Turns Out, Life is Pretty Darn Good

Our day got off to a pretty pathetic start this morning...I stayed up too late, had bad dreams, which is crazy for a girl like me who never even remembers my dreams, had to deal with a clogged toilet this morning after electrical issues last night, boys woke up fussy and fighting over me, breakfast was a disaster, the boys wouldn't let me do my workout, I started feeling very sorry for myself, it was getting ugly...

So I did what always works for me.  I got out the dumbells and very quickly kicked my own butt following the best body fitness workout for the day before hitting the pavement with the jogging stroller to meet up with some other MOPS moms at the park.  The fresh air, sunshine, and exercise was the magic potion I needed.  It was just what the doctor ordered!  We all returned home after a couple hours with a much better attitude and these lovely photos...

How cute are they?  I am so glad we didn't surrender to our bad day.  It was so good to get out and play and on top of it all, Elizabeth takes the BEST photos.

She even got a shot of me with Colton.  I never get anything but self-portraits these days and I'm really terrible at those so I'm really grateful for this candid shot.  Isn't she a fantastic photographer?!

There's light at the end of the tunnel... The toilet is unclogged and got a good cleaning too as a bonus.  The electrician is coming this afternoon so I should have a porch light back this evening.   I got a fantastic workout in today and ran the bridge for the first time in over 6 weeks.  My core is healing.  I'm trying out a recipe for eggplant "fries" with our dinner tonight.  I found out about an awesome Joyce Meyer app that I plan on incorporating into my day since I need all the help I can get on keeping my focus where it needs to be.   I have fantastic kiddos and an amazing husband who makes me so proud of him.  I have some really amazing friends.  The bills are paid.  We have delicious, nutritious food to eat AND I have a bottle of wine I will definitely be opening tonight.  Turns out, life isn't so bad after all.  In fact, it's pretty awesome.  Sometimes...ok, alot of times, I just need to be reminded of how good it is.  What do you do when you need a pick me up?  

A Gorgeous Day for Some Fun

It's Tuesday!!!!!!  That means Story Time and Music Class.  We had a blast at both today...thanks in part to this GORGEOUS weather we've been having.  We are so lucky to live in the sunshine state.

Today's featured books were...

The illustrations and rhymes in this one make in an outstanding book in my opinion.  There's just enough repetition to it too.  I HIGHLY recommend it for your toddlers.  Even though it's a little longer, it's interesting enough to keep their attention.

I think this one was a little advanced for many of the little guys in our group but my boys are learning to count and enjoyed it.  I had to breeze by some of the counting opportunities as I could see some kids losing interest.  I recommend it for ages 2 and up.  It's still a great one in my opinion...just maybe not my best pick for the audience this morning.

Miss Rabe was fantastic with our class, as always, this morning.

Drumming never gets old for Mason and Colton. 

Drum circles are always a big hit as well.

She was a good sport about letting kids throw balls at her.  

I see some guitar students in Miss Rabe's future.  They're like moths to a flame when she gets the guitar or the piano out.  LOVE it!  I had fun singing along myself today.  I miss my choir days.

The boys let me squeeze in a quick cardio session at the gym on our way home.  I did a slight variation of the Best Body Bootcamp plan, which did call for cardio today.  I started with 20 minutes on the stair climber--3 minute warm up followed by 30 seconds fast alternated with 30 seconds moderate.  I think I may be sore tomorrow!  I don't remember the last time I climbed over 100 flights of stairs.  I finished up with another 20 minutes on the elliptical.  I did a very random workout as I chatted with a friend.  It definitely helped pass the time.  

The boys' naptime has been nonstop for me--yard work including a serious weed attacking, yoga and core work with Fit2Be, dishes, dinner prepped, shower, blog...and now I hear the little boogers stirring. 

I'm looking forward to a fun playdate with friends before dinner and hopefully crashing on the couch after the boys are asleep to catch up on what I missed of the Bachelor last night.  I've been sucked into the reality TV this winter with the Biggest Loser and the Bachelor.  This non-tv-watcher is HOOKED!  Worse things have happened...

