Catching Up From the Weekend

It's been a few days since I've blogged...life got busy.  No complaints here, though. We got a lot done and had a lot of fun.

Saturdays workouts included a 30 minute run and 30 minutes of yoga.  Sunday was more of the same only I did a longer yoga session.  Yesterday, I did a Jackie Warner DVD in lieu of the Best Body Bootcamp workout for the day...it was raining, I'm bored with the bootcamp workouts, and wanted to not have to watch the clock myself...

It was definitely a challenge!  She really can kick your butt and leave you spent in just 30 minutes.  I am still checking out all the of the free videos on Reflexion yoga.  6 days of my 30 day yoga challenge are done.  SO far I'm loving it.  Does anyone know if it's better to run before or after doing yoga?  I got to thinking about that the other day...

Saturday we spent most of the day at a military family event and got lots of good info and socialization in.  We got home in time to enjoy a pina colada and capri suns poolside with our fabulous neighbors before I got to go out with some friends to celebrate Jenny's birthday.  It was a fun night!

Cheers to such a great friend!  She is the picture of calm and has lots of realistic wisdom to share with me.  She's just a little ahead of me in her very similar walk of life so her experiences are fresh enough to remember  as she helps me out. Her bridal shower is the reason Mickey and I met, she introduced me to MOPS, and told me about all the great stuff at the library...pretty much everything about her is wonderful!

Sunday was a great family day filled with yummy food...

I even finally made an omelette that looked like an omelette...

followed by church and some pool time (the big pool is WAY toooo cold) ...

We also got to FaceTime with some family which is always fun.  What did we do before technology?!

Yesterday I worked the boys' play group.  We had a rowdy, fun group that wore me out in the 3 hours that I worked.  We were all ready for nap time after lunch but I muscled through and got some stuff done while I had time to myself.  The dreary afternoon gave us an excuse to have a lazy afternoon inside.  It did finally clear up enough that we were able to get in a short wagon walk before the sun went down.  

Our day finished up with a visit from my friend Heather, who gave the boys' hair a little trim around their eyes before she gave me some highlights.  It was great, as always, to catch up with her.  She is SUCH a good friend!!  Check out our little surfer-boys with bed head...

Trains and giraffes....two of their latest obsessions.  They even sleep with them.  

  

Today's scheduled story time features are...

and

Time to eat some breakfast before tackling our busy Tuesday.  We're eating our last one of these with our breakfast this morning...

If you have an opportunity to get your hands on these little balls of love, do not pass it up.  I think cara cara navels are the best oranges I've ever tasted and the boys agree.  I'm ready to try planting a tree.  They are incredible!

All Kinds of Play

What a busy, fun last couple of days.  Yesterday kicked off with a run, followed by another yoga class from Reflexion Yoga's website.  This time I tried the other core workout with Ben.  I preferred the instruction of Kyle's class yesterday but I was once again impressed with the FREE workouts on the site.  Today I tried out the balance class with Matt.  I'm starting to see why people get so hooked on yoga.  I'm so glad I discovered  this site so I can explore this new to me world of Yoga a bit more from the comfort of my own home.  Now I just need to find a longer mat for my tall self.

Since I'm a stick-to-the-plan kind of gal and like to follow through on my commitments, I also did a modification of Tina's Best Body Bootcamp workout for today.  I was NOT a fan of today's workout since it was WAY too redundant for my taste, which is why I changed it up.  I did eek out the 120 burpees though with my navel to my spine the whole time.  Thank goodness my core is coming around and my workouts can return to somewhat normal.

Yesterday was also produce day and our group continues to grow.  Check out all these boxes I got to sort and distribute yesterday...

I'm super excited about the berries and blood oranges as well as the sunflower sprouts.  YUM YUM!  

While I sorted the produce, the boys entertained themselves with puzzles, boxes and wooden spoons...silly boys!

I was able to get the new toy box built during nap time.  I'm a much happier momma when things are organized...as much as trucks, balls, and trains can be organized.

I worked a little last night for a catering company and the boys had a hard time falling asleep with the babysitter.  I spent about two hours cuddling Mason, trying not to get annoyed but to treasure the moment since it won't last forever.  Easier said that done most times for me when it's the end of the day.    He sure does love to cuddle though and does a darn good job of it.  

