Hummus and Carrots

OK, try not to be jealous but I am having a snack of hummus and carrots. I have "re-newed" my dedication to watching what I eat and trying to lose weight. (Notice: I did not say "diet") Man, does it ever stink. I figured out what my problem is - I like to eat! That's a news flash! I guess when it comes down to it, I know what to do - I just don't want to do it. Due to a lousy metabolic disorder, carbohydrates wreak havoc to my body. And those just "happen" to be my favorite things in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD. Not chocolate, not ice cream, not hot fudge.... but rich, creamy mashed potatoes.... yummy, delicious macaroni and cheese... all those wonderful "comfort" foods. MMMMMMM.... but for me, those are my worst possible choices. So it makes me wonder... is it due to the disorder that I crave those foods or is the cravings that CAUSED the disorder. Who knows... but in the meantime, I am cutting back on my favorites foods. Note: I didn't say CUTTING OUT my favorite foods... all in moderation, all in moderation... and I know, all I need to do is "make some lifestyle changes" as my doctor lovingly tells me but isn't easier to just eat whatever you want when you want it? I would really like to lose 25 lbs by the end of the year. Think I can do it? I have the weight lifting thing down. Love weight lifting... but that's not going to make me any thinner. Sure, it will compact what I have and get my heart going and burn calories at rest and all that good stuff but what I REALLY need is some good old fashioned cardio... walking.... and more walking and even more walking. So my plan is now that the weather is getting a bit warmer (and hopefully staying that way) is to take Kevin and Ryan to the playground as soon as Eddie gets on the bus. It's one mile each way. So we can go, run around, have lunch and make it home in time for nap time. That is my GOAL. Those of us with children know that plans can change at any second without any advance notice... and that's OK... as long as you know it can happen... So that's my goal and hopefully we can get out there and get some fresh air. I truly do love to walk, I just REALLY prefer to do it outside as opposed to the treadmill. Well, that's my story for today. Ed has the kids at Scalliwags and I'm doing some cleaning around the house, opening the windows, mopping the floors, etc - all the good stuff. Til next time...

I Stand Corrected

After watching the movie with Ed for a few minutes, I realized I was mistaken. While Grey's Anatomy's love interest stories, etc don't require much thinking and it's all in good fun, etc.... there is absolutely NO THINKING required whatsoever in watching my husband's choice of viewing this evening.

Boys versus Girls

Ok, so is it in the genes or what? As I sit here in the kitchen, checking my mail, my message boards and updating my blog... my hubby, Ed, is in the living room killing himself with laughter over some ridiculous movie about people pulling pranks on one another or something like that. I think he is on the verge of vomiting. What is it about men and those kinds of movies? It is because they are so mind-numbingly simple, you don't need to think? Oh, well, he enjoys it. Is that like how us girls enjoy McDreamy on Grey's Anatomy? Sure, from the outside, it looks far fetched and ridiculous, but like the said prank show, you don't need to think much about it but it sure is fun... Oh, well - I guess we will never know...........

1 hour 15 minutes til Grey's Anatomy is on...

Anyone else on the edge of their seats as well?

Wonder Twin Powers... ACTIVATE!

OK, so I never thought I'd use one of those really cheesy comments about twins but in this case, I thought it was appropriate.

We have a gate that you have to step on a "lever" in order for the gate to open. Kevin and Ryan figured this out a long time ago but they are not heavy enough to release the gate..... SEPARATELY that is. Not long ago, they realized that if they did it TOGETHER, it would open.

Looks like we need a new gate... or a new kitchen... whichever comes first.

It's a learning process...

OK, so I just posted those 4 pictures in a cube which I think came out really cool... However, did they come out REALLY HUGE on your screen? Well, not REALLY huge but big enough that you had to scroll right to see all of them? Let me know so I can try to fix it next time. THANKS!

[Update: I changed the way the pictures looked...]

Gymboree

The kids had a blast at Gymoboree!!!

New England Weather

You know what they say about New England weather? The saying goes something like this: "If you don't like the weather, wait a minute, it might change." That was been SO true this winter. Right now is is SO COLD outside. I think it was 15 degrees today as we drove to Gymboree. 15 degrees!!!! That's CRAZY! Just a few days ago, we were at the playground enjoying 60 degree weather. I have to say, though, that we HAVE been pretty lucky this year with our weather. January was the mildest January on record. And WE DO live in New England, so what do we expect? Of course it's going to be cold and snowy! But one can always hope for those beautiful warm days. So even though I'm NOT enjoying the cold weather at present, I'm hoping if I wait a minute... it WILL change!

