Lo-Jack

I do these little videos for my family and friends for special occasions. Its something I would love to do for profit one day. Tell me what you think of this one that I made for my sister. Would you pay money for this?

It's snowing again! I wonder if it will stick once the day gets colder. Is it summer yet?

Ugh...I'm bored, and its snowing....AGAIN!

January through March are my bad months out here. Have I already mentioned that? I may have. I tend to go through these swings between being super motivated to wanting to just lay in bed all day. The weather plays a huge part in this.

I feel like it has snowed everyday this month! It really puts a damper on my workout schedule, since driving to Redmond is out of the question when the roads are a mess. My kids and I have also battled colds thoughtout the month. This also put the brakes on getting to the gym. Once you miss a few days in a row, getting the energy up to go to the gym when things are better is hard!

But...I have some new motivation! My friend Sarah and I went to the mall to hem our new designer jeans (so fancy, right?), and cruised the stores afterwards for fun. We went into one of my favorite stores to shop in when I was thinner....J.Crew. I love this store, mostly because their clothes are bright, and they sell a lot of orange, which is my favorite color. I was in love with everything when we stepped in, but they don't go above a size 10 (maybe 12, but I doubt it). Then I saw them. a pair of shorts in this pattern. I hadto have these shorts! I wish it was possible to lose that much weight before our trip to Las Vegas, but that's only 10 weeks away and I'm not willing to starve myself. However, I LOVE the pattern so much, that I decided if I lose 10 lbs by the trip, then I will award myself with the bag! They also have this cool suit, that I would get as well! Ohhh, they have matching shoes too!

If I continue to work hard I could fit into these shorts by the time summer comes around...it is a good 5 months away! Maybe I should buy them so that they are a constant reminder to me to keep working! Either way, each time I want to stop running, climbing, or crunching, I think of these shorts and how awesome they'll look when they fit. It makes me want to buy snow tires so I can get to the gym no matter what!

Odd Mom Out

I started this book last night, and couldn't put it down. I think I can relate to it even more because it takes place right here in my area, and I can really visualize each and every situation this fictional character is in.

The book is about a single mother and her 9 year old daughter who move from New York City to Bellevue, WA to be closer to her ailing mother. She quickly finds that appearance is everything out here, and she's starting to change her identity to assist her daughter in fitting in better at school.

Man, I can relate to this woman! Being a working mom in my neighborhood is like having the plague. I don't work anymore, but that's not to say I don't vividly remember feeling like I was a leper in my own community because I didn't "care" enough about my children to stay home with them. Once I did start staying home, I found it difficult and awkward to fit in at the playground with moms who had established themselves. Getting them to make eye contact was almost as hard as getting a promotion at my old job!

Luckily for me, I had started a "working moms" play group way before I got pregnant with my second and these women have become wonderful friends. People I can count on to be real and down to earth and not give a rip about what you're wearing or what stroller you push. Some of us still work full time, some of us don't, but we are still very close friends. Without them, I would be lost out here.

Staying home posed a new set of challenges for me. I didn't really know how to make friends with moms. I didn't know the questions to ask, and got bored with the usual, "what's your child's name, how old, oh..does he _______ yet?", so I decided to ask mom's about themselves. In order to do this, I also had to shed another layer of insecurity. I had to come off confident, which isn't easy among this social group (unless your hair is done, and you're a size 0). I took my new tactic with me when I joined a new mom's group in the neighborhood and it worked. I've made some great friends in this group that are like me...recently quit their job and sometimes barley making it through the day without a shower. Knowing there are moms out there like me, gives me comfort!

I feel inspired, maybe today I'll shower before the trip to Dizzy's tumblebus, but I know if I don't get to, my friends won't make me feel bad about it!

The Sun is a Cruel Mistress...

Out here in the NW, we don't see the sun much in the winter time. However, every now and then you'll get days like today and yesterday where its clear and bright, and your spirits start to lift. You get up and feel the warm rays coming in through the window. You can even stand in a sun-beam and warm your feet. You start to think deceptive thoughts about how warm it must be outside, and how you can't wait to feel the sun on your face. You think taking the kids to the park is a great idea, since you've all be couped up for weeks and the house is beginning to smell like one big poopie diaper. Then you actually step foot outside (after spending 30 minutes bundling the kids up) and realize it was all a clever trap laid by the sun, so that Ms. wind could blister you face with her whipping blows. Some days I really hate the winter out here.