Needless to say I wasn't feeling too energetic this morning.  Nothing two cups of coffee and a long chat with my husband couldn't fix though.    Then we were off to a play group I had heard about at the Civic Center in Port Saint Lucie.   How cute are my passengers?  

I thought it was for toddlers but it was definitely structured for preschool-aged kids, or kids who are at least able to pay attention for extended periods of time.   Thank goodness the leaders didn't give us a hard time for not being engaged by their activities   We sure did enjoy their toys though....

Notice everyone in the circle in the background doing what they were supposed to do.  Oh well, we'll try again in a few months.  It definitely was a great program and completely worth the $2 admission.  

The boys are going to be dribbling before we know it.  They can get 2-3 dribbles consistently and are very determined and focused when it comes to mastering that skill at least.  

We swung by target and had some fun with the toys there while stocking up on some necessities.  I tried to get the boys to choose these frog eyes as their gift with their valentines day money....

...but they chose some matchbox airplanes instead.  Which they have been playing with nonstop since we got them.  They shared their lunch with them (their new favorite thing to do with any kind of figurine)  and are even sleeping with them as we speak.   And yes, this is the 2nd time they've worn their Thomas the Train shirts this week.  I did laundry yesterday so they were ready for wearing again and the boys never pass up an opportunity to choose their Thomas shirts.  We've gotten our money's worth from those shirts already without a doubt.  

Off to do some more reading before the boys get up...

It keeps getting better and better.  It's definitely a must read if you happen to spend any time with the male species, which I'm assuming 99.9% of us do.  Have a lovely weekend!

  

Lots to Learn

I learned so much today and it was fun to kind of feel like a student again.  Our morning kicked off at MOPS where we had a guest speaker who spoke to us about helping our children create healthy relationships with food.  I need to take her course of having a healthy relationship with food as an adult, I think, but I'm happy to have some new knowledge to help my children to have that peace about food and not have it be such a consuming part of their lives.  My goal is to create what she called natural eaters-- people who recognize when they're hungry and stop when they're satisfied, people who can have a plate of cookies in the house and not feel like they have to eat the whole thing, people who don't have good foods and bad foods, but eat in moderation, with awareness and joy.  How freeing would that be?!?!  I'm hoping that helping my boys will help me as well.  It's always been a tricky area for me.

A key step to creating natural eaters, she said, is to create predictable and consistant mealtimes, eating on dishes at the table, using it as a time to come together in love.  She also emphasized the importance of providing a variety of choices and being ok with what your child chooses to eat...so maybe you put out cheese, nuts, some crackers, and hard boiled eggs, being sure to include at least one thing they like and possibly something new or not so appealing to them and allow them to take what they'd like.  Or if you're doing taco night, bring all of the ingredients to the table unassembled and let them choose what they'd like.  Maybe they'll only choose meat and avocado but that's ok.  It's definitely a new way of looking at meal times for me.

Starting tomorrow, I'm going to try to have more consistent meal times and try having them choose from several options.  I'm looking forward to seeing how it works for us.  In case you're interested, she recommended the books by Ellyn Satter as a good resource as well.  You know I'll be checking them out.

While I educated myself, the boys had fun making this craft...

This time Colton chose the minimalist approach while Mason got a little more into it.  I don't think I'll ever figure those two out.  

On the way home from MOPS, I asked the boys if they wanted to go to the gym or to our house and was surprised to hear they chose the gym.  Good thing I had thought ahead and packed my gym clothes.  We swung in there for a quick 30 minutes on the elliptical, doing a variation of my favorite elliptical workout.  I've decided to do my own thing on the cardio days for Best Body Bootcamp.  It's working for me.  I am looking forward to another power circuit tomorrow though.

Now that I'm finished with The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks, which lacked his usual happy ending by the way, I started a new book while I was on the elliptical and was blown away with how intriguing it is as it teaches me about the male species...

If it wasn't in my kindle, I seriously think I'd be highlighting the whole thing.  I am only about 10% of the way through it but so far I say it is a must read, especially if you have boys or just want to understand your husband better...or if you're a man and want to figure out what makes you tick, since that's the audience it was primarily intended for.  I am reading it based on my husband's recommendation, and my friend's reminder that Beth Moore referenced it in her wisdom series.  