By the way, I've been loving my study of Luke by Good Morning Girls.  I'm hoping this daily devotional habit sticks around for a while.  It's definitely good for my soul.  If you haven't tried it, I recommend it.  

Happy Tuesday!

Santa Jammies and A Visit to the Vet

After a less than stellar weekend, this morning got off to a good start--THANK GOODNESS!  I woke up refreshed from a good night's sleep over a half an hour before the boys did which gave me plenty of time to drink a cup of coffee, do my devotion, and catch up on my emails, facebook, etc.  I love when that happens!

Check out the jammies the boys insisted on wearing to bed last night...

   Colton - always the ham these days            Mason - working on his dribbling skills

I love how happy they are first thing in the morning.  

Keep the Christmas spirit alive as long as you like, boys!  I won't judge.  They love Santa...on jammies that is.  

We enjoyed some pancakes before hitting the road.  They got to go to a play group while I took the cat to the vet.  Lucky me!!  He cried the WHOLE way there, which was kinda funny, but it turned out a lot better than I had expected...except for the bill.  I must say, he is a pretty darn cool cat.  

That's our Mango!  Not bad for a 15 year old cat with only about 5 teeth left and arthritis in his hips.  The vet bill to take care of that adorable face kills me though.  How is it cheaper to give medical care to my children than it is to take care of my cat?  $30 to dispose of his poop?  $25 for a fecal float test? What is that even?  And they won't give him the rabies or leukemia vaccines without doing that??  Say what??  They even conned me into the $25 drops for his water to help with his tarter.  Crazy stuff!  He should be in the clear until 3 years from now when I'll be forced to take him again for his Rabies shot.  Better start saving up now, haha!  Enough complaining about that though...

After the vet visit, I still had a little time to squeeze in a workout before picking up the boys.  I like this week's workout from Tina's Best Body Bootcamp workout SOOOOOO much better than last weeks.  The deadlift to row was my favorite move.  LOVED it!  I am definitely adding that one to my regular routine.  Thanks, Tina!  I enjoyed watching the inauguration while I got in some intervals on the elliptical as well.  I think it's so cool that the inauguration fell on the same day as MLK day.  Our country has come a LOOOONG way!  I'm excited to see what's in store for us in the future. 

After picking up the boys, we got home in time to FaceTime with my parents and grandparents who are spending the weekend together.  I'm so happy that I have technology to keep us all in touch even though we're so far away from each other.  Hopefully we'll get up there for another visit sometime soon.  

Tonight, I plan to roast a kabocha squash that has been calling to me for the last couple of weeks.  That darn squash is all the rage on so many blogs I read.  I can't wait to try it out myself.  

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Stuft Mama is always roasting them up and they always look so yummy.  I'm hoping to try half of it the savory way and half of it sweetened up a bit.   Here's to hoping it lives up to the hype.  

Clare, another blogger with some great posts posted this today, and it really struck a cord with me so I thought I would pass it along...

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Her thoughts on it were pretty intriguing.  I hope you'll check it out.  Good stuff!

Off to do my daily transverse exercises with Bethany Learn at Fit2Be studios.  If you're a mom struggling with  your abs and you haven't checked her out yet, you should!  Her core exercises work miracles.

Happy Days

It's been a busy but fun past couple of days.  Yesterday, the boys let me get an early start on my day and we made it to the gym at 8:15.  It felt great to get a workout in BEFORE the craziness of produce day was upon us.  Mason was still a bit clingy with the transition to play care but had a fabulous time.  Colton was his usual easy-going self.

Produce day was a breeze with everyone picking up on time and I even scored some fabulous berries from a lady who didn't want her share and thought she had cancelled.  The boys have already eaten half of my $22 worth of extra fruit.  At least it's healthy!

We did a lot of lounging around while people came and went throughout the pickup window...

We made a lot of music too....

We even made music while lounging...

Our music got interrupted by a sudden desire to dance...

It got too interesting for pictures after that.  Haha.  We were ready for nap time!  And nap the boys did--hello 2 1/2 hour nap!  I was able to get lots of work done on my class and the end is in sight.  Phew!

