OFF AIR

I am going OFF AIR for ONE MONTH.

WhY?

TO work on our SUMMER BUCKET LIST!

We have a lot going on this summer and one of my goals is to SIMPLIFY MY LIFE. So one thing I am doing is going off air... or off internet. Have a happy June! We'll see you in JULY.

School is out and summer is here!

Is this what I have to look forward to?

Doesn't he look like a teenager?

Preschool is done for this past school year. It has been a really great year for all of us and we really enjoyed having him at Immanuel Lutheran but I am glad that school is out. I think Phil and I learned more than Wendell, and that is that it's tough having a schedule to follow. Between our work schedules and and school, we were getting tired of running around all the time.

I have this summer to enjoy before I send him off again this fall. Our new schedule will be 5 days a week from 8:30-1pm... that is basically kindergarten. And he will be going to public school so that will be interesting. The first 1/2 of the year will be at Edison and then the second 1/2 will be at the new school that is replacing Black Hawk. I am sad to see him go but I think it will be good for him. I'm hope by the end of the summer I will be ready for him to go back.

It's hard to believe that Wendell had to wear his blue coat and jeans on the last day of school because it was so cold out.

This is what the little shrimp looked like on the first day of school. Here he has short hair, short legs, and smaller feet but the same great smile.

Are you SERIOUS?

That is the question I asked the sky the other day.

This the 3rd time I've been pooped on by a bird this year. I must have been leaning back for them to hit my stomach... last time they actually hit the laptop keys, and I don't remember the first time.. I think it was on my shoulder. Either way, three times is enough!

So to the birds in the sky.. I love you but could you at least try NOT to aim and hit me?

Spring 2011

Electronics: I'm sure not always a fan of them as the headlines say, we need to limit them, but it sure does keep them happy when I need a break. As far as the baby swing in our living room.. that will be another post.

My mom tells me when I was a little kid (about Harlie's age), she didn't see me get into some Peeps and next thing she knew I had taken one bite out of each one and stuck the mallo part in the carpet. I don't think she was too happy with me. So in honor of Easter, she sent me a box of Peeps. Harlie seems to enjoy them.. but she sits in the high chair to eat them. Wendell has no desire to eat one.. although he does like marshmallows.

As you can see, we've been playing outside, rain or shine. May was a very interesting month with our weather... and we enjoyed all of it. Note: Kids washing the car is a brilliant idea. I filled a bucket with dish soap and let them wash away.. then I made sure it all got rinsed good. Not sure that is recommended if you have a decent car but mine is old and rustin' up so I didn't care if something happened. ** please excuse my tacky outfit in the above photo, I didn't know we were in Hollywood, meaning, several pictures were taken. But I had to post it because you can see, I was having fun too.

Last picture.. my mom, the bargainholic, who taught me well. She came to visit us (from sunny Florida) and stayed off and on a few days. She does not perk up until she has her coffee so this picture is perfect. The hat, is not hers, she bought it for Wendell at Goodwill. Both kids have loved playing with it and we enjoyed seeing Grandma "dressed up" too.

doctor appointment

With all my whining lately I decided to go to the doctor and get a physical.. and because I complain about my regular doctor all the time I thought I'd try a new one, so I took a recommendation and went to someone new. I think I like her but she also gave a lot of referrals which I'm not so fond of... I'd rather just get answers.

Reason #1 back pain - my back hurts anytime I stand in one place for very long, I notice it when I'm on the phone, singing in church or standing at the park. Either way I've been to the chiropractor and they helped a little and so I thought I'd chat with the doctor. I also have pain off and on when I sleep but usually once I'm up then it's better. Her recommendation: x'ray and PT. So although it will probably cost me an arm and a leg, I got the x'ray just to make sure nothing is wrong. Then I plan to go to one PT appointment to get some exercises and hopefully something will come of that. Phil went through this procedure in the beginning of the year (for his shoulder) and it cost us about $1000, so I'm really hoping it doesn't rack up. More importantly, I hope it's just a muscle issue and there is no major disc issues or anything.

Reason #2 weight loss - you all know my sob story there so I'll just get to the answer of that. She is going to send me to a dietitian. She thinks that if I eat more protein and cut the carbs then I might loose weight. She also said I might have lost all the weight I can. She said looking at me that I look lean. She also said that like a lot of moms, I have extra skin around my tummy that most likely won't go away without a lot of work or surgery. She also measured my BMI to be 27 which isn't too bad, but my goal would be 25 or around 150 lbs.

Reason #3 fatigue - I'm tired often in the afternoons and there are many reasons for that. 1. I'm a mom. 2. I don't sleep that well at work or at home. 3. I don't get my favored 9 hours of sleep at night. 4. Sometimes, I have back pain when I do sleep. 5. I take a lot of recovery naps in the afternoon, causing a habit or addiction to napping in the afternoons. So I really think it's just life for me now but she decided to do some blood work to test my thyroid just to be safe.. I hope she tests my iron level as well but I forgot to ask.

So these 3 things consumed my appointment. I got the x'ray and blood test so now I wait for results. I meet with the dietitian next week, which I'm kind of excited about and then in two weeks I do PT, which I'm not so excited about unless it fixes my problem.. then I'll be happy!