Pictures of my Rock Band

This past Saturday the rest of my band mates came over for practice and overall it was a successful jam. There was some tension over who the lead singer would be, but "Debbie" won out over "hotbiatch". "Em" finally figured out to play the bass, and Hotbiatch really rocked at the drums and guitar. "Beth" (yeah, I suck at picking out names in games) and "Hotbiatch" will have to work out who will play guitar and drums at the next practice. It will probably end in some kind of dance off.

PEACHES!

My friend Jeannine reminded me of this gem today. She told me her 4 year old daughter was singing it as she colored in the kitchen. Ha, ha, ha! I want to come over for a play date Jeannine, so I can make copies of YOUR children's songs CDs! Does Daughter also "Get the Led Out" once or twice a day?

Farewell Ann!

This past weekend was so fun. My college roommate and best girlfriend Ann came to visit. I didn't even know she was coming! Rob did a great job of keeping the secret. She showed up on Thursday night and left this morning. While she was here we went shopping, got our nails/hair done, had a few beers at Smokey Joe's and played Rock Band until our arms hurt. its so fun when an old friend visits. I really enjoyed remembering old times with someone that lived them with me. We laughed so hard while at Smokey Joe's, I'm sure the other patrons thought we were a little crazy (yeah, like they aren't!).


Thanks for coming to visit Ann!

1997

2007

7 & 7

Today was pretty freakin' awesome. Actually, the awesomeness started on Thursday night when Rob went to pick up my best friend Ann at the airport. I had no idea she was coming to visit, and it has been so great catching up with her.

Anyway, Rob gave me a gift certificates for 7 salon and Nordstrom for Christmas and today it was time to redeem them! Ann came with me to the Salon where Sarah, Jess, and I were getting our hair cut. 7 Salon is an experience. They cut your hair to suite your features, all while a real DJ spins some wicked beats. The biggest change for me was having my part moved to the other side of my head. Its a small change, but it looks so much better that way!

Feeling sassy after our hair experience, we all went to Nordstrom Rack for some shopping and there I bought my first pair of designer jeans. I have always wanted designer jeans. Yes, they're expensive, but they looked SO FLY, and I did have a gift certificate!

7 (jeans) & 7 (Salon) is always a good combination!

The Locker Room

Those of you that frequent your gym's locker room will understand my rant. Doesn't it always seem like no matter how many lockers are free, someone ALWAYS picks the one right next to yours? And doesn't it ALWAYS seem like that someone has no sense of boundaries?

Today after Body Jam (which ruled by the way), all the ladies walked to the locker room in one big heard. I was going to stretch and let the heard disperse a bit, but didn't have much time before my 2 hour limit was up in the Kids Klub, so I followed all the other sheeple into the locker room. I managed to make it past those token few who stop in their tracks for no apparent reason, and walk towards my locker area. Turns out two other women are in the same space, and a third is already SPREAD all over the place. I roll my eyes and decide five minutes isn't going to kill anyone and decide to stretch after all.

When I returned to the locker room, there was no one there, but the "Spreader" still had her crap strewn all over the floor and bench, so I didn't really have a place to put my bag while I changed for the shower. Fine, I got over that and walked to the shower in my barely-big-enough-to -cover-my-ass towel only to find out they're all taken. BLURG! Eventually someone decided they were clean enough, and I got my turn.

Ahhh, nice and clean, I walk back to my locker and the "spreader" STILL has all her crap taking up the bench. This woman isn't even there! she's doing her hair and make-up while her stuff takes up half the freakin' locker room! I felt like saying, "Hey lady, this isn't your personal locker room...do you not see all the other women in here?" I took it upon myself to move some of her stuff in order to have a space to sit and put my shoes on.

Locker rooms are a very interesting place. I try to not spend to much time in them!

...And like *that* I'm back in VA...

Living far from family and old friends isn't always that easy, but there are little surprises that bring a smile to my face out here on those days when I miss them most. The random "Virgina Tech" sticker or license plate frame, The southern accent a new neighbor has, or someone bringing sweet tea to a get together. They all remind me of the place we grew up. Today, it was the radio that brought me back.

