Friday Confessional

1. I confess.... that I suck at linking posts. I just linked with the weekend one by accident. Boo to me. Sorry ladies, I feel really stupid. I'm still learning. I feel like the new dumb kid on the block. Awesome.

2. I confess.... last night my Husband was running errands with our 6 year old. Hair cuts, dinner, etc. I threw in their a last minute liquor store run to grab a bottle of wine. Well, she's never been in there before, I usually feel weird about that kinda stuff. Why? No idea. It's not like there are people getting rocked in the store. You buy your wine and go... Well Ella comes home and says (with the widest eyes ever) "Mom, he took me into the GROWN UP GAS STATION!!!" I almost died laughing. Yep, she was in the liqour store. Sound the alarms.

3. I confess... sometimes it takes so much energy explaining things to children so I change the subject. My 6 year old asks "what does addiction mean?" So I ask her where she heard that? ( I would be freaked out if it was someones drug addiction etc...) Duh, the Black Eyed Peas Song- Just Can't Get Enough...her older sister is doing a little ditty to that song for her Cheer Team. That's where she heard it. So I go on to explain "hmmm, it's like me saying "I'm sooo addicted to gum!" So she says "are you chewing it now?" Sigh. Nope. Over. Her. Head. So I changed the subject.

4. I confess... the thought of getting old scares the crap out of me.  I'll randomly sit and think of what my kid's will look like when they are old or what we will look like when we are old. Not too long ago I thought "this will all be a distant memory in a photobook some day. The kids will gather and say "remember that house?!" Anyone else do this? Or am I just crazy??

5. I confess... I am already counting down the minutes until 5pm. Come on!!! 6 more to go!

6. I confess...I'm about ready to throw something at my coworker who is CLIPPING HIS NAILS AT HIS DESK. COME ON NOW! Get me out of here.

Thoughts on Thursday Night.

My first link up! Woot, woot! This may be very basic. Don't judge, I'm learning. Slowly.

1. Row, Row, Row...I rowed. Yep, today over my lunch workout, I decided that "no, stupid eliptical, I will not be sharing my time with you today. It's getting really old. I'm not doing it today. Sorry." (Yes, that actually happened in my head.)
Instead I was just going to work on weights. Then I saw it. The one hundred year old rowing machine that nobody uses in our fitness center at work. No one. Until today! I decided why not? Granted, it was still pretty early and the chances of someone walking in and actually witnessing me rowing were probably not so good. So I rowed. Switch it up right? Don't you worry, I only did 10 minutes. Someone came into the gym, so I had to move on to the leg press. Which, I did for far too long I'm sure. I listened to "Super Bass" by Nicki Minaj at least 3 times. Then I was about to collapse so I moved to arm machines, I don't know what they are really called so let's just call them "arm machine's". I did those for about 5 minutes and was ready to call it quits. Wait. I can't. I didn't do cardio. So I went to my go to. Yep, back to the eliptical for 13 minutes. We have a love/hate relationship, I guess after working out for 20 minutes it was ok to do it. Only for a short time.

2. That boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom bass. Ok, I may be obsessed with Super Bass by Nicki Minaj. Best. Work. Out. Song. Ever. Ok, for right now. I'm sure it will be overplayed soon, then in 2 weeks and I'll hate it. Whateves.

3. Merging 101. Why can't people figure it out? I work in Downtown Minnepolis and live almost 8 miles from work. Why does it take so dang long to get home? I know. The idiot drivers out there. Every other car people. Every other car. Maybe if instead of just an arrow on the Merge sign, they could put a picture of every other car. I think it would help. Please?

4. It's the small things. I was cleaning off our home desk area today after work and found the sweetest card from Ella! She likes to sit at the desk and do arts and crafts. Melt. See!!

5. Big Brother 14. 3 more weeks until it's back on. I love this show. It's brainless tv. Exactly what I'm looking for at the end of a long day! Can't wait to see the cast. Anyone else watch this? I hope they have another Enzo type or Lane. Loved them both!!

6. 8 minute hair cut? My Hubsand & Ella just got back from getting hair cuts. I made a comment on how quick it was. "Yeah, 8 minutes, they were pretty quick!" Ummm. If your wondering where they went...Great Clips. I try and try talking him out of going there, no such luck. Men.