Last night my good friend Heather, a coworker from my teaching days, brought over dinner from Panera and we were able to catch up for a couple of hours with yummy food and a glass of wine.  I miss her and treasure our opportunities to get together.  I'm grateful she was able to tolerate the boys during "unhappy hour."  She's a true friend!

This morning kicked off bright and early with a trip to the library for the Family Place.  Boy, have we missed the library and Miss Lisa!  The boys had a BLAST!

It was quite a fiasco getting dressed this morning when they discovered this hand-me-down in the drawer and couldn't decide who was the lucky one who would get to wear it.  As you can see, Colton somehow won the battle.  Colton was very proud of himself for finding a Thomas toy to match his Thomas the Train shirt.

Mason has always resisted putting the bells on his ankles at music class but the technique has not gone unnoticed by him.  He stomped like nobody's business this morning with those bells on his ankles.   Miss Rabe would be proud!

After the family place, we hit up the gym. I am happy to report there were no tears with the transition into play care.  The boys just walked right in.  YAY!  I did my own version of the Best Body Fitness Boot Camp workout.  I still loathe those slow reps and decided I'd rather enjoy myself and used her exercises with my own rep and weight counts.  I enjoyed my version much more than hers!  Sorry, Tina!  I also spent some time on the elliptical and read...

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It was a short easy read.  I read the whole thing in one workout.  It kept my attention and was a sweet story full of hope.

After the gym we hit up Walgreens for some floss and I ended up buying the boys some electric toothbrushes that were on sale.  They are a huge hit with the boys.  Thanks for the idea, Steph!  Brushing is much more enjoyable for all of us now.  They want to brush all day long!

I got to enjoy a little break today for a mani/pedi thanks to Groupon and my lovely friend, Deborah.  I wouldn't survive without great friends who help me out and give me breaks.  What a blessing!

My toes are soooo happy.  I reminded myself of why I don't typically get manicures though.  I already chipped the polish on my finger making dinner.  Dangit!

At least the food was excellent.  This recipe is a regular on our menu and it was yummy as always tonight along with some steamed broccoli...and a glass of wine since I had an open bottle from last night.  YUM!

We finished off our night with baths and a marathon book session.  I love that they boys love books!  We read every book in the box in their room.  For those of you that have been in their room, you know that's alot of books.  What a perfect ending to a fabulous day.  Bring on the weekend!

A Finished Book and Some Yummy Food

I woke up to the sound of a downpour this morning, and unable to fall back asleep, decided to finish my book.  I cannot recommend The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh enough.  It is a fantastic story that thoroughly kept my interest. I loved how the two stories ended up really being one.  I learned so much about flowers too!  It was a real page-turner and a "must read" in my opinion!

Any recommendations for what to read next?  I'm hoping my book club starts back up soon.  I've missed that group.  Since I was the only one reading all the books towards the end, maybe it's time to start my own group.  Who's interested???

Since I was up so early, I also had time to try out a new recipe I've been intrigued by lately...a grain free garlicky microwave muffin.  I was pleasantly surprised by how delicious it was.  The only change I made was to sub olive oil for the light butter.

If I can find little sneaky ways like this to still eat bread, I might be able to swing a Paleo diet after all.  I was seriously impressed.  I can't wait to play around with some variations on it.  StuftMama even turned it into a pizza crust.  I see lots of potential for this little concoction.

Here's another fun concoction I'm pretty proud about...

For lunch, I got the boys to eat zucchini using a sneaky little trick.  I shredded it and stirred it into their mac n cheese.  They devoured it as usual.  Score!

In other food news, I've been enjoying some treats from Trade Joes today and wish I would have stocked up on more of these two yummy treats.  One is not enough!

Our first outing for today was a return to story time and we kicked off 2013 with a special visit from the boys' music teacher, Miss Rabe.  It will be a tough act to follow next week.  She was a big hit!

Look at how attentive my boys are.  Love it!  Nothing like books and music to get their attention.  Thanks, Miss Rabe!

