Slow and Steady

I weighed in today. My plan is working. I am down 3.4 lbs. And the best part is, I didn't feel deprived or cheated at all. I am just eating right and exercising. Making lots of little choices to do better and they are adding up. I never think all those little things would matter but they are. I'm hoping this is just the beginning of a lifetime of good habits and healthy living. I will keep weighing in every Monday and posting my results here to keep me going. Thanks for checking in!

Study Schedule Revised

Alright, so who thought my crazy study schedule would last? I should have known better! We are back to the drawing board... while I do, indeed, need to cut back on extracurricular activies, there is no reason I need to cut all of them (not that I ever intended to cut out scrapbooking of course!) So I will be studying either 3 or 4 nights a week and keeping up with the household chores during nap time (or napping myself which I did today!)... I'll keep you posted! I'm working on "Bones & Joints" and "Muscles"!!! Look for more updates...

Couch to 5k

I've started a plan to get me running. It's called Couch to 5k or more commonly referred to as C25K. The idea is to get yourself up and running but slowly so you don't overdo it and then quit. It's really pretty neat. The first week, you do a 5 minute brisk walk followed by 60 seconds of running and then 90 seconds of walking. You do this til your total time is 20 minutes. I've done it twice so far. It's really great! I figure I can do anything for 60 seconds. Then you have your break and you start up again. I'm really enjoying it. It gives you a sense of accomplishment. I end each session looking forward to the next. I am tempted to stay on longer but knowing how I like to overdo, I am taking it one step at a time. My goal is to "run" (more like jog) a 5k in the early summer. Ed and I ran the Quincy Police Athletic League 5k many moons ago. Maybe we will do that one again. For more information on C25K, click here: http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

I've been downgraded by a 2 year old

Ryan is such a loveable, kissable boy! And up until a couple days ago would spontaneously kiss me! It was cute! He still kisses me but just in a different way. Now he puts his hand over my mouth and kisses me on the cheek. What's up with that? Is he worried about germs already? Jeepers! He must have got that from big brother Eddie who hasn't let us kiss him in years for fear we would "share germs". So my two year old has downgraded me to a kiss on the cheek and my four year old will permit me to kiss him on the top of the head or his arm. Well, there's still Kevin and so far, he is a regular smoocher!

Kevin's Baby

Kevin has wanted a baby of his own for a long time but we just haven't got around to getting one. Last night at Wal-mart, we found the perfect one. It's a Cabbage Patch Kid. His name is Dominic Jason and he was born on October 15th. However, I think he will be more commonly referred to as "baby" at our house. Dominic came with his very own pacifier. The only thing is, it doesn't fit in Dominic's mouth. Of course, I have very limited experience with dolls and such in recent years so I don't know if that's the norm, but it sounds like a surefire way of quickly losing said paci. Kevin hasn't put his baby down since he got it. He has been trying to put the pacifier in baby's mouth and when it didn't work, he decided that he would try it himself. Now, if Kevin could have taken to a pacifier so easily when he was a baby, that would have made my life a whole lot easier!

Quesadillas!

For those following the "Letter of the Week" cooking at Eddie's school, he came home with quesadillas today! I could not think of a Q food! Makes perfect sense! YUM!

Art class!

Guess who loved art class today?! One of the activies was a plexiglass easel the kids could paint on. There were two kids on each side. After they painted, they had a squeegee to wipe the paint off with and start over again. This was really fun. I am trying to think of how I could duplicate it at home. Any ideas?



Eddie and Kevin painting on the plexiglass easel.


Painters busy at work.


Ryan working on tracing circles to make a snowman mobile.


Eddie and Kevin making a snowstorm out of white paint and paint spatulas.


We have really been enjoying this class. We have 6 more weeks left. We have picked up some great ideas for projects at home too! It's a bit stressful at the end because we have to really hurry to get Eddie to school on time but I think it's been worth it. Today we even had 5 minutes to spare as we pulled into the school driveway. Plenty of time for Eddie to get in the lineup. Phew!

