She was so cute! They loved being pulled in the sled and Ethan was such a great big brother letting her sit on his lap so they could both ride in the same sled. It was a great work-out for me pulling them too!

But, along with the snow, the season brought colds - one after another! With Ethan being in school this year, he was exposed to a plethora of bugs that he hadn't been before and it seemed like he got EVERYTHING!! Which, of course, meant so did Addison and sometimes Derek and I. Uggh! For a while, I would send Ethan to school on Tue and he'd be to sick or running a fever by Thur so I had to call in for him, then he'd get better over the weekend and I'd send him back on Tue and he'd have something else by Thur again! It was awful! It seemed to get better after Christmas, but now we're back at it again! It seems like we just keep passing it around our house!! I can't wait to open the house up and de-bug!!!

I just HATE it when the kids are sick, but they have both been troopers for the most part. Ethan tried to convince me that he was all better so he could go back to school a few times. He is really thriving in school! I am so glad that I didn't wait to send him. We just had his parent/teacher conference this week and Mrs. Saur had nothing but good things to say about him. She said that he is a "joy to have in class", "really enjoys being in preschool", and "is very polite". He's even advanced in some areas for his age, which is really neat to hear! Next year he'll be going 3 days a week and I know he'll love that. He gets frustrated over the weekend when he can't go to school. He is definitely one that needs to be engaged all the time and Derek and I just can't do that all the time. It has been frustrating at times b/c I feel like I'm neglecting Addison half the day, b/c he requires so much attention to do things and if I don't engage him in something constructive, he acts out. Either on the dogs, Addison, or just destroying his toys/the house! Another reason I can't wait for spring so we can be outside more!!!!



Addison is all girl already! I can tell such a big difference in her interests and actions compared to Ethan at this age. She is already a little diva! She LOVES to wear necklaces! It's so cute when she finds them, b/c she doesn't know how to put them over her head yet, so she tucks them under chin (b/c she knows they're supposed to be hanging in front of her) and walks around like that! I get such a kick out of it! She's also saying a few things and trying to say lots! She says "baby", for her bunny and her little baby doll that she sleeps with (they are both baby). And she says "uh-oh". Which is super cute. I usually hear her saying "uh-oh" on the monitor when she wakes up. She's also saying "bye-bye" sometimes, but she definitely knows what it means! If she's anyone getting their boots on, she goes to get her boots and brings them to you. She loves to go bye-bye, just like her brother. But, unlike her brother at this age, she LOVES to watch tv! She'd probably sit there all day if I let her! Ethan was always way to busy for TV at this age.

Ethan's latest favorites are pretending to play house. He has several play vacuums, and he loves to vaccume. He makes the sound and everything. He even picks up all of his toys off the carpet so he can "clean". He also is very into "helping" Derek and I with EVERYTHING - from making dinner, to laundry, to shoveling. He'll do anything and loves to learn how to do it. It's really fun to see him get excited to learn something new and to see his imagination really starting to take off. I love all the ideas he comes up with!



I found this lime green and pink tutu on-line the other day and I just could NOT resist it! When it came in, I put it on her and she had fun walking around with it for about a minute, then she went off to play. It was so funny b/c the first thing she grabbed to play with was one of Ethan's trucks! I thought it was too cute, "A Truck and a Tutu"! Her little personality is really starting to come out and she is so sweet. I can't wait to see all the new things she does, although it makes me sad b/c she's growing up and changing so fast!!! I wish I could slow it down a little. But, I'm trying not to go there and trying to live in the moment! Speaking of which, time to play with my babies!

New Year, New Me?

What a busy Jan! I can't believe it's gone already! I can't believe I'm 34!!! Every year that I have been overweight, I feel like I'm "wasting time". I want to anything and everything with my kids, I don't want my weight, or how self conscious I am about it, to slow me down from doing whatever they want to do, and if I let it go any longer, it will! I don't want to be the FAT mom waddling to pick my kids up from school, that they're embarrassed to be seen with! So, this year, I am more motivated then ever to FINALLY shed all of this extra weight!! A few people from work organized their version of The Biggest Loser for the past few yrs now and I haven't "qualified" to be in it until this year (You have to be at least 3months postpartum and NOT breastfeeding). So, this year I joined. We all had to put in $20, get a starting weight and measurements, and every week we weigh in. If we gain any weight, we must pay in $5. At the end of 8wks, whoever looses the most weight splits the pot with whoever loses the most inches. To be honest, I'm not in it for the money, but it's really holding me accountable b/c I don't want to pay in! So far, I haven't had to! With that being said, I'm still a little frustrated that I haven't lost more lb's! I've really only lost about 7lbs in 4 1/2 weeks!! I feel like as hard as I'm working out and eating right, it should be at least 15lbs by now!!! I can tell I've lost inches, but I want to see that scale move!!! I've been doing the Insanity program by Beach Body, and I really like it. It's a very intense workout 6 days a week, with low carb, high protein diet, which I have been really sticking to. I'm supposed to eat 5 300-400 calorie meals a day, and to be honest, I have a hard time getting all of them in! I'm not hungry, which is the best part! At first, I was really sore, but now the workouts are getting easier for me, just in time for them to get more intense! This week I start the 2nd half of the program, where the workouts go from 45mins, to 1hr and 15mins! I'm ready....I think! I'm ready to start seeing some obvious results is what I'm ready for! I will admit, I usually only 5 workouts a week, it's just so hard some days to get up at 5 or 6am. I really have to do it before the kids get up so I have time to shower etc..., especially if we're going to do anything that day or if I have to work! I'm going to do this, I'm going do this!! I'm going to....right?! Ugh! I think I just need a pep talk today....I'm frustrated that I'm not "the incredible shrinking woman" by now!

Derek has been very supportive, which makes a huge difference! He's even been willing to have some of my "diet" meals and has really liked them! Ha! Imagine that! I told him, if he starts losing weight b/c I'm cooking better dinners, he better not tell me! He says he can see I've lost weight in my face...I don't see it, I really can't even tell my clothes are fitting better, except that my bras are getting a little too big....why is that the only place I can see an obvious difference!!!

Okay, done venting, time to make a protein shake! Mmmmmm! :)