After story time, the boys and I hit up the gym so I could get some cardio in on the elliptical.  I loosely followed Tina's circuits from her Best Body Boot Camp Plan.   I had planned to just do some walking today both before and after story time but rain changed my plans and I only got the first part of that plan completed.  Thanks to a good friend, we didn't have to walk home in the rain.  Phew!

I also did a quick yoga and pilates blend workout today.  I know I keep harping about Beth Learn at Fit2Be but to me she is like a miracle worker for my poor core.  I am FINALLY seeing progress with my injured muscles and have hope that they can be healed.  I actually find the workouts to be quite relaxing so they're a nice addition to my routine.  The boys got some work done themselves while I worked on my self...

They're some serious tool users.  Watch out!

Now it's time to get some chores done while the boys nap.   I hope this rain goes away so we can get outside and play this afternoon.

A Lovely Day

The boys went to a play group this morning and made these lovely necklaces...

...while I took care of some errands and paid a little visit to this lovely spot...

Look at how beautiful it was today.  I couldn't believe my car was the only one in the parking lot.

There were shells EVERYWHERE!  Lovely!

Speaking of lovely things, I called the exterminator today to nip my ant problem in the bud.  After a week of trying to tackle the little critters on my own, it was time to call in the experts.  Her put a solution on the wall and warned me it would get worse before it would get better.  He said it would take 6-8 hours for it to really work.  Boy am I glad he knew what he was doing because this is what my wall looked like after 3 hours...

Lovely, right?  I was seriously nervous that I had made my little ant problem MUCH BIGGER.  But here is how the exact same spot looked 6 hours later...

Not an ant to be seen.  LOVELY!  He really knew what he was doing!  Thank God for exterminators!!!  

Now, on to more lovely things...

For lunch today, they continued their newfound salad obsession.  I'm taking advantage of it while it lasts.

I still can't believe how they devour it.  I guess they want to be like Mommy...it's a beautiful thing!  

Our box of the boys' Christmas presents from Indiana arrived today.  Needless to say, the boys thought it was lovely to have their new toys back.  

It was a lovely day for some play time outside and some lounging around by the pool as well.  

For the life of me, I can never seem to get them to both look at me at the same time.  Oh well!

You wanna know something that I don't find lovely...how crowded the gym is in January.  Thank goodness for gorgeous weather to do cardio outside and quickie boot camp workouts that can fit into the corner of the gym.  Today's best body boot camp workout used slow reps (6 counts to lift, 1 count holds, and 2 counts to lower) and I have to say I'm not a fan.  I definitely felt the burn, don't get me wrong, but 'll take faster paced weightlifting any day.  I have to say I am much more aware of taking care of my core while I life thanks to Beth Learn at Fit2Be.  Her workouts have been such a gift to me. If you have a diastasis recti, you MUST check her out!  You won't regret it.

For dinner tonight, we tried out a new kind of bread crumb I stumbled upon...

I am a HUGE fan!  I used them to make some delicious baked breaded chicken along with a side of sauteed broccoli for dinner tonight.  It was a hit with the boys as well.  Lovely!

Off to enjoy the rest of my evening.  I'm hoping to call it an early night.  

What was lovely about your day?

...So The Boys Got A Piano

Santa (a.k.a. Aunt Abigail) came early and brought an amazing gift to the boys...

I see rock stars in our future!!  They are in HEAVEN!  It's the perfect gift for our little music-lovers.  Even the box was a hit for the little boogers.  

You know you want to hear their first time stroking the keys...

They're gifted I tell ya!

Maybe next year they can lead the carols at Coffee Bar Blue Door's Annual Community Christmas party.  I'm thinking we could make it a family event.  I'll do my thing and read 'Twas The Night Before Christmas and we'll have Mickey dress up as Santa...That gives us a year to work on the beard and the belly.  Haha!  Other than some first time kinks and an overwhelming turnout, I'd say tonight's event was a success.  Thanks to Miss Rabe for helping with the carols and the bubble machine for doing its thing.  The candy canes were a nice perk too.  I love our little town and was so happy to see how many people showed up for our little event.

