Memorial Day Weekend

For Memorial Day weekend we went over to Edmonds to see my parents.  It was really fun and actually relaxing!  Chris had to go to Orlando for a meeting and there was no way I was going to be alone for 4 days with the kids so I packed it up and drove over.  People often ask me how I drive over with the kids by myself.  I have to say that it isn't that bad.  I think it is because I tell myself that it is going to take 6 hours and it might be hard but I will get there.  The two biggies are really good travelers and Peter is learning.  I stopped twice to go to the bathroom which is the hardest part when you are the only adult because we all go into the bathroom together!  This is usually followed by the treats that I have bribed them with to get into the bathroom.  Peter was a little restless toward the end of the trip and luckily Maggie had some Bugles left so she fed them to him.  It makes me laugh the food I will feed Peter to get him to hold on just a little longer.  What 11 month old gets Bugles?  Ha! Of course once we got there my parents are so great and help me out so I can sit and relax.  Or they watch them so I can cook.  Either way it is a win/win.  Saturday morning I visited Terese who just had her baby Cooper Marie.  I was in heaven because I got to go alone for 4 whole hours by myself and hold this precious little baby.  She is pretty adorable and looks exactly like Terese!  Then Saturday night I saw Rachel and had a fun family dinner.  All in all it was a great weekend! 

My Journey

My facebook friend, Kristina, is training for the Iron Man Coeur d'Alene and posts pictures almost every morning and she calls them "my journey".  Sometimes they are of her very early morning runs (the skyline with the sunrise or of the funny things she does that early in the morning) and sometimes they are of her at physical therapy or eating fast food!  I like seeing those mostly because I am in awe that a mother of 3 littles is training for the Iron Man!  She is very inspiring.  Anyway, here is my journey from yesterday.  This is my running watch.  I was very proud of this time because not only was it pretty warm yesterday when I ran (not my favorite running weather but S2S is going to be hot so I need to get used to it) but I pushed Peter while running!  I am definitely getting faster and feeling good about challenging myself:)

All caught up!

Ok I am officially all caught up.  I apologize for the delay but hell this is my life:)  Even as I type Peter is crying in his crib but I figured I had to get this done!!!  There are a few posts so read on.  xoxo

Dance Picture

Hot off the press.  The official picture of Maggie in her costume...ADORABLE!!

Peter Update

So clearly I blew past the 9 month mark and now he is almost 11 months!  Well better late than never I guess:)  He has turned into quite the little naughty kid!  He is crawling EVERYWHERE and pulling himself up on pretty much everything.  He isn't interested in walking yet but I am not worried...I am a tad relieved.  He gets into everything and he is fast.  He likes to try and eat Otis' food and pull down the recycling can we have in the kitchen.  He squeals when you do something he doesn't like and his new word is tinty.  I am not quite sure if he is saying stinky or binky but I suspect it is binky.  He loves to eat and literally eats whatever you put in front of him.  He likes to feed himself and prefers regular food over baby food.  He loves bath time but tries to crawl and stand up in the tub and of course slips all over so I literally have to hold him in the tub and put about an inch of water in there.  In some ways he is growing up so fast but in other ways I look forward to learning more about his personality and teaching him to sleep past 5:30 am (ouch).  Love this guy so much!

He is a great running partner:)

My Birthday!

After we finished with Matthew's day it was my turn;)  I know I am 34 and still obsessed with celebrating my own special day!  Anyway, I had a great actual birthday.  We had Khalid and Susan over for dinner and stayed up chatting and having a great time.  My parents came into town for the weekend and it was so much fun.  Then on Sunday we did Bloomsday again.  I believe this is my 7th year!  It was great but it was damn hot!  One of the hottest Bloomsday's on record.  Nicole and I ran it in 1:43 but I didn't care.  I am still getting into the groove of running so I knew it was going to be a tad slower than normal.  I am getting more serious about my S2S training and found out that I will be runner #1.  That is 5 miles, then two 6+'s.  I am nervous but excited.  Also, I am officially at 16lbs lost in 6 weeks so that is exciting!  It is a lot easier to run when you are not carrying extra weight.  I only have roughly 25 to go so I am just about 1/2 way there!  I am hoping by S2S I am a bit closer.  We will see.  I am not putting expectations on myself just taking it one day at a time.  I still continue to feel amazing so that is all that matters! 

One of my favorite pictures of the weekend.  The kiddos and my parents!

