Mother's Day Recap

We celebrated Mother's Day a few days ago.  I'm blessed to have a husband and children that treat me special every single day but I enjoyed being extra pampered on Sunday.  Matthew made me a bag in school with his hand prints on it.  Rob bought me a Boston Creme donut (my favorite) and some flowers.  They also made a beautiful card for me and we enjoyed Olive Garden take out.  It was a great Mother's Day!

I love being the mother to my two children.  Since they've been born I couldn't imagine my life without them.  They completed my heart and gave me a purpose for living.  As parents we are supposed to teach our children so many things but they have also taught me so much as well.  When you're a parent love at first site does exist. 

Curb Appeal

The weather on Saturday was beautiful and gave us a chance to work on one of the flower beds in the front yard.  I believe that curb appeal in a home is important but we unfortunately neglected that for a long time.  My goal for the spring is to get the outside of our house looking presentable and I'm very pleased with the look so far. 

I'm very grateful that my husband offered to chip in and replace the old, worn out wood around the bed with some new wood.  It looks great.  We also purchased a new plant called Rising Sun Coreopsis. 

Right now the plant looks like this.

But with time and love it should look like this picture I found on the internet.

The Rising Sun Coreopsis is expected to grow 3' wide and 3' tall.  I've been known to screw up plants before so I'm crossing my fingers that this works.  We'll see.

Here is the finished look as of right now.  I'm hoping to add more garden decor.  We decided to go with rubber mulch instead of the real stuff.  My dad uses it in his flower beds.  It's a bit more costly than real mulch but it lasts longer and we won't have to replace it every year so in the long run it will be a huge money saver.  I don't have a green thumb so I'm very impressed with these results. 

Introducing ... The Next Babe Ruth

We signed Matthew up for t-ball and he loves it.  He's normally a very shy boy; an introvert just me, but he is so different on the field.  He has a good time and I love knowing how much he enjoys it.  It's important to me that my children get involved with sports and other activities.  They need to be active, socialize with other children and learn different things to find out what they like and what they are good at.  This is the first sport Matthew has played with a team and I can't express just how proud I am of him. 

Yesterday was the first game of the season.  There are only three t-ball teams in the league so Matthew will be playing the other two teams four times each.  He's the smallest and probably the slowest on the team so he has to push himself harder but he did well.  He can't throw the ball as far as the other kids can but that will improve over time.  It's especially awesome that his dad is an assistant coach.  It has always been a dream of Rob's to be able to coach his son's little league team and now the time is here.  I love watching them both on the field. 

 My little lefty

 Giving Coach Dad a high five after his first run.  I love this picture so much!

Kind Words From a Five Year Old

Yesterday the kids and I enjoyed the warm weather by playing in the backyard.  We have a nice swing set for them to play with.  I was sitting in the club house with my one year old while my five year old was repeatedly climbing up the slide and then sliding back down.  At one point he climbed up the slide and held a clover with three leaves.  He said, "Look Mom I have good luck."

I'm really not sure where he heard that clovers bring you good luck but I did correct him by saying that the four-leaf clovers are the ones that are supposed to bring good luck (not that I believe in any of that luck stuff).  So he tossed the leaf and said, "that's okay, I'm already lucky," and then slid down the slide.  I asked him, "why are you lucky?"  He hesitated, shrugged his shoulders and then smiled at me before answering, "because I have you."

Oh my goodness!  I can't express just how good that made me feel.  That was the sweetest thing I had ever heard and not something I expected to come out of my five year old son's mouth.  Those words might have meant nothing much to him but they meant everything to me.  I will always cherish that conversation.  Always. 

I believe I'm the lucky one. 

Hello Spring!

We are in the second day of spring and it's snowing here in Pennsylvania.  The temperature also feels too cold for spring weather.  Enough of this already!

Yesterday after I picked Matthew up from preschool we rang in the first day of the season with a free Italian ice at Rita's, something we try to do every year.  It's a nice tradition and who doesn't love free stuff?

Brianna shared my watermelon Italian ice while Matthew enjoyed his own blue raspberry one.  Delicious! 

Happy spring everyone!

Winter Unpleasantries.

The weather outside is cold.  Too cold.  A snow storm is headed this way.  I am not a winter person.  Never was.  I don't like having to put on one layer after another and I do not like feeling the cold, crisp air beat against my skin.  It's not pleasant.  Not for me.  

I am so glad this week is almost over.  It's been a tough one.  We are all getting over being sick.  My husband had a bad cold and passed it along to me.  My son had a bad cough for a few days and now it seems to be draining out of his system.  Baby girl is coughing here and there and hasn't been napping well in the last few days.  In fact, she's in her crib fussing and crying right now when she should be sleeping.  I am not one of those moms who jumps to the rescue when the baby calls for me.  I'll wait and see if she doses off on her own. 

