Sunday, December 20, 2009

Week 1--Done!

1 week down, 7 to go in my beginner's running program.

I already posted Days 1 and 2, so I'll start with Day 3...

Day 3--12/15 Tuesday
Run 1 min, Walk 2 min, repeat 10x=total 30 minutes
On the treadmill--I went 2.27 miles and burned 227 calories.

Day 4--12/16 Wednesday
Walk 30 minutes
On the treadmill--1.92 miles, burned 173 calories.

Day 5--12/17 Thursday
Run 1 min, Walk 2 min, repeat 10x=total 30 minutes
On the treadmill--2.32 miles, burned 235 calories

Day 6--12/18 Friday
Run 1 min, Walk 2 min, repeat 10x=total 30 minutes
On the treadmill--2.37 miles, burned 246 calories

Day 7--12/19 Saturday
Rest

Weight loss: -2 or 3 lbs. (I fluctuate about this much anyway, so I'm not sure if it's actually weight that I've lost, or just fluctuation.)

I feel pretty good so far. I increased my speed just a tad on my "run" days. I feel like I could push myself a little more when I'm running, but I'm taking it easy so I don't overdo it.

The quote for the week in the article is this...

"Sit as little as possible. Give no credence to any thought that was not born outdoors while moving about freely." --Friedrich Nietzsche

I don't know about the outdoors part because it's been a little chilly lately, :) but I'm trying to follow the "sit as little as possible" part. I tend to get in ruts where I feel like all I do is sit...in front of the TV, in front of the computer (which is what I'm doing now!). And then nothing gets done around the house--the laundry and dishes pile up, the house is a mess...and then I get so overwhelmed that I don't know where to start to get any of it done. It's a vicious cycle. So I'm trying to keep moving. I may be exhausted at the end of the day, and I may not get it all done, but if I just keep moving, something is bound to get done! :) Okay, enough deep thought...time to get moving!

Friday, December 18, 2009

Halfway to 1st Grade

I didn't really think of this as a milestone. But when Trent came home from school today, it hit me...he's halfway through his kindergarten year. How can that be possible? It seriously seems like maybe a month ago that I was fighting back tears as I dropped him off for his first day. I know I'll be saying that again at the end of the year, and again at the end of every school year after that. He brought home a bag full of things that he's worked on this first semester, and it makes me so proud. There were a couple of gifts in there that he made in class (with a little help from his teacher--you can tell she put a lot of time into them). There were 2 ornaments that are so perfect and so touching. It's reasons like this that I adore his teacher. Mrs. Duckett has been wonderful to him and to me. I try to help her out as much as I can because I truly appreciate everything she does for her students. She is an incredible teacher with such a passion for what she does. It seems to come so naturally to her. I appreciate her more than she'll ever know. And Trent adores her too.

I'm so proud of my kindergartener! He's so smart and creative and funny and sweet!!

Monday, December 14, 2009

New Year's Resolution

I'm starting my resolutions early. I have 2...1.) To become a runner, and 2.) To start sewing.

I am getting a sewing machine for Christmas, so as soon as I get to open it, I'll be on my way to that. It actually arrived last week, but Aaron is old-fashioned and wants me to open it on Christmas morning, so he is going to wrap it and make me wait till then. The box is sitting in our bedroom, and I'm just itching to open it up! I don't plan on doing anything fancy to start out. I have taken the beginner's class at JoAnn's, and you make a pillow case in that class, so the first thing I'd like to make is another pillow case for Aaron. I'd also like to take some more classes at JoAnn's. They always have cute home decor projects to do.