Anyways, off to a relaxing weekend. I don't work and plan to sleep in the next three days! Maybe I'll try cutting some carbs just to see what happens.

back in business

So I can finally post after! After several attempts to figure out why I was having such issues, I figured out that it has something to do with us using Internet Explorer and some security settings.... and although blogger told me how to fix it, the setting wouldn't "save" so I was still not able to post. So after several frustrating attempts we are now using Google Chrome for internet. So far it seems to work and best of all, I'm back in business for posting to my blog!

open water swim

Tonight was my first open water swim and it was great, for the most part. A little cold but I got to borrow a wet suit so that was fun to practice in (and made the cold water MUCH more tolerable)... and as usual the water didn't taste so well (for some reason I swallowed more than normal). It was great feeling comfortable in the water on the first open water swim of the year. Last year it took a few swims before I was convinced that I could do it. Now I know I can so it's kind of fun to go out with confidence, it just makes it more fun. Although I have not signed up for any races, yet, I still love training and swimming out in the open.

On a side note, I've kind of given up on losing any more weight. I will try and be happy with where I'm at, and of course, not gain it back. I'm not willing to sacrifice the occasional ice cream and buttered popcorn so I shall now set myself free to be who I am. I am reading a book that I LOVE about raising healthy kids, called Eat Move Play. It's a Weight Watchers book but I still think it has great information even though I don't know much about Weight Watchers. It says that we need to be proud of what our bodies can do.. not so much if we are "overweight". The book is more focused on raising healthy children but I've found many things apply to myself. So as of this week, I am proud to say I can swim a mile, run 5 miles and bike at 16 miles per hour for at least an hour... and I weigh 165 lbs and am a size 12. Yep, I said it. I am proud of what this body can do... and that will be my new focus.

30's - aging well?

What do the 30's bring?

Well, I didn't notice much until these past few weeks and I'm well into my 30's. I think I've been more achy than usual, I'm starting to wonder if I will ever get a good nights sleep again, I don't think I can see as well when I read as I've been squinting more and I think I'm going deaf as I can't make out mumbo jumbo when people talk to me (especially with little 1 year old background noises).

I know it's inevitable to get old.. but I'm not sure I'm ready. What's next? Menopause? Jiggley body parts? Wetting my pants when I sneeze? Shaking my cane when I yell at people? Falling down stairs and breaking a hip?


** Taking a 180, does anyone know why I can't post to my blog anymore on my laptop? I keep getting a Java void error when I put the cursor over the PUBLISH POST. I can save and then go to my desk top and post but it's a real pain in the hiney. Any thoughts would be great. I think it might have something to do with Phil updating to the newer version of Internet Explorer. Hmm... now we have another granny on the computer. Yep that's me internet man.. can't answer one question about my computer but I love using it.

*** And now I can't resist to tell a funny story (funny to me anyways). So I tried to get on internet the other day (one of those days where I felt my addiction kick in as I was getting a bit jittery when I couldn't get internet to work). Anyways, being the handy woman I am I called the internet people to see if there was a problem. The man nicely asked me if my modem lights where on?... emm.. which one is the modem (as we have a modem and a wireless router). So as I stumbled through that and realized YES the lights are on.. he asks what kind of "system" do I operate on? Hmm... what? So we finally figured that one out as I only had a couple to choose from (Mac Vs. Windows : ) Then he finally figures out it's a problem with our wireless router because when I plug directly into our modem with the lap top, it worked.. meaning it was the wireless router that was the problem (also meaning I could at least check my email, however uncomfortably as I was NOT sitting on my comfy couch with my cordless/wireless laptop). So again, nicely, the man asks what kind of router we have... emm, wireless? No mam.. what brand? Oh.. well it says Netgear. He proceeds to give me their phone number so I can call them. What a nice man! (and all English - sorry pet peeve poke there). So in the mean time, I call Phil and explain my story and he says just to wait until he gets home so he can call Netgear as it would go a little smoother. He comes home a few hours later and takes one look to say, the router is not plugged in. Apparently electrify makes a big difference : ) Ergg.. always remember to make sure it's all plugged in! Your brain that is.. not just electricity. What can I say, I'm getting old : )

** Back to #2, does anyone know why I can't pulish a post on my laptop?

favorite summer food

Food.. I love it.. I can't resist, but I do. I am very moody about my food, meaning, I eat whatever I'm in the "mood" to eat. And now that summer is here then I stop making soup and I start making salads. My favorite salads to eat are 3 bean salad, cole slaw, my mom's potato salad, and my step mom's taco and spinach salad. This is the year of tuna salad (I love eating Subcity's tuna salad sandwiches) and now that I know my kids like tuna salad then I will be making it more often (they even ate it with some pickles and purple onions in it!). I also love BLT's. We splurge and buy the $5.00 bacon at Aldi but it is so good.. and it does last us awhile as I only eat one sandwich (2 slices) or wrap at a time. I also LOVE a grilled hamburger with all the fixin's. So this year I plan to eat lots of BLT's and tuna salad sandwiches. So, how about you... what foods do you like to eat in the summer?