I was surprised a few years ago to know there was a huge Carbon Leaf following out here. This is a band that would play colleges in VA all the time, and I felt like a mini-celebrity having "known" of them before they were on the radio out here. Some of the members even live close to my sister (hehe). Despite this, Carbon Leaf is about four years ahead of "my time" in college, so I only saw them once before moving here. However, today I heard another band that WAS during my time. The Pat McGee Band.

I heard them in a "spa" about four months ago, and thought "that's weird! I wonder if the owner is from VA." I went to their web site for fun and saw they were playing a show in Seattle, but I couldn't attend...bummer. Then about two days ago, I heard them on our local station (the same that plays Carbon Leaf...103.7 The Mountain) and then again today! They must be gaining a following in the area, and this time I can REALLY say I knew them! one of the members was in church choir with me, and man did he have a crazy mullet back then. I also saw them countless numbers of time in college. They played on Longwoods campus numerous times a year and my roommate Ann and I would collect posters and stickers from their shows. Hearing them on the radio is like VA coming to me.

Working out

So, I haven't lost to much weight this month, but I have been working out quite a bit. I'm happy to report that I've worked out everyday but three, and this feels GREAT! Its nice having Gold's now. the Kids Klub there has eliminated my biggest excuse for not working out, and at $6 a pop (for both kids!), Its well worth the two hours of working out and showering uninterupted.

I've also started walking the parkway once (sometimes twice) a week with some friends, and that is really fun. Its a good break from the treadmill and its been sunny almost every time we've gone, which does wonders for the mood! I am really looking forward to the spring/summer when we can walk outside more often!

So, hopefully this new hobby will continue and I'll begin to eat a little better! I don't want all this exercising to go to waste!

Did you know I have a Rock Band?

Yep, it's called "S6", and we do Rock covers. We just formed our band last night, but we've already played gigs in Seattle, LA, and are well on our way to winning the battle of the bus.

What? you've never heard of us?

Then you haven't been playing "Rock Band". Last night Rob came home with this game, and he had to talk me out of putting the kids to bed at 5:30, so we could set it up and play. I passed the time by feeding the kids, and giving them a bath, but after that I could wait no more! We put the drum kit and guitar together as Harrison looked on. Once all the wires were connected it was bed time for the kids and play time for us!

I decided to take over the drums (because they're cool), and Rob took the guitar. We started a band, picked our avetars, and we were off! Before I knew it, it was 12:00 AM and I was saying "just one more song."

The drums were very fun, but I couldn't get much past "medium" level on them, so I took over the microphone. All those years in Show Choir paid off! I managed to kill "Move Along" by the All American Rejects on Expert. I got 95%...and that was after a few beers. Lastly, I tried the Guitar, and Rob was pretty impressed with my ability. This is where my piano lessons came in handy, and once I understood the strumming, I was able to take on Stone Temple Pilots, Nirvana, and Weezer with ease on medium.

I have to admit, I haven't been this into a game in a while. I usually play once and get bored, but when I got back from my errands today, I wanted to fire it up! I can't wait for my girls to come over so we can rock and roll together. It will be a trip! I'm hoping to convince the new Irish Pub to have a "battle of the bands" night. I know I would be there for sure!!!

BODY JAM!

Want to know what Mom's in our area do for fun? BODY JAM! This is a cardio class where the instructor teaches you hip-hop, Latin, and club dance moves and it is SO fun. about 85% of the class is made up of moms trying to reclaim their "cool" again, and its pretty fun forgetting you have two kids in the "Kids Klub" for an hour and pretending you're practicing the routine for the next Justine Timberlake concert.

The first time I tried this class, I felt like a real fool. I'm not too coordinated and haven't taken dance instruction since I was in show choir in high-school (Jazz Hands!). I have no trouble bustin' a groove when I've had a few, but doing it in class, in front of a huge mirror...that was a little scary. However, after one class, I was hooked and ready to let it all hang out! Today we did Latin and techno and I was so tired at the end of class. You basically sit in a squat for an hour, but you don't realize it until the next day when you can't walk.

If you belong to a gym that offers a class like this (The one I go to is at Gold's), I suggest trying it out.

Miralax...1-3 days? More like 1-3 hours.

