A little of this and a little of that

Sorry-didn't mean to not post since Tuesday, but it was a somewhat busy week.  I took on a new job as the housekeeper of the house :)  I decided now that Ella is finally napping the same time as Kiley, I would take on the role of cleaning and make myself some money every two weeks-well the money that isn't going to the cleaning lady.  I have a pretty good routine down, but man it is time consuming and takes up almost all the time that I have during naptime. 

Other than that, I've been busy with my workouts and keeping the kids entertained.  I don't know how many more times I can sing Pat-a-Cake this week--Kiley is now in the "do it again" stage and believe me it does get old after awhile--I have a feeling the "why" stage is coming soon and I can already tell Kiley is going to want to know EVERYTHING.  I did a killer class at the gym yesterday-man am I sore today.  It made the run this morning pretty tough, but I still got my three miles in.  I have a couple more weeks until my real "training" program for the half marathon starts.  The new running shoes are making a huge difference. I really haven't had much knee pain since I got them, so I am feeling pretty good.  I need to really focus on my longer runs now to start gaining a little more endurance--I don't think I am really going to worry about speed for this half.  As long as I finish that is good enough for me. 

I'm thankful Kevin made it home today.  He luckily caught the last flight into Chicago before they starting cancelling flights due to the snow, and I'm pretty sure if he had been on a later flight he would definitely have not been home until tomorrow.  Speaking of getting home--I am so thankful that I stay home with the girls on days like these.  I think about trying to commute 30 miles with the girls in the back seat--on a regular day that would have been hard to handle, on a day like today when the commute could have taken 3 hours-NO WAY!!!

A few pics from the week. . .

Kiley started a little ballet class last Saturday--of course she wouldn't smile for the camera, but how cute is she from behind :)

I love this pic of Ella and I-Kevin thinks she looks crazy.  I think she looks adorable.

Not the greatest picture of Kiley but hilarious in that she is wearing a hat, gloves, sitting in a sled, oh and wearing a swimsuit coverup. Ha!

 

And here's a little video love.  This one just melts my heart.  They just love each other so much.




Have a great weekend. I have some reading to get done.  For some reason my book this week is taking me forever and was supposed to be a book that I was going to get done in a day or so.  Other than that-not much on tap other than ballet, birthday parties, church, and hanging out at home---and maybe a little sledding :)

Snowy Days

Well, winter seems to have arrived in Chicago.  Now, I'm not much of a winter sports person.  I'm more of a sit inside and drink hot chocolate and watch the snow fall--or if I was at a ski resort, I may sit in the hot tub and drink a hot adult beverage or something, but there is something about watching kids in the snow which makes me brave the elements for a few minutes to at least get a picture or two.  Now, you may think from these pictures that Kiley LOVES the snow.  However, it's really just watching Morgan and Madison running around in the snow that cracks her up.  She was down with the snow in about 5 minutes.  That's my girl!!!

Ella, wasn't as thrilled with the snow.  I don't blame her--maybe next year she will be more into it!

Move it Monday

Weight watchers week 1 was definitely a success.  I lost about 4.8 pounds and was really happy with that.  Granted it was also the week that I stopped drinking pop so I think that helped in that I was drinking a lot more water and like all first weeks in diets, you are losing a lot of water weight.  Week 2 has not been as positive.  I have stayed within my points and worked out pretty much everyday, but the scale isn't budging.  I know that I am not going to lose every week and that some weeks will be better than others, but it is tough when you feel like you are doing everything right and the scale isn't budging.  I know that I have to stick with it though to see results and this is only the 2nd week.  In looking back at my food journal this week, my main goal for the week is to stay within my points each day and to not eat out at all this week.  Not eating out is really easy for me during the week, but the weekends are more of a challenge and that is where I rack up a lot of points.

Other goals for the week:

No tv during the day--started last week and was successful so let's keep it going.
Finish my book of the week--this week's book is short, so I expect this won't be tough. I did two books last week so I am pretty sure I will get that in this week as well.
No pop
No Facebook
Enjoy time with my kids and husband
Get up by 5:00-5:15 everyday to get a head start on the day so that I am not feeling rushed with the kids get up

Whoa, that seems like a lot, but you know me, I do much better when I have goals set.  Now I just need to think of a reward if I meet all these goals this week.