In workout news, I feel like I've hit a major roadblock.  I finished the 8 weeks of Best Body Fitness Boot Camp and LOVED the workouts but found myself even more frustrated with the state of my tummy post-bootcamp.  It seemed to have gotten worse....  So I consulted Bethany Learn of Fit2B Studios.  I am desperate to fix the sad state of my tummy.  It seems like I still have some work to do with my diastasis recti and all the burpees and running I was doing were actually aggravating it and making it even worse.  NOT GOOD AT ALL!  

Her advice--a 2 month break from running and boot camp workouts, while substituting some ab rehab and healing exercises.  She's got lots of tummy safe workouts on her site.  The ellipcial is safe too and you all know how much I love that thing.  I'm scared about the state of my running after a 2 month hiatus but feel like I've just got to give her advice a try...scary but if it means avoiding surgery in the future, I've got to give it a try.  If I can get back to running after a pregnancy of NO running, surely I can survive 2 months...RIGHT??  I'm hoping I can learn to love yoga and can get my fix from the allowed weightlifting and other workouts.  Who wants to be my new speed-walking buddy?  

My predicament reminded me of this fitness rebellion I stumbled across the other day.  It's time to "give my one, precious body the respect it deserves" which for me = time to heal and exercises to restore my core.  Here goes...

Weekend Update

Leah made it to Florida!!  Needless to say, the weekend's joy was a bit overshadowed by the sad events in Connecticut.  It made me especially happy to have extra family close by.  Life is too short to take the things we value for granted.  My family is everything to me.  I don't know what I'd do without them.  Don't let a day slip by without making sure your loved ones know how much they mean to you.

I feel like I hit the jackpot this weekend.  Not only do we get Leah for the week, but she came bearing gifts, one of which came in the form of some really cool new GIANT crayons...

These bad boys are apparently available at Target.  They are definitely a hit with my kiddos and would make great stocking stuffers.  Thanks Aunt Leah!!

Aunt Leah is also available for taking photos of the boys that include me for a change...

...at our other favorite store, Publix, where shopping is ALWAYS a pleasure.  

Another perk of Leah's visit is the ability to go for a run without the stroller...

...well hello speedier legs.  It's been a long time!  Nice to see you!!!

It's great to have another set of eyes to help watch the boys at the beach as well...

Our rainy Saturday morning turned into a gorgeous day for a visit to the beach.  The boys got to see those fishermen catch a fish too.  SCORE!

I scored pretty big in the "getting the boys to eat their veggies" department too when I got them to devour this lovely concoction, made by mixing pureed spinach into the cheese sauce for Annie's Organic Mac N Cheese.  I may have stirred in some pepperoni to up the yum factor as well.  

You can see it was a hit with the boys...

It was by no means "health food" but definitely took the healthiness factor up a notch with a food my boys ADORE.  

Today we also made some yummy cranberry oatmeal walnut and white chocolate chip cookies as well as a DELISH kale salad inspired by this one from Iowa Gril Eats.  Love her blog!!  I subbed dried cranberries for the cherries and left out the onions.  It's my new favorite thing to do with kale.  SOOO good!

We had a very exciting Saturday night out in Palm Beach at "A Latte Fun."  The boys were bit overwhelmed by it all and stuck to the puzzles or the stairs most of the time...

They did finally brave the giant trampoline when we were about ready to leave.  They thought running on it was pretty cool...

 

I didn't know we needed to bring socks and may have spent $10 buying socks that didn't fit any of us.  So much for getting a good deal with the Living Social deal.  I spent the money I saved on CRAPPY socks!  Live and learn...so frustrating!

In other weekend news, this lovely thing finally came in the mail too...

I'm proud to be able to add that certification to my personal training certification.  Now I just need some clients!!  Let me know if you're interested...

Speaking of working out, there's still time to sign up for Round 4 of Tina's Best Body Fitness Boot Camp.  Are you up for the challenge with me?  Let me know if you sign up so we can encourage each other.  

Have a fabulous week!