Monday, May 31, 2010

Week two

Completed four run/walks - each two miles.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Ease into exercise week one

Week one is successfully completed. I ran/walked every other day for approximately 2 miles - Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and today for a total of 8 miles! Who-hoo - I did it.  It wasn't too awful - I dropped 1.8 pounds too. Just from exercise - I still ate whatever I wanted, which brings us to week two. I WILL watch what I eat and do my best to limit carbs, sugar and salt. My exercise goal this week is to continue every other day with the two miles, but to throw in one 5k or 3.1 miles walk/run - then I could contemplate doing a 5k race like my friend Lissy! My motivator and inspiration in Duluth. She has signed up to do half marathon in Wisconsin. It's my dream goal to be able to crash her marathon, but I'm not anywhere close to that yet.  I'll take it one week at a time and keep conditioning - if I drop ten pounds, I'll be able to run more easily without damaging my joints. Remember the arthritis diagnosis??

On that note - I have kind of stopped taking my medication and seeing my rheumatologist. At my last visit, last fall - I went down to a real low dosage on my medication with the intent of discussing further at my next visit, which should have been in February. Unfortunately on the day of my appointment, I had a sick child a had to cancel. A few weeks later - when I called to reschedule I was told I could not reschedule until I paid a $30 cancellation fee for not giving 24 hour notice, which irked me, thus I still have not paid the fee, still have not rescheduled and have stopped seeing my rheumy - I'll probably have to fork over the cancellation fee and pay a visit soon, I'm not stupid, I've just been pushing it to the back burner.

The kids and I saw Shrek Forever and Ever and Always Forever and Ever (or whatever it is) in 3D! - We kept the glasses - it was pretty cool and the moral of the story, my friends, is to be happy and appreciate the life you have. I'm so thankful and blessed with love, life, friends and family - this was a cute story and a fun time with the children - can't remember the last movie we saw together at the theatre together - probably CARS!

Stuff, Materialism, Carbon Footprint

If you know me - you know I'm not a hugely passionate conservative environmentalist or anything, but I do live by the mantra, "buy 1, get rid of 2." Stuff and clutter drive me insane. I've always been this way, but with two kids, it's definitely become more of a priority. As my van sits in the driveway, the back is filled with donations to drop off at Goodwill, thus I thought it would be an appropriate time to begin the 30 day challenge - we will not purchase anything that is not absolutely necessary, no toys (no problem there), no clothes, shoes, books, trinkets or stuff! In fact, during this time, I hope to reevaluate our current possessions, and donate some more stuff which we don't treasure, love or appreciate. The kids rooms will be empty :) Wish me luck and check back for updates.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Sam the Slugger -

Well it's not Home Run Heinie like I was called, but it's fitting.

Sam played catcher tonight. Every time the bat swung I cringed. I can't remember how many times I said, "Sam, back up!" much less thought it. The bat comes awfully close to the catcher's head - he did a fabulous job though and his head is still in one piece. During the time I excused myself to walk my two miles, he cracked the ball out to the field and earned a triple - with three RBIs. Takes after his mom :)

Sidebar: Last night we searched high and low for his missing in action ball glove - the one he's had since he was three :) Last seen at the Kennedy High batting cages - I searched, Chris searched, Sam searched, even Katie searched the house, the yard, both cars, the garage...Chris even drove down to the cages to see if it was there. No luck. Kate told Sam he could use her pink, lightup glove for his first game of the season. Needless to say, he was not to eager about this idea. Shows off Kate's generous nature though. After covering Biden's visit, Chris found a new glove at Play it Again sports for $8 - good deal - a third of the price and it's already broken in - smart move. Then after he caught up with Kennedy's Coach Hoyer who knows every inch of the Kennedy field and who indeed did have Sam's glove in his possession. Coach Hoyer's advice to Chris though, "the kid needs a new glove." Doh! The t-ball glove needs to be retired, but at least it is back in our possession and I am able to save it for future reminiscing and memories - maybe it'll have a place in the Sam Earl Baseball Hall of Fame in 50 years - just saying - you never know!

Sam's sports activities

Sam played basketball for the Kennedy Cougars this past season. As a second grader, he played "up" with a third grade team for the Kennedy High feeder club. An amazing experience, we watched his skills grow and advance from October through March. Sam had two awesome coaches, Coach Koester and Coach Irvin, who value teaching the basic fundamentals in a fun filled, team valued atmosphere.

As a parent, Sam's positive attitude and ability to work hard while being a role model and a great team member make me most proud. Sam's care, concern and cheering for his fellow team mates is evident at every practice and game, both on the court and off the court.

This spring brings us to baseball, flag football, gymnastics and church, throw in some cub scout meetings as well as school and it has been a horribly busy time for Sam. He excels in all of these environments and I'm happy we are able to provide him with so many opportunities. In his downtime, Sam has his own baseball team on MLB 2008 or whatever it is he is videogaming at the current time. He loves to play video games and romp and run around outside with his sister. We are always on the go and I wouldn't choose to overschedule like this again, but it has been a fabulous spring.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Dance, dance, dance - Miss Kate is 5 1/2 years old.






















After nine months, Kate is approaching her end of the year dance recital. She performed at Hiawatha Care Center in a preperformance on Thursday night. The girls were absolutely adorable. Nine months of dance has been really long and there have been many weeks where Kate doesn't even want to attend. At the rate of $35 per month - more often than not - she is in the van and on her way. We will take a summer break from dance and see if she is excited again in the fall to attend. Her teacher said it is possible to begin in September to shave some of the weeks off and still pass to the next class. Kate is absolutely beautiful in her costume - trying to decide what to do with her hair was agonizing, but after Chris secured some bobby pins - it was quite easy - just took about an hour to wash, braid and pin up. I marvel at my little Kate because she is so like me, but so not like me - her personality fits mine to a tee which at times can be extremely frustrating, but she is a runner, a dancer and an artist - her creativity outshines mine and is one of her strongest attributes - I remember a time long ago when I enjoyed theatre, perhaps it's just something I've lost along the way.

This is the year Kate is growing right before our eyes. Up until five she maintained the "little girl" look and actions, but during the past five months she has just blossomed into a big girl. She still has a million ponies and plays with them and loves them. She began playing with her barbie dollies too. She can sit and play and act out entire scenarios for up to an hour! It's so entertaining to listen to an watch her play. Her other love is art and art supplies. She loves to make crafts and presents for everyone in her family - especially me - I have a difficult time finding place to hang and store all of her masterpieces. Kate's ability to make friends on the fly is uncanny. Whether it's a trip to the park, attending Sam's baseball practice or going into any type of environment, she makes friends and plays with them like she's known them forever. Kate loves school, her school mates, especially the girls and her teachers! Attending preschool at Pierce has prepared her for kindergarten and she's very excited about the next school year. Kate is very caring and sweet, talented and athletic. Love my little pookie pie to pieces!