Here's to Good Health and Energy!

I feel like I'm always the last person to jump on the band wagon.  This one happens to be the "Green Smoothie".  I have been working out in the mornings.  With this new change of pace for me, I am actually hungry in the mornings.  Typically I never eat breakfast.  And if I do it is usually a bowl of sugary cereal.  Anyway, I started the P90X workouts. I am not an overachiever though.  I know for me when things get hard, I quit.  My goal is still three days a week for exercise. I am not committing entirely to P90X.  So if I have a day when I just want to do the treadmill, then I will.  Anyway, back to the breakfast thing.  I am not a big fan of breakfast foods, so I decided to just try a green smoothie.  I LOVED LOVED LOVED it!  There is no going back for me!  My favorite so far calls for an Orange. 4-5 Strawberries.  1/2 Banana. 1/3 C of Fat Free plain GREEK Yogurt.  And TWO handfuls of spinach.  So yummy.  I have tried several different mixes.  Some were not so good.  Anyway, it kind of makes me want to make a "green smoothie" blog so I can keep track.  Today I used some ground flax seed, it wasn't too bad, but I think I'll use a little less next time.  I will be honest.  I notice a HUGE difference in my energy levels in the morning.  I love it.

Busy Busy and Super Naughty

Right now we are getting toward the end of the second semester.  Alex is SO SO SO busy.  I have seriously been ready to lose my mind.  I love my kids, but I have not had a break from them in WEEKS.  Not for a date.  Not for an hour, Not for two.  Where I go, they go.  Simple, and tiring. On top of that they have entered this new stage of naughtiness.  Dejah (who is typically my easiest, has been a bit whiny.  She wants to play with friends everyday.  She doesn't want to be in baseball. blah blah blah).  Mycah, is actually doing really good for Mycah.  But she gets these emotional outbursts that make your hairs stand on edge.  Logan, is just a busy busy two year old.  He wants your attention when he wants it.  When you don't give it he will scream until you do. Now Lexi is my NEW torture.  What happened?  My little baby girl who was super Chill...is phasing into a TODDLER!  Since she is the baby, she plays it up to her full advantage.  She will fuss and stamp her feet when she wants you to hold her.  She hits her siblings.  She will carry a toy of some sort around the house and give everyone a dirty look and say "My" (mine).  If you ask her a question her reply is always "No".  What is worse is that she has a two year old brother that encourages all levels of naughty behavior.  So if I go anywhere with them, I have to keep my eyes on them the whole time. Baseball is my biggest challenge...because for some reason they know they will get A LOT of Mommies attention when they walk into a parking lot....or street!  I am seriously beside myself.  How will I ever handle two toddlers?  Last week I was having such an emotional meltdown about it that I decided I was going to find myself a flight to Hawaii!  No joke.  My brother lives there, in an apartment by himself.  I was thinking when school gets out and Alex has a few free days, I would just leave.  Sounds nice huh?  Too bad I can't afford the flight there. Anyway, I also don't see Alex much.  He has so much going on.  I finally came to the conclusion that he is only allowed (by me) to do two "extra" things per week.  (not including homework)  This basically means that his church calling, his boards and committees, and other stuff can only take two nights away from us.  Sound good?  I think so.

Meltdown at Kindergarten Registration

So you are probably picturing one of my kids just throwing a big ol' tantrum while at Mycah's Kindergarten registration.  I kinda wish THAT was true.  Nope.  The  meltdown was mine.

Backup a few days:  Monday I got my very 1st I.U.D.  Tuesday I felt awful.  I ate crap all day (as usual) and I just wanted to be in bed all day watching T.V. (wish I coulda' actually done that)  It was a bad day.  I decided that starting Wednesday I was going to kick myself in the butt and stop eating junk.  Wednesday came.  I was motivated.  I started my day eating plain oatmeal with strawberries and blueberries.  I made a goal with some friends not to eat ANY sugar for the next 21 days (not including fruit). To top that off I also decided I wanted to give P90X a whirl.  So I borrowed the videos from my Sister In Law Amanda.  I finished my day with success.  I didn't eat anything crappy and NO sugar!

Welcome Today.