As for the running, my goal for 2010 is to be able to run a 5K without stopping in under 30 minutes. I have no idea what most people run a 5K in, but I thought 30 minutes was a nice round number to start with. I have never been much of a runner...honestly, I hate running. But I'm going to try to start liking it. Aaron is running his 2nd marathon in a little over a month (the Houston Marathon), and he inspires me. Not that I want to be running any marathons any time soon because he runs a 5K in like 22, maybe 23 minutes, and thinks nothing of it. And I'm nowhere near that. Maybe someday. But I'm starting small and I'll set new goals as soon as I'm comfortable. So I have started the Runner's World Beginning Runner's Training Program. The article sets a small goal of running 2 miles in 30 minutes...but I can walk more than that in 30 minutes, so I'm not going to worry about distance yet. I am, however, going to record what distance I go every day. (I love my Samsung Blackjack--I typed in all the workouts into it so I don't have to look at the article every day, and I am typing in my "stats" every day too.) I will also do weekly weigh-ins on Sundays, since that is part of why I want to do this too. I am not going to tell you how much I weigh now, but I will post any weight loss that occurs. :) I don't really have a specific weight loss goal, but anywhere around 15 pounds would be freakin' fantastic!

Day 1--12/13 Sun.
Weight loss: 0
Run 1 min, Walk 2 min, Repeat 10x = total 30 minutes
I went 2.28 mi, treadmill said I burned 231 calories

Day 2--12/14 Mon.
Walk 30 min
Took Drew out in the stroller. Ended up being about 35 minutes by the time we got back to the house. Tracked my route on Map My Run--1.95 mi

From now on, I'll try and post my "results" on Sundays, so I can look at it week by week.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Now it's Drew's teeth

Drew has 3 more teeth, for a grand total of 8! He finally got the other lateral incisor on the top so he's not lobsided anymore. He now has all 4 incisors on the top, as well as his 2 first-year molars on the top, which are just barely poked through. On the bottom, he still just has his 2 central incisors. Slowly, but surely...

Monday, November 23, 2009

Teeth

You may think I am going to talk about Drew's teeth in this post, but you would be wrong! Trent is sooooo close to losing his 2 front teeth! They have been loose since at least April when my sister noticed it when she was cleaning his teeth (she went back to school to be a dental hygienist). Actually his 2 top and 2 bottom ones are loose, but the top ones are much looser than the bottom ones. I noticed yesterday that there was a huge gap between his 2 top front teeth, so I looked in there and started wiggling them, and they are so loose that there is a gap between them. Crazy! My baby is growing up!

I snapped this this morning just to record how big the gap is. He wasn't really cooperating well because I was interrupting him watching Sid the Science Kid on PBS kids, but you can see the gap.



And in case you are wondering about Drew's teeth, he still just has 5 of them! The 6th one is coming through. I can see it under the gums, but it just hasn't poked through. Trent had way more teeth by this point (almost 16 months), so I don't know what is going on with Drew's teeth, but the doctor said not to worry. I have a feeling that one of these days, all of his teeth are going to come in at the same time, and it is going to be quite stressful around here!

Sunday, November 1, 2009

MOMS Club Pumpkin Party 2009

Today was our MOMS Club Halloween party and we had such a great time! Some pictures from the day...

The kids had a great time doing self-face-painting! (It gets worse!)



Drew was so good pretty much the whole time. I am on the party committee so I had to help out some, which is hard when you have an active toddler. But as another mom and I both agreed...to keep them happy, just keep food in front of them! :) (At least for her and my chubby babies!)


You didn't know zebras liked to eat goldfish, did you? :) (Please excuse the massive amounts of mosquito bites on his sweet little face. I didn't realize we needed bug spray until we were around the block from our house last night! Just hand me my Mom of the Year Award!) :)



Yeah, so I'm minding my own business at the party, just chatting away with other moms, Trent seems awfully quiet over at the face painting table, but whatever, he's happy...then I hear him say, "Hey, Mommy!" I turn around to find everyone around me looking at me, ready to see my reaction, and I find this standing in front of me. *sigh*



Tank (Batman) and Trent (Ironman) joining forces to fight against evil...with extremely painted faces


We decided to attempt taking a picture of the members of our 1 yr. old's playgroup that were able to make it to the party. Hilarity ensues...
Marisa, Drew, Caroline, Kyle (in the back being chased by Marisa's mom Chris), and Chloe


Herding cats





Notice 2 of the 3 girls have not moved the whole time, bless their little hearts. Caroline (in the white) looks she could just chill there all day.