P is for Penguin

Eddie's class has been doing the letter of the week. They are going through the alphabet one letter at a time. Last week was P. He brought home this fabulous penguin. I really love how he loves art! He did really well with coloring the right colors in all the appropriate places. They used tin foil for ice and cotton for snow. Eddie is doing so well this year. He loves his teachers too. Each week they cook something that starts with the letter of the week. Last week they did pizza for P. This week is Q. Any ideas on what he will have cooked today?

Crunch Time

So as most of you know, I have signed up to do an online medical transcription course. The great part is you can work at your own pace, you don't have to commit to a schedule and you can do all the work from the comfort of your own home. Sounds great, right? They give you a year to complete the course so plenty of time, right? Well, it's now two months til time's up and I'm just in the beginning stages. My new plan is to study 7 hours a day. I am going to have to turn down all extra-curricular activities (with the exception of scrapbooking once a week of course!). Right now I am studying muscles as part of my anatomy and physiology section. I'm sure I will have to apply for an extension but hopefully at my new pace, I will be done by summer's end. I plan to study two hours a day while Kevin and Ryan nap (with the exception of Wednesdays when Eddie is home from school) and 5 hours each night - 6pm to 11pm. Wish me luck, I'm gonna need it!

Is anyone out there?

I know you're reading my entries... so if you're out there, make a girl happy and leave a comment! Thank you!

Selling Out

OK, so Blogspot (the people who make my blog) offer members a deal with a company called Ad Sense. If you sign up, Ad Sense will post a banner on your blog in which they will display ads for various things related to the topics of your blog entries. Then they pay you for allowing them to do that. I don't know how they know what you are talking about in your blog but you know, these days they can do just about anything! I don't know how much the pay is or what the deal is but I thought I'd give it a whirl. I figure if it's really annoying, you all can let me know and I'll get rid of it. Deal? Let me know, OK? Thank you!

Art Class - Take One!

Yesterday was the first day of art class for Eddie, Kevin and Ryan. We went to "Friday Frolics" at the Children's Museum in Easton. It was really fun once we got settled. I thought the class was downstairs so I took the kids into the main part of the museum to ask where it was. That was when Kevin saw the balls and wanted to stay and play! Once I finally convinced him that we would have fun in art class, he was OK. Next time, we will know to go right up the stairs when we go in. There were 5 projects to work on at your own pace followed by stories at the end. After the class, we drove Eddie to school since we would miss the bus. He made it just in time to line up with the other kids. We had a great day!

What do you get...

when you combine 3 boys and a can of shaving cream?

Tomorrow Back

When talking to Eddie, when he wants to say "yesterday"... he says "tomorrow back"...

The Sweetest Thing

If ever there was a child who wore his heart on his sleeve, it would be Ryan Patrick. He's very sweet and extremely polite too! It's seems as though we only had to explain the whole "please and thank you" thing to him one time and he's had it down ever since. It's funny that even when he's very upset, he always makes sure to say "thank you". This usually happens if something is taken away and he's upset about it. When given back to him, he will say "thank you" right through his tears. He always says "please" when asking for something too. It's so nice to hear! He is very sensitive to others' feelings and he doesn't like to see his family cry... especially Mommy! If Mommy is sad, he will come over and say "Mommy! NO!" and he will pat Mommy's head and give her a hug. Lately we have been reading a book called "Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs"... you could say it's one of Ryan's favorites. It's a book about opposites. On the first page, you will see various dinosaurs holding balloons and having fun. The caption says "Dinosaurs Happy"... on the opposite side, there are two dinosaurs with a popped balloon and the caption says "Dinosaurs Sad"... one of the dinosaurs has tears coming down his cheek. First Ryan points to the happy side and says "Party!".. then he'll point to the sad side and say "CRY".. while pointing to the tears. It's really very sweet. That's my boy! Good job Ry Ry!

Twinspeak?