Eldest has been doing great with potty training. He'll go in there and pee all on his own without being asked, but now when we do suggest it, he doesn't fight back. However, we've taken a step back with #2, which really stinks (pun intended).

We figured we were giving him to much milk, and that stopped him up pretty good. He was letting out these little nuggets (which I've already written about here)in his pants. I took him to the doctor and he suggested giving him a gentle laxative called Miralax.

The bottle says "takes 1-3 days to take effect", so I figured giving him some yesterday afternoon would be safe. I brought him to school, and went on my walk with Sarah down the parkway and back up (about 4 miles).

Well, wouldn't you know it, about 3/4s of the way back up I get a call from his teacher telling him he had a huge blow out. I told her I was finishing up a walk and it would take me at least 30 minutes to get there, but maybe sitting in it would teach him to use the potty next time.

Luckily for Eldest, he has a very compasionate teacher. She went ahead and changed him, but she did it on the changing table like a baby, and he did NOT like that. We haven't had any issues today, and I did give him some more laxative. Poor guy! We've changed it to where he only gets two cups of milk a day.

What a riveting story!

Youngest is fine!

Just a quick update to let everyone know that Youngest is doing great. It was a long day!

The first surgery of the day went long, which threw the schedule off for everyone. We waited 3 hours for Youngest's to take place, and the poor guy was just so hungry. He went from 10:00 PM on Monday night to 4:00 PM on Tuesday afternoon without eating. Poor guy.

When they finally took him in, we went to lunch with Eldest and started a movie for him. That took about 30 minutes. When I came back from checking messages, Rob said they were done. I was floored!!! Turns out, Youngest only has one testicle. There was nothing to move down or take out. It was such a relief. Of course, it would be great if he two, but we plan on not making a big deal about it. We don't need Eldest bringing it up in fights when they get older...I can hear it now, "Oh yeah...well at least I have two nuts!!"

Anyway, Youngest is back to normal, and doing great.

Surgery Tomorrow

Our littlest guy needs to have some minor surgery tomorrow. We knew it was coming, and expected it to be scheduled for March. I had my mom ready to come out, and was excited for her visit, and to get it done. Then, the surgical coordinator called last Thursday and said we could have it done the 8th of January, or sometime in late April/early May. April is not a good month for us, and I didn't want to start those precious days with sunny weather with a baby that can't go outside. We decided to go with the 8th, and just get it done.

It took me a few days to talk about it without crying. It is minor surgery, it will only take about an hour or two, but he does need to be put under, and that scares me. I also had heartburn over what to do with Eldest. He doesn't understand what's going on (even if we talk to him about it, which we will), and being at the hospital all day will be a challenge for all of us. I can imagine with Youngest in surgery, our patience with him will be very limited, so hopefully the movies will keep him happy. I've been assured that there is a lot for him to do there, but I just wish I didn't have to bring him. Even the documents I read through requested/suggested not bringing other children if you can. The problem is I'm sure the surgery will be at the crack of dawn, which would mean dropping him off with someone VERY early in the AM. I have one more idea to run by some friends, and if that falls through, then maybe we'll keep him there until School starts. Its times like this that I really wish we lived closer to family.

The Power of Lysol

Today, I put the power of Lysol to the test.

Our 3 year old is 95% potty trained, and let me tell you, having a potty trained child is very liberating. Those of you in the throws of potty training, don't give up!! It's well worth all the wet pants and tossed underwear.

However, 95% is not 100%, so accidents still happen and today was one of those days. After being out all morning, we got home, had some quiet play time and then settled into our afternoon quiet time, which for Eldest means a movie and for me means a show or two on TV.

After about 45 minutes, I went down to check on Eldest and see if he needed anything to drink and my nostrils were assaulted by that poopie smell that only 3 year old boys are capable of. My eyes got wide and I ran towards him to check to see how big the log in his pants was, and I was surprised to feel nothing in there. A quick glance to the train table confirmed my fears. There on the table was a golf ball size nugget and matching finger wipes!!! Oh dear lord. I took him to the bathroom and made sure his rear was properly cleaned, gave him what for about making sure poopie went in the potty next time, and proceeded to clean up the repulsive mess.

I used your everyday Lysol wipes and double cleaned each area, but can still smell it. Its probably the skid mark left in Eldest's underwear that I smell, but I'm sure its also burned into my nostrils. Boys are gross.