So as we were leaving, I spoke to the mom who brought the face paint to the party (Susan), and she said that baby wipes should take off the face paint. She had let her daughter Anna paint her face and the baby wipe took it right off. But Anna did not do this to her face! Anna is the sweetest, cutest, most well-behaved little girl I have ever met. So I knew we were going to need something heavy duty. And I had a feeling my old friend Mary Kay would come to the rescue with their Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover.
This is before...


And this is after I used the eye makeup remover...I love Mary Kay!!

What a great Halloween we had! We missed Aaron, but we took lots of pictures for him to see when he gets back on Tuesday. Can't wait to see him!

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Halloween 2009

We had a successful outing this evening. Aaron is out of town, so I was a little worried about how I would manage both boys out and about. But Drew was happy as can be in the stroller the whole time, and of course Trent ran from house to house getting as much candy as possible. This year, Trent was Ironman and Drew was a zebra. We had a great time! Here are a few pics from our trick-or-treating adventure...
Drew is not the best at posing for pictures :)




Cute little zebra!


My tough guy


Here comes the candy!


After we got back


His cute little tail!

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Updates

Drew has been doing so many new things lately, and I don't even remember what the last update on him was, so I'll just say what's on my mind. He just turned 15 months and I read somewhere that doctors say 15 months is a big "milestone month". And from all the new things he's picked up in just the last few days, I believe it! He hasn't been saying much, but he is slowly starting to say more and more. Let me see if I can think of all the things he is saying...
--"Dada" (he says this a lot!)
--"Mama" (rarely!)
--"Hi"/"hello"
--"More" (he also does the sign for this, which he must have learned at MDO b/c we didn't teach it to him!)
--"Boone" (our dog)
--I think he's saying "Trent" and/or "Bubba" (my nickname for Trent)
--His MDO teachers told me yesterday that he said "outside" and "trick or treat"! They went trick or treating at MDO yesterday. I haven't heard him say "outside", but I did get him to say "trick or treat", which sounds like "dit tee". LOL

I'm sure there's more that I'm not remembering right now, but hey, that's what you get with the 2nd kid! :)

Drew currently only has 5 teeth! He got the 1st one at 9 months, the 2nd at 10 months, the 3rd and 4th at 11 months, and the 5th just after he turned 13 months. I can see at least one more below the gumline that will probably come in soon, but I guess he is just going to take his time getting teeth! Meanwhile, Trent has 4 loose teeth, so I'm sure the tooth fairy will be visiting our house in the next few months.

Drew has also recently started giving kisses, which thrills me to no end! He started out giving full-on, open-mouth kisses, but he has toned it down a bit. :) I love sweet baby kisses!!

This boy also L.O.V.E.S. to dance! Any time he hears music, he stops what he's doing and starts bobbing his head or bouncing up and down and waving his arms around. I have yet to capture it on video, but if and when I do, I will be sure and post it.

Trent, my big boy who is growing up way too fast, is doing really well in school. Academically, he is excelling at everything. He loves to draw and he loves science, so first he told me he is going to be a scientist when he grows up. Then he asked, "Do you know what kind of scientist?" I said no. Then he said, "A paleontologist." :) Then the other day, he said he is going to be a scientist AND an artist because he's "really good at drawing". (And very modest, I might add!) He actually is a pretty good artist for a 5 year old!

We did have some issues with his behavior at the beginning of the school year (mostly, he just can't keep his mouth from running), but I think that's a normal part of starting school. The kids don't know what is expected of them in the beginning so they like to test the waters to see what they can get away with. But now, he has gotten it under control, and he is doing very well. I love his teacher, and she and I have worked together to make him the best student he can be.

I have been trying to volunteer at his school at least once a week while Drew is at MDO. I think he really likes seeing Mommy during the day. He always tells all his friends, "That's my mom!" I love getting to see him too! And I like getting to be in a school environment. I also have gotten to see my friend SuAnn (Raymond, for all you KD's that are reading this) almost every time I'm there since she teaches 1st grade at Mossman. We rarely get to see each other especially during the school year, even though we only live about 2 minutes from each other! So it's nice to get to chat with her for a second. :)

Well, that's all I can think of for now. I will try to be better at posting more often. Things just get crazy around here! I'll try to post pictures soon too.

Everyone have a happy Halloween!