Do twins have a special language known only to themselves? Listen to this story. You be the judge:

Kevin and Ryan have a baby stroller that Auntie Kelly gave to them. They absolutely love pushing their animals and Ryan's baby all around the house. Shortly after we got the stroller, one of the wheels fell off. We didn't have a chance to fix it so they were playing with it with 3 wheels. Later in the afternoon, Kevin was playing with the stroller and remembered that a wheel was missing. He went in the living room. He found Ryan and had a conversation with him. Now, Kevin has a lot to say but you just can't understand most of it. He has some words including bah-bah (for brother), baby (this is for Ryan's baby and this is also what Kevin calls himself), Mommy, Daddy, ball, and several others... the rest of his talking is not understandable although very cute. Here's how the conversation went. "BAH-BAH, .a.dkajl boidlkjadj alkjdoaudj adkajdlaocukd BABY, aoudaht lkjad dousdjlskdj aboudjskje emmmdalkjd a BAH-BAH adklfja df;akd fa ldjfa d BABY!" Ryan jumped right up, found the wheel, followed Kevin to the bedroom and helped put the wheel on the stroller. Ryan got THAT out of THAT?

Makes you wonder, huh?

Boing, boing, boing, boing!

Yesterday we went to the pool. The kids had a great time. Kevin stood in front of me, holding onto the straps of my bathing suit and bounced up and down saying "Boing! Boing! Boing! Boing!" the entire time we were there! That was an hour and a half of bouncing. We could call him Tigger!

Bowling for Preschoolers?

What do you get when you combine 15 preschoolers, their siblings (all younger), 5 bowling lanes and countless bowling balls? Planned chaos! Today we went bowling with Eddie's preschool and although the kids had a blast, it was pretty crazy for the adults! Ok, maybe not ALL the adults but for me, it was!



Here's Kevin waiting his turn for a ball:


Good shot Ryan! Right down the middle...


"Cheese"


Kevin giving it a shot:


Eddie waiting for the ball to return:


Ryan's up:

For the love of fabric softeners

Kevin is in love ... with fabric softeners. You know, the dryer sheets that make your clothes all soft and yummy smelling? He loves to carry a crumpled up one in his hand... all day long! And if a fabric softener is not available, you never know what you will find in his hand. In fact, we try to check his tightly closed fist every night before bed. You never know what you might find in there... the famous fabric softener sheet, some rumpled up toilet paper (another favorite), some paper, a marble, or who knows what will be there. Kevin is a funny kid! Today he has been carrying around two little board books in one hand and a fabric softener sheet in the other hand.

The cow says "moo", the cat says "meow" and Kevin says "bah bah"?

Kevin and Ryan are learning what all the animals say. They love reading books and have come to say "bookie" when they want to be read to. However, you can be pretty sure when Kevin says "bah bah", he is referring to Ryan. Kevin says "bah bah" for brother and you will hear him say it when he is looking for Ryan. The other day they were napping and Ryan got up a few minutes before Kevin. I brought Ryan out to the living room. I heard Kevin talking so I went in to get him. He was standing up in his crib, peeking over into Ryan's crib and yelling "bah bah" as he was looking for him. How cute is that?

We have poop!

As most of you know, when you have little kids, poop is a big topic of discussion! Well, today, Ryan pooped on the potty. I was so surprised! He's never done anything on the potty before, not even pee! He's sat on the potty maybe a handful of times but nothing has ever happened. Today he kept saying "Poop" with a distressed look on his face while grabbing his diaper. I asked if he had to go poop and he said yes so off we went. Nothing happened so we went back to what we were doing. A few minutes later, same thing. He said "Poop" while grabbing his diaper and making the same stressed out face. Back we went to the potty, this time with book in hand ready for the long haul. A few seconds later, he was done and was so proud of himself! He flushed the toilet and said "Bye Poop!" I'm sure it was just a fluky thing... we weren't even going to start them til much closer to 3... but's it's a start and he was just so proud of himself! Yay for Ryan!

School is back in session!

Today is Eddie's first day back to school since the Friday before Christmas. He is very excited! He would have gone back on Tuesday but it was a snow day. Wednesday is his regular day off. This week his class will be studying the letter O. Eddie is wondering how they will get a week's worth of O work into two days. He's looking forward to tomorrow because they always cook something starting with the letter of the week on Fridays. Hmm, what will they cook for O? Octopus? Eddie thinks maybe an octopus shaped sandwich. He is also looking forward to tomorrow because he will be getting off the bus at his friend's Sam's house for a playdate! That will be so much fun!

