Fitness Challenge

I have reached the point in my post-pardum cycle in which I have decided it is time to lose the baby fat. I am in full acknowledgment that it is not all due to the baby. Unfortunately, I have a sweet tooth. I almost always have candy in my desk drawer at work (in fact, as I type this I have a Hershey's bar staring at me, sending subliminal messages "EAT ME").

When Scott went back to work, he decided that he was going to get into a routine, eat healthier, and go to the gym before work. I began to feel slightly guilty for my bowl of ice cream sitting in front of me. but working out or going to the gym is difficult for a mother of two. With Brendan, I always used the excuse that I had no one to watch the baby while I went to the gym.

Along came the CBU Fitness Challenge. What it really provides is an opportunity for a Kinesiology student to gain internship credit by leading a fitness course to Staff on campus. However, it also provides an opportunity for staff to join a fitness course in their place of work and get back in shape. The class meets twice a week for 1 hour each day. At the end of the semester we will be tested to see how much we have improved.

I had no excuses for this one. My Childcare provider offered to watch the boys for the additional time with no extra charge while I do the class. Scott agreed to join me so I have some accountability and company. This is our second week of the course and already I feel sore. But I know that it is healthy for me. It is also a reminder to eat better. Of course I still eat my sweets, but I focus more on water instead of soda, I pack my lunch in the morning instead of buying fried food from the On Campus cafe, and I don't eat nearly as much dessert as before.

My goal: First, to gain my ab muscles back (which my husband does not believe me when I say I was unable to use my ab muscles while pregnant, he doesn't understand why I have no strength in my abs anymore and just says "wow you're really out of shape aren't you" Thanks hunny). Second, to lose 5-10 more pounds. And Third, to just feel better about myself.

We will see how I feel in December when the course is over!

Brendan and the Puppies

Remember these cute little puppies my sister got a couple years ago for Christmas?

They were so cute! They loved to sit in your lap, and they were so playful...

Now...they aren't so little...

But still like to sit on your lap, very lovable and still love to play!

You know who else likes to play?

Brendan.

Especially with the puppies.

It doesn't matter that they are the same height as he is, he runs back and forth across the back yard chases them, being chased by them. He loves the puppies.

The other day we were at Aunt Bekah & Uncle Kevin's house and I see Brendan "helping" the boys with their water bowl.

There was Brendan standing there holding the boys water bowl up so they could drink out of it. And they were! They wouldn't touch the stale water just sitting the ground by itself, but as soon as Brendan held it in his hands, they were happy to slurp it up!

Brendan also likes to hand feed them their dog food when it is out, and they are more than pleased to be hand fed!

THAT mom

I am now THAT mom. The one with the "double wide" stroller that walks around talking to herself.

Okay, maybe not doublewide, but double long....

I know that when having two children close in age, it is expected to have a double stroller. And believe me, I defiantly did my homework when looking at double strollers.

***Looking back 5 months***

There I stood in the middle of Babies R us very much pregnant. By myself with a toddler just staring at the wide variety of double stroller options. I had registered for a stroller, but did I really want that one? Was there I better option. I took each one off the shelf, and while 9 months pregnant folded each one up, picked it up to feel the weight, strapped Brendan in and out of each one, took a car seat similar to mine at home, and buckled it in and out. Then stood and contemplated each one.

"This one is smaller" "But this one is prettier" did I want a side-by-side? Front-to-back? Sit-n-stand? Umbrella style? Jogging stroller? So many options! So many decisions! Finally, I ended with the double stroller I had originally registered for. It was veritable, plain, light (relatively speaking) easy to fold/move, and converted to a sit-n-stand as my children get older.

******************

I am very happy with my purchase, we use it all the time! It is quite convenient as it holds Caleb's seat and has a nice seat for Brendan to see where we are going. I use it for shopping the mall, taking a walk to the park, our family vacations, even a quick trip into Target. And yes, I am the crazy mom that talks to herself. But luckily, I can disguise it as talking to my children! There defiantly are some perks to parenting!

Picture That! Sunglasses

Just me and the boy. Goin' places in style!

Sports

While dating, we never sat down to a football game, never went to a sporting event, never even talked about the score of a game or favorite teams even though we don’t pay attention.
But our first year of marriage Scott made friends with Baseball fans. Much to my dismay (as I was not raised on sporting events other than my brothers AYSO soccer games) Scott began to become interested in sporting events again. This interest from his childhood that had become dormant was now very much active. Like a volcano, suddenly he was bursting with a desire to watch and follow baseball. At first, I thought this was just a phase, “It will be over soon” I thought/hoped “then life will resume as normal.”

Life was never normal again! :) Baseball season lasted longer than I ever would have thought (April – October not counting spring training). Therefore, we became Angel fans. It turned out to be fun, something we could share together. We went to games, picked favorite players, talk about the score and just enjoy this activity together.

3 years ago Scott started becoming friends with football fans…This is where I draw the line! I hate football; I was putting my foot down. We will NOT follow football, we will NOT become USC fans, baseball is my limit! I don’t like football, I don’t understand football, I spent too many Friday nights sitting on the bleachers in a marching band uniform watching football games that I did not understand drag on.

I resisted. Scott hung out with our friends to watch the USC games without me. Once in a while I would come just to hang out with the girls but I was NOT there to watch football. They would try to explain football to me saying the reason I did not like it was that I did not understand it. I have given in (slightly). My husband watches college ball on Saturdays and I will sit on the floor and craft or do other things while somewhat watching the game.