7. Cheer Team. My daughter Taylor who is on her H.S. Cheer Team is in our city's parade this weekend. They are perfoming a little ditty by Black Eyed Peas - Just Can't Get Enough. Their routine actually starts when it get's to the techno-ish part. SWITCH UP. Here she is in her uniform. So cute! (Ignore the terrible lighting, this is from my phone.)

Happy Thursday!!

Braces, braces are no fun...

Braces are what's on my mind. Well that and the fact that everything seems to be sucky in every other area so I'll go with the most mundane topic ever. I don't know what my problem is today, I worked out. Why can't I stop being crankster mc gee today. I want to throw something at my cube mate too. Turn down your stupid music. Blah.

Ok! Now that I got that off my chest.... My daughter Taylor has an ortho appointment today. She has one of those palate expander dealies in. We My Husband turns this once a day, in hopes her mouth will winden and she can avoid having 4 teeth pulled. Well pretty sure he forgot to do that last night...so that brings us up to missing that turn 2 times since the last visit. Life ending no, but today, in my current mood, it's a big deal.

In case your really into Orthodontia, below is a photo of said expander that I have failed to remember to remind my Husband to turn (I secretly don't want to do it because I don't want to do it wrong and hurt the poor thing.) Turning it involves "the tool", which is really just a small wirey looking thing on a stick that they call the key. Put the key in the lock and turn. Walla. Bigger Mouth. Hopefully.

But hey, I get to leave work early to pick up my babes so there's my silver lining.

I really hope to have something better tomorrow. Do I even want to publish this? This is really dumb. Dang it. Here we go!

Pass the wine please.

Yesterday was the last day of school for my two darling little girls.

Wait, little? My middle child. Ella, who will be 7 this summer is still my sweet girl. She finished 1st grade and probably will be begging for school in about a month. She loves her family, loves her puppies, loves her sports and loves school. She is still my little entertainer. Wants to make everyone laugh. Wants to raise money for a nursing home by hosting a rock concert. Just needs the space and an electric guitar. She's serious. Ha, I love her! Here she is on the first day of school this year....

The oldest. Taylor, is almost 14 and in full monster teenage mode. What happened to my sweet girl? Taylor who is almost 14, is testing our patience to say the least. Oh for the love of liquid eyeliner. High School is next on the agenda and I'm not sure how it will go. She tried out for and made the High School Cheer & Dance Team. This means she will be cheering and doing half time dance performances for football, soccer, hockey and basketball teams. At least she'll be busy. That should make her nice and tired and less likely to get into too much right? I hope. Just listening to some of the conversations she has with her friends, it's like the movie Mean Girls. Come on now, please, pretty please? Be nice. Here she is on the first day of school this year...

Pass the chardonnay. I think I'll need a glass or two this summer.

Bambino. Can't forget my sweet baby Jack. Thank heaven for little boys. My baby will be 11 months old this month. Time flys. He is still not walking, which is fine with me. I wish I could bottle age up and keep them this age forever! So much fun. His smile melts me every time. I just need to figure out how to get him to like more people food. He has such a texture issue, he literally gags and back up comes whatever he ate. Sigh, we'll get there I hope! Here is a picture of him on the boat last weekend. He HATED the life jacket. He sat straight up, stiff. Didn't move at all.  I kept calling him "Bernie" because he was just like that guy from the movie.

Thank the wine lords I have a great man by my side to go through this with. Here we go. Summer 2011.

How many calories are in this?

So in anticipation of our upcoming wedding in Key West, we have been trying to workout and loose some lb's. I'ts been 6 months since Jack was born and I'm still trying to get back to pre-preggo weight. (Enter Debbie Downer whaa whaaa...) Note: Dairy Queen almost daily = very bad for your body image. Even though that little baby really, really wanted it every day - sometimes twice a day. I'm paying dearly for that now.

I've been using http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ to assist in the daunting task of counting calories. I hate it. (Not the website, just the whole counting calories thing). I actually considered joining Weight Watchers. Sidebar: WHEN DID I BECOME OF WEIGHT WATCHERS AGE??? This site has definately opened my eyes to how bad most everything in the grocery store is, well, the good things anyways. A Chicken Pot Pie from my beloved Byerlie's is 700 calories. WHAT. Say it ain't so. All I can think about when I'm at lunch with co-workers is how many calories are in each meal. I even picked up Birthday Treat's for a girl at work and decided against m&m cookies and instead got her ginger cookies! I'm doing everyone a favor (or misery loves company?) I have also found out that Panera is not that bad. You can get a nice normal size chicken cesear salad for 510 calories. Not too bad. As long as I get my 1 hour on the eliptical...if I miss a workout, it's lettuce and water and to bed. (If I was only that disciplined, HA!) I do need to pick up the slack on the light weight lifting. I'm not trying to win any contests, just rid myself of the flabness that has become my back and arms. And legs, neck, face...don't even ask about my behind.