"What Alice Forgot" by Liane Moriarty

 

Ha, 2nd book of the year was completed in 4 days (and Kevin said I couldn't do it, ok well I am only on the 2nd week of 52 weeks in the year, but still I made it).  Anyways, this was the book for my book club last month, but of course I never got around to reading it then, but better late than never.  I LOVED this book. I don't know--I just felt like I could really relate to this book for some reason.  It's about a woman in her late 30's who after a fall at the gym, comes to, forgetting the last ten years of her life.  She wakes up with three kids that she doesn't remember, going through a divorce, and having a very different personality than she did 10 years prior.  I felt like this book really made me think about priorities in ones life, especially remembering to focus on one's marriage even in the midst of work, kids, day-to-day life stressors. 

Abby, if you haven't read this book yet, you must--sorry it's on my Ipad or I would have given you a copy.  There is a secondary storyline in it that you will totally be able to relate to and it made me really think about our bond as sisters--and how important we are to each other. 

My rating on this book was a 5.  Granted this is no literary masterpiece, but I judge my books based on their how much I like them.  I couldn't put it down!

Habits

You know how they say it takes 7-8 weeks to actually makes something a habit--ugh, that's a long time.  Again with my lack of patience, I want things to happen immediately-even if it is a habit that I have perfected over the course of many years.  Going with my theme of trying to be more purposeful with my time this year--I decided that a major time waster of mine is having the tv on during the day, so this week I decided it was time to kick that bad habit. Well, I am now on day 4 and it is TOUGH.  It's not like I was watching a lot of tv, but it was definitely on for background noise and it was a mindless distraction every once in a while.  It's interesting that when you start holding yourself more accountable for your time, you find that things you did were huge time wasters.  I made my 2 week Facebook ban and that has really helped so I think that I am going to stick with it.  The tv thing though is probably going to take the whole 7-8 weeks to really become an easy thing day to day.  But, like I said, my main goal this year is to be a good role model and I don't want my girls to become couch potatoes, so I can't be one either :)  I must say though, that this whole being a good role model is making me more thoughtful about actions, words and behaviors and if I have to break a bad habit, I guess it's worth the 7-8 weeks of pain so that I am being a better mom!

Do you think they want to go to the park?

This video cracks me up--just re-watching it, the dogs thought I was actually talking and got so excited thinking that we might be going to the park.  Another reason why 40's and 50's in January is awesome!!!! We actually have gone to the park two out of the last three days--that is unheard of in Chicago in January.

Note to self

1.  Always check before turning on the toaster over--you never know what you are going to find in there and 2. Teach Kiley toaster oven and microwave safety (aka do not put plastic in either unless you want to burn the house down).  I guess she wanted Ella to experience a little toasted baby food.

Simple yet Effective

As a parent now, I have found that I am constantly learning, growing and striving to be a better parent.  Before kids, I thought that I would be an awesome mom, I mean, I figured I was a good babysitter so of course I would be a good mom, right?  Yeah, not exactly just like babysitting!!!  Anyways, yesterday we were in For Eyes, or maybe it's spelled Four Eyes, I don't know, but we were there.  Of course, Kiley was being Kiley and trying on all the glasses.  Now, normally I would have been concerned that she was going to break them and I didn't want them being all judgey, but the reason that we were there in the first place was that they had broken Kevin's glasses when he had left them there to get new lenses in, so I figured they couldn't complain too much about a broken pair of demo glasses.  However, she didn't break them and she was actually quite gentle.  Oh again, on to the point of the story.  So this dad and his son come into the store to pick something up--the boy was probably about 8 or 9.  He was looking around for a second while his dad was waiting to get whatever he was picking up.  While the boy was looking around, he found a loose pair of lenses on the ground.  He immediately walked up the employee and said "Excuse me miss, I found these lenses on the ground and I wanted to make sure no one stepped on them."  The employee of course said thank you, but what really struck me was how the dad handled the situation.  I looked over to the dad and he didn't say a word to the son, but as the son walked toward him, he stuck out his hand to give him a handshake.  I loved how he didn't have to say anything, but that simple move saying "nice job son" was so effective in giving his son the recognition on a such remarkable behavior for a kid his age.   I love praising good behavior and I know that it is far more effective than constantly reprimanding for bad behavior, but sometimes you get stuck in the rut of constantly just saying "good job."  I need to remember that moment and parenting technique for the future. Simple yet effective and you know the son just loved getting that attention from his dad.

"The Best of Me" by Nicholas Sparks

So I am attempting to read a book a week this year.  I know, I doubt I will be successful, but I have one week under my belt so I am at least 1 for 1!!!!  This week's book was The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks.