Off and Running

Vacation is in full swing. I'm very excited! Remember how I thought yesterday afternoon after naps if it was nice out, we could potentially go to the playground? Well, it wasn't nice. It was raining and cold. And this morning, it was snowing furiously... for a little while and then the sun came out. It's bone chillingly cold though. I think I should either start watching the weather, paying attention to the news or checking the weather on the Internet because my prediction about the weather couldn't have been more wrong!

This morning, Ed and I went to Body Pump together at the gym. It was the first time we have taken it together. Up until a couple weeks ago, there wasn't a class we could both be at and have the kids in the babysitting... so it was fun! We had to leave a few minutes early to get to the movies on time. We took the kids to see "Curious George". Eddie's friend from school came. They all had a fantastic time. It was funny because I pre-ordered the tickets online and printed them out so we could save some time knowing that we'd probably just make it in time... No one asked to see our tickets or anything! I was surprised. It was $48 for our tickets and $22.00 for 3 drinks and 2 popcorns. This is definitely not the 70's. Remember movies were like a couple bucks? And this was a matinee! It was fun though and I'm glad we went! George was charming and cute... the animation was perfect. After the movie, Eddie's friend came over to play... Kevin and Ryan took a nap... I ran out to do a quick errand. It was all good.

Well, let's see... tomorrow we have a playdate at 10:00 at Gymboree with Eddie's preschool. It was actually scheduled for last Sunday but was cancelled when we got all the snow. After Gymboree, we'll all go to the gym. Eddie will go to a lunch & tennis thing... and we'll take Kevin and Ryan to the Splash Pool.... then home for naps.

Here's what we have planned for the rest of the week: Monday we plan on going to a craft day at a local craft museum. Ed has an appointment with a physical therapist since he just found out he has two herniated discs in his neck... so hopefully he'll start PT soon... the doctor wants him to go 3x a week for 6 weeks. I called the insurance today just to make sure it was covered and it is! $15 copay per visit ... so the 6 weeks will cost us $270! But if it can prevent surgery, it will be well worth it! Tuesday, we are getting together with Kelly and the kids and some friends to have a Kids Crop at the library. That should be fun. Eddie loves to scrapbook - it's so cute! Wednesday we are going to open play time at a local gymnastics place... Eddie has swimming lessons in the afternoon and I have an appointment with our Family Service Coordinator from Early Intervention to set up Kevin's speech therapy which he will be starting soon. Thursday and Friday are open! If we do have a nice day, we'd like to get to the zoo... and somewhere in there, Ed will take the kids out for an entire day so I can have some time to myself and I will do the same for him. Friday night is scrapbooking at Kelly's and that will leave us Saturday and Sunday before Ed goes back to work on Monday. So, I'm looking forward to having lots of time together and it will probably be the first vacation that we've taken where we didn't need another vacation to recuperate from the vacation!

OK, bed time! Stay tuned.... more posts to follow...

Getting excited!

Next week is school vacation and I'm getting excited! You see, Ed has vacation next week too. And for the first time probably ever, we are not going anywhere! We are going to do lots of little fun family things! Technically you could say our vacation is starting today. Eddie has no school today because the teachers have an inservice day. This is good because Fridays we go to art class... Class is from 10-11 in Easton and Eddie needs to be at school at 11:30 in Braintree. So by the time we get out of there and in the car and all strapped in, it's at least 11:04 if not 11:08 and then we need to drive like the speed of light (OK, not really but stressful nonetheless) to get to Braintree High on time. Today we will be able to stay and play! We won't have to cut out during the "Goodbye" song... with me whispering across the circle of toddlers saying "Eddie... let's GO" without disturbing the other children. So this will be nice. We can help our teacher Jane clean up and then go downstairs and play with the "ball balls" (as Kevin would say). We can leisurely make our way home for lunch and put Kevin and Ryan in for a nap. After naps, if it's a nice day, maybe we can go to the playground again.