Here's couple of quotes from John Eldredge book so far...

“The recipe for fun is pretty simple raising boys: add to any activity an element of danger, stir in a little exploration, add a dash of destruction, and you’ve got yourself a winner. The way they ski is a perfect example. Get to the top of the highest run, point your skis straight downhill and go, the faster the better. And this doesn’t end with age; the stakes simply get higher.”          

“A man needs a battle to fight; he needs a place for the warrior in him to come alive and be honored, trained, seasoned. If we can reawaken that fierce quality in a man, hook it up to a higher purpose, release the warrior within, then the boy can grow up and become truly masculine.

“Masculinity is an essence that is hard to articulate but that a boy naturally craves as he craves food and water.”

And I stumbled across this one as I googled him to find out more about him...

As a woman, men often confuse me, but I'm already seeing how this book can help me to understand them better...and hopefully raise them well.  I'm telling you, it's intriguing stuff!

During nap time I was able to get in some yoga, something I'm trying to do more of, and had a workout I thoroughly loved thanks to this wonderful site I stumbled upon... Today I tried out the Core Work with Kyle and will definitely be doing it again.  It was SUCH a great workout.  I'm hoping to try out lots of their other free content as well.  

I also got to brush up on my Geometry while I helped a student student for a geometry test tomorrow.  It had been a while since I'd used Sin, Cos, and Tan...good stuff!  I'm a dork, I know.  

Our day winded down with a visit from a great friend who came bearing pizza and wine.  If you've never had the white pizza from Carmelas, and I hadn't until today, you've got to try it...it's worth the splurge if you ask me.  I'm working on having more balance in my life anyways, right?  A little pizza once in a while with a good friend does the body good.  Lucky for us, we have some leftovers too!

Off to put my feet up with some tea and my kindle.  

God Is Faithful

Mickey sent me this verse from 1 Peter 4 after my rough morning on Saturday.  It came from a book he was reading and it was exactly what I needed to be reminded of.  I looked it up with several different translations and always  seem to gravitate to The Message and it's user-friendly language.  God has a funny way of reminding us of his wisdom sometimes...

^12-13 Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner.

Here's a pretty version of it from another translation---good for a vision board or the fridge:

source

Basically--Trust God. He knows what he’s doing, and he’ll keep on doing it.

He knows that if I don't get a break every now and then, I might blow a fuse, so he gives me friends who take me to the fancy restaurants and the opera so I can escape from reality for a bit.  He knows how looong weekends without plans can be and he gives me friends who invite me over on a lonely Sunday to enjoy great company, gorgeous weather, and more fun than more boys could ever imagine.  He gives me struggles so that I learn to cling to Him when times are rough and see how he gets me through.  I know I've been complaining A LOT lately, but I'm hoping to see things in a new light now and be grateful for the work God is doing in my life.  I can't wait to see what he has in store for me...now if I can just remember to enjoy the ride and trust that he's got things covered.  Everything is going to be OK!


Just in case I didn't get the message thoroughly enough, my devotion this morning centered around this verse...

source 

I may be tempted to get discouraged or throw in the towel, I may be tempted to let my fears and emotions get the best of me, I may be tempted to feel sorry for myself, but I am not alone...I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.  Thank goodness I've got him on my side.

Oh, and I got a new supply of this Pure Fiji lotion that is seriously the BEST STUFF EVER!  I'm back in my coconut heaven...YAY!

I'm excited to try out the new sea salt soap too.  It's hard to beat good skincare products.  

I got a head start on my Best Body Bootcamp workouts for the week yesterday with some awesome strength and cardio burst supersets which definitely challenged me.  I was seriously cursing Tina as I did the downward dog pushups paired with bench popovers.  My shoulders were SCREAMING! The only things I had on the fitness docket for today were some cardio and core work.  I decided to tackle my 40 minutes of cardio on the elliptical with my kindle this morning.   I also have a "date" with Bethany Learn at  Fit2B to continue working on my transverse abdominis when I am done with this post...I wish my darn core would just heal already!  It truly is a journey.

The boys went to their play group this morning and made these lovely decorations...

Apparently Mason didn't like the messy glue too much.  He called it quits after putting on 5 pieces.  So far it doesn't seem like arts and crafts are really their thing...maybe because it requires staying put for longer periods of time than they care to put up with.  It will be interesting to see if they develop more of an interest in it as they get older, especially since their Daddy is a graphic artist.  