 

Matthew's 7th Birthday

Seriously?  How did this happen?  Just yesterday he was placed in my arms and I was beaming from ear to ear!  The snuggly little baby who made me a mother has grown up to be an amazing young man!  He loves soccer and has recently made a U10 soccer team. (This kid literally wakes up and turns on the soccer channel!)  It has been so fun watching him grow into a young man that I can be proud of.  He is so sweet with his siblings (well he and Maggie have their moments:)) and with his friends.  He has a great group of boys that he hangs with from school and I love it! (They are literally named Matt, Matty and Connor.  They are thinking about doing a hoopfest team called 3 Matts and Connor!) It warms my heart that his best little friends are good guys and I love all their parents.  This year for his party we did another skating party at Pattison's.  He wanted to invite his whole class and it is so easy and fun to have it at Pattison's when you have large groups.  Chris and I were ok with the party part but all those gifts were just so much, so we came up with a plan to have his friends bring canned food for St. Vincent de Paul.  It was a HUGE success!  I think the other kids (and their parents) dug it and Matthew didn't even think twice when we brought it up to him.  I love that he has compassion for others and understands that there are people with less.  Of course Chris and I sweetened the deal by telling him that we would buy him something extra special for his birthday.  But all in all he was cool with the idea.  I wish I would have taken a picture of all the food we collected.  It was enough to fill up the back of our Ford!  Here are a few highlight pictures.

 He wanted a Pokémon Cake

 Nicole and I worry about these two a tad...this is them with their "best friends" necklace!

Do you know the way to San Jose?

The last weekend in April, Peter and I took a quick weekend trip down to San Jose to see Karen.  Of course I didn't take any pictures but I will report that we had a very wonderful trip.  It was so nice to hang with Karen and chat and catch up.  Peter was well behaved but he is totally at that age where flying with him alone is tricky because he doesn't want to sit still and he wants to chew on everything.  But it was still worth it to get away!  It makes me even more excited for my annual girls weekend in Palm Springs come September!

One foot in front of the other

Meant to post this yesterday but as usual life with 3 kids gets a tad tricky!  I am officially 10lbs down and still feeling good!  That is not to say that I haven't been tempted by cookies but I resisted:)  I think not baking has been hard for me.  But if I bake I know someone has to eat them and since it isn't Chris or myself why would I do that to my kids?  Besides, Matthew's birthday is coming up and I will of course bake his cake!  I went for a run yesterday all by myself and it was good but hard.  I kept thinking "one foot in front of the other"...one day at a time doing this Paleo thing.  People ask me all the time how long will I do it for and honestly, I have no idea!  I am just taking one day at a time and putting one foot in front of the other with everything in my life.  I appreciate all the support I have gotten from everyone in my life.  Nicole is basically going to help me train for S2S which is so amazing of her!  Which reminds me S2S (Spokane to Sandpoint) is a 12 person relay race which literally takes you from Spokane to Sandpoint.  You run 3 legs ranging from 3 miles to 9 miles.  I am not sure what legs I have or how far I will run yet but it is sure to be challenging but hopefully fun!  I have heard all sorts of stories about it (good and bad) so I am nervous but excited to challenge myself.  I guess I will know more when I get my assignment. Of course there is always the tricky part with the weather in Spokane in August which will no doubt be hot so I have to be prepared for that.  Running in the heat has never been a favorite of mine but again the self challenge stuff...Anyway just wanted to update and hold myself accountable on this Paleo thing.  Definitely seeing results but just putting one foot in front of the other!

Race for the Cure

Sunday was my first official race back!  I started out small with a 5K.  I have been training for a couple of weeks now with Nicole.  We decided on Race for the Cure.  She has a good friend that is fighting cancer so we decided to run in her honor.  Matthew expressed interest in running with me.  I figured since he has been playing so much soccer, a 5K would be perfect for him.  He was so cute and good running with slow, old mom!  He out ran me but was very patient in waiting for me to catch up.  We had a great time and I told him next year that he could run Bloomsday with me!  He was very excited:)  I have a couple of other races coming up...I am doing Bloomsday again and then I signed up for Spokane to Sandpoint.  It is a relay race with 12 runners on a team.  More information to follow on that one...still not entirely sure what I signed up for but I am very excited!