Today, Scott’s dad is coming over all day to watch football with his son and see his grandkids. I plan to leave the house most of the morning, but know that I will end up watching football with them for some of it. *sigh* I give up.

But I defiantly will NOT watch Nascar, that is final!

Baseball Game

Our trip to the Quakes Minor league Baseball park in Rancho Cucamonga.

As a last minute weekend plan, we packed up the boys, invited some friends, and went to watch a laid back baseball game. The Minor league is a great option for us since it is much cheaper than taking the boys to an Angels game and leaving 3 innings into the game. For this game, we were able to stay through more than half of the game.

I bought Cotton Candy and shared it with the boys, Brendan loved it, Sammy wasn't quite so sure. In the end, I was the one who consumed most of it! (To see a video of the boys with the Cotton Candy and Tawni's post on the night go to her blog at Life with the Websters)

Scott took Brendan down to see the Mascot "Trimmer" (I think). Brendan gave him "bumps" and a high five, but he felt safer from afar.

We had a great time. Another successful family outing!

Caleb 3 month pictures

Wow, I am really bad at blogging this year. I could blame it on the kiddos, or stress at work, or the fact that my "spare time" is sparse. But if I was honest, the real reason would be that I just haven't done it. Call it procrastination, call it lack of drive, but either way, I have been slacking. I will try harder (must husband reminds me that when you say you will try, you are allowing yourself to fail.) Either way, lets move on!

Caleb is almost 4 months old! 17 weeks! Crazy how fast the time goes! We went to JCPenney a couple weeks ago and took his 3 month pictures. 3 months is not really my favorite age to take photos. Newborn they are fairly moldable to the pictures you want, and 6 months they are sitting up and able to look cute. 3 months is somewhat of an awkward stage, the hold up their head pretty well, but they just lay there. They are learning to smile but have multiple chins while doing so. Baby acne is still somewhat present, baby is fidgety and not very cooperative and the pictures just never turn out as cute as I would want. Don't get me wrong, I think my child is simply adorable, these pictures just never show what I see in my baby.

Nevertheless, 3 months is the tradition, and so here you are:

More updates to come...I promise!

Picture That!

With yesterday's post of stress and desired alone time, I just can't help but to post this picture. One of my favorites, just me and my boys. I know it is old, Caleb is still pretty new in the picture, and Brendan still has his long hair, but I love it. This is what is important, not a clean house or laundry, but these beautiful boys, sitting in my lap.

I just love these boys! Even if they never leave...

This week was a little stressful for me. For one, it was the first week of school, which always creates a lot of work (and stress) for me as we try to wrap up the previous semester and start a new one, all while students, staff and faculty breathing down your neck for something they need "Right NOW!". **sigh**

Beyond the stress at work, Scott was sick all weekend and into the week, which meant that I was trying extremely hard not to get sick (not a good time to miss work) and keep my boys healthy and away from dad as much as possible. This also meant a lot more work for me of dealing with the boys myself as well as trying to be sympathetic to a sick (and whiny) husband.

Meanwhile, my house is in disarray and I have limited energy to do anything about it.

Like I said, stressful week for me. I called my best friend on my way home from work one day to complain to her (she always has a great listening ear). "I just want to be home alone, without the boys, just by myself for just a few hours."

And then it dawned on me, I am never alone. The closest I get to being "alone" is when Scott works late or is out with friends and both boys are asleep. Don't get me wrong, I love my family, LOVE having two young boys...but sometimes I just desire for it to be me...

A Baseball Family

It's crazy to think that a little over 2 years ago we were this:

Just the two of us starting out with a brand new baby boy. Scott was thrilled to be able to take his son to baseball games, he was so little, but we were so proud!

And now, two years later we are here:

A family of 4. Two wonderful sons, on a family outing to more baseball games!

And to think, it all started 5 years ago...

Baby Curls & Boy's short hair

In May, I took Brendan to get his hair cut at one of those fancy children’s salons.
Monkey-Dooz.
It was such a cute little shop, bright colors, a jeep for him to sit in while they cut his hair, a little toy when he left, and it was discounted price for Toddler Tuesday. The problem was, they did not really cut his hair. She trimmed it a little, I told her that it was too long, it curled in the back and tangled easily. So she trimmed a little on the top and very little from the back. When she was done, I asked if she could trim it more, she stared at me with a blank look and asked, “Where do you want it shorted?” Umm…All over! But Brendan was getting fussy at this point and I could see she didn’t really know what she was doing cutting a toddler boys hair.

That was when I decided I was done paying other people to cut my sons hair, I just couldn’t afford for other to cut it just short enough that I would have to be back in 2-3 weeks to get it done again. (To give you an idea, I only pay to get my haircut about every 9 months to a year.) I certainly was not going to pay for my son to get a haircut 17 times a year.

Son in July, when it was well past time for Brendan to get a haircut. Soctt said he didn't like how long Brendan's hair was for a little boy, too many people still thought he was a girl. It was time for a "man's haircut!" So Scott and I pulled out the clippers and did it ourselves!
Brendan was less than thrilled with the process.

And in the end, I lost my baby, those long curls on the back of his head are gone, and in their place I have a handsome boy (with tangle free hair I might add).