It was a pretty quick read and I would have finished it a lot sooner had I not been spending my time looking at real estate websites for the home of my dreams, only to realize that it's not out there right now.  But, anyways, I did finish it within the week which was really the goal.  I thought that it was a little slow at first and it was hard for me to really grasp the true dynamic of the relationship between the two main characters.
As I was reading it, I was thinking to myself, how could these two characters who are now in their 40's still be holding onto feelings from from their first love whom they haven't spoken to or seen in 20 years. However, then I remembered that I met Kevin when I was a teenager and I'm pretty sure that I would still love him in 20 years even if we went without seeing or talking to each other for all those years--ha wasn't that sappy, true, but a little too cheesy to come out of my mouth.  Anyways, back to the story, it wasn't as predictable as I would have thought.  Granted, I wasn't really thinking of the title while I was reading it or I may have been able to predict the ending a little sooner than 100 pages from the end, but it was an interesting twist.  And when I say interesting--what I really mean is completely unrealistic and would never happen in a million years, but if I wanted a realistic book I guess I should have read a non-fiction :)

Out of a 5 star rating system--which I will give to each book I read.  1 being the worst and 5 the best (just so you don't get confused), I think that I give this one a two.  It wasn't amazing, but if you are looking for a quick read that's not completely romantic and sappy the entire time like some of the other Nicholas Sparks books, then this one was decent.  It's no The Notebook though so don't get your hopes up.

TGIF-and other things I'm thankful for today!

Seriously, can the weather here get any better.  Who has even heard of opening your windows on the 6th of January in Chicago.  Couldn't it just stay like this forever?  Yeah right, next week it will be like 20 degrees, but I the dogs will enjoy it in the meantime, they were super pumped to get out for a walk today!

I also need to get around to getting my thank you cards written and out, but in case it doesn't happen for a while, thanks so much for all the wonderful Xmas gifts from Santa, grandparents, aunts, uncles, dogs, etc.  These two littles were super spoiled this holiday season.  I guess Santa thought we were all pretty good this year.  It was an awesome time spent with family and we had so much fun opening presents, eating good food, and being merry. I think that we have finally recovered and gotten back on track.  Now it's on to what I call birthday party season.  The invitations are rolling in-which means I need to get my butt in gear with getting Kiley's planned, and then Ella's.  Wow, that makes me think I have a lot to do.

I am also thankful for my mom today. Because if I hadn't hated it so much when she would wipe off dirty face with spit, I would have never sworn that I would never do that to my kids.  However, this morning, at about 8:00 when I was getting Kiley out of her car seat, you guessed it, I did the unmentionable and wiped her face with spit.  Shhhh don't tell anyone, however, she did go into school with a "clean" face and when I say clean, I really mean covered in mom spit :)

I'm also thankful that my husband knows way more about financial things that I do which makes it easy for me  to not have to worry about those things.  After discussing the options of moving last night, I think that we are staying put for awhile.  Like I said before, I don't have a lot of patience when I get my mind on something, but he laid it all out for me in a way that I can understand that moving right now is kind of silly.  Plus of course today, I was having an I love the city day, so I think that it is best for us for the time being.  I would be too sad leaving the city right now, so we'll see where we are at in a couple of years.  I'm also thankful that I can now stop wasting time looking at real estate websites.  I swear, why and how do I find some many things to waste time on the internet doing.  I must say though-operation no facebook has allowed me to finish my first book of the year-review coming shortly.

And, of course, I must be thankful for these two littles.  They turned 22 and 8 months this week and can I tell you how hard it is to get both of them looking at the camera, at the same time.  It is near impossible, so you will just have to leave with the awkward shot of one looking cute and the other not so much, I think she may have been watching tv :)  Kiley's new things this month are loving tea parties and dancing.  Ella is perfecting her sitting, loves playing with toys (way more than Kiley ever did at this age) and splashing in the bath.  They love each other and crack each other up.  Ahhh, love them!!!!

Hope you have lots to be thankful for this Friday!!!  Have a great weekend.

Contentment vs. Moving Forward

If you know me, you know that I have always struggled with being content in the here and now.  It's not that I don't appreciate what I currently have, it's just that I am a huge lover of lists and checking things off the list.  I feel like in my life I have always been motivated to reach the next goal, get to the next level, check the next thing off my list.  I struggle with this though, because I currently wonder--is there ever going to be a time where I am not trying to get to the next level.  Is there a difference between being content with what I currently have and just enjoying it or do I constantly have to be thinking ahead to something new and different to keep myself moving forward. Like I said, the past couple of years have been a whirlwind.  They have been awesome, but there have been a lot of changes and now I am at a crossroads once again with if we should move to the suburbs or stay in the city for a couple more years.