So as I wait for another load of laundry to finish drying and another load of dishes to finish getting clean in the dishwasher (two chores that are never ending) I'm sitting here on the couch drinking a cup of decaffeinated green tea while Matthew sits next to me playing a video game.  I'm doing my best to stay quiet in hopes that Brianna will fall asleep. 

Today the kids and I attended story time at the library and later today I will be going to my weekly Zumba class.  As much as I love being with my kids I do like that chance to get out and be among adults ... even if I'm sweating my butt off in the process.

I guess that's enough rambling from me.  Try to stay warm everyone ... unless you are already living in a part of the world where the temperature is already hot, in that case -- consider yourself lucky.  

Slim For Life

Some people have asked me why I want to lose weight and get in shape.  I wonder why anyone would have the audacity to ask someone that question.  I am not overweight but I do have some unnecessary, excess body fat I'd like to lose and keep off.  Something changed inside of me since becoming a mother and good health has become a significant and important part of my life.  Why not?

So in asking me why losing weight and being in shape is important to me I decided to give you 5 simple and good reasons:

1.   "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own" - 1 Corinthians 6:19.  Yes I'm going to add some religion here and a very important factor in my opinion.  My body is not mine.  It's only given to me temporarily while I'm living on this earth and while I'm borrowing it I might as well do my best to take care of it.

2.  I have watched my mother's health decline for years with obesity, diabetes and a stroke.  I may not be able to avoid some diseases but I can and need to do my best to stay as healthy as possible.  Obesity is not a hereditary trait.

3.  The lifestyle I live is the lifestyle my children will know and grow accustomed to.  Good health for me means they will grow to have good health too.

4.  A healthy life is a long life and I want to stick around as long as I can for my family.  They deserve that kind of wife and mother, don't they?

5.  Because when I look good I feel good.  It's simple. 

I have managed to find a variety of exercises that I work into a daily routine:  Yoga, Zumba, Pilates, basic cardio, running and strength training.  I'm doing at least one of these things every day and it has me feeling so good afterward.  I've also become a fan of the famous personal trainer Jillian Michaels.  I use her 30 Day Shred DVD quite often and have also found a very intense 6 Week Six-Pack Abs video on YouTube.  Jillian Michaels knows what it takes to get fit and her workouts are no joke.

So I've easily mastered getting myself on a decent exercise routine.  The one thing I lack is figuring out how to eat better.  I can't rely on exercise alone.  I need to add a well balanced and nutritious diet to the routine as well.  That's why I'm so happy that I now own a copy of Jillian Michaels' new book SLIM FOR LIFE.

I'm still working through the first chapter which talks about eating.  As I just stated, this is something I need to work on better.  According to the fitness guru, and what my husband has always been telling me, it's important to burn more calories than we consume in a day.  Well, that makes sense, doesn't it?  She talks about the dangers of certain diets that some people have become drawn to such as the low-carb, fat-free and yes even vegetarian/vegan diets.  It's important to stick to all the main food groups.  Our bodies need the carbs, fats, meat and grains.  Of course, Jillian Michaels also talks about portion control.  Eating less of everything is better.  Go for the smaller sizes.  Also, just because something is labeled "fat-free" doesn't mean it's free from high carbs and sugar.  Artificial sweeteners are also very dangerous (I was already aware of that one). 

Ms. Michaels also talks about staying away from any foods with chemical additives (processed foods).  I've recently become very turned off from any processed foods and I want to avoid bringing any of that into my home.  Many of the chemicals that are added to certain foods can make you fat.  The term processed food just makes me sick to my stomach thinking about it.  Why would I want to put chemicals in my body and, more importantly, in my childrens' bodies?

One quote from the book that I like is, "If it doesn't come from nature don't eat it."  She suggests going organic whenever possible.  Organic foods are more costly but as I read further she will explain how to go the inexpensive way.  She also talks about staying away from white foods ... uh oh ... I eat a lot of white foods -- white bread and white pasta to name a few.  I'm a huge lover of pasta.  The white food (made from white bleached flour) can be high in calories and send our blood sugar skyrocketing - yikes!  Mental note: no more white bread!

She also suggests buying local.  Not only will it help the local economy but it's also fresher and more healthier than the foods that have traveled for days from another location.  I guess a trip to the local farmers market is on the to-do list.


The last point I read before closing the book for the night was the importance of NOT skipping meals.  Especially breakfast.  She suggests only eating every four hours including a healthy snack between lunch and dinner.  So far I'm doing well with that today.  It's normal for me to snack consistently throughout the day.  Bad idea. 

I know, all of this seems to be common sense, right?  At least it should be.  So far I really like the book and look forward to reading the rest of it.  As I read I will keep notes and add them to the blog from time to time.  Jillian Michaels also talks about counting calories, but only for a few weeks.  That way we get a better idea of what we're eating and how much we need to work off.  Counting calories is something I never bothered to do before.  I have no idea how many calories I consume in a day ... time to start figuring that out.