They do love to draw on their chalkboard, which kept them entertained while I got read this morning...

While they were playing with their friends, I was able to cross off everything on my to-do list except for picking up more toilet paper.  We still have a couple of rolls left so I can save that for my next outing.  It felt good to get so much done.  I even got to go get some new running shoes...

I am trying out a new style since my mileage is a little lower and I'm doing lots of cross training too...not messing with the brand though.  I'm a Brooks girl through and through.  I'm also trying out some inserts.  Hope it all works out well for my ridiculously flat, long, narrow feet.  Would you believe that a size 12A actually fit me?  CRAZY!  Brooks do run a half size big so thats really like an 11 1/2 but seriously, can you imagine if my feet had grown while I was pregnant with the boys?  At least my new shoes are much less "grandma-ish" than my previous style?!?  On another note, I learned that running shoes are important for the elliptical today.  I always thought I could just wear whatever since the elliptical is non-impact but it turns out I was wrong and the forward motion requires a running or walking shoe.  I'm glad I asked so many questions.  I can't wait to take them for a spin tomorrow.  

Check out my cuties with their shades...  

They have been wanting to wear their glasses constantly.  Colton is still trying to figure out how to get them on right-side-up.  Makes me smile!!

Multitasking Pros

We're very lucky to have some wonderful friends right around the corner from us who treat us like family and invited us over last night for a little Valentines get-together.  We were pampered with margaritas, yellow lentil soup served with vinegar which was a divine combination I will definitely be trying to reinvent, ahi tuna, and chocolate cake with the best frosting I've ever tasted.  I'll definitely be hitting her up for the recipe so I can try to recreate it for the boys' birthday since it was the first time they've even shown any interest in cake...they inherited their daddy's very selective sweet tooth for ice cream and exceptionally delicious homemade desserts, which includes Maura's creations--YUM!

After a late night, you'd think the boys would sleep in, but there was no such luck.  We kicked off our morning bright and early with a chat with daddy...

The boys are becoming pros at FaceTime.  Today they decided to multitask and doodle while chatting. They were very serious about their drawing...

We squeezed in a morning trip to the gym so I could spend some time on the stepmill and the elliptical. I am convinced the stepmill is a torture device, especially since I haven't mastered the art of reading while climbing.  I'm a pro at devouring novels while cranking out the miles on the elliptical and I don't take it easy with the intensity either.  I'm a day ahead with my best body bootcamp workouts and decided to use the elliptical workout from Peak313 as my cardio for today using pages rather than minutes for breaking down the activities...

This is BY FAR my favorite way to keep the elliptical interesting and challenging.  I especially love the backwards squats while balancing...and reading!  So far this book has me thoroughly engaged...

source

After the gym, we hit up PetSmart and Target.  The boys have really been enjoying the double carts there...

You know me, I can't make it out of  Target without some impulse buys such as this dino sandwich cutter from the dollar section...

We tried it out with our lunch and it was a winner...

I'm trying to think of other things I can cut with it besides bread...ideas anyone?  Speaking of bread, the boys and I have been loving this Rudi's Organic Bread we found in the freezer section at Publix.  It's one of the few store-bought breads I've found where I actually recognize all of the ingredients, feel good about feeding it to the boys, and the boys LIKE it.  Let me tell you, that's a winning combination.

I also had to make a quick pass through the discounted Valentines Day goodies and decided to try this coffee for $3...

I'm enjoying it right now as an afternoon pick-me-up on this dreary day.  It's GOOD!  We also scored some dark chocolate M&Ms for me and some mini M&Ms for the boys.  We all know that we'll all be sharing all of them.  I also found some of my mom's favorite candies, Turtles, on sale for half off too. It will be a nice treat for her when she visits later in the spring.  I hope I can keep my hands off of them until she gets here.  

We returned home ready for lunch and I threw together this delicious "pizza" made with broccoli pesto, shrimp, and some mozzarella all on a Joseph's lavash bread.  SOOOOOOO good!

Time to tackle some chores and hopefully still have some time to relax before the boys wake up.   I hope this rain goes away so we can get some fresh air later today or at least this weekend.  We've got a fun weekend ahead of us.  Can't wait!