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Trent's First Day of Kindergarten



On the way to school



In front of the school



Today was a big day. My baby boy went to kindergarten. I have thought about this day since the day he was born, and I cannot believe it's here. I'm not sad and I'm not scared...I'm just a little emotional because of this huge milestone--the beginning of his formal education. I'm so excited for him. I pray that he enjoys going to school as much as I did and appreciates what his teachers do for him.

Every morning, the students will meet in the gym before they are dismissed to go to their classrooms. So this morning, we walked down to the gym...
Trent and his buddy, Dominic
...and when they dismissed the kids, we walked with him down to his classroom where we said goodbye to him, wished him luck, and walked away.
It was a little hard, and I shed a few tears, but luckily Aaron was with me to give me hugs, and there are a few kids from Trent's preschool going to Mossman, and their moms are such a good support system to have. I don't know what I'd do without my Mommy friends!


In a couple of weeks, he'll be doing all that on his own--what a big boy! :)


After we dropped Trent off in his class, we went to the Boo Hoo Breakfast sponsored by the PTA. They had coffee, juice, donuts, etc. for all the kindergarten parents. They also had a ton of door prizes and while I would have preferred to win one of the mani/pedi gift certificates, or the $50 haircut gift certificate, I won 3 free tans at Sunkissed Tan (which I will probably never use, but that's okay!) At the breakfast, they had these little poems attached to a package of tissues. I thought the poem was really cute...
First Day of Kindergarten
Every one has a "first day"
when they feel sad and all alone.
It can be so scary
when you're out on your own.
And I know that a "first day"
can be full of doubts and fears,
But they're full of new beginnings.
Take my hankie, dry your tears.
You'll find lots of things to do
and you'll probably make new friends.
I promise we'll be together
when the school day ends.
Here comes the teacher
Blow your nose and be brave.
Come on now and wipe your eyes,
this is no way to behave.
Well, good morning teacher.
We really must beg your pardon.
No, MOMMY doesn't always act this way,
But it's my first day of....KINDERGARTEN!
I didn't read it until we were in the car on the way home. I got a kick out of that one, and then I read this one, which was given to me by one of Trent's friend's mom, who got it from her son's teacher. This one made me cry...
The First Day of Kindergarten
I gave you a little wink and smile
As you came in my room this day
For I know it's hard to leave
And know your child must stay
You've been with him for five years now
And have been a loving guide
But now, alas, the time has come
To leave him at my side
Just know that as you drive away
And tears down your cheeks may flow
I'll love him as I do my own
And help him learn and grow
So please put your mind at ease
And cry those tears no more
For I will love him and take him in
When you leave him at my door.

Friday, August 21, 2009

A video from Drew's 1st birthday party

Here is a video of Drew eating his cake, ever so slowly, at his 1st birthday party. And in case you missed it, the pictures from his party are below in the previous post.


Drew's 1st birthday party

We had Drew's 1st birthday party on August 1...I know, I'm a bit behind! But I am going to try to catch up soon because Trent is about to start KINDERGARTEN and I'm sure I'll have a lot to blog about! More on that later...

Here are some pics from Drew's 1st birthday party. We kept it very small. My mom and sister came down for it. Also in attendance were our friends Robert, Katie, Kennedy, and Riley Plunkett, and also our friends Mark Koeppen, Martha Duenas, and Dylan Koeppen.

The decorations and presents



Walking toward me



Sweet Riley



Boone is ready to party



Trent and Dylan watching something on Mark's ipod--they are obviously too cool for all this baby stuff! :)



Drew's smash cake



Gimme gimme gimme!



Ooo, fun!




Sweet baby boy!




We finally had to cut off a piece because he really didn't know what to do with that big ol' cake!



He loved squishing it in his hands!



Boone was dying to get some of that cake!



This is about the time he started rubbing it into his belly. We tried to tell him that the cake was not going to get in his tummy through his belly button!



I don't know what he was doing here, but I just thought this was hilarious!



There's his belly


Nice highlights
This one cracks me up too. Boone is waiting so patiently for something to drop on the floor...you can almost read his mind!



The cake for everyone else--it matched the invitations!



Ooo--presents!



Big brother testing the new toys








Hammering away!


This is what Aaron and I got him