Maggie's Dance Recital Rehearsal

This past Saturday, Maggie had a performance at North Town Mall for her dance recital.  It was a dress rehearsal (her recital is in June) and they got to get all dressed up and get their stage makeup on to preform.  They did a wonderful job and I was so proud of them.  I can't wait to see the final performance in June!

We've Gone Paleo around here.

It's time.  It's time to stop using pregnancy and nursing as an excuse to treat my body like crap and fill it with crap.  I took a look at the picture from the Space Needle and realized although a sweet picture of me with the kids, it was time to get this baby weight off! Apparently Chris was having similar feelings about himself.  He has been intensely working out and eating healthy (WAY healthier than I have) for a while now.  He was feeling really frustrated about how he just couldn't lose the last 15lbs and keep it off.  He has some good friends who are doing the 30 day paleo challenge and decided why not.   Well if you know my husband you know he doesn't do anything half way. Over spring break he read 4 books on the paleo diet and then decided he wanted to do it.  A long story later, which included a "fight", tears, me being stubborn, etc...I agreed.  I must have sounded like a drug user.  Every excuse in the book why it wasn't the right time for me.  Chris was as calm as a cucumber as he usually is with my irrational rantings.  He simply said "babe, you don't have to do it."  Like hell I wasn't going to do it.  If it worked I didn't want to be 2 weeks behind him pissed off that I didn't do it in the first place.  I told him so many things: I wasn't going to change my coffee order (which included a packet of sugar), I was going to eat what I craved and if that included sugar or pasta then so be it.  (Again as calm as a cucumber)  For those of you who don't know what the paleo diet is...it is basically very high protein, vegetables and fruit.  No diary, no refined sugar, no gluten, no grains (rice etc) and no beans.  Ok...the report is in: I feel amazing!  Like really amazing.  I have lost 7 lbs in 2 weeks.  I am full, I have no cravings, I have cut the sugar out of my coffee order, and I have zero, yes zero cravings.  I don't miss any of it.  I don't miss the 3 o'clock sugar crash that makes me cranky with my kids.  My milk is still just fine for nursing.  I never thought I could have this much energy and lose weight and not be hungry 24/7.  I am all about what works for you and your lifestyle to help you achieve your best self.  This just happens to be ours.  So far half way through the 30 days and I don't plan to stop.  I am not saying that I will NEVER eat refined sugar again or pasta, but I definitely am more conscience but what goes into my body and how it makes me feel.  Anyway, looking forward to the few races I have signed up for in the next few months and getting my old self back!!!  I will report in for the next 15 days and see if it keeps up!  I have about 30 more lbs to go and hoping that I am back in fighting form for Sept.  Going on a special weekend where I will be in a swimsuit!

Easter 2013

We decided to come visit my parents for Easter this year.  I knew Chris would be working most of spring break since whenever schools are closed, his office is crazy!  I thought it would be fun to bring the kids over for a change of pace.  It started with a baby shower for my dear friend Terese on Saturday.  It was so fun and I am so excited for baby K to arrive in 6 short weeks (maybe a tad early on May 4th would be glorious for aunt Siri). Then Sunday we went to church, followed by an Easter egg hunt, then brunch with Rachel and her family. Today (Monday), we took Chris to the airport because he has to work the rest of the week, and spend 1/2 the day downtown Seattle.  We went to the Space Needle and then lunch at Seattle Center.  Whew...I am tired just typing this!  We are going to visit with some more friends and then head back Wednesday so we are all rested and ready for school to start back up.  Here are some picture highlights.

 This is one of the best Angel Food Cakes ever!

 Church Pics:)

 Easter Egg Hunt

 Downtown Seattle

 

 

Groove is in his heart:)

You will have to turn off my music (at the bottom of the page) before you view this video.  It is obviously Peter in his chair but what is so cute and hilarious is I turn on the music for Maggie's dance recital and he starts rocking out!  I didn't notice until I took him to her dance class this week and he started rocking out.  Adorable!

 

 

For some reason my computer wouldn't upload the video onto my blog so I decided to go through youtube.  I apologize for the inconvenience.

http://youtu.be/h7fM2btOQFA

Good Thing We Like Eggs...

The kids have been begging me to dye Easter eggs.  It is a good thing we like hard boiled eggs because they each did 18! 

Crazy Hat Day

It was time for the kid's school's annual crazy hat day!  Matthew was going for fluffiest so we decorated it all up before we left for Hawaii and man was that the best decision ever!!!  So nice to have it done when we got back.  He looks pretty cute in his green jersey!