The countdown is on. I only have 64 days until THE DAY. I will be sitting on the beach in my gaucho pants at this rate. I really need to see some results soon. I keep losing the same 2 lbs then gaining them back. I think I need to try and switch up my routine and my eating habits stat.


I have set my goal for fitness in 2011. I want to do 1,000 miles in 2011. This can be combined running, walking, or eliptical. All eliptical at this point but I'm off to a good start! Must. See. Results. Soon. Please. If. Your. Listening. And. Thank. You.

un-con-ven-tion-al

If I had to chose 1 word to describe my life up until now...Unconventional. Next week is Thanksgiving, so I decided that I should need to count my blessings. Is my life perfect? No. Have I made mistakes? Yes. Would I change anything? Yes, who wouldn't? No. It's what has made me, well, ME! Take it or leave it right? So in honor of Thanksgiving, here are some things I have to be thankful for:

1. My fiance. He really is my rock, my best friend, my soul mate. I really don't know where I would be without him. He showed me that love was possible (other than my kids, because I love them, I already knew that much). I always used to think that people "faked" love. (I used to think: Who holds hands with there significant other? Not this girl, no way!) Now, I can't get enough of him. Ever. I cannot wait until April when I can call you my husband. I love you more than you'll ever know. More! (Bad pic of me...whoa.)

2. My kids. I have been a parent for 13 years. I don't remember what it was like without kids. I wouldn't trade them for the world either. I really would do anything for my kids. They amaze me. They make me laugh, smile even cry. Having kids is like having your heart beat on the outside. They are sponges, they are performers. They 3 very different kids. I have the Socialite, the Entertainer and well, we are still learning what J will be like but I'm guessing he'll be the Serious one (more like his Dad with his Mom's lack of patience). I can't wait to see what they will be like as adults. But not too soon! I want them to stay with me forever!

3. My friends. I really have some of the most supportive friends. Friends who have helped me move, let me cry, listened to my endless rants, talked me off the ledge, encouraged me when I needed to be encouraged. Friends who have made me smile, refilled my glass, made me dinner, helped clean my house. Friends who have been there when Family should have. Although we don't get to hang out as often as we would like or should, I love my friends dearly. They really are the family I wasn't born into.

4. My family.  I have an Aunt who is like a Mother to me. She has stepped in when other's have stepped out. I have Cousin's who are more like Sisters. The Sister's I didn't get (or know, who knows that's a whole new ball of wax folks!). Just thinking of them makes me laugh. Oh we need to get together ladies!

5. My soon to be In-Laws. I really geniunely love my fiance's family. All of them! They are a sincere, nice, loving, family. They are a very close knit group and I love that. They are all there for eachother. They have been nothing but supportive to our family. I just love them. From the Grandpa's to Grandma's, Aunt's to Uncle's, Brother's to Sister, to Cousins. I even love their pets.

Life is good. So many things to be thankful for.

I'm baaaaack.

So, it's been a while. Yeah, I suck. I get it. My friend Carolyn and I decided to start these at the same time. Her's is excellent, has a bizillion followers, etc. Mine? Well, mine sucks. I have 2. So here is my desperate attempt at Round 2 (ding, ding!)

I was trying to think of ideas for our family Christmas Card. I. Am. Running. Out. Of. Time. Thanksgiving is next week already? What happened to November? We bought a new camera in June (Father's Day present) so we should have a million pictures to choose from right? Wrong. Don't get me wrong, I took a million pictures, it just so happens that I have very few with all 3 kids in them. I do however have this. It's a gem.

This really does sum up our family. I think it's a keeper! "T" is thinking this whole idea is insane. "J" is just screaming, it was 1 second past his normal feeding time. "E" is just loving the leaves, has no care in the world really. I love my family. Nothing says "Merry Christmas" like this photo.