I was up at the usual 7am.  I got Dejah up and ready for school.  Made lunch.  Fed the kids their chocolate milk.  Drove Dejah to school.  Got home and feed the kids their breakfast.  During this time is when I decided to try the 1st P90X video.  If you don't know what that is, it is basically a really extreme workout regiment that is supposed to transform your body in 90 days.  It is 7 days a week.  An hour a day.  There is more to it than that, but I just wanted to do my best when I can.  Probably not every day.  So about 10 to 15 minutes into the video I was getting really tired.  It was kicking my butt.  I literally had to shut it off after 40 minutes.  I quickly ate some healthy breakfast then jumped in the shower so I wouldn't show up to Kindergarten Registration covered in stinky sweat. I put on some sweats, and tied a wet braid in my hair.  Then I threw my kids in the car and grabbed the "necessary" paperwork.  When I get there I unload the mega stroller.  Put the kids in it.  Stroll in and hand them my papers....... The ladies take the papers and look at me and say "Sorry, this proof of address won't work.  We need a utility bill or a tax assessment."  Just then I feel the emotions come up in me.  First off....most ALL of our bills are paid online!  Second...my husband does the bills!  Third...my husband is unavailable (this is his most busy week of the year so I almost don't even see him let alone get a chance to talk to him).  Not sure what to do.  I walked out with my kids and mega stroller in tow.  I get home.  Shut off the car and leave them in there so I can try to find something.  After a 1/2 hour of bawling and sifting through papers I get a hold of Alex.  He wasn't sure how I would get a utility bill stub, but we got it figured out.  I print one off and head back to registration.  This time my face is RED from crying and I hand them the papers.  Of course I get a bit upset at them.  I think the whole "utility bill" thing is S.T.U.P.I.D!!!  Why not just accept two or more other proofs of address??  Anyway, as I am telling them this I start crying...again.  What a mess, I just wanted to get out of there.  There are several stations to go to.  Of course Logan and Lexi were being 100% rotten.  Logan kept standing up in the stroller and pulling on the umbrellas and digging his feet into Lexi's back.  Lexi decided she didn't want to be satisfied with crackers and lost her cool and started crying and wanting me to hold her. Mycah needed to go to the bathroom.  I was up to my elbows with stacks of paper I was being handed.  I filled them out while holding Lexi in one arm.  Logan got out and started running around.  Then he threw off his shoes then his socks.  Then he would come scream at me to let him have a chair that another kid was sitting in.  Of course lets not forget I was trying to talk to the lady at the nurses station about Mycah's bladder issues and her immunizations.  Can I just say to those Moms who were all sitting there filling out their paper work (child free) with their make up on and hair done...I totally understand why you were looking at me like that.  I was so glad to get out of there.  Now I am home.  I am sore.  All I want is a large Dr. Pepper and some hot chocolate chip cookies with pizza.  But nope, I blog and munch on a little handful of almonds.  Is it seriously noon??

Softball!

Well its about time we get one of our kids signed up for something!  This spring we signed up Dejah for softball.  I am so excited for her.  Its the first time we've ever done anything "extra curricular".  Here are some shots of her at practice.

It isn't T Ball, but since Dejah has never hit a ball with a bat in her life she practiced on a T.  They will be doing machine pitch softball.

And here is some extra cuteness.  These two actually took most of my attention because they insisted on being naughty and sneaking off to the road.

Do I Have To???

.........BLOG.........

I guess I've been a little busy lately...and a little unmotivated.

So here is what I've been up to.

 First off, I am proud to say.... IT WORKS!  So here is the deal.  I bought a used (AT&T) iPhone 3g for $70.  I bought a sim card from Net 10 for $15.  I activated the phone with the sim card and now have a cell phone with unlimited talk/text/and web for $45 per month!!  I love it!  It works great.  I'm not sure why anyone would pay more when this is such a good option.  Did I mention there are no contracts either?

 In not so good news, the neck pain is back.  It was getting pretty bad that I was being driven to almost tears.  I finally broke down and decided to see a Chiropractor.  For the past few weeks I have been getting adjusted.  He has me doing these stretches and exercises too.  I wish I could say after all this that my neck is all better.  However it is not.  I will admit, it has improved a lot, but I'm not sure really what else to do.  I would go see a physical therapist but my schedule and the kids do not allow for me to spend a couple times a week with up to two hour visits.  My Chiropractor  says I need to strengthen my core.  I have been trying to work out at least three times a week, but I also have to take it easy, or the pain will be bad all day long.  We will see what time brings.  So far I am still having pain everyday.

 Ah the Hunger Games.  Where to begin.  Well I finally got around to reading them.  I started the 1st book a week before the movie was released.  I really enjoyed reading the first one.  1/2 way through the second I was almost ready to give up then it got better.  I liked the third book, but overall I was just ready to be done.  I know they are VERY popular and I really did enjoy the story, but I probably won't read them again.  Anyway, I think it is all because I could only read late at night.  So it was a bit frustrating  that it took me so long to finish.

Alex and I celebrated our 9 year anniversary!  I really wanted to go see The Hunger Games, but I kind of figured he wouldn't really care for it.  We opted to go see The Vow.  SO GOOD!  We both loved it!  I love that my Husband is a sap and loves chick flicks :)

 Summer is coming and it should be here soon!  We bought passes to Roaring Springs this year and I am SO SO excited....However....I want to look really good in a swimming suit.  I have had four babies and my entire middle section and booty show it.  I know I know..... don't roll your eyes, but believe it or not there is such thing as "skinny fat" because I have it.  I am not very good a committing to diets so I have to take baby steps.  My first goal, walk on the treadmill at least three times a week.  Second, time to cut back on the Sugary Dr. Pepper.  I usually have one at least two to three times a week, so I have put a stop to that.  Again, baby steps.  If I tell myself NO soda, No sugar, exercise like a maniac five days a week I will CRASH and BURN!  I just know it.  So far I have been able to keep with my first two goals :)

So um.... I discovered this yummy plate of delishness when we had a girls night with my mom and sisters. Just disregard my entire previous paragraph.  We went out for The Hunger Games and went to Cheesecake factory 1st...... all for this yummy treat!  Chocolate Coconut Cream Cheesecake!

Back to the soda issue.  So I love Dr. Pepper.  I decided when I crave the stuff I would have one of these instead.  It does the trick. 

If I need something with a little more kick and definitely more flavor I have one of these instead. :)