I'm planning on doing a lot of walking outside now that the weather is getting nicer. I have a double jogger for getting Kevin and Ryan places but what do I do if I have all 3? Anyone have any ideas? Are those "skateboard" things worth buying? I suppose Eddie could ride his bike but I'd need to find a nice safe place to ride. Normally I would say Pond Meadow because I always see lots of kids riding their bikes there... but after going to a child safety meeting the other night, I'm not so sure I'd feel safe there by ourselves!

Anywho, tonight is scrapbooking at our house and I'm very excited! I've been getting very organized and getting things in order and actually getting a lot done. Is there a possibility that someday I might be caught up? Probably not but one can hope! All this organization is leading up to a fun-filled weekend away the first week of March. Yep, March 3rd - 5th I will be in my scrapbooking glory. Yes, 3 solid days of uninteruppted scrapping time. We will start at 3pm on Friday and scrap til 1 am. Yes, that's right folks, 1 am. Saturday will begin at 7 am and continue til 1 am. That's right folks, 1 am. And Sunday from 7 am til 4 pm or something like that. All meals are provided so all you need to do is walk to the next room, eat and return to SCRAPPING! Who could ask for anything more? It's going to be a fantastic time. I really am looking forward to it (incase you haven't guessed)...

Well, I guess I need to get back to reality. I have some poopy diapers to change, a bag to prepare (diapers, wipes, snacks, drinks, Epi Pen, Benedryl, you know, the usual kid gear)... get everyone's socks and shoes on, and I'm sure about 10 other things I forgot, load up the van and head out to art class. Wish me luck.

Keep your eyes peeled for more posts today. Upcoming topics will be a really tricky little skill Kevin and Ryan have figured out and I will tell you all about the fun and exciting things we have planned for our upcoming "vacation at home"...

Enjoy your day! It's all GOOD! (Another one of Donny's favorite sayings... )

Isn't everything so much better when the sun is shining?

I mean, really! Yesterday, it was a beautiful day. It was hard to believe that just a few days ago, we had 17 inches of snow. It was 60+ degrees yesterday. People were in t-shirts... there was a certain energy about everyone. It was exciting! I dropped Eddie off at school (he usually takes the bus)... the other Moms downright giddy about the gorgeous weather! I felt like I had more energy. We got a lot done before school. Kevin and Eddie got haircuts at our favorite barber shop in Quincy. After that we went to Marshall's in Braintree and got Eddie a pair of sneakers. Remember those cool Kangaroo sneakers (aka "Roos") from elementary school? The ones with the zippered pocket covered by a velcro flap? I remember thinking those were just the coolest things EVER when I sported them back in the 70's. I mean, you never know what you might need to keep in YOUR SHOES! You know, some coins, a key, the possibilities are endless. And remember those totally cool friendship pins? The ones made out of safety pins and beads? I loved those! I was always jealous of the girls whose entires shoes were covered with friendship pins thinking "Wow, they must have SO many friends"! Did it ever occur to me that they were probably making their own? Um, no! But anyway, I'm getting sidetracked...

My original plan was to find some for Kevin and Ryan but they didn't have anything in their sizes. OK, they did but I didn't like them. Eddie saw the Kangaroos (and after finding out they didn't have his size in the Spiderman sneakers), he just HAD to have them. According to Eddie, he can run even faster than before and jump REALLY high! And then he had to SHOW me his new abilities! At "any rate" (as Donny would say)... We dropped Eddie off at school which is always a novelty because there is a little playground that Kevin and Ryan like to play on. Kevin and Ryan love seeing the other kids and running around outside. Ryan tried to climb on the bus today as we were waiting for the kids to line up. I suppose they will be more than ready for school when the time comes. After Eddie got in the line up and his class walked inside... Kevin and Ryan played in the play area for a while and then we went to the Hollis Playground in Braintree. There was snow on the ground but it was still a beautiful day. There were some other kids there and they had a lot of fun. After that, we went to Shaw's to do some grocery shopping. I fed Kevin and Ryan lunch as we shopped which is a great way to keep them quiet... and when we got home, they went right in for their nap. That's what I call a great day!

I can't believe it's been two weeks since my last post. Over two weeks actually. I was going to write one big gigantic post but I figure I'll break it up into smaller, more digestible portions.... look for more posts to come! Happy reading!