Next week we will be full swing into our regular routine. Mondays will be gym days with Eddie going to Jump class at 4:30. I will go to Body Pump. Kevin & Ryan have fun in the Energy Center. If we have time after naps, we will go swimming before everything starts at 4:30. Eddie will start his next session of swimming lessons Wednesday afternoons at 4:10. On Fridays, I have signed up all 3 boys for art class. It's called Friday Frolics and it's held at the Children's Museum in Easton. I think they will all love it! It will be so fun to see them all in the same class. It gets out at 11:00 so we will have to leave quickly to get Eddie to school by 11:30. On the other days, we will swim a lot and I will try to squeeze in some cardio at the gym maybe after Eddie gets on the bus and before Kevin and Ryan have lunch & naps.

New Year's Resolutions

This year I am making a resolution. My resoltion:

This year, I will NOT go on a diet

Yep, you read that right folks. There will be no low carb, no carb plan for me. No Weight Watchers, no Jenny Craig, no Slim Fast, no watermelon and cabbage diet, no skipping breakfast, no counting points, no counting calories.

This year I will be eating food and enjoying it!

That's my plan, simple as that. I met with a nutritionist and sometimes it takes sitting down with someone to open your eyes. We talked about my habits which have a proven track record over the years. Follow a "diet" to the T, do well, lose weight... everything's great but you miss those "bad" foods. For me, one taste of the "bad" stuff, and all is lost! My nutritionist described something called "deprivation". This is when you try and be SO good that by the time you eat, you are SO STARVING, you eat whatever is in sight. She explained that food is not "bad" and people who eat yummy, delicious foods are not "bad". So if someone is serving tiramisu at a playgroup and I eat some, that's OK. I will take a small piece and enjoy it! I don't need to then go home and eat everything in the house because I couldn't stick to "my plan". It's OK, eating tiramisu is OK! It's all about choices and I will try to make more healthy ones. And when I want something that I love, I will have a small amount. No deprivation, no binging. That's my plan. Slim Fast says "Give us a week, you'll take off the weight"... I'm saying "Give it a year"...

Sleep Out turned Camp Out

The phone rang at 5:30 this morning!! Of course the first thing you think of is "What happened? Who's hurt? Is everyone OK?" Ed answered in the bedroom since I was at the "sleep out" in the living room. It was the school department. No school today. A snow day! Our sleep out has turned into a camp out. Eddie, Kevin and Ryan are all watching "Finding Nemo" since Kevin and Ryan missed out last night. They are having a great time watching and snacking on Goldfish (how appropo!) I will go back to my cleaning/organizing project! Hopefully I can get lots more done. There is no school tomorrow (usual day off) so Eddie thinks we can have another sleep out!

New Year's Eve Party Take Three

Our first attempt at a New Year's Eve party failed. Everyone was having fun playing with all the new Christmas toys and Mom and Dad were running around cleaning up and getting organized. By the time we got our act together and in true "party mode", Eddie had crashed on the living room lounge chair. He only made it til 10:30 PM. If you ask Eddie... he will tell you that he DID NOT fall asleep on the chair. OK, Eddie, whatever you say! ;-)


Our second attempt failed as well. Eddie was so tired from staying up late on New Year's Eve, that he fell asleep at 6:30.

Our third attempt is a success! Mom and Dad have been running around all day putting away Christmas decorations and organizing the attic but we finally slowed down at 7 PM to watch Finding Nemo with Eddie. Instead of pizza and popcorn, however, we had cake and ice cream. Sounds like a good combination to me! Our plan is to have a "sleep out" on the living room floor!

Sleep out at last! Eddie chillin' out with Dad.

Day After Christmas Bargain Shopping

I got a great deal on this singing and dancing Santa at Walmart the day after Christmas. I also bought so many lights for outside next year, we may well outshine the Griswalds. 50%! Can't beat that deal!