Curls and Girls

Penelope's hair is really curly right after a bath, but after a few naps or a ponytail, the curls tame down quite a bit. But I love this crazy curly hair while it lasts. I wonder if she will have any curls when her hair grows a bit longer. Claire lost hers. 

This is one of my favorite outfits for Penelope, I go back to it first whenever it comes out of the dryer. I never quite got the knack of dressing her for winter - there were too many cute springtime clothes to choose from. Besides, winter is so short here it's almost over. It's supposed to be 77 degrees on Sunday. I also like this outfit because it goes with one I bought for Claire - it's harder to find things for them to wear together given their age difference. 

Kiddos

Just some recent pics of life around here - we are still alive, but very busy. I am learning how to stay sane and productive at home two days a week. Raising kids is the best hardest craziest rewarding thing I will ever do, but man it wears you out. And I don't even have my kids all day every day like a lot of moms do.

Penelope went from sitting in one spot to crawling over the place to pulling herself up on the couch in a matter of weeks. We have to get the baby gates up soon for the steps and the kitchen - she crawled over to a hot oven the other day. She also found a bead on the floor from one of Claire's crafts - scary. Her third top tooth finally cut through, so pretty soon her snaggle tooth won't look so lonely.

Claire wants to hold Penelope all the time - I should just let her because pretty soon Penelope won't want to be held at all. Claire will hold Penelope like this, and then put one arm down and crab walk in small hops to somewhere new in the room. Drives me crazy! I told her she isn't allowed to walk around with Penelope so this is her solution. Penelope doesn't seem to mind. Notice Claire's face barely changes in these pictures while I snap away - she is trained!

And Miles man is just his happy self. Until he throws a tantrum. But he's been a good boy lately, and is doing really well with his alphabet, name and numbers. Preschool is around the corner! He made me laugh until I cried last night - he was making the silliest faces while singing a church song from his primary class. Matt said - at least Miles got one of my genes :)

Sundays

Penelope - 9 Months Old!

What the what? This girl is already 9 months old - three quarters of her first year, gone in a flash! She is crawling everywhere! And she is getting four top teeth all at once to go with her two on the bottom, though every other tooth has cut through so far. She is snaggle tooth girl, big time. Nevermind her nose, which has been running for two weeks while she's teething. She is a very happy girl unless she's tired or hungry - which are pretty good reason to fuss, right? :)

Penelope knows "all done" in sign language and she likes to use it especially after taking just one bite of squash or carrots. I think she tried the sign for food the other day but I'm not positive yet. She waves goodbye - so cute! Fruit and yogurt are her favorite foods. She loves Cheerios and will occasionally have some apple juice. I swear she is really saying "mom" and "bye", and she throws up her arms when you say "How big is Penelope? Soooo big!" Here is a video of her showing off her skills - I hope it comes through.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhDP9os8CKQ



Here are her latest stats:

Height: 28.25 inches (50-75%)
Weight: 20.0 lbs (50-75%)
Head: 45 cm (75-90%)

No Cavities!

We love our dentist! The kids got to sit together in the chair for their cleanings and exams (which they loved!), and they get spin toothbrushes (the battery ones), temporary tattoos, a toy from the machine and chapstick every time they go for a check up. Did anything like this exist when we were kids? No way!

Watching Beauty and the Beast - they think the dentist is where they go to watch movies

I confess I was a bit nervous about their teeth - we let them brush their own teeth without help more often than not so I thought I would be hearing news of several cavities. Hallelujah! Mama doesn't have any money for dental work right now.

Cell phone pics are the best I could do - even pixelated, you can still tell they were having fun! 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Ready for Valentine's Day

I thought these super hero Valentine's came together nicely - 30 for the class all ready to go. We were told to bring generic Valentine's cards, without students' names on them, as they would be randomly distributed to the class. Claire wrote 'From Claire' on each cape/card that I had cut out. The masks were a challenge to cut, but they turned out so cute that it was worth it.

Hike to Mountains Edge

To keep the kids occupied while Matt studied and Penelope napped, I took Claire and Miles out to Mountains Edge park to hike up the hill that borders the park - a steady climb up a rocky trail, but not too far or steep that the kids couldn't manage it.  We had a great time and stopped to take a few pictures along the way and at the top. The weather was beautiful and we only had one fall where Claire landed on her bum after sliding on some loose rocks. She got up and kept going - all was well.

I've Had Enough!

I have struggled with my weight ever since I wasn't playing sports every day - so basically since I went to college. I don't think I ever really learned to eat properly, or what normal portion sizes were, since I was constantly playing basketball, soccer or volleyball and burning off all my calories. In high school, I ate ice cream for breakfast more times than I can count. Now I was never the skinniest girl, but I wish I had appreciated how in shape I was at the time. Instead I was constantly wishing to lose ten pounds every summer so I could come back in the fall and surprise everyone. Yeah, never happened.

Now after having 3 kids in 4+ years, I don't recognize that sporty girl who used to feel like an athlete. I had difficult pregnancies so I gave myself permission to eat anything and everything that made me feel better. My doctor said it was fine, but I'd have to lose the weight later - but I didn't care! I was so tired of throwing up that I would eat anything that would stay down - unfortunately that was hamburgers and milk shakes. Of course hindsight is 20/20 and I wish I had been more strict with my eating. But the kids were healthy, and that's all I cared about at the time. Then those same eating habits didn't magically go away - now I was nursing and felt as hungry as ever, just not nauseous anymore.