Granted, the girls won't be going to school full-time for another three and a half years, but I am already started to stress out about the school process.  It is a crazy process in the city (even for preschool) and I'm just not sure that it is something that I want to take on, especially if I don't see us in the city long-term.

Also, the whole commute thing for Kevin is a big one--even on good days, he doesn't get home until 6 (at the earliest) which would make it pretty difficult for him to help out with sports teams or even see games, etc. in the future.  With me being at home, and him working in the suburbs, there isn't much of a reason to stay in the city other than that we really love it.

There is a ton to do, but as we are finding out, we use the city less and less now that we have kids.  We love to the restaurants and being able to walk down the street to have dinner and a few drinks, we love the parks, and the proximity to our friends.  We love the option to take cabs to go out for the night.  However, the one thing I am starting to wish we had a little more of was a sense of community.  I don't get that in the city.  I remember growing up everyone in the neighborhood going to the same school.  You just knew (aside from maybe a few kids in the neighborhood) who would be in your class.  In the city, EVERYONE goes to different schools.  Just in my group of friends that are mom's to kids Kiley's age--no one will probably even go to the same preschool.  I think that I want my kids to grow up with that suburban feel that I knew growing up.

So, it's with that that I have been struggling for the past couple of days.  Of course--new year brings new things for me.  I do want to move forward on this and I know that it is probably something that will happen sooner than later.  It does make me sad though to think of leaving the city, but I think that it would be a good move for our family and I guess at the end of the day, that is the most important thing to me.  I would love for Kevin to be home earlier on days that he isn't traveling.  I want him to be able to sneak out of work for a few minutes in the day to see a school assembly.  Those things are not so easy right now.

It's not that I am not content with where we are at.  I have so much to be grateful for so I guess contentment and moving forward can sometimes go together.  It's just a fine line of having the patience to know when to take the steps forward in order to feel content in making the change.  Patience isn't my strong suit--sometimes I wonder if I even possess any patience, but I know in this matter that I must possess patience for the right house, in the right neighborhood in the right school district to come along.  I also must remember to feel content in what I love about the city in the meantime, as I know that there is much I am going to miss once we make the big move out to the suburbs.

Happy 2012!

Well, Kevin is back to work, Kiley is back to school, the holidays are over and now we are getting back to the grind.  Obviously, I failed big time on trying to post every day in December, but life got in the way--big time!!!!  We got busy with family in town and getting ready for Christmas and well nothing around the house got accomplished-to the point where we spent the last four days doing about 20 loads of laundry, taking down Christmas decorations, trying to find places for new toys, etc.  Note to self--don't take a break from household duties for two weeks at a time again.

Anyways, here we are in a new year.  New resolutions have been made and I can't wait to get a new calendar to start organizing plans for 2012 (first I need to purchase that calendar!) My biggest resolution this year is to be a better role model.  It encompasses a lot of things, but that is the overarching goal.  I have some new ideas up my sleeve for the blog.  I think that I got a little bored with it by the end of the year, so I am going to switch it up a bit. I really want to make a point to become an actual blogger--not just an occasional write down random thoughts on the internet person.  My other goals are to finally lose the baby weight and get back in shape.  I signed up for the half marathon so there is no backing down now and thanks to mom and dad, I laced up my new running shoes today and got in 4.5 miles (granted it was a combo run/walk and it was not fast), but I guess my only goal is to finish the race!!!

I am also working on every two weeks setting a couple of mini-goals.  My first couple of the year are 1.  No facebook and 2. No pop.  Facebook is a really silly one, but it is so addictive and I need to start utilizing my time in a better way (see above, by doing laundry :) )  The second came about because quite frankly I ran out of my Cherry Coke Zero and I didn't want to make a run to the grocery store just to get it, plus I always know that I need to drink more water and per main resolution to be a better role model.  I don't want the girls drinking pop so I guess I shouldn't either.

I know-sounds like I am trying to make a lot of changes, but really I am just trying to take this year to focus on bettering myself for me and my family.  The last couple of years have included A LOT of changes and at times just surviving those changes has been a feat for me.  So, this year, I am going to focus on growing and bettering myself.  I want to be a better wife and mother.  I want to be a better friend.  I want to grow.  And I want to be proud of myself for taking on some new challenges and fulfilling my goals.  I know that I will stumble from time to time, but I don't want to fail.  Again in being a better role model, I want to show my girls that you can set goals and with hard work you can fulfill them.  So here's to 2012.  I'm excited for the start of the new year!!!  Hope yours is off to a good start as well.