But lately I've had a change of heart after some not so great moments in my life. Like when I realized that a coworker who I thought was about my size is actually much smaller than I am. Or how my knees hurt after I play basketball, my only true exercise these days, and I limped around for days afterwards. Then I felt myself wanting to avoiding seeing people that I hadn't seen in a long time - I almost cancelled on some friends from high school who met up over Thanksgiving but I MADE myself go so I wouldn't turn into a hermit. And I'm so glad I went - we had a great time! Then there was our trip to Disneyland last month - I actually felt nervous when I went on the first ride - what if the seat belt didn't fit me? And I was happy to be the one taking most of the pictures rather than being in them. And this latest season of The Biggest Loser? I weigh as much or more than some of the contestants. Granted, I "carry it well" on my taller frame. But still. Depressing. And then I ran into some old pictures of me on the computer - including my work head shots from about 9 years ago - even disregarding the fact that I am almost a decade younger here, I have about 80 lbs to lose to get back to this weight. There, I said it.

I had to have the full combined power of these unpleasant experiences and thoughts to make me realize - I've had enough, and I want my body back! I think most people need to decide for themselves when they are ready to make a change in their lives - no amount of talking or convincing from others will get us in the right mind set to truly change. I'm not sure what snapped for me, maybe all of those feelings coming together just smacked me in the face and said - THIS IS NOT YOU! Change something!

So, I am. I'm eating a low carb, high protein diet and I am not eating any treats/desserts until I can control myself. If something has sugar in it naturally, or is not one of the main ingredients, I'm OK with that. Just no more marathon baking sessions and going from a pan of brownies to a plate of cookies to some ice cream during ONE week. I am 100% no doubt about it addicted to sugar. I eat treats as a reward for something good that happens to me and as a comfort when things don't go my way.

I have now been off of treats for 28 days and my cravings are starting to fade. My body is like - thank you for not abusing me anymore! I have a long way to go, but I am happy with my start. I am going to try to post every 4 weeks or so about my weight loss goals - I don't want to make my blog all about weight, but losing the pounds and gaining my confidence is a big part of my life right now. This is a long post for me, thanks for sticking with me if you're still reading. I had to get it all out there - it's sort of like now I am even more accountable because I put this goal out into the universe.

So, here are my totals for the first four weeks:

• Week 1: -8.9
• Week 2: -2.8
• Week 3: -2.0
• Week 4: -2.9

Total weight gone: 16.6 lbs!

Penelope's Laugh

This girl has the cutest laugh - she is typically a very happy baby and is content to play alone for at least 20+ minutes at a time, which can be just enough time to get several things done around the house.

Wrangler's Game

Claire had tickets to a Wrangler's hockey game that she won through her school's reading program. Claire, Miles and I went while Matt studied. He misses out on the fun stuff lately. Claire was all about the game - cheering and yelling. Miles was bored except when it was time for treats. Classic Miles.

Tall Tales

So, after being primary teachers at church (the children's Sunday school) for more than 2 years, we have heard some funny stories about our students' families. I have always wondered if Claire was sharing equally private and sometimes embarrassing details with people outside our family. Well, I found out recently that she most definitely is - and she is adding her own spin.

We take turns doing the kindergarten drop off with another family in our neighborhood. We have been sick off and on lately, and so we didn't do the carpool for a few days. Once we started up again, I guess Claire was entertaining them with tales of our illnesses. For the record, everyone but me got sick and threw up exactly once. But Claire told quite a different story - she said that Matt couldn't stop throwing up and that he threw up all over the floor. And then suddenly (her words), he slipped in it and fell on the floor and then he had to take three showers to get clean. Oh my.

On the way home from school, Claire also told them that Matt was probably making her lunch. When asked what he was making, she said, " Probably pizza - he wants me to eat pizza every day. All the time - pizza, pizza, pizza." Yeah right - Claire gets to go out to lunch more than any other 5 year old I know.  And it's hardly ever pizza.

I mentioned to Claire what I had heard she said, and she said, "How do you know that?!" Caught in the act! I had a talk with her about making up stories and told her about tall tales - taking a piece of truth (yes, Matt was sick) and making it a much bigger story (no he never threw up on the floor). I think I pieced together where she found her story - Matt did accidentally step in throw up when he walked into a bathroom at Disneyland. Gross. And in the movie Dolphin Tale, which we got for Christmas, the boy smells very strongly of fish after being at the aquarium all day, so his mom makes him take a shower three times in a row.  And Claire's story was born.

Can't wait to hear what she says next. :)

Arts and Crafts

Miles has finally started showing more of an interest in coloring and lately, drawing his own pictures. He definitely has a boy's eye for art - like this drawing that he explained to me is his Dad with a gun and bullets.

He is a bit older than Claire was when she started drawing people, but he adds a lot of details in his pictures that she never did in the beginning. The circles on the smile are teeth, he draws eyes with pupils, he uses different colors for hair, and his people almost always have arms and legs. Claire didn't add arms to her drawings til last year. Miles' preferred subject is Matt - while Claire usually chooses to draw me, or the whole family. I'm just glad he is interested in coloring, drawing and painting now. It makes me think he will be ready for preschool in the Fall. He is going to the fabulous teacher that Claire had - we already have our spot!

And here's a cute one from Claire Bear - my scan cut off the end of her name, she spelled it right. :)

Happy Birthday Matt!

Well, this is the year we are officially in our mid-30s - no more denying it. Matt just turned 35. Weird.

Time is flying by. And it's going even faster since the UNLV semester has started. Every week is so busy and scheduled and before you know it, we'll be 40. Ok, maybe I'm jumping the gun a bit. Let's just enjoy 35. Happy Birthday Matt!